Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Recipe Corner: Fave dei Morti

Most Americans associate the Day of the Dead with Mexico, and pictures of skeletons playing guitars. But the Day of the Dead is also celebrated in Italy on November 2, and these cookies, which may be shaped like fava beans (fave) or imprinted with their shape, have always been made for that special day. When Fabio was growing up, he and his sister would eat a few of these cookies, and leave a few out overnight to please the souls of the dead. When we awoke in the morning, sure enough, the cookies were gone, which they took as proof of a visitation from beyond the grave!

The cookies can be eaten plain or sandwiched together with a bit of jam or melted chocolate. The filling will soften the cookies, so fill shortly before serving. The recipe makes a lot, but the (unfilled) cookies keep very well.

Yields 200 cookies

Ingredients
5 large egg whites
2 ½ cups granulated sugar
4 cups almond flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup light rum
2 tablespoons manteca (soft lard), at room temperature
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Procedure
Put the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer, set the bowl over a pot of hot water, and whisk until they are at room temperature. Add about one-third of the sugar to the bowl and attach the bowl to the mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat at medium speed for 4 minutes. Add another one-third of the sugar and whisk for 4 minutes. Add the remaining sugar and whisk for an additional 2 minutes, or until the whites form stiff peaks.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a large rubber spatula, fold in the almond flour, the cinnamon, and the rum, working gently from the bottom of the bowl to the top. When the flour is fully incorporated, add the lard and continue to fold just until it is incorporated.
Line two or more baking sheets with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1⁄4-inch plain tip. Pipe 1-inch round cookies that are about 1⁄4 inch high onto the lined baking sheets, leaving 2 inches of space between them. Moisten your finger and make an indentation that looks like a fava bean in the center of each cookie. Dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar and let stand, uncovered, in a well-ventilated area for 45 minutes. The tops will form a slight crust.

Position the racks in the center and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, rotating the pans once halfway through baking, or until they form a crisp crust. Let the cookies cool to room temperature on the pans on wire racks. Store in airtight containers for up to 2 days.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Labor Day Holiday Hours


Casa Luca will be closed in observance of the Labor Day holiday on Monday, September 2 and Tuesday, September 3.

We will reopen for dinner only on Wednesday, September 4, and will subsequently resume our regular hours of operation. 

Buone Vacanze!

Monte Conero, Ancona, Marche, Italy
 

Monday, August 5, 2013

Benvenuti a Casa Luca!

... or, Welcome to Casa Luca!

Introducing our Kitchen and Dining Room management team, who are dedicated to creating truly memorable experiences for you each and every time you dine with us.

Erin Clarke, Chef de Cuisine

Born and raised in Fairfax County, Virginia, Erin's culinary education at Paris’ renowned L’Ecole Gregoire Ferrandi was the starting point for her voyage into the world of food. She was able to study and work under 3-Michelin star chef Alain Passard of L’Arpège, inspired by his quest for perfection and commitment to self-managing the production of his own vegetables, herb and fruits. 

Her first encounter with Italian cuisine was during her time at Maestro, where Chef Fabio Trabocchi was executing ultra-fine dining in Mclean, Virginia. At Maestro, Erin was able to blend her classic French training with soulful Italian traditions, learning everything from fresh pasta-making to whole animal butchery. She followed Trabocchi to New York City to open Fiamma, where she served as sous chef. 


Erin has also worked as a food and nutrition educator for kids and families at several nonprofit organizations including the Food Bank of Charleston, New York’s City Harvest, and the Children’s Aid Society, before returning to Washington DC and the restaurant kitchen as a sous chef at Fiola.

Tom Wellings, Executive Pastry Chef
Tom brings an eye for creative seasonality and a strong background in Italian-influenced desserts to his position as executive pastry chef of Fiola and Casa Luca.

