A fine sunday morning!

Very rare are the exceptions to the rule…no work is ever scheduled on Sunday This is one day exclusive to God and family: a time to worship the Lord, a day to energize the body and mind, a moment to bond with the family. It often starts with a visit to the Church, some shopping for groceries and necessities and a meal to complete the day. Pwede lunch or dinner as long as food is shared by the family.

However, sometimes, invitations are accepted like an Italian Sunday Brunch at La Gondola which is Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino’s latest culinary offering. Because of the difficulties of eating Sunday Brunch between Monday to Saturday (obviously, no food is available!) yield na lang your favorite food columnist to this culinary temptation.

Loyal followers of this column understand that “Italian Cuisine” only evolved after World War II; it is a union of regional cuisines since each region in Italy has its food culture, unique and distinct from each other. In fact, each town has something distinctive and this series of local cuisines is what we call regional cuisine.

Best example gyud is the Cuisine of the Islands, Sicily (La Cucina Siciliana) and Sardinia (La Cucina Sarda). Waverly Root, author of The Cooking of Italy (Time- Life Books) said that over 2,000 years ago, the “Sicilians discovered the secrets of Greek cooking from their Greek conquerors, even as Sardinians learned the culinary art of their Phoenician invaders.” It evolved in both islands, plus a touch of Arab here, some Africa there, lots of Roman everywhere “until each has made a cuisine distinct from each other.”

An Italian friend once told me that an Italian restaurant must have three elements to serve authentic Italian cuisine: an Italian Chef, ingredients from Italy and a wood-fired oven. La Gondola, excuse me, is qualified gyud because it has an Italian Chef, Alessio Loddo (who comes from Sardinia), it uses ingredients from Italy and has a functioning wood-fired oven.

La Cucina Sarda is the cradle language of Chef Loddo and in his youth, he was already well-versed in cooking porceddu or lechon Sardinia and rabbit “a succhittu,” served in a sauce made from the wine, capers and tomatoes thickened by puréed rabbit’s liver. The preparation of Panada (flaky pasta pie stuffed with minced meat or eel), Culingiones (ravioli with spinach and Pecorino Sardo or ewe’s cheese) and Carta da Musica (also known as pane carasau or wafer-thin sheets of toasted bread) were merely child’s play for the budding Chef. During his spare time, he ate bottarga (dried tune roe or eggs), drank Cannanau (red wine) and enjoyed a sip or two of Mitru liquor (after-dinner digestive from myrtle berries).

And last July 19, 2009, your favorite food columnist was fortunate to indulge in some of the culinary masterpieces of Chef Alessio Loddo like the Atlantic Salmon in Poppy Seed Crust, Sea Scallop salad, US Beef Carpaccio with Arugula Salad and Grilled Marinated Vegetable. That introduces only part of the appetizer selection!

Various greens were available but I spent considerable time on the Fennel Bulb Salad, analyzing the nuances of this vegetable (or is it a spice?) and its accompanying dip made from a reduction of something (closely guarded Chef’s secret, 4 hours to make!). One of the ingredients is vanilla bean and this reminds me of a video of this plant. I thought that it was a kind of a vine; actually it belongs to the orchid family and the bean is the seed pod produced by hand pollinating the flower. Encoded na in my memory this very delicious salad.

After some nibbles on the selection of Italian Cheese, time for the main dishes but the list is as long as the items of my credit card list (ouch!) so limited na lang my attention on the Roast Pork Leg and Lamb Ossobuco with Saffron Risotto. Excuse me, all those pasta, sausages and the rest of the hot dishes.

Time for dessert (Tiramisu and Panna Cotta) and a good cup of coffee and an idea that if my beloved readers were able to join me, it would be a very fine Sunday morning indeed!