{"id":835,"date":"2010-10-04T07:55:49","date_gmt":"2010-10-03T21:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/?p=835"},"modified":"2010-10-07T15:50:37","modified_gmt":"2010-10-07T05:50:37","slug":"belly-october-4-loving-and-cooking-in-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/?p=835","title":{"rendered":"belly October 4 – loving and cooking in Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Victoria Cosford<\/p><\/div>\n

For today’s belly radio show sister Tess had a lovely long chat with\u00a0Victoria Cosford, author, restaurant reviewer, cooking teacher, and food \u00a0writer for the Byron Shire Echo, \u00a0about her book Amore and Amaretti. \u00a0My movie-pitch description of the book is Bridget Jones’s Diary meets Anthony Bourdains Kitchen Confidential under the Tuscan Sun – but with much better recipes and more realistic descriptions of Italy. \u00a0It covers a period of over 20 years of visits to central Italy, when Victoria was quickly swept up into cooking in various restaurants and\u00a0tempestuous\u00a0\u00a0affairs with Italian cooks. \u00a0Victoria isn’t 100% sure about my movie pitch description, but she did admit that she has Scarlet Johansen picked out for the lead role. \u00a0A very good choice as you can see.<\/p>\n

A few snippets :<\/p>\n

– we are starting a campaign to get local butchers to cure pig cheeks – “guanciale” in Italian – join in and ask your butcher<\/p>\n

– Victoria’s advice on finding good restaurants in Italy : if you are somewhere where you have eaten well, ask the waiters where they eat. \u00a0In Perugia, just go to ‘Vecchia Perugia’, and tell them ‘la Veeky’ sent you<\/p>\n

– the recipes in her book look like good home cooking because that was the specialty in most of the restaurants where Victoria worked, apart from the odd ‘amburger’, so they are well and truly tried and tested<\/p>\n

– if you like the sardine recipe, try the same or a similar crumb mix on opened mussels and bake<\/p>\n

Victoria shared a sardine recipe from her book (see below), on the grounds that it is extremely popular with friends so there must be something to it. \u00a0Of course sardines are also very good for you and a good sustainable fish. \u00a0Victoria was also today’s guest for the fresh report<\/span><\/strong>, some favourite veg at the moment are spinach and silverbeet – do as Italians do, and make the most of the delicate white stems of silverbeet, great steamed with a light dressing or pan cooked or baked \u00a0with plenty of cream and parmesan. \u00a0Just like asparagus, also in season. \u00a0And I love Victoria’s way with artichokes. \u00a0She trims and slices them, and sautes them in olive oil with chopped onions and garlic, then adds risotto rice and keeps going with a normal plain risotto recipe. \u00a0but we both agree that it is hard to find good artichokes around here, let us know if you know of good sources. \u00a0I’ve also just found a good info source for seafood in season on the Sydney Fish Market site<\/a>. \u00a0One of our favourite fish, Spanish mackerel, which can be expensive in Australia, is at peak availability in October. \u00a0See here<\/a> for more information. \u00a0We have several mackerel recipes on belly, I fell in love with this fish in the U.K. \u00a0(Yes I know, normal people fall for the culture, the green green hills…). \u00a0 I certainly did not fall for its pretty face though.<\/p>\n

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BELLY BULLETIN<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
Lots of foodie events coming up, so today’s bulletin is a bit of a what’s on, including more lovelorn women tasting their way around Italy.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
Byron Bay Writers Festival are putting on a special \u00a0premiere of Eat Pray Love<\/strong> with a \u00a0screening at the Dendy Byron Bay cinema this \u00a0Wednesday, 6 October. Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love was a publishing phenomenon, as the cliche goes, the story of a woman’s \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 quest to travel the world and rediscover herself. Mainly by going to beautiful places and making love to beautiful men in the movie version. Julia Roberts is in the lead role and the ‘eat’ part is set in Italy of course. According to reviews the food is beautiful too. Bookings advised. \u00a0At Dendy box office or phone 6680 8555.<\/div>\n
There will be Champagne which I suspect means lovely Aussie bubbles as we are still being very free with that word ‘champagne’ decades after our winemakers have stopped using it for our sparkling wine, \u00a0and a theatre snack from 6pm, screening at 7pm and you get to meet Candida Baker the new writers festival director.<\/div>\n
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The 200th Octoberfest<\/strong> has just finished in Munich Bavaria, because of course it starts in september, but this saturday 9 October you can do octoberfest at the \u00a0Lismore Workers Club<\/div>\n
For more information \u00a0Contact Lismore Workers Club<\/div>\n
you get a 2 course German Oktoberfest Dinner * Fun German Entertainment * German Games & Competitions AUTHENTIC GERMAN BEER. In Munich someone was testing odour eating bacteria, because the event is now smoke free and they need to find new ways to get rid of the smell of sweat and stale beer that used to be covered up by cigarettes, but Octoberfest does last 2 weeks in Germany and attracts millions of people – probably better off with the Lismore version.<\/div>\n
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If you live in the Nimbin area, there is a Local Food Self Reliance Slide Show<\/strong><\/div>\n
on Thursday 14 October from 7.30pm at the Tuntable Falls Community Hall<\/div>\n
Bookings are essential. For more information and to make bookings please contact the Nimbin Food Security Project Manager on (02) 6689 1692<\/div>\n
They have received $50 000 funding through Northern Rivers Food Links for a village Showcase Project. International community development facilitator and trainer Robina McCurdy will show \u00a0projects from around the world and help identify new ways that the Nimbin Community can work towards local food self reliance.<\/div>\n
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In a couple of weeks , on 21st to 23rd october there will be a Northern Rivers Food Celebration<\/strong> at the Lismore Showground.<\/div>\n
Over three days, visitors can enjoy local \u00a0produce, meet the growers and producers, and discover the great biodiversity of the region from macadamias, to tropical fruits, chocolate, coffee, organic meats, biodynamic muesli, fruit and vegetables, artisan breads, and cheese.The Food Celebration will be the largest regional show in Australia, and include a Sustainable Living Expo.<\/div>\n
There will be demonstrations by local chefs, and schools will participate in a competition, \u00a0cooking exclusively with local produce.<\/div>\n
To book a site phone Leanne Clark on (02) 6621 3413<\/div>\n
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\n
New Brighton Farmers Market<\/a><\/strong> will be staging a bake-off as part of the Sydney International Food Festival -this year they have encouraged Farmers Market and regional NSW involvement .<\/div>\n
Get creative using market produce.\u00a0Go to the market on Tuesday, October 5, 8-9.30am and purchase specified surprise seasonal products to create either a sweet or savoury dish. \u00a0Entry is free, one entry per person.<\/div>\n
Take your creation to the market the following Tuesday, October 12, for display and judging, 8-8.30am. \u00a0Prize presentation at 10am.<\/div>\n
There will be both chefs’ prizes judged by Manfred Rudolf from the ‘Yum Yum Tree Caf\u00e9’ New Brighton and Steve Tuckwell from ‘Contis’, Brunswick Heads\u00a0and a peoples choice prize judged by a small panel of market regulars, all prizes are NBFM vouchers.<\/div>\n
Enquiries and entry registration : 6677 1956 [ah] Tony Hinds<\/div>\n
UPDATE – bake-off at New Brighton has been cancelled due to a lack of bake-offers, but will happen at the Mullumbimby Farmers Market (on every Friday morning). \u00a0You will find the Mullumbimby details if you click on the New Brighton link above.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
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SARDE AL BECCAFICO – <\/span><\/strong>Baked Stuffed Sardines<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
2 slices day-old rustic bread<\/div>\n
2 tablespoons sultanas<\/div>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>

