Wild boar – cinghiale - is a staple on Tuscan tables and restaurant menus, especially during the hunting season of fall and winter.

Those who live in the Italian countryside can easily buy wild boar meat from local farmers and hunters. Tuscan butchers also sell it, never skinning the meat as its grey fur is proof it is not an ordinary pig! Alas, the rest of us must be more creative in sourcing this delicacy. For Americans, wild boar meat may be found in gourmet food stores or chains such as Whole Foods (though it’s usually frozen).  Fresh wild boar meat may also be ordered through websites such as Broken Arrow Ranch, a Texas purveyor of exotic meats and game (prices start at $9.00 per lb.).

This recipe is one of our favorites; the result is Tuscan comfort food at its best!

Cinghiale alla Maremmana in Umido

Cooking time: 20 min. preparation, 8 hrs. to marinate, 2 hrs. – 2 hrs. 15 min to cook. Serves four.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds wild boar meat, cut into stew-sized pieces

Marinade:

• 1 bottle red wine minus 1 glass
• 2 Tbsp. vinegar
• 1 carrot, 1 stalk celery, 1 onion, chopped into big pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 4 bay leaves
• Juniper berries, whole (to taste); approx. 1 Tbsp.
• Red chili pepper flakes (to taste); approx. 1-2 tsp.

To finish:

• Olive oil, 5 Tbsp.
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) plain tomato sauce or tomato puree

Prepare the marinade with the wine, vinegar, chopped vegetables, garlic, bay leaves, juniper berries and chili flakes. Pour marinade over the boar meat, stir to coat, and marinate, covered, for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Drain the meat and vegetables, reserving the liquid. Chop the vegetables into smaller pieces and sauté them in 5 Tbsp. olive oil for several minutes, preferably in an enameled, cast iron casserole or any heavy stew pot.

Now add the wild boar meat to the pot, salt and pepper it, and brown the meat with the oil and vegetables. Add one soup spoon of the wine; let it evaporate at high flame. Now add the reserved marinade liquid, the tomato sauce or puree and bring to a boil; reduce the flame to very low, cover and let simmer for approx. 2 hours, stirring from time to time. If the sauce becomes too dense, add a few spoons of wine, perhaps diluted with a few drops of hot water. The meat should be melt-in-your-mouth tender when done.

Delicious with roast potatoes, Tuscan bread and Fagioli all Uccelletto (white beans).

Buon Appetito!

During our recent trip to Italy, EyeItalia took a journey to Borgo San Lorenzo to visit one of our favorite vendors, Rossi1931.

We were warmly greeted by Mattia Rossi, President and Managing Director,  and Joka Belgrado, who handles all international customers. Mattia and Joka graciously gave us a tour of Rossi’s very impressive facility and we were able to see first-hand how they create their beautiful papers, stationery, albums and journals.

Rossi1931 is a third-generation business, founded in 1931 by Mattia’s grandfather, Antonio Rossi. Over the years Rossi has elevated the Florentine craft of fine papermaking and stationery production to an art form.

Rossi’s fine social stationery and classic decorated papers are hallmarks of their production. The beautiful and vast array of designs used in their products includes rich traditional and spirited contemporary themes. The quality of their goods is unsurpassed.

The secret of Rossi’s great success is a mixture of love for Italian tradition, attention to quality, technological innovation and superior customer service. Despite its tremendous growth throughout the past seven decades, Rossi 1931 is still a family business, and each member of the Rossi family plays an important role.

EyeItalia is proud to carry the Rossi1931 line of fine products. We hope that our customers recognize as well the very best of “Made in Italy” that Rossi represents.

The artist Fiorella Ilario, a friend of EyeItalia, will have a multisensory performance at the Galleria Monumentale called Mademoiselle Babà (or: the dress is served!) featuring, among other things, an antique dress she has adorned with real cantuccini (almond cookies).

This year’s event is aptly and wittily dubbed Insonnia Creativa – Creative Insomnia! This year the “sleepless night” also welcomes children, with a specific program for them that winds between Palazzo Vecchio, the Botanical Gardens, the Istituto degli Innocenti and other places in the historic city center. If you’re in Florence, do not miss this festive night (or start making your plans for 2012)!

