Italian Sideways 2006 – Day 17
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
| Click to see the complete photogallery | |
Signora Aurora Pelloni is a lively, fast-talking, multitasking blond woman who oversees and manages various aspects of the family business, from production to advertising and marketing, and appears to have an inexhaustible source of ideas waiting to bloom into fully blown projects.
We agree to present the Pelloni line of products – including pressure-sealed wedges of superior Parmesan cheese in elegantly golden-rimmed gift boxes, sealed Parmesan cubes ready for salads, shavings ready for carpaccio, single-serving, Parmesan sticks, as provided from the company to the Paul Caillard sailing team – to the next Italian Flavor Forum events organized in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Back in Castelfranco Emilia we pick up our Italian marketing manager, Cristo Lepori, at the train station, after a light lunch about which we do not write home at a not-so-impressive restaurant under the downtown porticoes, we gather for a business meeting with my old friend Roberto Barbieri, who gives us knowledgeable administrative insights drawing from his Italian accountant professional wisdom.
Later in the day I walk Cristo back to the train station and start sorting through all the printed materials and samples gathered at Vinitaly and during our visits to the producers' estates, trying to figure out what we'll be able to carry back with us, evaluating the possibility of shipping part of it.
The evening has long since been set apart for a family get-together dinner at my sister and brother-in-law's home. My extended Italian family is almost all present, including, in addition to the hosts, my mom, my brother and sister in law, two of my sister's three sons with wives and kids (one each), and my brother's son with wife and kid. We are missing my brother daughter and significant other, who could not make it, my sister's third son who is currently traveling to Canada for work, and my daughter, son-in-law and two grand-daughters who live in Iowa.
The fare is traditional crescentine (type of homemade fried bread also called gnocco fritto) and tigelle (small, round homemade type of bread) with various kinds of fresh cheeses and a variety of Italian cold cuts. As usual there are 'special orders', such as the traditional tortellini di Castelfranco Emilia, typical pasta stuffed with a meat, Parmesan cheese, Bologna and spices pesto made by my mom for some, or the farro con fagioli spelt and beans) soup for others. In addition, there are large bowls of pinzimonio (fresh sliced vegetables to be eaten after dipping them in small bowls filled with a mixture of extra virgin olive oil, traditional balsamic vinegar from Modena and salt and pepper to taste).
The dessert consists of a delicious fruit salad and pastries.
The wines are white local Chardonnay and Lambrusco, Monica and Cannonau that Brigit and I brought back from Sardinia and a 1997 French Chataux wine that my nephew Antonino wanted me to taste.
After dinner Brigit insists that we walk home rather than accepting a ride, so that we get some exercise and burn off some of the calories that we have just consumed.
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 & 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19
|
Home • General Index • Contact Us • Search • News • About Us • Site Map |
