The Olympic Challenge

Chad laid down a gauntlet about a month ago as we were talking about the Olympics one day. He challenged me to cook an Italian meal on every night of the Torino games without resorting to spaghetti, ravioli, or some permutation thereof. So armed with Marcella Cucina, Mario Batali's Molto Italiano, and The Silver Spoon, I rose up to the challenge...and we've been feasting like Caesar and touring the boot every night!

Opening night brought us agnolotti, the traditional Piedmontese ravioli. Next came a Tuscan bistecca a la fiorentina, then a delicious chicken cacciatore with fantastic Piedmontese polenta from Zingerman's. Monday brought us fettucine with a classic Genovese pesto and we celebrated Valentine's Day with a yummy seafood risotto. A simple pork chop with capers and green onions, grilled Neapolitan pizzas, and the classic Italian-American calzone will round out the first week. And we're not bored yet....I'll let you know how the second week goes.

And in the spirit of "Citius, Altius, Fortius", Chad also got into it, challenging himself with something so unbelievably fantastic. I realized there was some scheming going on when heavy cream and hazelnuts turned up in the kitchen one day. So of course I asked questions only to be told it was a Valentine's Day surprise involving a chocolate something. That something was a delectable, rich homemade chocolate hazelnut gelato in keeping with our Italian theme. And I almost fell over when Chad showed me the recipe which involved tempering eggs. According to him, if both Alton Brown and I could do it, how bad can it really be? A gold medal performance if I ever saw one. Click on for the fruits of his labor.....