Sibylla in Fiorella's Cantuccini Dress

EyeItalia is delighted to be the first North American company to offer the fine fragrances and bath products of Acqua di Bolgheri, made by Dr. Taffi in the beautiful Maremma region of Tuscany.  Since 1987 Dr. Enio Taffi, a biologist and herbalist, has been creating cosmetics and fragrances using the plants, flowers and herbs of his native region to capture the essence of the Tuscan countryside.

To browse our selection of Dr. Taffi’s products, click here.

Author Susan Van Allen presents an inspiring and personal travel guide for all women who dream of going to Italy, whether for the 1st time or the 10th time. Van Allen, a passionate Italophile and seasoned Italian traveler, suggests itineraries for every woman’s interests and comfort level.

Whether one’s passion is art, food, shopping or all of the above, you will find just the right suggestions in this marvelous book. Highly recommended by EyeItalia! To buy 100 Places Every Woman Should Go, click here.

Carnival, or Carnevale, is Venice’s answer to Mardi Gras and Fasching.

For eight days before Lent each winter, tourists flood Venice for an orgy of pageants, commedia dell’arte, concerts, balls, and masked self-display until Shrove Tuesday signals an end to the party. In 2011, Carnevale will be celebrated between February 26th through March 8th.

Carnevale isn’t just a Venetian tradition; similar festivities occur throughout much of the Roman Catholic world, including other cities in Italy. The term “carnevale” comes from the Latin for “farewell to meat” and suggests a good-bye party for the steaks and stews that Catholics traditionally gave up during the weeks of fasting before Easter. The masquerade aspect of Carnival is even older: the Romans celebrated winter with a fertility festival where masks were worn by citizens and slaves alike.

In its glory days of the 1700s, the Carnevale di Venezia began on December 26 and lasted until Ash Wednesday, with mask-wearing and other unofficial activities continuing well into the spring. The nonstop partying, gambling, and general irresponsibility reflected the decline of the Venetian Republic, which had begun to lose wealth and power with the rise of Dutch and British trade in the 1600s. After Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Venice in 1797, the Republic was finished and so were the desultory remnants of Carnival.

Still, today, Carnevale remains a strong, colorful and raucous Venetian tradition and an experience that should be on everyone’s “bucket list”.

Giorgio has won numerous awards over the years in Italy and throughout Europe for his original alabaster creations, which include musical instruments – from flutes to drum kits – to whimsical pieces such as chess sets and clocks, to more traditional pieces such as chandeliers and sconces.  EyeItalia is delighted to offer Giorgio’s alabaster votive holders – made exclusively for EyeItalia – in a variety of alabaster types: Venatura (veined), Trasparenti (transparent) and Mandorle (almond-shaped).  Light and alabaster are natural partners…when used with candles, these votive holders cast an unbelievably warm and gorgeous glow.

Giorgio has his own retail store in Volterra  – Opus Artis – which has many of his creations on display. Opus Artis is located at Piazza Minucci, 1, Volterra

A Tuscan Life

Monica Gianozzi lives and works between Florence and Marcialla, a small village in the heart of the Chianti, residing in the ancient family villa, where the family has been producing wine and olive oil following the ancient Tuscan tradition.

Monica’s work as an artist draws inspiration from the Tuscan countryside and its artistic patrimony from the 16^th century. She realizes portraits using the collage technique, based on photos of her clients, working in a variety of formats and sizes.

Some of Monica’s recent work draws on the work of the famous artist and poet Bronzino, who worked at the Court of Cosimo I di Medici. Palazzo Strozzi in Florence features in its current show this sophisticated 16th century painter. The show runs through Jan 23, 2011 and gives an unique opportunity to admire over 70 paintings, with loans from some of the world´s leading museums.

Visit Monica’s website @ www.monicacollage.it to view more of her delightful and whimsical work.

Tuscan Understatment—A Small Town Christmas

Midnight Mass, Steamy Hymns and Thick Hot Chocolate
The local holiday tradition is to attend Christmas Eve midnight mass on “La Vigilia di Natale,” along with most everyone in town. Our eight-hundred-year-old neighborhood church isn’t heated, so young and old are wrapped in layers of wool from head to toe. People pack themselves tightly into the pews, hoping to generate some extra warmth but still exhale clouds of steam while singing hymns. Afterwards, back home trying to thaw out, kids drink hot chocolate so thick that a spoon can stand by itself while adults sip sweet vin santo wine to shake the churches chill.

