Remembering

Remembering a special Valentine celebration.

The cost of this Valentine Heart

Price of Gritti cooking school for two, a splendid room at the five-star Gritti...you get the idea

Here is my Valentine gift to you

White Chocolate Heart with Passion Fruit Jelly

Executive Chef  Celestino Giacomello of the Hotel Gritti Palace, Venice, Italy 

White chocolate Bavarian Cream

250 g milk

100 g egg yolks

50 g sugar

10 g fish gelatine

250 g white chocolate

600 g whipping cream

Passion Fruit Jelly

200 g passion fruit pulp

60 g sugar

2 leaves fish gelatine

Biscuit

100 g egg yolks

50 g sugar

100 g plain flour

100 g potato starch

meringue (150 g egg whites and 75 g sugar)

Preparation time:  50 minutes

Difficulty:  Medium

1.  Prepare the Bavarian cream.  Bring milk to the boil.  Beat egg yolks with sugar until smooth then add the milk gradually, the gelatine previously soaked in cold water and squeezed, and lastly, the white chocolate cut up into small pieces.

Once the mixture has cooled down, fold in the whipping cream.

2.  Meanwhile prepare the jelly.  Soak the gelatine in cold water and squeeze it, dissolve it in a double-boiler, add sugar and the pulp of the passion fruits.

3.  Then prepare the biscuit.  Beat egg yolks with sugar (50 g), add the sieved flour and potato starch.  Lighten the mixture by adding meringue (made with the egg whites and 75 g of sugar).  Spread this mixture in a 1/2 cm thick layer on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.  Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.

4.  Line the bottom of a heart-shaped mould with the biscuit base.  Fill the mould to mid-height with the Bavarian cream and add a layer of passion fruit jelly.  Place the mould in the freezer for 15 minutes and then top with the remaining Bavarian cream.  Smooth the surface and leave the rest in the refrigerator for a few hours. 

Unmould to serve and decorate.

It was divine

Happy Valentine's Day to you, 
my dear friends. 

Gina 

Cooking School for Lovers

At the Gritti Palace Hotel

Venice, Italy

Our room at the Gritti.

Chef Giacomello' s talented hands at work.

Chef Giacomello, his assistant, and our class. 
Carlo Coco (on the left, in black) expert in gastronomic history, guidebook and cookbook author.
And Antonio (lower right), interpreter and Venice expert who guided us through the backstreets and historic sites of Venice.  

Mr G receiving his Award.

We also learned how to prepare:

White Chocolate Heart with Passion Fruit Jelly

Terrine of Giant Prawns in Curry-Flavored Pastry Case with Pumpkin cream

Banana Mousse with Chocolate Heart and Caramel Sauce

Saffroned "Chiche" in Truffle-Flavoured Robiola Cream served in Parmesan Wafers

Duck's Breast in Honey and Chili Peppers with Whisked Potatoes and Ribbon-shaped Vegetables

Champagne Mousse

Veal Fillet Medallions

Chef Giacomello taught us how to cook and bake with aphrodisiacs and 22 karat gold.

Each day we "tested" our recipes in Gritti's elegant dining room.

After our 4-hour stroll through Venice, each afternoon, we enjoyed a glass of Prosecco at the famous Gritti bar. 


Happy Valentine's  Day
to you, my dear 
Blogging Friends.

Gina  



I daren't tell you ...

The cost of this Valentine Heart

Price of Gritti cooking school for two, a splendid room at the five-star Gritti...you get the idea

Here is my Valentine gift to you

White Chocolate Heart with Passion Fruit Jelly

Executive Chef  Celestino Giacomello of the Hotel Gritti Palace, Venice, Italy 

White chocolate Bavarian Cream

250 g milk

100 g egg yolks

50 g sugar

10 g fish gelatine

250 g white chocolate

600 g whipping cream

Passion Fruit Jelly

200 g passion fruit pulp

60 g sugar

2 leaves fish gelatine

Biscuit

100 g egg yolks

50 g sugar

100 g plain flour

100 g potato starch

meringue (150 g egg whites and 75 g sugar)

Preparation time:  50 minutes

Difficulty:  Medium

1.  Prepare the Bavarian cream.  Bring milk to the boil.  Beat egg yolks with sugar until smooth then add the milk gradually, the gelatine previously soaked in cold water and squeezed, and lastly, the white chocolate cut up into small pieces.

Once the mixture has cooled down, fold in the whipping cream.

2.  Meanwhile prepare the jelly.  Soak the gelatine in cold water and squeeze it, dissolve it in a double-boiler, add sugar and the pulp of the passion fruits.