In 2007, Tom was pastry chef at Maestro, Fabio Trabocchi’s fine dining destination in Northern Virginia. He followed Fabio to Fiamma, where he offered New York diners a taste of his Italian-influenced modern interpretations.

Tom cut his teeth at some of the most notable, progressive restaurants in the country, including WD-50 in New York, Clio in Boston and Trio in Chicago before joining the pastry department at the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner. Tom also served as pastry chef at Restaurant Eve for one year. Prior to coming to Fiola, Wellings served as pastry chef at Equinox, impressing guests with his seasonally inspired desserts. He has twice been nominated for the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s Pastry Chef of the Year award.

At Fiola, Tom utilizes Italian ingredients to create modern takes on traditional pastry preparations. At Casa Luca, Tom reimagines traditional Marche desserts while preserving their simple, authentic and regional spirit.



John Toigo, Wine Director
John Toigo is Wine Director for Fiola and Casa Luca, where his goal is to make the serious and sometimes intimidating subject of wine approachable and fun. 

Toigo comes from The Inn at Little Washington where, as Cellar Master, he assisted Wine Director Jennifer Knowles in maintaining the award-winning restaurant’s remarkable cellar. It was at The Inn with its selection of more than 2,400 wines that Toigo learned the art of maintaining a list that kept pace with modern palates while celebrating the rich history and tradition of wine. 

Toigo was the Sommelier and Cellar Master at Plume restaurant located in The Jefferson Hotel in Washington, DC. As part of the opening team at Plume, Toigo worked with Wine Director Michael Scaffidi and was charged with creating a wine list that reflected the taste of one of America’s first wine connoisseurs, President Thomas Jefferson. 

Toigo was born in Washington, DC to a military family and raised all over the world. Though he is from an Italian family that still owns a winery in Montepulciano, Italy, Toigo didn’t become interested in wine until he began attending Michigan State University to study for his B.A. in Hospitality Management. Since MSU didn’t have any advanced level wine courses, Toigo ended up creating his own curriculum and passed the first two levels of the Court of Master Sommeliers before his graduation. 

TJ Monoyez, General Manager
TJ grew up in the south of France. Her hospitality career began when she joined Novotel Hotel Group in Nimes, France as an intern. She transferred to Plymouth in England with the hotel group before moving to the States in 1994. TJ joined The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company at Tysons Corner in 1995. She was on the opening teams for The Ritz-Carlton Santiago, Key Biscayne, South Beach, Kapalua and Pasadena. 

After 13 years with The Ritz-Carlton, TJ joined The Newseum & Wolfgang Puck Catering to open The Food Section in 2008.

TJ has been part of Fiola since its opening in 2011.



Sarah Bengtson, Restaurant Manager
Originally from Connecticut, Sarah began her hospitality career with the Max Restaurant Group. While studying economics at Trinity College in Hartford, she held various front of the house positions and developed a passion for hospitality. After graduating from Trinity, she continued her career with the Max Restaurant Group, and was promoted to the position of manager. In this position she had the opportunity to work in several restaurants, all with different concepts; including market fresh and sustainable seafood, casual Italian bistros and creative burgers. 

Sarah relocated to Washington, DC and joined the Fiola team as a manager. Working with such an accomplished team at the acclaimed Fiola helped her to continue to grow as a restaurant professional.


Jonathan Eagleton, Restaurant Manager

A true Washingtonian, Jonathan was born and raised in Washington DC. He began his career in hospitality at the Gulf Coast Kitchen in Bethesda as a teenager and was hooked on the high energy and excitement of the industry. With a hunger to learn more about the business, Jonathan took several different positions in various restaurants and eventually landed at the Georgetown Waterfront as a General Manager for Oceanside Management at Tony & Joe’s Seafood Place, Riverside Grille and Cabanas Restaurant. After 11 years at the Waterfront, he looks forward to being a part of such an exciting time of growth and success as the Fiola group expands with two new restaurants in 2013.

In his free time, Jonathan can be found enjoying a row on his kayak or having an adventure in Rock Creek Park with his 200 pound English mastiff puppy.

Sentito per Strada, or Word on the Street

We opened on Friday, July 5, and the response has been overwhelming! Here is just some of the media coverage of Casa Luca in the last few weeks. But don't just take the experts' word for it, come taste for yourselves! 

We have a table waiting for you.



Aperitivo Culture at Casa Luca

Participate in the "Aperitivo Culture" at Casa Luca with our Happy Hour specials at the bar Monday through Thursday, from 4pm to 6pm.



The Aperitivo is a common Italian cultural and social activity on the weekdays after work hours. It's a social atmosphere blended with light cocktails and snacks to stimulate the palate for dinner. The Casa Luca happy hour menu features the classic Aperitivo cocktails such as the Americano and the Aperol Spritz, but we also have specials on our beers and wines on tap, as well as small bites, or piccoletti, and cured meats and cheeses.


Of course, we hope you'll also stay for dinner!

Washington Post's Going Out Guide recently featured Casa Luca in its roundup of favorite Happy Hours.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

About Our Menus

Casa Luca is our celebration of regional Italian cuisine grounded in traditional, affordable and authentic recipes of Le Marche, Fabio's home region located in central Italy on the Adriatic coast.



Our menus are inspired by the traditional Italian meal, and are designed to encourage experimentation, sharing and above all, enjoyment!

We recommend starting with a selection of antipasti, including cured meats and cheeses and small bites or piccoletti, which are delicious accompanied by our traditional Marche breads and flatbreads. Housemade pastas are perfect primi, followed by entrée selections, or secondi, of fish or meat, or family style favorites sized to share.


 Casa Luca has unique Italian wines on tap (available nowhere else!) and a cellar selection from Italy, Spain, France and California.  

We also have 21 wines available for only $28 a bottle from amazing producers such as Elena Walch, Antinori, Maculan, Vajra, and Tasca d'Almerita Regaleali.

Our approach to wine is accessibility, quality and variety to encourage unfettered enjoyment.

Our bar offers great craft beers on draft and in bottles, as well as a large selection of classic Italian amari – and digestivi, as well as grappa and many other Italian liqueurs.

Housemade gelati and sorbetti, as well as classic Marche desserts such as lattarolo and ciambella are perfect sweet finishes to a meal. Don’t forget our housemade limoncello - Pastry Chef Tom Wellings has mixed up a few different flavors, such as strawberry and wild bay leaf!

Thursday, August 1, 2013

In the Name of the Father ... and Son

Every chef is a product of a place and a tradition. For me, the place is Le Marche, a relatively unknown region of central Italy on the Adriatic coast across the Apennines from Rome.  The tradition is the sharecropping system known as mezzadria, in which every Trabocchi down the line was a farmer. From my father, Giuseppe, a farmer who was also known as a great cook, I inherited a love of cooking and an appreciation for the communal way of life. When the mezzadria system was dismantled by "Big Agriculture", my father became a long haul truck driver. Yet he still taught me how to select products and get the most from ingredients by taking me around to all of his former sharecropper friends as he shopped for Sunday's family meal. This unintended culinary "education" was for us the normal way of life. 

Luca and Fabio Trabocchi
Cooking has been my way of continuing the traditions of Le Marche, as well as the culinary heritage of my own farm family.  Casa means home, and Luca represents the next generation (my son, Luca). 

Casa Luca features the simple, authentic cooking of Marche families - those sharecroppers, fishermen, butchers, grocers, truck drivers and artisans -- and the Italian spirit of conviviality around a communal table. Casa Luca also represents my father Giuseppe’s legacy: it is a culinary heritage manifesting itself in different ways through the generations. The circumstances of my son Luca’s life are much different from my own, but the same knowledge is transferred, and the food of Casa Luca becomes our very special link to the past.

Thank you for participating in this tradition by dining with us!

Fabio