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Noteworthy Notizie

IMG_2302FRIDAY FEBUARY 27

E ‘Venerdì! Put a little prosecco in your glass and peruse the news! 

 

Fashion first!  We are smack dab in the middle of Milan Fashion week. Catch up with the catwalk on the official website.

 

In other fashion news, Neil Patrick Harris was wearing Umbrian designer Brunello Cucinelli at the Oscars last Sunday!

 

An interesting Op-Ed in the New York Times yesterday explored the issues surrounding changing the language of higher education in Engineering and Architecture to English, and then back to Italian. So what is the Lingua Franca of Engineering in Italy today?

 

Birra Perugia Wins Best Beer of the Year with their Calibro 7, at Beer Attraction, an international beer festival in Rimi. We are so proud…we had to take a bottle off our shelves and crack it open. See what the hype is about in our Georgetown store.

 

This Giant Catfish caught in the Po is absolutely terrifying.

 

James Bond hits his poor little head due to the cobblestones in Rome, re-igniting a debate on whether the old street should be updated.

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

–Via Umbria

FRIDAY FEBUARY 27 E ‘Venerdì! Put a little prosecco in your glass and peruse the news!    Fashion first!  We are smack dab in the ...

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Newsworthy Notizie

IMG_0186.B&S ©2014 Eric van den Brulle

Friday, Feb 20th 

Today we begin a new weekly series called “Newsworthy Notizie,” a roundup of happenings that the Italophile will find interesting! Check back every Friday for more news from and about Italy or subscribe to Dolce Vita and have it delivered directly to your inbox.

 

The news is in!  So pour yourself a nice cup of espresso (if you are in frigid DC), or a beautiful glass of wine (if life finds you in warmer climates). Take a peek at the Italian News we’re chatting about at Via Umbria!

 

To give you the bad news first, the famous Mr. Nutella died this week. What was created to help keep chocolate accessible during wartime rations is now a cult favorite. But don’t worry, the Nutella empire lives on.

 

In lighter Nutella news, a man was arrested for smuggling 150k in two jars of the hazelnut spread!

 

Nancy Pelosi hosted the debut of the national television premiere of The Italian Americans, at George Washington University this past week.This public television documentary series is produced and written by John Maggio, and chronicles the experiences of those who took the boot from the boot and established lives in America. The next screening will be February 24 at 9pm on WETA TV 26 and WETA HD.

 

Italy calls for military action in Libya and takes in fleeing refugees, after the video of beheadings from ISIS earlier in the week.

 

The World’s Largest Truffle sold at Sotheby’s for $61,000 in December, but we are just stiffing out this news now. It is from our very own region of Umbria. Not quite in your price range? We have an amazing selection of Umbrian truffle products on our website and right here in Georgetown, that will set you back $20 or less.

 

Did we miss something? Send your Italian news to elsa@viaumbria.com to get a shout out next week on Friday! Happy weekend!

 

— Via Umbria

Friday, Feb 20th  Today we begin a new weekly series called “Newsworthy Notizie,” a roundup of happenings that the Italophile will find interesting! ...

Comings & Goings, Events, Uncategorised
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Our Amazing Artisans – Studio Alice le Maschere

Welcome to a new section on La Dolce Vita, “Our Amazing Artisans,” which features those who create and craft the special objects in our store. 

Today is the fantastic day of Carnevale. Here in DC, many people had an extra reason to celebrate, as the extended weekend of President’s Day got an extra boost with some help from a winter storm. So whether you’re feasting on an extra day of brunch, curled up with a cup of (spiked) hot cocoa or taking part in a giant Snowball Fight, this day is your last chance to get all those “unholy” tendencies out before Lent. Bill and Suzy got a taste of a wild Carnevale two years ago, but for today we all remain here in Georgetown, dreaming of attending a lavish Venetian ball.

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One of our favorite Italian Carnevale traditions is the wearing of masks. But even through this day only comes once a year, we can’t stand to put our beautiful masks away, which is why we hang them on our walls all year round.

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Our masks are sourced from the studio Alice le Maschere, where they are dreamed up and executed in a small town close to Florence. Two years ago, the Menards were led to the studio, and seduced by the exquisite creations.Today, we carry the most eclectic selection in our store, where we have lovingly modeled them for your Carnevale enjoyment.Take a peek at Bill’s post to discover why this studio is so very dear to us.

So go nuts on this Tuesday and have a fantastic Carnevale!

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— Via Umbria

Welcome to a new section on La Dolce Vita, “Our Amazing Artisans,” which features those who create and craft the special objects ...

