takenote September 17, 2014Day One
It’s beautiful, clear, sunny morning with a temperature of 15 degrees. Everyone is enjoying a spectacular breakfast – a variety of sweet breads, omelette bar, cold cereals, fruit, yogurt, toast and beverages.
We received an official welcome from the Pesaro-Urbino municipality, hosted by APA – our local tour partner. Attended by the tour group, the press, Signor Ignazio Pucci of the provincial tourist authority and Enzo Belloni of the Pesaro-Urbino Municipal Council, Chef Antonio Bedini and Wine Consultant Ottavio Renzi. The local officials brought greetings of welcome and thanks for our visit to the region, stressing their extreme pleasure with our visit. They invited us all to enjoy the Pesarese hospitality, manifested in food, wine, culture, history, architecture and scenery. They expressed heartfelt gratitude for choosing this area of the Adriatic to see the diversity from the seaside to the hinterland.
Day One – 1st Cooking Lesson
Cooking Lesson One has just finished and we are full – in our stomachs and minds– of ideas for creating the tastiest appetizers ever! We prepared 13 different selections, including several crostini with a variety of toppings – salsicchi e mozzarella (sausage and mozzarella), baccala (seafish), polpete (meatballs), both eggplant and zucchini parmigiana, and fish marinated in two different sauces – one in lemon juice in herbs and the other in vinegar and herbs. As if this wasn’t enough, we also prepared two appetizer salads – one with faro and diced vegetables, the other with black rice and fresh peppers. Each of the them was amazingly simple to create and entirely manageable for even newbie cooks!
We savoured three white wines, chosen for their lightness with an appetizer course. We began with Spumante – the typical sparkling wine of the Marche region, followed by a white wine Trevanno and finishing with one called La Ripe – a Bianchello del Metauro. Outstanding flavor – light and fruity, perfect fit for the varied crostini and appetizer salads of faro and black rice.
