Tag: gelati
Day Five: Lake Trasimeno and Cortona
Day five began with green figs, purple grapes from the outside of our apartment and some toasted rolls. Of course the coffee aroma was everywhere in the kitchen and it tasted delicious.
We drove for about an hour to get to Lake Trasimeno. It is surrounded by some very picturesque small towns. We stopped in one of them to get lunch/snack. We shared some paninis, Italian ice and gelato. I had the most amazing hazelnut and baci gelati. The baci had milk chocolate with bits of hazelnut- it was so delicious that I had to take a picture and share with everyone- believe me, the lake wasn’t so inviting. The water level seemed quite low, probably because of the heat and the water looked dirty.
From there we drove to Cortona. The town is of ‘Under The Tuscan Sun’ movie fame. Again, this town was very hilly and packed with winding, tiny roads. When we first walked into the town centre, we realized how touristy it was. Staying in Spello, we didn’t heard anyone speak anything but Italian. Here in Cortona all we heard was English and German. It was a very nice town with gorgeous views but we realized how lucky we were to stay in a town like Spello- a small, charming and untouched by outsiders.
We stopped at a winery on our way back to Spello. We had enjoyed a Sportoletti white wine for dinner a few times and wanted to do a tasting. They have 2 whites and 2 reds- they were all delicious. We also found out they export to New Jersey- well, guess what I will be doing when I get home?? They also produce an organic extra virgin olive oil. We may go back to buy some to take home. We bought 3 bottles of wine for dinner and headed back.
Dinner was going to be the leftovers from the big cooking class the day before. We made the panzanella salad again. Placed the lamb and the potatoes in the oven and cooked the fresh pasta Paula left in the freezer. It was all delicious.
Today, we will be visiting Montefulco famous for it’s winery! I can’t wait!
Walnut Saffron Gelato
I feel I am on a roll with these cornstarch gelato recipes. I have figured out that the recipes with nuts have the best consistency.
The other day I started thinking of another gelato recipe. I was envisioning one with hazelnuts and saffron. I was very excited all day and when I finally got home, I took the milk out and the hazelnuts which are stored in the freezer (nuts should be kept in the freezer to achieve a long shelf life). I placed them in a small cookie sheet and proceeded to roast them in the oven. Once they were cooled off, something in my head urged me to taste one- I had this strange feeling the hazelnuts had been sitting in the freezer for a while. Well, what do you know- they tasted awful! What was I going to do now??? The milk was already thickened with the cornstarch and the saffron was steeping in there.
I opened my freezer again to pick another nut- walnuts screamed out at me. Well, I am very glad this little mishap occurred- the walnuts went fabulously well with the saffron. The taste reminded me of kulfi, which is essentially an Indian ice cream.
The flavor was nutty and sweet; the texture was smooth and creamy. What makes me really happy is that it’s made out of whole milk- so eat as much as you like. Try this one- it’s truly a winner.