Entertain, Food & Drink, Lunch, On the Table, Recipes
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Simone’s Super Bowl Snacks

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This Super Bowl Sunday, ditch the store bought salsa for some real food. These recipes from Chef Simone are an Italian twist on some classic favorites to keep you warm, full, and happy (no matter the outcome) this game day.

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And why not complete your foodie football day with some beers from Birra Perugia? Stop by our store in Georgetown to get your hands on the most unique imported brews and view the game in style.

 

POLLO ROLLO:

Ingredients: 

Ground chicken meat

Salt

Pepper

Parmigiano cheese

Oil

Garlic

Sundried tomatoes – chopped

Sundried tomatoes –  paste

Materials: Carta Fata Paper, available at Via Umbria

Instructions:
Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl, setting aside part of the tomatoes.
Lay out the Carta Fata on a table, put the meat in the middle of the paper. Press and spread the chicken out until is about half an inch thick.
Put the rest of tomatoes in the center of the chicken. Wrap the meat well until you have formed a tube.

Close the top and the bottom of the tube with string.
Boil for 20 minutes in hot water. The Carta Fata will not melt because it is magic!
After boiling, slice and serve with fresh salad by the side. Drizzle olive oil over the entire plate and serve!

 

MEAT BALLS WITH HOT SAUCE:

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Ingredients:

Beef ground 30% fat

Bread crumbs

Milk

Garlic parsley

Salt

Pepper

Parmesan cheese

Egg yolks

Tomato sauce

Garlic

Chili pepper

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Instructions:

Mix the meat with Rosemary and sage, and then the breadcrumbs, egg yolks, and parmesean. Start to make little ball.

In a pan, sauté the garlic and add the tomato sauce. Cook the sauce with salt and hot pepper until it thickens. Add the meat ball and go on to cook for 20 minutes.

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BEAN SOUP

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Ingredients:

Beans

Carrots

Celery

Onion

Garlic

Tomato sauce

Chili pepper

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Instructions:

Sauté the greens in a pan with the herbs too. When they are fragrant and cooked, add the beans (if using dried beans, they must be hydrated. The day before, put them in a bowl with water, and then boil them for 30 minutes and let stand). Sauté all of the ingredients little more and then add the tomato paste. Heat on low flame, simmering until soup becomes thick. Garnish with sour cream or Italian cheese and serve!

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— Via Umbria 

This Super Bowl Sunday, ditch the store bought salsa for some real food. These recipes from Chef Simone are an Italian twist ...

Comings & Goings, Dinner, Events, Food & Drink, Recipes, Uncategorised
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Simone’s Orecchiette with Broccoli

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Chef Simone has done it again! His tasty Orecchiette with Broccoli recipe was a big hit at Via Umbria this past Wednesday.

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Curious customers of all ages were able to watch the cooking process and enjoy the delicious end result!

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In case you missed out, here is the recipe so that you can try it at home!

Orecchiette with Broccoli

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of broccoli
  • Anchovies filet
  • 2-4 cloves of Garlic
  • Chili pepper
  • ¼ cup of olive 0il
  • Salt

 

Instructions:

  • Boil broccoli in salt water for 3 minutes
  • Sauté garlic, chili pepper, and anchovies filet in olive oil
  • Add broccoli and cook for 10 minutes
  • Using water, boil orecchiette for 10 minutes
  • Drain and serve with a sprinkle of parmigiano

 Buon appetito!

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— Via Umbria

Chef Simone has done it again! His tasty Orecchiette with Broccoli recipe was a big hit at Via Umbria this past Wednesday. Curious ...

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Simone’s Tortelloni with Butternut Squash and Sage

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We were lucky enough to have Simone in the store with us on Wednesday, to teach us how to make delightful fresh pasta with butternut squash filling. See our previous tutorial on how to make the fresh pasta here.

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 egg per person • Extravirgin olive oil

• 100g 00 flour

INSTRUCTIONS

• Weigh the flour and place on a wooden board in a pile

making a well in the middle.

• Break the egg into the well and stir into the flour slowly

using a fork.

• Add a drizzle of extravirgin olive oil.

• Mix the dough into a ball.

• Knead the dough using the ball of your hand until it is

smooth, soft (not sticky) and springy.

• Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit for 15-30 minutes

before rolling.

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FILLING  FOR TORTELLONI

INGREDIENTS

Butter

Sage

Parmigiano

Nutmeg

White pepper

One whole butternut squash

INSTRUCTIONS

Peel the squash and cut into cubes.  Sauté in oil until lightly roasted.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add water, lower heat and cover.  Cook until very soft.

Purée squash with 1 egg yolk and grated parmigiano. Season with nutmeg to taste.

Once tortelloni is made, garnish with sage and serve!

