Maestro Pino Tomini Foresti invites you tu celebrate Christmas in July with all the tradition of Italy, lunches, dinners and events planned during July - for information - http://pinosdolcevita.tumblr.com/contact

Christmas in July

Pino’s Dolce Vita is celebrating Christmas in July in the company of Chef Simone Galli. 

Christmas in July - Wednesday 25th of July, a special Italian lunch and dinner menu created by Chef Simone Galli. Bookings essential.

Traditional meals can be ordered during the day or products will be available to take home ready to cook. Get in early for cappeleti turkey, arrosto di castagne, zabaglione al marsala con savoiardi, and much much more

Also, Pia will have a display of hampers for you to order for your July celebration or for Christmas in December.


History of Christmas in July


The precise beginnings of the Christmas in July tradition is not very clear, although it is commonly believed that it actually started in Europe, as a way to celebrate Christmas in summer. During the summer months in the northern hemisphere, the weather becomes increasingly warm and many people crave the coolness of winter. Amid the scorching summer months, people miss the gift giving, and holiday spirit of the Christmastime. Though it is not known when it started exactly, it is probably from the 80s that the festival began to be celebrated. The earliest Christmas celebrations in July saw people throwing parties that imitate the actual Christmas festivities in December. The celebrations also included other Christmas traditions like Santa Claus, ice cream and other cold foods, and gifts. It was held that celebrating in the warm season would ensure a strong, happy winter Christmas season. 

This untimely Christmas festival is also often ascribed to a group of Irish tourists who went for a vacation in Sydney’s Blue Mountains in the summer months of July in 1980. Away from the summer temperatures in their country, they were overjoyed at the sight of snow there. It is believed that they convinced the proprietor of a local hotel in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales to hold a party called “Yulefest”. The idea was an instant hit and caught on the imagination of everyone present there. The proprietor saw a golden opportunity in this and henceforth held a Christmas Party each year in July. The local businessmen too jumped in to cash in on this unique festival and it continues to this day. Today, the tradition is so well entrenched in Australia that most restaurants, clubs and dining halls, have an official advertised annual catered menu for Christmas in July, and are often booked in advance. 

Source: theholidayspot.com

Greetings from Chef Simone Galli - from Lake Como, Italy, restaurante, Trattoria La Posta.

All of July Chef Simone Galli will run classes, special events, lunches and dinners at Pino’s Dolce Vita. Come and meet him.

Chef Simone Galli in July

Simone Galli

During the month of July, Pino’s Dolce Vita has the pleasure to host Chef Simone Galli who will host a series of cooking classes and special dinners.

Chef Galli comes from Lake Como, Italy, where he owns and runs his restaurante, Trattoria La Posta.

This is the second visit to Australia by Chef Galli, earlier this year he helped Maestro Pino Tomini Foresti celebrate the launch of the new Cooking School and the renovation of Pino’s Dolce Vita .Simone Galli

“I am very happy to be back and excited to have the opportunity to be invited by Pino’s Dolce Vita to teach my craft at la Scuola de Cucina and conduct a series of special dinners that will delight all food lovers,” says Chef Galli.

Chef Galli will hold three cooking classes, Wednesday 4th, 11th and 18th and host special dinners with menus created by him on 6th & 7th, 13th & 14th and 20th & 21st of July.Simone Galli

  “The events and dinners we are holding at Pino’s Dolce Vita are specially created and unique, I need to return to Italy at the end of July to my restaurante, so I don’t know when I will have the time to return to Australia. People in Australia are so nice, so if you have the time come and visit us during July as I would love to meet more food lovers,” concluded Chef Galli.

For more information 

http://pinosdolcevita.tumblr.com/events

http://pinosdolcevita.tumblr.com/dinners

 

Chef Luca Ciano explains “al dente”

THE BEST ON TOP

WHEN Pino’s Dolce Vita expanded into the back and neighbouring shop of their original premises earlier this year, the Tomini-Foresti family opened up an Aladdin’s cave of cured meats, cheeses and pizza toppings.

When you walk in, there is a dazzling display of salami on the front counter and a chiller cabinet full of cheeses. Then there is the floor-to-ceiling glass wall behind which sit hundreds of huge parma hams and sticks of salami in the drying room.

Marco Tomini-Foresti is happy to help customers with their choices of pizza toppings - be it buffalo mozzarella, salami, prosciutto or parma.

“The best (meat) is lardo, the pork back fat. You put the pizza to warm it up a bit then pull it out, put the lardo on, put it back in again then let it melt through the dough. Then you take it out and put on the sauce and toppings,” he says.

Marco also favours n’duja, a salami that is 80 per cent chilli and 20 per cent meat. As for cheese, he prefers a little provolone and gorgonzola to regular cheese toppings.

* Pino’s Dolce Vita Fine Foods, 45 President Ave, Kogarah; ph 9587 4818, pinosdolcevita.com.au

Source: heraldsun.com.au

Lentil Minestrone

Pia Tomini Foresti’s famous Lentil Minestrone

250g dry lentils

2 carrots

l stick celery

1 onion

2 zucchini

2 potatoes

1Dolce Vita ham hock/bacon bones

2tbls. Cuor d Ulivio olive oil

1 clove garlic

salt pepper to taste

½ cup Dolce Vita Passata


METHOD; soak lentils overnight  in a large pot throw out the water . Peel and chop vegetables add to pot with ham hock oil tomato passata ,garlic,salt and pepper bring to the boil and let simmer for 1 ½ hours.

You can serve this delicious minestrone with Fregola or Acquerello rice.We love to grate plenty of parmigiano Reggiano.


Tiramisu by Carla Tomini Foresti

Ingredients:

500g mascapone 
600ml of cream
half a vanilla bean ( 1tsp vanilla essence)
4 espresso coffee shoots
1/2 cup of tia maria
150g sugar
1 cup of milk
1 pkt Savoiard biscuits
250g almonds roasted and crushed
pour cream into bowl scrape beans from vanilla pod.
add beans and sugar to cream and whip on high for 2mins
slowly add the mascapone 
whip on medium speed for 1 min
cream should still be a little runny as it will set in the fridge.

Tiramisu


Pour coffee, tia maria and milk into a shallow dish. dip enough biscuits to cover the base of your dish.
The Biscuits should be fairly well soaked, but not to much as they will break up.
Arrange the biscuits in one tightly layer in the base of the dish.
Spread half the cream mascapone mixture over the layer of biscuits then lightly fan a handful of crushed almonds.
Add another layer of soaked biscuits and then another layer of the cream mascapone mixture, smoothing the top layer neatly.
Fan over the almonds.
The flavours will be better developed if you can make the tramisu the night before.

Enjoy xox

Source: butterandco

Pepe Saya explains crème fraîche