Dreaming In Italian

I am finally breaking my long blog silence to sing the praise of gorgonzola. Yes, that delicious Italian cheese revered by many and unfortunately shunned by too many. Why would one not like gorgonzola? Surely for the same reason that people don’t like anchovies (eew too strong a taste), lamb (ditto) and game meats (wild boar is to die for but not for the timid of taste). Gorgonzola comes from the northwest of Italy especially Piemonte but also Lombardia. The town of Gorgonzola naturally claims ownership but not surprisingly (this is Italy after all) this is a disputed claim. There are two versions: dolce (sweet) and picante or montagna. The former is younger and milder tasting than the latter. I love them both.

So how did this even come up? Well, I had some gorgonzola in the fridge as I often do and some ripe pears and decided to enjoy them together. Fruit and gorgonzola are a natural pairing – the somewhat tart taste of the cheese playing off of the sweetness of the fruit. So this is a great time of year to enjoy the combination. Likewise figs are great with it so don’t waste a minute – get some great fruit and cheese and go at it.

Now that leads me to consider some of the other ways that I’ve had gorgonzola at home. In the Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza and Calzone cookbook the first pizza recipe is for: carmelized onions, gorgonzola and rosemary. This is an inspired combination with the sweetness of the onions in this case that goes so well with the gorgonzola. I also think that the combination of gorgonzola and polenta is nothing short of magic. Just make some polenta and pour it out onto a surface or sheet pan. When it solidified cut it into squares of oblong pieces, top with a bit of gorgonzola and stick it under the broiler. It’s one of those combinations where 1+1 seems to come out to 3. The whole is more than the sum of the parts.

I do hope that if you’re not already a gorgonzola fan you’ll give it a try. If already among those who appreciate this great cheese perhaps you can let me know some other combination that you love.

Bologna at one time had rivers and canals. Now most of the rivers run under the city. I was told that if you find yourself on a long and winding street that there’s a good bet that it follows the path of a river that has now been covered over with the street. There still as at least one canal that is on the surface. I ran across it quite by accident when I met some others for lunch at a trattoria that is near this canal.

The last Saturday night that I was in Bologna I went to dinner with Claudia and then she suggested that since it was still early (11:00 was considered early for her) then why not walk up to PIazza Maggiore where she was expecting to meet some friends. Every summer they set up a large screen and a thousand or so chairs and show movies after it is dark. Which means at this time they probably don’t start until at least 9:30 or 10:00. The weather was really how the last week that I was there – hitting 100 degrees some days so it was really pleasant at 11:00. They were showing a silent French movie from the 20’s with Italian subtitles (or whatever you call those frames of written dialog for silents). The most spectacular thing was that there was also a full orchestra for the music. Very impressive. I also took a dim picture of the statue of Neptune – another symbol of  the city.

So that’s my last post from Bologna. Now I’ve been back in California for over a month and as with last year have found it a bit hard to readjust to life in my neighborhood when compared to Bologna. I’ll be back.