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For the real treat, join Simone on his home turf for a cooking tour with Via Umbria. Cucinapalooza will be happening April 18 – 24, 2015.

Or for an experience close-to-home, join Simone next week on Wednesday as he makes oricchiette with broccolini, from 5-6 at Via Umbria. See you next week!

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— Via Umbria

We were lucky enough to have Simone in the store with us on Wednesday, to teach us how to make delightful fresh ...

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Upcoming Events at Via Umbria

You know we like to stay active here at Via Umbria. Take a look at our upcoming events to see all of the delights we have in store!

IMG_7537Saturday, January 24th

4:00 – 6:00 Perugia Brewery Beer Tasting with Chef Simone

Join Chef Simone Proietti-Pesci on a guided tasting of five of the Perugia Brewery’s (Birra Perugia) craft beers.  We will snack on Italian pretzels as we learn of the burgeoning craft beer movement in Italy and enjoy Birra Perugia’s offerings.

We will sample:

IPA

Red Ale

Italian Pale Ale

Chocolate Porter

Calibro 7

RSVP: On Facebook, or by emailing elsa@viaumbria.com with your name and party number.

February 7th

Tabbarini Wine Tasting in store from 5-7 with Daniele Sassi.

Free to attend, email RSVP to elsa@viaumbria.com with your name and party number.

February 8th

Tabarrini wine dinner featuring Daniele Sassi. $125 per person.

Join Via Umbria and Daniele Sassi, sales manager for Tabarrini Montefalco for a special Umbrian dinner and wine pairing at Casa Luca.  Dinner will consist of a special 4 course Umbrian dinner paired with the wines from the Tabarrini vineyard.

Wines will include:

Montefalco bianco “Adarmando”

Umbria Rose “Boca di Rosa”

Montefalco Rosso

Sagrantino Colle Grimaldesco

February 14th

Valentine’s Day Dinner at Via Umbria private dinner. $125 a seat

With Roberto di Filippo from Vini diFilippo

February 15th

Private Dinner at Via Umbria private dinner. $125 a seat

Celebrate our owner Bill Menard’s 55 Birthday, sure to be an extra special night.

With Roberto di Filippo from Vini diFilippo

Contact suzy@viaumbria.com for reservations and questions.

February 17

Bookclub at 7PM at Via Umbria – Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

RSVP on Facebook or by emailing elsa@viaumbria.com

March 10th

Bookclub at 7PM at Via Umbria – How to Be Both by Ali Smith

RSVP by emailing elsa@viaumbria.com

 

You know we like to stay active here at Via Umbria. Take a look at our upcoming events to see all of ...

Dinner, Entertain, Food & Drink, On the Table, Recipes
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Simone Proietti-Pesci’s Arugula Pesto with Roasted Tomatoes

On January 13th we will have the opportunity to host a few weeks of food events with our favorite chef Simone. Here is one of his classic Italian recipes; simple, easy, and thoroughly delightful. In the past he has cooked us Osso Buco, lentil soup, Crescionda Spoletina, and eggplant.  We keep on coming back for more.

We are lucky enough to have Simone joining us for free pasta making classes in-store the next two Wednesdays from now. Join us at Via Umbria from 5-6 and learn from the our friend and master chef. The fresh pasta will take this recipe to gourmet status! RSVP here.

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Cook time: 30 minutes (with pre-made pasta)

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

500g pasta

5 cups arugula

2 cups cherry tomatoes

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan

1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil

Thyme and basil, to taste and chopped

Food IMG_2569 ©2014 Eric van den Brulle

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

Bring water to boil for pasta.

Toss tomatoes with olive oil and bake in the oven at 300F until soft and wrinkly.

Let cool slightly and toss with salt, basil, and thyme.

Add arugula to boiling water for 1 minute. Remove and immediately put in a bowl of ice to cool.

Add pasta to boiling water and cool to al dente.

Add drained arugula to blender and blend with salt, pepper, olive oil, walnuts, and parmigiana until smooth.

Drain pasta and mix with tomatoes in a large bowl.

Stir in arugula pesto, mixing well. Shave some more parmigiana on top and serve!

 

Food IMG_2560 ©2014 Eric van den Brulle

Buon appetito!

— Via Umbria

On January 13th we will have the opportunity to host a few weeks of food events with our favorite chef Simone. Here ...

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Lucky Lentils

Umbria scenery_MG_1804 ©2014 Eric van den Brulle

The most difficult time for a small business is typically after the holiday season. So while we don’t wan to worry, we will be angling for all the luck we can get. A delicious, Italian tradition is the eating of lentils on New Years Eve to bestow financial health and general good luck in the coming year. See this article  for a brief history on why and where these lentils are eaten, and then pop over to the Barilla Academy for another variation on the recipe. Maybe this tasty dinner will help us in the New Year?

