Fabio picks up us at four, and we head to Montepulciano for a Pecorino cheese tasting. The Pecorino that you get in Tuscany is not the same Romano that we get here in the US; it's called Pecorino Pienza, and it's smoother and not as dry as the Romano. The cheesemaking process is explained to us, and we taste four different types of Pecorino, each older than the one before. They're all delicious, but we decide on the gran reserve, the oldest, to pair with the 12-year old balsamic we picked up in Florence.
Leaving the cheese tasting head back to Montefollonico and meet at Vittorio Innocenti's winery for a wine tasting. Vittorio is one of the village elders and is quite the historian, so we're able to ask him lots of questions about the village and life there over the years. Our translator, Christina, does a great job of translating our questions and his responses, and then they get into a conversation that none of us can follow. The weather seems to be clearing, so after an explanation of how Vin Santo (the wine of saints) is made, we set up outdoors overlooking the beautiful valley below, to taste several of the younger wines. Again, it was not to be, because before the first glass could be poured, the rain began and we retreated to the cellar. Following the wine tasting we walk over to La Botte Piena for dinner. This is a small restaurant where we are served a family-style Tuscan dinner. This is a neat little restaurant whose decor is based around wine crates. Unfortunately over a week has passed since our trip ended, and my memory has left me, so my recollection is based on our combined memories and my pictures, which I have found are sorely lacking. Our appetizer is a cheese assortment with the local Tuscan bread, served in a paper bag. The pasta course included two different pastas: pici with meat sauce, and fettuccini with a delicious sauce made with orange bell peppers and mascarpone cheese. The entree is sliced beef served on a bed of baby spinach. I'm sure there was more involved here, but the memory is gone. Dessert is a molded panna cotta with whipped cream on the side and dusted with cocoa powder.
Sadly Friday is our last day. We rehearse our Mama Mia song one last time at breakfast, and feel like we have it perfected, before we head out to our last cooking class at Agriturismo Gelagaggio. Agriturismo means Bed and Breakfast, and this beautiful place is perched atop a mountain with gorgeous views below. And it's NOT raining!! It is, however, freezing cold and extremely windy, so there will be no outdoor dining again today. Three generations of Tuscan women have assembled to teach us how to make a feast of flavors. We first watch as Ada, the grandmother, makes the dough for our pizza. We're all tickled to see she's wearing nail art, and soon notice that all three of the ladies have had their nails recently done, presumably for us. (Probably not, but it's a nice story.) Next we start on the meat sauce for the lasagna, also called Pasta al Forno. Ground beef and sausage are thoroughly browned before any tomato sauce is added. The tomato sauce is their homemade sauce, made from their home grown tomatoes and herbs, and "canned" in beer bottles. While the sauce simmers, we make pasta dough, which this kitchen kneads in a food processor and rolls out using an hand-crank pasta machine rather than a rolling pin as we have learned in the other kitchens. The result is a much thinner sheet of pasta, which we will use to make the lasagna. Meanwhile, we make a béchamel sauce, and the filling for stuffed zucchini blossoms. Here the stuffed blossoms, along with slices of the zucchini, are dipped in a beer batter and fried to golden perfection. We snack on these as they come out of the fryer...yummy! While one group assembles the lasagna, another spreads the pizza dough into huge pans, and tops the pizzas, one with fresh sausage and basil, another with anchovies and rosemary, and the third with sliced tomatoes. All three are topped with a very small amount of mozzerella and carried to the wood-burning pizza oven across the yard from the kitchen. Ada handles the fire and the pizza with skill that shows she's been doing this all her life.
Meanwhile we have assembled with lasagna, under the watchful eye of Gloria, Ada's beautiful granddaughter. A thin layer of meat sauce covers the pan, then a layer of the delicate pasta, which has been boiled for just a moment, then the béchamel, a sprinkling of fresh mozzarella (which has been put through a meat grinder) and another layer of the meat sauce. The layers are not heavy at all, and no ricotta is used. We're told to fill the pan to the top, and are told that our eight layers are the most ever!