3.  Then prepare the biscuit.  Beat egg yolks with sugar (50 g), add the sieved flour and potato starch.  Lighten the mixture by adding meringue (made with the egg whites and 75 g of sugar).  Spread this mixture in a 1/2 cm thick layer on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.  Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.

4.  Line the bottom of a heart-shaped mould with the biscuit base.  Fill the mould to mid-height with the Bavarian cream and add a layer of passion fruit jelly.  Place the mould in the freezer for 15 minutes and then top with the remaining Bavarian cream.  Smooth the surface and leave the rest in the refrigerator for a few hours. 

Unmould to serve and decorate.

It was divine

Gina

Venice "Cooking School for Lovers" at the Gritti, Part II

And so we danced

madamepickwickartblog

There was no orchestra, there were no musicians

madamepickwick

We danced in the Grand Ballroom of the Ca' Rezzonico, Venice, Italy

italyguides.it

Ca' Rezzonico was, for a short time, the home of Robert Basset Browning, whose father, Poet Robert Browning died there.

John Singer Sargent and Whistler rented a floor or two.

In 1927 Linda and Cole Porter lived in part of the Palazzo.  They paid $3,000 for the privilege.

ecran-de-veille

We were given a private tour of the Palazzo.  To visit Ca' Rezzonico is to truly understand and get a glimpse of life in Venice in the 18th century.

The Palazzo was the home of the Rezzonico Family.

backtoclassics

Reconstructed Tiepolo Room at Ca' Rezzonico

Today it is the home of the Museo del Settecento.  It retains the feel of an old Venetian Palazzo, packed with period furniture and tapestries in gilded salons.  It even has a restored apothecary complete with powders and potions.

backtoclassics

Tiepolo

The Palazzo is adorned with Frescoes by Crosato, Giambattista, Tiepolo and other notable painters of the time.

backtoclassics

Tiepolo, "The meeting of Anthony and Cleopatra"

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were given a Masked Ball at the Ca' Rezzonico.  They danced in the Great Ballroom... to

orchestra and musicians present

Bruegel the Elder

pickwick

It startled the security guards (who were hired for our private visit to the Palazzo) and it surprised our guides as

Gene and I took a turn around the grand ballroom floor, humming a Viennese Waltz

Now back home, before we do more damage, to the bar at the Grand Gritti Palace Hotel

Gina

Today I'm joining http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/

Valentine's Day Cooking School for Lovers at the Gritti

Valentine's Day in Venice, cooking with Aphrodisiacs and 24k Gold

Part I

viagiaresempre.it

The Gritti Palace Hotel was built in 1525 as the residence of the Doge of Venice, Andrea Gritti

Gritti's School of Fine Cooking Introduction

"The best things in life are immoral, illegal or they make you fat"

Our bedroom at the Gritti

Cooking with Club de Doge Executive Chef Celestino Giacomello

Assistant Chef, Gene and Executive Chef Giacomello

Partridge and black Truffle Quenelles in Consomme
Yes, we did eat the 24k gold

Shopping with Chef Giacomello at the Rialto Market

Gene flirting with Carla Coco, our expert in gastronomic history, guidebook and cookbook author who guided us with expertise and charm through the history of Venetian Food.

Veal Fillet Medallions in Foie Gras Pastry Case, Toasted Hazelnuts with White Port Sauce and Vegetable Brunoise

We also learned how to prepare:

White Chocolate Heart with Passion Fruit Jelly

Terrine of Giant Prawns in Curry-Flavored Pastry Case with Pumpkin cream

Banana Mousse with Chocolate Heart and Caramel Sauce

Saffroned "Chiche" in Truffle-Flavoured Robiola Cream served in Parmesan Wafers

Duck's Breast in Honey and Chili Peppers with Whisked Potatoes and Ribbon-shaped Vegetables

Champagne Mousse

Veal Fillet Medallions

Note:  Should you have a hankering for anyone of these or all of the recipes,  I will only be too happy to send them on to you.

After each cooking session we would take a break and reassemble in Gritti's beautiful Dining Room to enjoy the same dishes we had learned to prepare a few hours earlier.   Only this time our meal was prepared by Chef Giacomeli's assistants

In the lower right picture, our interpreter and guide, Antonia

Each day and after each sumptuous meal we would go for a 4-hour stroll through the back streets of Venice visiting historic sites or just walking and admiring. Our wonderful guide and interpreter, Antonia,  took us on a different route and every day, we had a new experience.

Part II to follow

Happy weekend, my dear blogging Friends

Gina

Today I'm linking to  http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/