The Divine Dish

A Visit to Florence’s Famous Leather School

Posted on Apr 11, 2012 under Archives, Italy | No Comment

The Scuola del Cuoio, Florence’s famed leather school, is located in an annex of the monastery behind the Sante Croce church.

Most come to the church to view where some of the cities most famous historical figures are buried.  I came to learn about the school and to peruse the many beautiful purses.

The school was created to provide a livelihood for orphans taken in by monks after the World War II to teach them a craft.  In 1950 the school opened its doors to clients allowing them to purchase the students’ hand crafted items.  Today the workshop still operates as a school for the selected few students that are accepted.   One of a kind handbags, glass cases, briefcases and coats are made and sold at the school.  After interviewing Tommaso Melani Gori, the marketing director for the school and the grandson of one of the founders, he took me on a tour of the grounds.

Bags, coats and accessories are made from crocodile, calfskin, lambskin, deerskin and ostrich pelts.  Above are some ostrich pelts waiting to be turned into purses.

Tommaso let me go behind the scenes to check out the students making bags.  Only a dozen are selected from all over the world to learn to craft unique hand made leather items.

Tommaso doesn’t just direct the school’s marketing efforts, he also designs bags.  Here are some of his designs.

His aunt, Francesca Gori, also has her own lines of purses.

I really loved the braided purses.

Tommaso offered me a very large discount, so I purchased one of the school’s most classic (and cheapest!) designs.   Here is my bag.  They also stamped my initials into the inside of the purse.

Guests can walk through the halls of the school to view employees working on purses and the many handbags for sale.  The school also has a huge showcase room housing wallets, keychains, eyeglass cases and other goods for sale.  You can visit the Scuola del Cuoio at Piazza Santa Croce, 16.

Interview with Tommaso Melani Gori from the Leather School, Florence

Posted on Apr 11, 2012 under Archives, Italy | No Comment

Tommaso Melani Gori is the marketing director of Florence’s Scuola Del Cuoio (Leather School) and the grandson of one of the School’s founders.  He also designs many of the handbags created and sold at the school.  I sat down with Tommaso and chatted about the famous leather school and it’s students and hand-crafted one-of-a-kind items.

 

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa Recipe

Posted on Mar 15, 2012 under Archives, Recipes | No Comment

This week I am writing an article on Baja Fresh for my column on AOL.  I started to wonder why I never cook Mexican food at home and decided to try out this yummy enchilada recipe with roasted tomatillo chile salsa.  I had a bunch of extra roasted chicken on hand and this was a perfect way to use it up.  The recipe came out great, here it is:

Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa

1 pound tomatillos, husked

1 white onion peeled, sliced and quartered

2 jalapenos

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

1/2 lime juiced

Preheat onion to 400 degrees.  For the salsa, place tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes.

Transfer the roasted vegetables and juices to a food processor.   Add cumin, salt, cilantro and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.

Enchiladas

Olive Oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup flour

2 cups chicken stock

chicken, about 3 chicken breasts shredded

5 flour tortillas

1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Add onions and cook until soft and caramelized, about 7 minutes.

Add garlic and cumin and cook another 2 minutes.  Sprinkle flour and stir and gradually add chicken stock to make a veloute.  Continue stirring until liquid thickens.

Turn off the heat and add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa. Fold in the shredded chicken.

Change oven temperature to 350 degrees.  Take a large baking dish and place a little of the salsa on the bottom.   Put a scoop of the shredded chicken salsa mix on top of the tortilla and top it with cheese.

Fold the tortilla and roll like a cigar. After all the tortillas are filled in the dish, pour the remaining salsa over them and top with cheese.

Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top.

I added sour cream and avocados to my finished enchiladas and made a pot of rice seasoned with tumeric.

Whiskey Wednesday’s at the Next Door Lounge

Posted on Mar 03, 2012 under Uncategorized | No Comment

The Next Door Lounge would be an appropriate setting for the gangsters from the Prohibition era when speak-easies were the unlawful bars that sprang up across America.

It’s not really clear whether the owner’s want you to know it’s there.  Don’t look for a sign, there isn’t one but there is a big key on the door and a doorman at the valet stand asking you for the secret password.

I, along with my friend Dalbert, visited the new 1920’s inspired bar and lounge to participate in one of their new “Whiskey Wednesday’s” tastings.  Each Wednesday until April 11, a different collection of whiskey and scotch can be sampled.  During the samplings, a particular spirit genre is showcased and explained.  Flights of four pours are offered from some of the world’s most prominent distilleries including Bulleit Rye, Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal and Buchanans.

We entered through a velvet curtain to find a bunch of living room vignette seating areas with oversized leather couches, high back chairs and antique cocktail tables.   A black and white film with subtitles projected along the dining room wall and diners sampled cocktails and small bites on two large communal dining tables.

We were seated at one of the long tables for our tasting.  We attended the North American Whiskey sampling, including Bulleit Bourbon, Bulleit Rye George Dickel and Crown Royal Cask.  Each week varies with other tastings focusing on Blended Scotches, Whiskey’s of the World and Single Malt Scotches.

Our tasting and pouring guide Natalie informed us that although many believe that you shouldn’t mix whiskey with water, adding H20 actually enhances the flavor of whiskey.  So we tried all flights first straight up and then with water.

She also informed us to keep the whiskey on our tongue for the number of seconds that each whiskey took to produce (10 year whiskey, don’t swallow for 10 seconds) to maximize the flavor of the spirit.

Our first sample was the Bulleit Bourbon, our fave of the night, a sweet 28% rye whiskey (rest is corn) with hints of vanilla.

Next came the Bulleit Rye, our least fave of the four, 95% rye very strong, spicy and peppery.

Third was the George Dickel smooth Tennessee Whiskey with a piney woody taste.

Last was Crown Royal Cask, a Canadian whiskey blend aged in Cognac barrels.  This was the least strong and was our second fave of the night.

After the tasting, our group was able to enjoy a special cocktail created from each taster’s favorite scotch or whiskey.  We also enjoyed South of the Border pizza – with grilled chicken, corn, green pepper, red onion, mozzarella, avocado and chipotle aioli and steak and arugula pizza with steak, arugula, herbs, sour cream and horseradish.

We learned a lot about whiskey and scotch and got to sample a nice flight.  I highly recommend visiting the Next Door Lounge for a step into the past, and a damn good cocktail, the next time you are in the Hollywood area.  Whiskey Wednesday’s are $30, every Wednesday until April 11, call 323/465-5505 for reservations, located at 1154 North Highland in Hollywood.