Here at Via Umbria we hope that your New Year involves health and stability, and we wish you all the best in 2015.

 

— Via Umbria

The most difficult time for a small business is typically after the holiday season. So while we don’t wan to worry, we ...

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Ravishing Ravioli

There is something about ravioli that is so appealing right now: simple enough to be a weeknight meal, with endless customizations ranging from pumpkin for the holidays to truffle for those days when you need a little richness. And ravioli freeze very, very well, making them the perfect holiday meal to serve with the appearance of slaving all day in the kitchen but the delight of a 10 minute prep time.  Just dab some flour on your head to add to the “I’ve been ravioli-ing all day!” effect.

Yesterday we had the delight of making ravioli pasta in-store with Dorrie Gleason of The Silver Fig Cuisine. You can find our previous tutorial on Tagliatelle here, where we explore the basics of pasta making.

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To begin, we make our basic pasta:

Homemade Ravioli

INGREDIENTS

• 1 egg per person • Extravirgin olive oil
• 100g 00 flour
INSTRUCTIONS
• Weigh the flour and place on a wooden board in a pile
making a well in the middle.
• Break the egg into the well and stir into the flour slowly
using a fork.
• Add a drizzle of extravirgin olive oil.
• Mix the dough into a ball.
• Knead the dough using the ball of your hand until it is
smooth, soft (not sticky) and springy.
• Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit for 15-30 minutes
before rolling.
Buon appetito!
(Recipe courtesy of Dorrie Gleason – The Silver Fig Cuisine )
And now, the filling!  Dorrie used a recipe adapted from Ernesto’s restaurant in Umbria, home to many an adventurous cooking class.
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Homemade Ravioli Filling, for 12 ravioli or two people
INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup fresh ricotta • 1/2 cup grated parmigiano
• 1 apple peeled/diced • 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• Crushed walnuts
INSTRUCTIONS
• Saute apple in 1T butter with cinnamon and clove
until tender.
• In a separate bowl combine ricotta and parmigiano.
When apples are cooled, add to cheese mixture and
gently stir until blended.
• Roll out pasta dough until paper thin, add cheese
mixture and cover.
• Cook in boiling water 2-3 minutes until ravioli rises
to the top of the pot.  Serve immediately with melted
butter and crushed walnuts.
By the time we were done creating the unconventional filling the creative wheels were turning with ideas for fabulous future stuffings. Plans for a ravioli dinner party where everyone brings a different filling were formed.
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The stars were very fun to punch out, and we have snowflakes and hearts here at Via Umbria as well. How thoughtful would it be to make ravioli in the shape of hearts for someone you love?
Thank you Dorrie for teaching us the ways of the expert pasta maker, we will be coming back for seconds!
—Via Umbria

There is something about ravioli that is so appealing right now: simple enough to be a weeknight meal, with endless customizations ranging ...

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Pasta Making for Dummies!

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Pasta is one of life’s simple delights. Most pasta only has two ingredients: eggs and flour. If you have never eaten fresh pasta before, it is time to give it a whirl, because even dummies (aka our own Bill Menard) can make it successfully, and the taste difference is incredible.

On Wednesday, Bill taught us how to make tagliatelle. For the next two Wednesdays, November 12th and 19th, we will make chitarra and ravioli – come join us by RSVPing through Eventbright: http://goo.gl/PdqNNk. We also have recipe cards explaining the whole process with measurements in-store, come grab your 00 flour and a card soon!

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To make pasta properly you really must use 00 flour — it finer than normal flower and makes the texture of the pasta smooth, not dough-like.

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After measuring out the correct amount of flour, you make a little nest for your darling egg. Then smash it with your hands!  This is a step that we all wanted to do as kids and is very fun yet mildly gross as an adult.

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Then the egg is whisked into the flour, kneaded, and formed into a ball. We let the ball rest for 15 minutes while examining our flour-ed cloths and wishing we remembered an apron. During this time you can also get your pasta sauce started.

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Next the rolling technique. Bill shows us the correct Italian technique, which he has learned from the Italian masters and a lot of practice.

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We roll out the dough, fold and slice it up, and then wait for it to dry about 20 minutes. This is the perfect time to return to the sauce you started to make and finish it. Then we boil the pasta for about five minutes. We topped ours with our spicy arrabbiata sauce.

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Fresh pasta is more tender and delicate and almost buoyant on the tongue than the packaged stuff. We could get used to this.

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— Via Umbria

Pasta is one of life's simple delights. Most pasta only has two ingredients: eggs and flour. If you have never eaten fresh ...