Now it's time to make dessert: tiramisu. We whip up a quick zabaglione and spread a thin layer in the bottom of the dish. This is topped with a special thin cookie (not ladyfingers), that have been quickly dipped in sweetened espresso. I think there may have been some alcohol involved as well. Then a light layer of freshly whipped cream, sweetened of course. Another layer of zabaglione, cookies, cream and the whole thing is dusted with cocoa. Just for good measure a few tiny chocolate chips are sprinkled on top and the dish is refrigerated until time to eat.
And it is....time to eat. We sit down to a beautiful table while the three ladies bring tray after try of our freshly baked pizza to start. Then comes the lasagna, which is the lightest lasagna I have ever eaten. Finally the tiramisu is presented, and it too is delicious.
We had back to la Chiusa for a very short break before we get back on the bus to go to Montepulciano. This delightful hilltop village is famous for its wines, and justifiably so. We wander around the village and do a little shopping, in between rain showers. Then back on the bus to go to Flavio Andreucci's vineyards for a wine tasting. This place is absolutely gorgeous, but unfortunately again the weather refuses to cooperate and the tasting is held indoors. Glasses are set in front of us and we each get a plate of various tidbits to taste along with the wines. And then the wines are poured. This is not a wine tasting; it's a wine drinking! At least five ounces of wine is poured into each of three glasses, the wines are explained one at a time, and the correct food to taste with the wine is suggested. There's a white which Flavio has named in honor of his mother, and two different reds. The red wine in this region is just phenomenal, and without the added sulfites that US wines have, they don't produce the wine headache that one can sometimes get even without overindulging. Since we have two couples in our group that are celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary, it's decided that we will taste a very special wine with a limited production. This wine is poured through a special aerator that not only aerates the wine, but also measures it; appropriately, the pour is not so generous with this rare wine. This wine is fabulous, and we all toast the anniversary couples. Later our host purchases a bottle for each of them, and we all sign the bottle with a special silver pen and give it to them later in the evening at our final dinner. David and I picked up a bottle as well, and Flavio and his beautiful wife signed our bottle.
At some point during the tasting, Flavio regales us with stories of his trip to the US. He is absolutely hysterical, and had me laughing so hard I had tears running down my cheeks. Last year, one of the guests recorded his "act" and it's on YouTube. Here's a link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDFzBdgrdcoIt's nowhere near as funny as he is in person; he is definitely a hoot!
So we head back to La Chiusa and quickly change into dressier clothes for our farewell dinner. This is held in the dining room at LaChiusa, and award-winning chef Dania is there along with our La Chiusa host, Umberto. The meal is a Degustation (tasting) Dinner, with wines to accompany each course. At this point none of us needs more wine, but that doesn't stop anyone.
The first course is a sformato (potato cake) topped with a sunny-side-up quail egg. After the appetizer, the strains of Mama Mia waft from the table and our little performance takes place. I can't see Patty's face, but Bill's is priceless; first puzzled as we stand up in a wave pattern and don our cooking aprons. Then he's grinning from ear to ear as we sing our version of the song, with homage to our hosts, the dishes we've prepared, and the places we've been. There's applause from Patty and Bill, as well as the waiters and kitchen staff, who have all come out to see the performance. Patty is crying (hopefully not from humiliation), and says when we stood up she thought we were all leaving!
The meal continues as eggplant parmesan is served. I secretly think the one we made in Isa's kitchen was better. Next is the traditional local pasta, pici, served with a light sauce. Ok, I think this is what was next, but to be honest I don't remember and neither does David, and I don't have a picture of a pasta course. It might have been risotto. Next was the local beef, served alongside a slice of roasted sweet onion topped with roasted red bell pepper. And lastly, dessert: delicious homemade caramel gelato served inside a freshly baked tuille.
After dinner Bill presents the special wine to the anniversary couples, and Patty awards us with our beautiful diplomas, which are prints of her hand-painted design. We also get a hand-painted commemorative plate as a memento of our experience. As we're all talking about what a wonderful experience we had, we are surprised by our fellow guest I-Lin, who lives in Shanghai. It seems she's a talented singer, and she sings a beautiful passage in Chinese that has us all in tears.
