Other Matters: Un Buon Giorno

This turned out to be Italian Sunday. My frequent companion Vigorelli Bianchi and I went for a twenty-mile ride full of ups, downs and early morning beauty in the hills of orchard country. Back home, I wrapped up a two-day ciabatta project and baked four loaves, then made a dinner that also featured salmon, pasta with pesto and a homey 2000 La Loggia Barolo from Trader Joe's. The wine is not a triumph of the Piedmont, but it worked with the meal. A classic (read expensive) Barolo would have fought with the salmon. The La Loggia was a bit pinot noirish and suited the fish and the pasta. For dessert, we had gelato and espresso.

The music I listened to in the kitchen was off the paisan track: Rostropovich playing Bach's solo cello suites. No matter. When you're in love with a day like this, the whole world's Italian.