Wildwood Valley

Last week here in Italy the country celebrated their National holiday, similar to Australia day.

It was pre organised that we would congregate as the whole village for lunch.  We ended up having 33 people and enough food for 90, no exaggeration! The same number of people ate the leftovers for dinner that night and once again we congregated all together for lunch the next day to try and finish up all the remaining leftovers!!! At the end of the third meal together there was still food left over, so you can only imagine the quantity of food that we had to start with!

It was decided that we would base the lunch around game meat.  First we started with nibbles and the aperitifo, followed by antipasto, sliced meats and bruschetta, then we progressed to first course and had two types of pasta, which means that you have to eat two plates of pasta not just one.

We indulged in the Pappardelle al Cingiale which is a famous pasta dish to our region of Tuscany. Pappardelle is thick ribbons of homemade egg pasta and served with a rich meat sauce made from wild boar.  The second pasta was ravioli with burro and salvia, which Carlo boasted to everyone prior to the lunch that I was great at making the burnt butter and sage sauce, hence I had to have four fry pans going at once to be able to make enough for 33 people.

The main course was an exaggeration of game meats that had all been roasted in Tina and Leonardo’s wood fired oven. We had rabbit, pigeon, wild pigeon, pheasant, guinea fowl, and these tiny little birds, smaller than quails called Tordi, plus a few chickens.  As you can imagine I was in heaven as I really like game meat.

When we were in the planning stages a week before the lunch, five of us came together to discuss the menu and who would do what.  At that time it appeared that all the savoury dishes, pasta and meats were being prepared by everyone, however there was only one lady who was making one cake. I said that I would make 30 panna cotta’s with sticky peaches and then there would be dessert for everyone!

Well I should have known better than to believe that the Italians would think that was sufficient.  Much to my horror on the day there was my 30 panna cotta's and another 5 large tarts or cakes, plus homemade praline.  So yes we had more than enough desserts for 90 people again.  After all these years being married to an Italian it never ceases to amaze me just how much food they put on the table, especially when you have company. The funny thing is that they know that it is an absence amount of food, but they can’t stop themselves.  On the flip side between those 33 people they only drank 5 bottles of wine, whereas had we been in Australia we would have drunk 30 bottles of wine!!!

Once again another memorable meal and experience in bella Tuscany!

Written by: Sioban Baldini

I have spent another great day in the kitchen with my next door neighbor Tina, making homemade pasta. We choose to make pici which is a classic pasta from this area of Tuscany. Pici is made simply using 00 type flour, salt and water, and combined into a pasta dough and kneaded for about 8 minutes; it’s then left to relax for a minimum of half an hour.

We then roll it by hand into thick long threads which look like a thick spaghetti. The pasta is white rather than yellow as it is not made with egg.

Tina suggested that we make it with the classic sauce of, pici a cacio e pepe. This is a very simple sauce made with sautéed pancetta and seasoned with quite a bit of black pepper and parmesan cheese. We then simply placed the boiled pici in the fry pan and tossed.


Every year when I am back in Tuscany I learn how to make different types of pastas by hand. I have been making homemade pasta for years, but it has been much more pleasurable to roll it by hand with my neighbor rather than using the pasta machine, that I used for years working in professional kitchens.

I can't wait to share all my new Tuscan recipes during the next round of Mad About Food Cooking Classes!

Here at Wildwood Valley we are very excited at the recent announcement of the finalists for the 2011 GWN7 Top Tourism Awards, as both Margaret River and Busselton have made the top six in the State awards!

Even better news, is that Wildwood Valley Villa & Cottages falls in right in the heart of both of these amazing regions! The GWN7 Top Tourism Awards recognises the efforts made by a Visitor Centre within the region and how they provide tourism facilities and activities for visitors. The winner will then receive a $25,000 TV campaign with GWN7.

So from all of us here at Wildwood Valley, we wish Margaret River and Busselton all the best with the awards in October and here's hoping that the South West will bring home more State Tourism awards!