The Delicious Italy Blog

The full title – Never Trust a Thin Cook and Other Lessons from Italy’s Culinary Capital – sounds like a order and we are looking forward to our copy to find out more about Eric Dregni’s food-obsessed chronicle of an American’s three years in Italy.

From the press release:

I simply want to live in the place with the best food in the world. This dream led Eric Dregni to Italy, first to Milan and eventually to a small, fog-covered town to the north: Modena, the birthplace of balsamic vinegar, Ferrari, and Luciano Pavarotti. Never Trust a Thin Cook is a classic American abroad tale, brimming with adventures both expected and unexpected, awkward social moments, and most important, very good food.

Parmesan thieves. Tortellini based on the shape of Venus’s navel. Infiltrating the secret world of the balsamic vinegar elite. Life in Modena is a long way from the Leaning Tower of Pizza (the south Minneapolis pizzeria where Eric and his girlfriend and fellow traveler Katy first met), and while some Italians are impressed that “Minnesota” sounds like “minestrone,” they are soon learning what it means to live in a country where the word “safe” doesn’t actually exist—only “less dangerous.” Thankfully, another meal is always waiting, and Dregni revels in uncorking the secrets of Italian cuisine, such as how to guzzle espresso “corrected” with grappa and learning that mold really does make a good salami great.

What begins as a gastronomical quest soon becomes a revealing, authentic portrait of how Italians live and a hilarious demonstration of how American and Italian cultures differ. In Never Trust a Thin Cook, Eric Dregni dishes up the sometimes wild experiences of living abroad alongside the simple pleasures of Italian culture in perfect, complementary proportions.

Watch this space for our review soon.

Now we have to admit we didn’t know Fiat had a flagship store in London.

But we do know a little about Franciacorta wine.

So, to kill two birds with one stone (perhaps not the right expression here), it was a pleasure to learn that the launch of new Fiat 500 model was being toasted with glasses of Franciacorta de La Montina a week or so ago.

For the day, the flagship store was also turned into an exhibition of works by Franco Brescianini, famous for his elegant feminine figurines.

The event was supported by the Francesca Fiumano Fine Art Gallery with the patronage of the Art Department of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in London.

The Fiat 500 Convertible was the star of the show however.

To close, an auction of a special edition of a silver decorated magnum bottle of Franciacorta by Franco Brescianini, and a weekend for two at the boutique 947 Hotel, in Venice.

The ‘art of home made pasta’ often features in the pages of many websites proposing Italy cooking holidays and cooking lessons.

Not least in our www.deliciousitaly.com. But here’s a pasta artist with a difference.

His name is Serghei Pakhomoff, a Russian, who creates objects and toys from humble pasta found in ordinary supermarkets.

Now, there are many novelty pasta shapes available as gift items in Italy. We won’y go into details, but Serghei’s work takes this to another level.

He tells us he considers Italy the culinary art capital of the world and has sent us a number of images of his work.

Serghei has also been commissioned for exhibitions, fairs and other events in Italy and abroad.

Too Much Tuscan Wine completes a trilogy of books by Dario Castagno.

The first, Too Much Tuscan Sun, was a light-hearted look back at the region from a happy vantage point.

The second, A Day In Tuscany, emerged from the melancholy of having been left by a companion Dario loved dearly.

Too Much Tuscan Wine now brings about a rebirth, both of spirit and the authors connection to and love for Chianti, the theme uniting all three.

The latest book is self-published in a limited and for the moment is only available from Italy.

Dario will personally sign every copy purchased and the link to purchase Too Much Tuscan Wine can be found from his newly redesigned website, DarioCastagno.com.

You will also find a preview of the book’s opening chapter via a link to his blog.

At his you can also learn about the August 2008 Palio victory of his beloved Noble Contrada of Bruco (Caterpillar). It was an amazing, unexpected win, and he got to participate in the historic parade.