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How To: Chef Simone Builds the Perfect Pizza

You know what makes everyone happy? PIZZA NIGHT.

The last time Simone hit the states we were lucky enough to have him make pizza for us. It was quite the experience.

Simone makes his own pizza dough, but if you feel like going the easy route you can always purchase from Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. What really makes the difference is using imported 00 flour, specifically for pizza and pasta, when you roll your dough out. The light as air flour that lines the corners of your Neapolitan pizza? It’s 00.

After the dough has been perfectly flattened, Simone’s hands dip into the toppings, with input from the eaters, of course. Here are a few of Simone’s toppings:

organic tomato sauce 

broccoli rabe

mushrooms

tomatoes

parmigiano

zucchini

brussels sprouts

red peppers

red onions

cured meats

ground beef

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With all these options, there were a few standouts from the night. Simone gamely played along as we argued over who got to generate the ideas for the next pizza. Here are some we loved:

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The Kelsey

Zucchini, olive oil, sea salt, rosemary, parmesan

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Sprouting Pizza

Olive oil, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, shredded mozzarella

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Rossa Rossa Rossa

Marinara sauce, red peppers, pepperoni, mozzarella

 

Each of Simone’s pizzas only took about five minutes in a wood burning pizza oven, but if you’re working with an oven, pop yours in for 7-12 minutes on 450 degrees.

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Of course, we pair our pizza with Birra Perugia Classic IPA.

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Wish you could get in on the fun? You can!  Simone is returning in the spring for four nights of merriment. Here are your options:

 

Thursday, May 28th at 7:00 PM – Umbrian Food and Wine Tasting

On Thursday, there will be a wine tasting at the home of Sue Cimbricz, in Bethesda. The evening will feature the wines of Giampaolo Tabarrini, as presented by Bill Menard from Via Umbria. Simone will be preparing tasting pairs for the wonderful wine. You can get your tickets for $50, here. For any questions, and for payment over the phone, contact Suzy Menard at 202.333.3904 or suzy@viaumbria.com.

 

Saturday, May 30th 5:00 PM – PBS Dream of Italy series premiere

Via Umbria is rolling out the red carpet in our Galleria in Georgetown to celebrate the premiere of the travel series Dream of Italy on PBS. Join host Kathy McCabe and Via Umbria owners Suzy and Bill Menard at the store on Saturday, May 30th at 5 p.m.

Chef Simone will conduct a cooking demonstration of traditional Umbrian delicacies and of course there will be plenty to taste. To attend the Dream of Italy party, free of charge, RSVP to Elsa at elsa@viaumbria.com.

 

Private Dinners for 10 guests, Friday May 29 and Sunday, May 31

Simone is available to cook a private dinner in your home for you and up to ten guests. Friday, May 29 and Sunday May 31, you can host up to 10 guests for $1,250. Contact Suzy Menard at suzy@viaumbria.com for more details about this exciting opportunity.

 

Seated Dinner with Simone, Monday, June 1st at 7:00PM

You can book a seat at the Menard’s on June 1st where Simone will be working his magic for $125 a plate. This four course dinner, paired with his favorite Montefalco wines, is sure to he a hit. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.

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And We Share His Secrets With You! Read more

You know what makes everyone happy? PIZZA NIGHT. The last time Simone hit the states we were lucky enough to have him make ...

Comings & Goings
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Noteworthy Notizie

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This week found us with a new shipment of food (the porcini mushrooms are back!), some new artwork in our Galleria, and some newly flowering trees on our back area. We are looking forward to slowing down a little bit this weekend, and our round up of news from this week will provide some excellent conversation for your moments spend savoring life this weekend.

 

Italian Espresso gets sent into space, as a special treat for an Italian astronaut at the International Space Station. For a treat a little closer to home, we always go with Cafe del Doge.

 

The Today Show did a segment on “longevity soup.” Those who eat this soup in the South of Italy live longer than most…and this fountain of youth is only chickpeas, borlotti (cranberry) beans and the fregola (Italian couscous, which can be hard to find), as well as a giant can of tomatoes! Our own Deborah made it for friends to celebrate her birthday (may she live as long as the Sardinians!), and it was a big hit.

 

The migration struggle from Lybia to Italy is getting insreasingly complicated. This article from CNN does a just recap.

 

The New York Times covers an quirky story about how a quest to fix broken toilet for a would be trattoria owner ends in a huge archeological discovery. Oh Italy, you’ve done it again.

 

McDonalds made an add earlier this week suggesting that Italian children would rather have a Happy Meal than pizza. Neapolitan pizza makers retaliate against the MacDonalds add with their own hilarious and cute video. We’ll have the pizza too!

 

We hope you find the time to sink your teeth into an excellent pizza yourself this weekend.  We will be open for an extra hour tonight for the Book Hill Gallery Night, come say hello!

 

Ci Vediamo!

–Via Umbria

April 17th Read more

This week found us with a new shipment of food (the porcini mushrooms are back!), some new artwork in our Galleria, and ...

Casa, Experience Italy, People
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Pizza Paradiso

Day 12 012Only in Italy can you sit down to a dinner of a dozen pizzas and describe it as “a light dinner.” Welcome to pizza night at la Fattoria del Gelso.

