A NEW LASAGNA RECIPE

It doesn't seem possible, but somehow I keep finding new recipes that sound too good not to try. Recently I read this recipe for Lasagna With Caramelized Radicchio, Onions & Crispy Pancetta on one of my new favorite blogs, Italian Food Forever.  Deborah, who shares many wonderful recipes on her blog, gave me just what I needed:  a recipe that would help use up some of the onions we'd bought last month in Canarra.  I wasn't planning on having a large crowd for dinner anytime soon, so I made this recipe and divided it into two pans - one larger than the other, but neither so large that we'd have too many leftovers. 
 
The weather, which has been in the 70's, suddenly turned cooler, and the thought of having the oven on was quite appealing.  I grabbed the smaller of the two casseroles out of the freezer and baked it for lunch today.  Wow!  Both Art and I really, really enjoyed this dish.  The sweet onions, the slight bitterness of the radicchio, and of course what dish doesn't benefit from a bit of bacon (pancetta)?  It was creamy and luscious, definitely a comfort food, but a very luxurious comfort food.  If you're looking for something new, take a look at the recipe, and while you're at it, add Italian Food Forever to your list of food blogs - who knows what other wonderful new recipes Deborah might post?

ONIONS IN EVERYTHING!

The other day I wrote about the Festa della Cipolla in Cannara, and last night Art and I just happened to be in the neighborhood so we decided to stay for dinner. A friend had asked if this festa was really all about the onions, since many festas might feature only one or two dishes using the food for which the festa is named. Cannara isn't like that at all. In fact, if you don't like onions you might as well stay home. Everything on the menu (except for the drinks) has onions in it, which was alright with us! Take a look at the menu - and note that even the desserts have onions!

The festa continues through the 6th of September, then again for 6 more days, September 8-13th.










We even bought some onions to take home with us. The squatty mild yellow onions that Cannara is famous for are soooo good roasted in the oven. Now that cool weather is on the way we're ready!

A SUNDAY OF SAUSAGE, CELERY AND SAGRANTINO

Last weekend we drove across Umbria, past the vineyards of Sagrantino, past the olive trees waited to be harvested, to Trevi. Trevi is famous for the beautiful celery that grows in the region. It's sweet, stringless and so dark green it's called black celery. We arrived early, as is our style, and on a Sunday afternoon this meant we were able to find a parking spot just outside the centro!

Stalls were set up selling antiques and knick-knacks, candy, and, luckily for us, onions from nearby Cannara. I bought several braided bunches of the flat sweet variety, perfect for roasting in the oven, some 'regular' onions for cooking, and a small bunch of garlic. Before we'd even entered the centro the trip was a success!

On our way into the centro we stopped in a small side piazza where potted herbs, apples, wine and grains were on sale. The pictures of the grapes in the previous two posts were from one of the booths, hosted by CANTINA BARTOLONI, one of the many producers of SAGRANTINO WINE. At €15 a bottle, this was our best bargain of the day.

Once finally into the centro we were surrounded by crates of beautiful celery and the smell of sausages on the grill. I'm guessing that this was the festa of sausages and celery because a festa with only celery wouldn't be quite as tasty! Art and I split a sausage sandwich and I resisted Art's urgings to buy more celery than we needed, knowing that we'll be back in Trevi on November 2nd for the FRANTOI APERTI. Hopefully there will be more celery for sale like there was last year.

For the drive home we took a new route, one we weren't sure of, but one we knew would get us to our destination.....eventually. The leaves of the Sagrantino grapevines are just starting to turn, and in a few weeks the vineyards will offer a dazzling display of reds, oranges and golds, our answer to fall color here in Umbria.

As always, more photos on OUR FLICKR PAGE.