Italian Food & Wine in New York
Episode #107
New York City’s Little Italy is the perfect place to pair wine with
classic Italian dishes. Karen MacNeil is joined by Lidia Bastianich, host
of public television’s Lidia’s Italian American Kitchen, and
the first lady of Italian cuisine in New York. She also meets Lou DiPalo,
a fifth-generation Italian food importer. Historian Vincent Cannato provides
a walking tour of this famous neighborhood, and introduces Karen to New York-style
pizza.
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In this episode we paired Italian foods with wine. First we tried pizza with Pinot Grigio. The tartness in the tomatoes match the tartness in the wine, and the two are both causal, simple, and fun. We tried chunks of parmigiano reggiano with Prosecco, a dry, Italian sparkler. Eating pieces of this sweet, nutty cheese right out of your hand the way the Italians do it was perfect, especially with a braisingly clean bubbly as the counter point.
At the
end of any Italian meal crunchy biscotti are the perfect partner for Vin
Santo,
a rich, nutty, but not too sweet dessert wine from Tuscany. And finally,
whole wheat pasta in a mushroom and tomato sauce married with Chianti Clasicco.
The earthiness of the Chianti mirrored the earthiness of the mushroom pasta
so that each sip of the wine made you crave another bite of the food. So
that’s pizza and Pinot Grigio, parmigiano cheese and sparkling wine,
biscotti and Vin Santo, and mushroom pasta with Chianti.
Of all the great marriages of Italian wine and food, one stands out as
being simple, traditional, and thoroughly delicious: Vin Santo and biscotti.
It just might be one of Italy’s best kept secrets. Biscotti are twice
baked dry Italian cookies. You can find them in just about every supermarket
in America. What many people don’t realize is that biscotti have a
partner: Vin Santo. The way the Italians pair the two is to dip the biscotti
right in the wine. Vin Santo is the traditional dessert wine of Tuscany,
and it’s just slightly sweet, not sugary at all. Actually, it’s
the wine that many Catholic priests drink during mass, hence the name
Vin Santo or “holy wine.” You can buy Vin Santo now in just about
any great wine shop in America, and it’s not even very expensive. Best
of all, Vin Santo and biscotti are a perfect way to end any good meal. So
forget coffee and cake. At your next dinner party, why not try biscotti and
Vin Santo?
Lidia Bastianich
http://www.lidiasitaly.comJoe Bastianich and Italian Wine Merchants
http://www.italianwinemerchant.comFerrara’s in Little Italy
http://www.ferraracafe.com
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