The Portland Marathon

I had always know that there was going to be during my time here in the NorthWest ONE specific week dedicated to the Portland market. 
I just guess you are never prepared enough for the Portland marathon: three wine dinners in a row, two of which involved my cooking too, an afternoon of wine pouring and tasting at The Cellar Door and innumerable stops at new and old clients, to say hello, share some news from Petroio and present the new vintages. 
Well it was so intense it has taken me almost three weeks to regain the energy and all of the material I wanted to share. 
Because my Portland week was and is all that this long stay in the Northwest is and was supposed to be: a new way of presenting Petroio, combining our delicious wines to my cooking, putting all the skills we have in play and creating a new and stronger bond with this territory and it's people. And I suppose also fattening me up a bit!

The two wine dinners where I also cooked part or all of the meal were at Gallo Nero and Nicoletta's Table, one on Tuesday the 4th and one on Wednesday the 5th. Those days though were dedicated to the market, so I had to get creative with the menus and prep for the first on Sunday and for the second on Monday, ultimating the meal only and hour before the arrival of the guest. Well I don't know how we did it, but thanks to the great people I worked with we pulled them both off with great results. At Gallo Nero I was preparing only the Antipasto and the dessert but that too could not have been done without the extra help and know how through that small italian sized kitchen of their staff!

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It is my mission while I am here to explain and possibly teach something about italian food to the people I work with. Lesson number one in all the kitchens has been the use of the word BISCOTTI. For those who still haven't seen me freak out on this here is the lesson: BISCOTTI IN ITALIAN MEANS COOKIE: it is the word we apply for ALL cookies and not specifically for the ones americans call biscotti. Those are according to the region you are in CANTUCCI (tuscany), TOZZETTI (lazio), CANTUCCI DI PRATO...ecc. So if you are in Italy and ask for a Biscotti and are handed a cookie don't be surprised or offended: you got what you asked for!

My dinner at Nicoletta's Table was instead prepared between Monday and Wednesday and involved a whole four course menu I was really looking forward to prepare. Ossobuco with risotto alla Milanese was a must for this occasion and it turned out almost as good as my mom's! Also during these dinners I have tributing secretly the chefs that taught me while I was training many years ago, so this nights dessert was a special thank you to Giulio Terrinoni and his Cappuccino and Cornetto: the first dessert I ever fixed professionally. 

What made my Portland week truly special though was not the juggling between kitchens and wine presenting, but the incredible help and support that I got from our importer and friend Todd Bacon. He helped make all of this possible, got me in and out of accounts and back in the kitchen when I needed to, was there every single night presenting me and making sure that all went smoothly and also being my personal photographer. I could have never done it without him and his incredible team and his own personal love and appreciation for Petroio! 

So when all was cooked and all the wines were presented I was left the time to sit and enjoy all the wonderful guests of my dinners. New and old friends, people who have been or will come to Petroio. We are becoming a very large family and I could not be happier: