Food Frolicking & Travel at Singing Nella's - Wine Country Barolo

Lunch offered typical Piedmont dishes such as, raw hand cut and pounded Piemontese beef as an appetizer (do not shy away from this, raw meat is excellent for the body). A plate of mixed appetizers proposed Russian salad, raw meat, zucchini frittata with fondue alla Piemontese (the original fondue from Val D’Osta) and, bagna cauda, which was a big slice of blanched red pepper with green garlic sauce floating inside. Bagna cauda is famous in this region and the sauce is something you want to be sure to eat with your partner that is, if you are going home with your dinner partner because the garlic breath could kill a horse (laughing, think I killed him)!The sauce is made from mashed garlic, lots of it, anchovies and olive oil (of course); the whole mix heated over a double boiler or at times served over a candle with raw veggies or served as it was that day on the pepper slices although not raw but just blanched. Now, about the fondue, well that is another thing in and of itself!
This original fondue is prepared with Fontina, eggs, butter and milk and is a dense liquid (the cheese soaks in the milk for at least 8 hours if not longer). The milk is then tossed out and the cheese is melted with fresh milk and a ton of butter and once it begins to thicken, an egg yolk or two is tossed in. Of course, this is best consumed with white truffles but hey, eating it by the spoonfuls is still a thrill and in the winter, this is a dish that outshines any cold day! So, while you all are putting kirsch in your fondue, just know that until you have tried the original here in northern Italy, you are missing out. ;-)
The rest of the meal consisted of agnolotti in butter and sage and risotto al Barolo, which is truly a local dish (just onions and wine)! They also served fresh homemade hot bread infused with tons of oregano in a bread loaf form as well as a focaccia. Well that just shot my goal of limiting the bread intake that day, totally went to the dogs! In that heat, no wine was ordered with lunch but then again, with all the little wine tasting who needed it (giggling)? To finish off the meal, a stop at the Antico Panettiere furnished a bag of local cookies or little fragile flat hazelnut “pancakes.” These contain

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