Santa Claus….Babbo Natale….and his Donkey?
Christmas trees in the home are decorated with ornaments and lights though in the past they were mostly trimmed with things to eat: chocolates, mandarines, almond cookies and whatever else edible could be pierced with a needle and strung onto the branches. The tree is topped not just by a star but a “stella cometa”… a comet with a tail… like the one that the Tre Magi…Wise Men…followed to find the Christ Child. And like everywhere, during the night, Babbo Natale…literally Father Christmas…squeezes down the chimney with presents to a waiting glass of wine, plus a bit of straw and water for his “ciucco” because Italian Santas travel by donkey, not reindeer!

Manger Scenes with Bingo Games and Barack Obama
Another classic Italian decoration is the “presepe” manger scene which are in every home but are especially elaborate in the South. They can range from very simple sets of the Holy Family in the manger, to block-long, entire lilliputian settlements complete with electric lights and running water which are populated by little figurines made of gesso or clay who move busily in workshops, stores, houses, boats, mills, taverns and even play “tombola” bingo. There is a whole (real) neighborhood in the historical center of Naples that specializes in making these “presepe” figures and every year a new celebrity is featured….this year the wildly popular Barack Obama can be found in a multitude of versions, while poor George Bush is molto “fuori moda” and has been moved to the half-off bin.

Less Years, More Presents
In our family, Christmas presents are inversely proportioned to one’s age: the younger get more, the older get less, and all presents tend to be “pensierini,”  a little “thought” to show that you are special and someone cares. Italians haven’t been sold on the concept of the life-changing effect that the “perfect gift” is supposed to have and don’t beat themselves up to give or receive it. As a result, the holidays are much simpler, people are happier and the air is full of uncomplicated Christmas calm.

Six-Course Lunch and Twenty Kinds of Panettone
The day’s big event, of course, is Christmas lunch and even in the simplest of households the meal stretches into at least six courses. We start every holiday meal with crostini; slices of “filino” baguette bread, topped with chicken liver mixed with capers, porcini, shrimp salad and artichoke pates. For Christmas the “bis” or two “primi piatti” are crespelle di spinaci…baked spinach and ricotta filled crepes… and the classic tortellini “in brodo”…served in broth. The main course is a “tris” of baked lamb, roasted young “galletto” cockerel, and the very traditional boiled beef with salsa verde anchovy sauce. Roasted seasonal vegetables and salad are served as “contorni” on the side. The dessert choice is written in stone:….”panettone,” the slightly elongated, dome-shaped “cupola” cake that’s so soft you can pull pieces off of it instead of using a knife. The varieties range from the classic plain, to ones with candied fruit, or raisins, almonds, figs, apricot, cherry, chestnut, limoncello-flavored, coffee-flavored, bacio hazelnut chocolate-filled ….There are at least 20 special kinds of panettone for the Christmas season and they are all stacked in lines of leaning towers along the aisles of local supermarkets.

La Befana—The Italian Good Witch of Epiphany
Incredibly, Italian children actually look forward to the end of Christmas Day because it means they’re one day closer to the morning of Epiphany, January 6th, when they run to the hearth to find what the ugly old witch, La Befana, has left in their stockings. This mixture of Christian legend and pagan folklore tells of the old,ugly Befana who hosted the Magi one night during their search for the Baby Jesus. When the Magi asked her to come search with them, she declined saying she had to keep cleaning her already spotless house. After they left she repented, took to the skies on her broom and searched for them and the Christ Child but never found either. So, every year on the eve of Epiphany she continues her search, and visits all Italian children bringing them candies, dried fruits, nuts and toys if they’ve been good….and lumps of coal (made out of chocolate, of course) if they’ve been bad.

Lunch is at 1–We’ll Set a Place for You
So, my friends, if you’re looking for another “softer” version of the holidays, try Tuscany next time. Spectacular scenery, heaps of history, big on food but small of stress. We’ll be sitting down to eat right at 1 p.m. and there’s always room for another person or two at the table. Drop by and join us. Trust me, you’ll never want to be anywhere else for the holidays again!  Umm…scusami, could you pass me the crostini, please?

Auguri e Buone Feste A Tutti, Good Health to All and Peace on Earth!

—Text & Photos by Lisa Halderman

All of our classic Italian products are in stock and on display, along with many one-of-a-kind vintage items and much, much more! Come share your love of Italy with us; you will so feel at home in our new place by the Bay!