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Dave and Jo Switzer have always preferred a Mediterranean diet.
After hearing about cooking schools from friends, Jo decided that was what she would give Dave for his 50th birthday. She contacted a travel agency and arranged to attend an 11-day cooking school in Tuscany, Italy.
“We started out on our own on Tuscan cooking. A friend of a friend of ours talked about it, and it matched our diet preferences,” Dave says.
Jo agrees, saying, “We try to eat the Mediterranean diet, which means olive oil, fresh fruits and vegetables. You eat meat, just not the big quantities.”
Married 21 years, the Switzers are a busy academic couple. Jo is president of Manchester College in North Manchester; Dave teaches communication at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Between them, they have three children, Sarah Keller, 33; Matt Switzer, 33; and John Keller, 30.
The cooking school the Switzers attended was Villa Delia, with chef Umberto Menghi.
“He’s like the Emeril of Canada,” Jo says, “A lot of students were in awe of him. We didn’t know.”
Classes were 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily, followed by field trips.
Not only was the class taught during truffle season, Jo says the chef arranged for the group to visit a wine library, travel to Florence once for lunch and to stop by Martelli, a pasta company.
“It was like their house,” she says. “The cool thing was we would have never known about those places.”
Dave says the couple made a return trip later when Jo turned 50. They’ve recommended the classes to others who have gone and also enjoyed them.
When asked whether they spoke Italian, Jo answers, “Food Italian.”
Dave responds, “We knew just enough to get into trouble.”
Explaining what her husband meant, Jo describes an incident at an Italian restaurant.
“We went in and ordered a tomato salad. He (Dave) said, ‘Hey that sounds good.’ So he ordered it, too. He (the waiter) brought two bowls with chopped tomatoes.
“Just tomatoes,” Dave adds, “That was way too simple. There was at least a peck of tomatoes. We just laughed at each other.”
Smiling, Jo says, “I bet the waiter was back in the kitchen laughing about the Americans at table four.”
Because the class was a diverse group with people from other countries, Dave says they made sure not to “be an ugly American.”
Jo felt one challenge was “just figuring out the norms,” such as not mixing seafood with cheese.
“And not to like all the wine,” Dave says, “You’d be broke.”
Jo laughs and admits, “That was a challenge.”
Dave warns visitors to watch out for the grappa, a strong liqueur.
“They think it aids in digestion,” Jo says.
Does it?
“No, it cauterizes your throat,” Dave says firmly.
Although the couple have taken other cooking classes in Canada and the Southwest, they still eat out.
“We eat out a lot, but we love cooking together,” Jo says, “We have a good rhythm in the kitchen. We love to go to the market on Saturday morning. We (go) home, chop and cook. It’s therapeutic for us. The hard part is cleaning up.”
4 to 5 pounds roasting chicken, preferably organic or free range
Extra virgin olive oil, for basting
2 teaspoons Italian herbs (basil, rosemary and sage mixture)
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 lemons
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash the chicken thoroughly, inside and out, and let water drain out of it. Pat it until it is dry. Rub olive oil over chicken (the body and in the cavity), rubbing the herbs, salt and pepper on the chicken. Wash and dry lemons, and then roll them back and forth on the counter with pressure. Puncture the lemons with a knife, making 10 to 20 slits in each. Put the lemons in the cavity of the chicken. It might be crowded. Put the chicken in a roast pan, breast facing down. Place it in the top half of the oven. After 30 minutes, turn the chicken over so the breast faces up. Roast an additional 30 minutes at 350 degrees, then for an additional 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Check by wiggling the leg (loose means done) or by checking internal temperature, which should register 170 degrees at the chicken breast. When the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and let it “rest” for 5 to 10 minutes before carving. Makes 6 servings.
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs (basil, rosemary and sage)
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
2 pints cherry tomatoes, sliced crosswise so the stem is on one half
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Mix olive oil, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. Place tomato halves very close together in a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish, and place the olive oil mixture over the tomatoes so each tomato has some of the mixture on it. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Bake tomatoes for 1 1/2 hours until they are golden and bubbly. The slow, long baking concentrates the flavors. Makes 8 servings.
1 pound Roma tomatoes, chopped
3 to 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped in half
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
1 loaf crusty bread
1/4 cup Reggiano Parmesan cheese
Fresh parsley, for garnish
Mix tomatoes, garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper. Let stand. Cut one loaf of crusty bread lengthwise. Brush with remaining olive oil, and put under broiler until golden, for about 5 minutes. Watch closely. Remove from oven. This can be done up to two hours before serving. Immediately before serving, remove the garlic cloves from the tomato mixture and spread the tomatoes onto the bread. Sprinkle with finely grated Reggiano Parmesan cheese, and cut into slices. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve. Makes 10 to 12 servings.
dparker@jg.net
