Announcing Italia Next Door!! December 12th and 13th from 11 to 5!

Sample the Italian artisan foods we purchased from a trip to Italy this fall! Taste, discuss and learn about these amazing products--pastas, olive oils, balsamics, condiments, chocolates and cookies on Saturday and Sunday December 12th and 13th from 11 to 5 at our Mail Order facility, located next door to the Farmers' Market. Meet staff and chefs who will explain how to use some of these exciting finds from Amelia's trip!

Click here for directions.

Lastest update: 12.1...Our shipment has arrived! All is well and we'll be getting several items onto the site by next week. We are excited to share the incredible products with our local customers here at WFM on December 12th and 13th at our Italia Next Door Event!

Here's a preview of her trip notes from an exclusive email sent back to WFM at the end of her second day!! It's a great read.

Buona Notte, tutti Amici!

It's the end of a long day of appointments and driving. We started relatively late this morning (9:45) because we had a lot of ground to cover, driving from Asti to Vicenza to Veneto to Faenza. Our first stop of the day was at a pasticceria that specializes in special diet baked goods (wheat-free, gluten free, etc) and incredible jams. We tasted there for 2 hours, concluding with a light lunch of gorgeous savory pastries and sparkling wine. Then it was in the van for a 3+ hour ride to our next appointment, a bakery that specializes in artisinal panettone that is made from a 35 year old starter and all natural ingredients. Holy cannoli, was it good, We enjoyed it with a glass of prosecco. Then back in the van for anoter 2 hour ride to our hotel in Faenza. The others opted for sandwiches or a salad at the hotel restaurant--I opted to fast (does a drink from the mini bar still count as fasting?)

That first night I rejoined the group (after some screw ups in travel and flights…you know how that is…) in time for dinner with a vendor. We walked down town into Asti, which is very beautiful, past the town square where a local music group was belting out "Spinning Wheel" for a bit of surreality. The meal was amazing, in an enoteca with vaulted ceilings. We began with a selection of antipasti including a type of steak tartare served in parmesan frico; roasted peppers with tuna, anchovies and caperberries; pork cooked with sage and vinegar; and salumi including lardo, cured pork fat, which was served with honey butter and toast. Absolutely phenomenal. Then we had braised beef, which was very good, and a dessert of torrone semifreddo (the vendor is a torrone maker). Then we had gianduja and torrone and espresso.

Oh, and I forgot. A delicious white wine to start (arneis), followed by Barbera d'Asti. Then wonderful Moscato d'Asti. With dessert we had grappa, which you pour into your empty espresso cup and drink. Then we finished with chinato (Lisa!! I see what you mean!), a bitter botanical liqueur which is supposed to help you digest. I got back to my room after midnight.

The next morning we met with the (hung over) torrone maker and had a tour of his amazing facility (4 generations of torrone makers using only premium ingredients, especially Piedmontese hazelnuts). THen it was off in the van for an appointment with a rice company that grows the carnaroli, vialone nano and other varieties used to make risotto. After a lunch of 2 types of risotto, roasted rabbit with slender green beans, and a slice of apricot tart (served on a yellow damask tablecloth, and accompanied by a local white wine, then a local red, then moscato d'Asti, then espresso (and grappa, for some). We followed this feast with a walkalong the rice fields and a tour of the milling facility. THen it was back in the van for a speedy trip to a town called Acqua Therma, the sight of ancient Roman baths and a present day spawhere people stillenjoy the mineral hot springs.

It's a beautiful town, with fountains, ancient buildings, a cathedral dating to 1100, cobblestone streets, and so on. We had an appointment with Oliveri, a company that makes beautiful jarred vegetables (porcinis, baby artichokes, cherry peppers stuffed with tuna or anchovies or goat cheese, stuffed olives, hazelnuts in honey, and so on). Dinner that night was at a sweet little restaurant that featured Oliveri's products in its special menu for us, beginning with the stuffed peppers and olives surrounding what I can only describe as Italian sushi--a raw shrimp over thinly shredded vegetables, seasoned only with olive oil. WOW!!

One of Gioacchino's rules is that each night, someone else makes a toast. This was my night, and I thanked our host and also Gioacchino for keeping our group on time and on task, and solving all of our problems with good humor every day. We drank a Dolcetto d'Acqui, which I didn't think too much of on its own, but which just came alive with the food, as it is supposed to. Our next course was breast of guinea fowl, which was the most flavorful bird I've ever tried (wish I knew what the seasoning was), served with Oliveri's porcini and artichokes. The artichokes were incredible; the porcini were underwhelming. Then came a house-made tagliolini with a sauce made from dried porcini--dear God, was that good. Then 3 cheeses paired with Oliveri condiments, the star of which was Gorgonzola with their Peppers in Honey. Buonissimo.

Finally, we had a chocolate souffle which was served with a spoonful of chili pepper jam. What a revelation--dark, rich chocolate, with fragrant, spicy chili peppers. Crazy good.

And accompanied by Brachetto d'Acqui, a wonderfully floral sparkling sweet red wine. The others had espresso and grappa. I opted out. We got back to our rooms at midnight.

This morning I got up early and went to Molly's room to do yoga before starting our day. Molly has a shop and restaurant in Minneapolis, and she's a real hoot. It was a great way to start the day and counter the effects of some of the serious eating we've been doing. We're taking tomorrow off from yoga though, as we need to get an early start on the day. First we go to Torrefazione Caffe Lelli, where we are to taste 10 different coffees, then to Acetaia La Bonissima for Balsamic vinegar, then I Liveri for jams and marmelades. We are only on day 4 of the trip tomorrow, with 10 more to go--a daunting prospect. But so far the group is a lot of fun, and we get along well. I'll tell you all about them another time.

Till then, arrivaderci!