But it's not over yet, as Umberto has arranged for a Senegalese drummer to perform for us. And this, as everything has been at Tuscan Women Cook, is a participatory event. The drummer shows us how to beat one of the drums in a rhythm which complements his hand beating of the other drum, and a whole lot of fun ensues. One of the group has absolutely no sense of rhythm at all, but that doesn't stop her from trying anyway, and we're all laughing like fools along with her. Everyone is dancing to the wild music, and David and I figured our how to find a cha-cha beat in there somewhere. Thankfully the wine has been put away and bottles of water are plentiful. I guess it's midnight before we finally head back to our rooms.
Saturday is check-out day for most, although we have decided to stay one more night at La Chiusa rather than go to Orvieto. We just couldn't imagine making that trip, especially with the weather being so bad. We all meet for one last breakfast, and Bill joins us to try to video our song. Unfortunately his camera won't work properly, but it's probably just as well, as nothing could top the spontaneity of the original performance. Tears are flowing as we part.
David and I decided to walk up to 13 Gobbi for lunch, and fortunately the rain stops in time for us to do that without getting drenched. This is the first restaurant we went to; the one with the Tagliatelli Pecorino. We start by sharing their bruschetta assortment and melon with proscuitto. This was followed by the fabulous Tagliatelli Pecorino, which was made right next to the table where we were seated. For dessert we shared the crème brulee, which was quite tasty, and followed that with espresso, limoncello, and grappa. By the time we finished eating, and chatting with owners Albo and Simonetta, it was after four and time to head back down the hill. Since the weather was bad we hung around the room and started planning our next vacation. There was no need for dinner and we were both tired, so it was an early evening.
Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny, of course, as we are leaving. We had breakfast upstairs at La Chiusa so that we could enjoy the beautiful panoramic view. Then we packed and stored our things with the office so that they could ready our room for the next occupants. We walked up the hill to the village and wandered around taking pictures. Being Sunday, many of the residents were on their way to church, and we saw Flavio walking there, but I'm sure he didn't recognize us.
Back at La Chiusa, we had a plate of pecorino and a couple of glasses of wine to tide us over until dinner. We tried to have it out on the terrace, but of course it started to rain just as Paolo was bring it out. Our driver arrived right on time and we headed off to Chiusi to catch our train to Rome. Less than two hours later we had arrived, grabbed a cab, and headed to the airport Hilton. An Americanized hotel was quite a change from where we had been staying, but it was ok. I was lucky to pick up their free public area wifi in our room, so was able to check our flights and ascertain that there had been no changes.
We had dinner in the hotel cafe; a couple of pizzas and a couple of glasses of wine. Just not the same though....
Monday morning we checked out and took the hotel shuttle over to our terminal where the arduous process of flying home began. First you wait in a long snaking line to show your passports, have your flight information confirmed, and are given plastic bags for your electronics. Then walk a ways to another snaking line where you actually check in for the flight, get your boarding passes and check baggage. Then on to the security lines which are loooong; it takes us at least an hour to get through. Once we finally arrive at our gate I go in search of cappuccino, as the in-room coffee in the hotel was instant Nescafe! We found a coffee bar, got a couple of cappuccinos and some pastries, and enjoyed our last meal in Italy.
Our flight boarded right on time and we settled into our seats. Since it was daytime the entire trip home we didn't even try to sleep and I watched three movies during the flight. We had ordered the upgraded meals again, and since they came with wine we got two glasses each, as they were offering complimentary wine with the normal meal. We arrived on time and breezed through immigration with our global entry only to find our bags were the last off the plane. Still better than waiting in those snaking immigration lines, though!
We caught the shuttle to the Hampton Inn, checked in there, and headed right back out for dinner. Why we went to Romano's Macaroni Grill I have no idea, but I wanted pasta and Chianti. I had their wild mushroom ravioli, which is delicious, and David had a goat cheese flatbread. Back to the hotel, where we crashed way too early.
We were up before dawn Tuesday, so decided to head on home. We got home before lunch.
Final observations: This is without question my favorite vacation to date. The people we met at Tuscan Women Cook were so special; I know I'll stay in touch with many of them for a long time. Despite the fact that we had absolutely horrible weather the entire time, no one ever complained and we always made the best of every day. We enjoyed Rome, but learned that we're really not big into "sightseeing" as such. Big cities are definitely not my thing; a little of that goes a long way.