Australian sardines<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

2 tablespoons pine nuts<\/div>\n
80 – 100 grams mortadella, as finely chopped as possible<\/div>\n
(optional)[ndsis – you can use any cured pig bits or no pig,<\/div>\n
but Victoria loves the unctuousness of mortadella]<\/div>\n
2 tablespoons grana or parmesan, freshly grated<\/div>\n
Grated rind 1 lemon<\/div>\n
2 fat cloves garlic, finely chopped<\/div>\n
2\/3 bunch parsley, finely chopped<\/div>\n
Salt and pepper<\/div>\n
750 grams fresh sardines, filleted and butterflied<\/div>\n
Bay leaves<\/div>\n
White wine<\/div>\n
Olive oil<\/div>\n
Milk<\/div>\n
Preheat oven to 200 C. Soak bread in milk briefly, then squeeze dry. Place in a bowl together with sultanas, pine nuts, mortadella, cheese, lemon rind, garlic and parsley, season with salt and pepper and combine well. Place about a teaspoon of mixture in the middle of each sardine and arrange on baking tray with \u00a0a bay leaf between each. Sprinkle wine over the top and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve as part of an antipasto.<\/div>\n
This is a recipe from Victoria Cosford’s book ‘Amore and Amaretti’ – Wakefield Press 2010<\/div>\n
available at Mary Ryan’s ABC Shop and Collins Books (used to be Book City) both in Byron Bay<\/div>\n
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EDIBLE QUOTES<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
We love a good food quote on belly and Amore and Amaretti is bristling with fabulous Italian sayings.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
My fave:<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
“cio’ che si mangia con gusto non fa mai male “- whatever you eat with pleasure can never make you ill – which is basically my whole eating philosophy. \u00a0Victoria’s is the much darker:<\/span><\/div>\n
“non c’e’ amore senza amaro” – there is no love without bitterness<\/span><\/div>\n
And speaking of amaro, the Italian for bitter, I love amaretti, Italian biscuits which literally mean ‘little bitter ones’, used a lot as ingredients – and I was looking forwards to amaretti recipes in “Amore and Amaretti”, but Vic says the title came from her publisher, and she doesn’t really like amaretti much – though she advises you to try pumpkin and amaretti ravioli. \u00a0So look forwards to a big amaretti rave from me soon on belly, first I need to experiment with one of the weirdest recipes I’ve ever seen, chocolate, amaretti, ricotta and eggplant cake. \u00a0And a few hours after first seeing that peculiar recipe from the Naples region, I ate a similar chocolate eggplant dish from a new Byron restaurant – <\/span>oddly compelling, but no amaretti.<\/div>\n
Sister T<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For today’s belly radio show sister Tess had a lovely long chat with\u00a0Victoria Cosford, author, restaurant reviewer, cooking teacher, and food \u00a0writer for the Byron Shire Echo, \u00a0about her book Amore and Amaretti. \u00a0My movie-pitch description of the book is Bridget Jones’s Diary meets Anthony Bourdains Kitchen Confidential under the Tuscan Sun – but with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,33],"tags":[47,132,135],"class_list":["post-835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fish-shellfish","category-radio-show-posts","tag-fish","tag-mackerel","tag-sardines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=835"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":837,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835\/revisions\/837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}