Lidia Bastianich of PBS' Italy in America and Andrew Zimmern of the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods are two of the celebrity television food stars who recently have made Salumeria Italiana part of their shows. Both loved the store, marveled at delicious tastes of cheese, such as Moliterno al Tartufo, and meats, such as Hot Capocollo, and shopped for pastas, colatura (anchovy essence), and other hard to find Italian products.  Above owner Gaetano Martignetti meets Andrew. (Gaetano's aunt Tetta also had a cameo role, her TV debut at age 98!!!).

The staff was proud to show off the great products and services of the store -- and we love watching it on TV. Catch the shows in reruns!!!

Chef Raymond created this light cream sauce for a recent pasta-making class. It goes beautifully with handcut pappardelle or Spinosi Pappardelle.

Serves 4

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Olio Carli Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup dried Asiago Food Dried Porcinis, soaked in 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup Panna da Cucina or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped 
• 2 tablespoon Delitia Butter of Parma
• Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon Italian flat parsley, chopped
• 1/2 recipe Fresh Pasta cut in Pappardelle, or 1 package (8 ounces) Spinosi Pappardelle
• 1/2 cup aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
• 1 tablespoon Black Truffle Oil

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a sauté pan. Drain porcinis, reserving liquid. Strain through cheesecloth if necessary. Chop porcinis.  Heat a sauté pan, add olive oil and then porcinis, turning to coat. Add white wine, and chopped sage and let wine cook down slightly. Slowly add cream, keeping temperature low so that cream doesn’t boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add  butter,  hazelnuts and turn to coat, simmer 5 more minutes.  Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil, add pasta. When fresh pasta rises to surface remove with a slotted spoon. Toss immediately in the sauce, adding a little pasta water if the sauce seems too thick.  Sprinkle with parsley and cheese, and drizzle each serving with a few drops of Black Truffle Oil if desired.

CityWine Tours brings a group through the North End every Saturday. After a few stops tasting wines, they're ready for something to eat and to pair with wines. Salumeria Italiana offers them tastes of cheeses, cured meats, and olive oils to add to the oenophile education. After all, one does not live by wine alone. Here's what two participants, who write a blog, said about the store and about Chef Raymond who told them all about cheeses, meats and EVOO. 

We love these tours and all of the visitors who come through -- Simmons College nutrition and nursing students who want to know about extra virgin olive oil and how to tell the good stuff, a tour from California curious about the store's history and its links to Italy, and the regulars at Saturday tastings who drop in to see what cheeses are especially wonderful that week. 

Almost everyone gets a taste of Rubio Aged Balsamic Vinegar before they go -- a delicious way to remember Salumeria Italiana.