Its not very photogenic, but it certainly tastes good.

Panzanella Recipe
1 Loaf Italian Bread
1 lb. cherry tomatoes
1 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese
6 oz. bacon, chopped
3/4  C olive oil
1/2 C balsamic vinegar
2 T brown mustard
2 T Italian seasoning
Salt
Pepper

Preparations is key
Like most salads, all of the work for this Panzanella salad is in the preparation.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Start by cooking the bacon in a frying pan until crisp and delicious.  While it is filling your house with the beautiful aroma of melting pig fat, take the loaf of Italian bread and chop it into 1-2 inch cubes.  Think croutons. Place the cubes in a large bowl.

Once your bacon is finished rendering, pull out the bacon pieces and set on a paper towel.  Now you see all that fantastic liquid left in the pan where you cooked the bacon, pour that over the bread cubes and toss.  Be careful that its not too hot as cooking is much less enjoyable without skin.  Depending how much fat your bacon generated you may want to add some olive oil to the bread at this time, each piece should be lightly coated.  If you’d like, you can add some Italian herbs and spices at this time to the bread.  I generally use an Italian blend of dried herbs.  Toss to coat and lay out on a foil lined cookie sheet.  Transfer to oven and cook until just barely browned.

While your bread is cooking you can practice your knife skills by taking apart some cherry tomatoes and slicing some fresh mozzarella cheese.  Nothing too fancy, big pieces work as this salad should look rustic.  If you’d like to, you can also make your dressing.

I use a very simple balsamic vinaigrette for mine, but its your tastebuds that you have to answer to, not mine.  My dressing consists of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, brown mustard, salt and pepper.  Because I’m lazy I throw it all in a blender and let it do its thing, but you can whisk the hell out of it if that type of thing interests you.

Putting it all together
Now this part doesn’t take a genius to figure out, but you need to get yourself a big salad bowl and mix everything together except the dressing.  Toss in the bread, bacon, mozzarella, and tomatoes, turning to combine.  Try not to crush the bread.  I like to put my dressing on right before serving so that I get a combination of textures, but some people like their Panzanella salads to be completely soggy.  To each their own.

That’s why you can’t throw rice anymore
You can’t throw rice anymore at weddings because birds eat it and their stomach expands when it gets hydrated, then it explodes.  Although that really is just an urban legend, you’re going to wonder about it after eating this salad.  It is so delicious, you will have a couple of helpings and it doesn’t take up too much room right away, but give it an hour and you’ll be paralyzed on your couch.  So, boys and girls, remember: Moderation is key.

Panzanella Recipe – Bread Salad Recipe

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5 Small Bites on the Baricelli Inn:

Is anybody out there? - Nonexistent waitstaff.
Undercooked food - Dripping gnocchi? Mmmmmm.
Overcooked food - Veal flavored Big League Chew.
Bacon Ice Cream - Pear Tart – with pepper bacon ice cream.
$4.75 for a pop – That’s only a 1250% markup.

Alright folks, here it comes. I hope you’re sitting down because I’m going to lay the wood out on Cleveland’s famed Baricelli Inn. On second thought that sounds kind of dirty. Instead, let me tell you about one of the worst meals I have ever had in my life. The most disappointing by far.

Being the nice guy that I am, I decided to take the old lady out for a nice dinner to celebrate the anniversary of our first date nine years ago. (Yes, we just got married only two months ago. What can I say, she had a fear of commitment.) She’s quite the picky eater so I searched high and low for a nice place that would suit both of our palates. I settled on the Baricelli Inn due to their fabulous reputation, good selection of pasta dishes and I can dig anyone that hates baking.

The weather on this particular evening was atrocious and although I consider Tom a close personal friend, he obviously had no regard for my safety. Take me all the way down Euclid Ave. at night! You can kiss my ass ass!

We arrived a few minutes after our reservation as there was some construction on Cornell Rd. that was a bit difficult to get around. Once inside the hostess took our coats and showed us to our seats at the front of the restaurant that looked out onto Little Italy. It was at this point where we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Eventually, a waiter did arrive with menus, but he quickly scampered off to the back of the restaurant where a large office party was consuming everyone’s attention. The service was completely miserable the entire night and I personally feel that is inexcusable. I am aware that a large party warrants the attention of significant staff resources, but it should not be at the cost of servicing other patrons. There were a number of times throughout the night where any staff was M.I.A., causing other customers to be visibly displeased as well.

