Red Passion Collection For Valentine's Day From CosituttiMarketPlace

CosituttiMarketPlace

Valentine’s Day Collection

Traveling in Italy, sourcing products for CosituttiMarketPlace brings me to artisan producers and generational families who have a passion for the cultural and culinary history of regional Italian food and la bella vita.

Red Passion Collection

Here is a collection of some of our favorite food, wine, art and design for the Red Passion of an Italian inspired Valentine’s Day. A desirable collection that shares the color Red and the Romance of Italy.

Italian Red Sauce

Botanically related to the mandrake, or “love plant”, the tomato was once believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac. As a sauce, seasoning and ingredient tomatoes are a powerful antioxidant making Italian red sauces ideal for a heart healthy Valentine’s Day

Francis Francis

I could have begun the Red Passion Collection with an iconic red Ferrari but I was looking for something a little more attainable and Illy’s Francis Francis X7.1 iperEspresso machine may be it.

In a medium sized pot over a moderate flame, heat olive oil. Add the garlic and saute until golden about 2 minutes (be careful not to burn). Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Season with salt. Add the oregano, basil and parsley and simmer until reduced to a sauce-like consistency, about 20 minutes. Add the sugar, allspice and red pepper

You can add browned meatballs and simmer uncovered to braise in the sauce until a black sheen appears on the surface.

Pasta Recommendation

- Matt Monograno Felicetti Spaghetti

In the pantheon of Italian food products one type of vinegar stands above all others, Aceto Balsamico from Modena. Rich, glossy, a deep red-brown, a true balsamic vinegar gets its color from the skillful cooking of the grape must and the aging in wooden barrels and its complexity of flavor from the passion of those who make this unique Italian condiment. It is a tonic, digestivo, a gastronomic treasure of Italy with a depth of flavor that enlivens a variety of foods. Our favorite use -drizzled over flakes of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Cherry Ricotta Crostini with Balsamic Fig Glaze

• 12 - one inch slices of toasted ciabatta bread

• 1 cup whole milk ricotta

• 12 ripe cherries, pitted and halved

• 12 sprigs of fresh thyme

• 1 tablespoon Capezzana extra virgin olive oil

• coarse sea salt

• Giusti Crema

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place slices of bread on a sheet pan and toast in oven for 7 minutes on the lower rack. At the same time, on a sheet pan lined with parchment, place the cherries and thyme and drizzle with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle the cherries with salt. Roast for 5-7minutes on the high rack in the oven until tender and bubbly. Spread a spoonful of ricotta on each crostini. Top with 2 cherry halves and a crispy sprig of thyme. Drizzle with balsamic glaze. Top with a tiny sprinkle of kosher salt and serve immediately.

Fig Balsamic Glaze

This Morello Cherry Jam is masterfully prepared, slowly cooked in copper cauldrons, to capture the flavor of the cherries and amplify it in the jam. Like a madeleine to Proust, each jar will remind you of a delicious taste of the past and a future pleasure.

Morello Cherry Jam for crepes, tarts, panna cotta and cookies.

Italian red wines, Campari and Brachetto d’Acqui, a well-priced semi-sparkling frizzante with a natural sweetness reminiscent of rose petals, candied strawberries and raspberries.

Venice and Verona

Venice “La Serenissima” is perhaps the most evocative and romantic of all Italian cities and Verona a city so famous for love that it gets thousands of letters simply addressed to “Juliet. Two of our favorite cities in Italy and the setting for two of our favorite movies about Italy.

Against the evocative background of Venice, Casanova (played by Heath Ledger) finds the true meaning of love all while avoiding the Inquisition. In Verona the Club di Giulietta keep the romance of Romeo and Juliet alive by answering letters that have been left for her in Verona for over 70 years. One letter inspired the movie Letters to Juliet.

Buon San Valentino

Our Collection ends with a reminder that Italians do not celebrate Valentine’s Day as a one day merchandising campaign because love is in the air all year long in Italy and has been for centuries.

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