We have enjoyed pizza all over the peninsula, from Puglia to Piemonte, from Udine to Umbria. Several years ago, joined by our friends Pete and Nancy we devoted a full two and a half days to touring every pizzeria Naples could throw our way, eating and judging our way through nearly a dozen of the world’s most highly regarded pizzerias sampling scores of margheritas, marinaras and pizze bianche.

Day 12 015Pizza is an Italian icon but one with many variations and many personalities. Frequently we hear spirited arguments about the virtues of a soft, fluffy crust versus a crisper, cracker-y crust. We tend to side with the former but respect the latter.

One of the favorite activities on our Food and Wine tours (as well as our weekly rentals) is pizza night with Marco. Being Umbrian, perhaps Marco is not a natural born pizza maker. But over the past couple of years he has thrown himself into the pizza making process with such gusto that today you might mistakenly think he had been born in Naples. Of particular pride is his handmade pizza dough, a recipe introduced to us by our Cannarese neighbor Jennifer McIlvaine but worked and reworked by Marco. In our simple outdoor oven Marco is able to coax a fluffy, doughy crust that has volume, substance and flavor.

Pizza night is a hands on affair, with guests participating as much or as little as they wish. Most help stretch out some of the doughs. Most help top pizzas with tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella and assorted other ingredients available in the farmhouse kitchen, including local Cannara onions, fresh sausage from Norcia, truffle sauce, vegetables from the garden and myriad other toppings. Some of the favorites are gorgonzola, pear and nut, sausage and onion and anything with truffle.

As you can see below, pizza time is not just for our adult guests. Earlier this month Marco’s children Carlo Alberto and Viola joined him in the kitchen to make pizzas and then enjoyed them at the table along with their mother Chiara.

Welcome to pizza night at la Fattoria del Gelso. Buon appetito!

Ci vediamo!
Bill and Suzy

The best "light dinner" Read more

Only in Italy can you sit down to a dinner of a dozen pizzas and describe it as “a light dinner.” Welcome ...

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Biggest Food Week of the Year

Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year.  Family and friends all get together to eat, play games and watch football.  No gifts are exchanged and everyone can join in the preparations.  Perhaps we overdid a bit this week – but we sure had fun along the way.  Five nights – 30 people each night.  My kitchen will never be the same.

Tuesday — Pizza night!  Gotta love having a wood burning pizza oven in the kitchen.  I’m still working on my dough technique (Austin definitely has to come back from Italy and take on this task) but I did manage to put together a passable dough.  The pizzas take 3-5 minutes to cook so everyone can put together the pizza of their choice and we crank them out until everyone groans to stop.

Best pizza of the night?

Tomato sauce

Raw sausage

Onions

Fresh mozzarella

Of course drizzled with a spicy olive oil when it is finished

 

Wednesday – Lobster bake.  My favorite email the week before Thanksgiving was from my brother Chad “warning” us that he was going to make a big mess in the backyard on Wednesday night.  The email had an attachment of anticipated deliveries of seaweed and shellfish and directions for where and how to storeeverything. I missed the preparation process – but we did end up with 30 lobsters cooked in the firepit out back, clams and fresh oysters.

 

Thursday – The big day!  Having a fridge full of seafood on Wednesday necessitated a trip to the grocery on Thursday morning to pick up a few essentials – namely turkey, potatoes, cranberries and everything else we wanted to cook.  We had avoided the crowds all week and the Safeway was well stocked and peaceful.  Everyone was still sleeping when we got back and Debbie and I were able to prep the veggies, bake a couple of pies and get breakfast out for the kids.  We left for the movies at 1:15 with the kids (mostly teen-agers now) and left the spouses and uncles in charge of fire and meat.  Seemed like a good fit.  Dinner was precisely at 6:00 and in addition to the mashed potatoes, cranberry chutney and vegetables the boys served up roasted turkey, grilled prime rib, lamb roasted over the fire, tuna poke and octopus.  Where to begin?

Best veggie of the night?

Brussel sprouts steamed tossed with candied walnuts, butter and pomegranate seeds.

 

Friday – No leftovers for us.  This is where our competitive side comes out and its all about the Chili cookoff.  The kids are experts and they spend the weeks before researching and testing their new chili ideas.  Uncle Michael has been making the same chili for years and keeps winning year after year – you’d think the kids would give up but it just makes them more determined to best him. The best part of the cookoff is standing back and watching the kids go to work.  Everyone is slicing and dicing and sneaking off to add a secret ingredient to the pot.  The kitchen is noisy and chaotic but everyone has a plan.  And then, it gets quiet.  The five chili pots are simmering and everything is being washed and put away in anticipation of the judging.  Big victory this year.  Josh’s chili comes in first and Uncle Michael comes in second.  Of course my team comes in dead last.  Oh well, there is always next year.

Secret to winning?

Fritos, sour cream, grated cheese and freshly diced onions

 

Saturday — Pizza delivery never tasted so good – and the cleanup was a breeze!

Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year.  Family and friends all get together to eat, play games and watch football.  No gifts ...