Baricelli’s Inn offers a number of Italian favorites which made choosing our meals easy. I ordered the Osso Bucco ($27) with saffron risotto and gremolata while the old lady stuck with one of her favorites, gnocchi. I was quite looking forward to tender veal shank melting in my mouth and spreading the delicious marrow on crusty bread. We waited for our meals to arrive enjoying some bread and excellent olive oil while taking in a view of a rainy night in Little Italy.

As soon as our meals arrived I could tell by the look on Jessie’s face that something was up with her gnocchi. I asked her what was the matter and she said she thought her meal might be undercooked. I assured her that it was probably just that she wasn’t used to having freshly made gnocchi. That was until she made me try it. The gnocchi were complete mush, having no physical integrity whatsoever. They were way closer to mashed potatoes than any type of pasta. In fact what remained on her plate soon turned into a big clump of dough. We called the waiter over to inform him of the kitchen’s error. He appologized for the trouble and took it back to the kitchen for a fresh plate. He also brought Jessie a cup of strawberry sorbet to enjoy while they fixed her meal. That was a classy touch.

While Jessie passed the time with her sorbet I dug into my Osso Bucco. Smearing the cute little cow’s bone marrow all over a piece of bread was mesmerizing. It doesn’t get much more decadent than creamy marrow. Unfortunately, everything on the outside of the bone wasn’t as delicious. The veal was very dried out and tough. It was readily apparent that I had been served a piece of meat that had been cooked days before and merely reheated (possibly in a microwave) when I placed my order.

A new plate of gnocchi came out for Jess, but it really wasn’t necessary as it was almost identical in quality to the plate she had been served earlier. One would think that if someone complained about the quality of a dish you might work on improving it before you served it to them again. I actually think that the second round may have been even worse as the first gnocchi that Jessie picked up literally dripped off of her fork. Yeah, I don’t think gnocchi is supposed to drip.

We had planned on sticking around for desert as Jessie had her eye on a cheese plate, but by that point we had enough. Even the Pear Tart with peppered bacon ice cream couldn’t tempt us.

The chef at the Baricelli Inn, Paul Minnillo, was out in the dinning room fraternizing with some patrons he knew throughout the night. I wish he would have spent some more time in the kitchen watching what his employees were sending out to customers. If I were him, I would be embarrassed by the garbage we were served. I think it was even more disappointing because the Baricelli Inn is so highly regarded across Cleveland.

The quality of food today cannot compete that of original fresh food that people in past could have in plenty. This is why one needs supplements today, to make up for lost nutrients. Organic products like aloe vera makes sure our skin does not suffer the wrath of modernization. Other products like glucosamine and ephedra are used purely for dietary reasons.

Baricelli Inn – Cleveland, Ohio (Little Italy)

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While we were in Boston a few weeks ago for our honeymoon we went to the most insane “food court” in the entire country. It also just so happens to be inside the historical Quincy Market. I swear to God that every type of food you could possible imagine was available: Chinese, Italian, Greek, Southern Barbecue, New England Fish Market, and on and on. It was amazing. Kind of disappointing they have a food court in a national landmark, but I’ll save that for another day.

Jessie, of course, wanted Italian (she’s very adventurous). While she was picking out her calzone I saw this fried ball behind the counter labeled Arancini. I’d never seen one before, so we ordered one up with her calzone. Arancini are a stuffed rice balls, almost like an Italian empinada, so they can be filled with all kinds of vegetables and meats. The one we got was filled with ground beef, peas, corn and a rich tomato sauce. It was very good, crispy on the outside, moist and creamy on the inside. The peas and corn in it were kind of weird, but they are traditional from what I’ve read.

I haven’t ever seen one before, not even in the Italian shops around Cleveland, so if anyone knows where I can get another one please leave it in the comments.

For more information:
Wikipedia Article on Arancini
Arancini Recipe and How-to

Photo By: marmalade mel (one awesome food photographer on Flickr)

If you are heading north to Canada for vacation then visit an online Canadian Food Guide for tips on local restaurants and get an idea of how The French Culture has influenced traditional Canadian cuisine. From Quebec to Alberta Canada has a world of food to experience.

Arancini – Food Virgin

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