Well, nobody in his right mind would fry gnocchi as they quite obviously explode.

The - only - correct way is to bring water or beef stock to boil, then add the gnocchi which will sink to the bottom of the pan. Once they rise to the surface again they are “al dente”, taken out with a ladle, rinsed briefly under cold water, then added into a sauce pan and finished with a delicious sauce. We, at Ticino, offer them with a variety of sauces. The King of Sauces is the black truffle sauce, a delicious deviation the GorgoNoci (Gorgonzola with Walnuts), a plain Gorgonzola or a simple hearty Tomato sauce.

Alan, Andreas & Gisela, Annemarie, Elisabeth, Felix K., Frederike, Guido, Hakan, Hardy, Peter E., Reto, Roberto, Ruedi and Thomas R. answered correctly and are spoilt for choice as to which sauce is to complement our homemade gnocchi which we gladly cook for them on the house until February 29th, 2012. Buon Appetito!

Regretfully nobody could answer the last quiz correctly; we shall rephrase the question for a future quiz.

On the never-ending search for new ideas we - sometimes - come across really funny things, kitchen accidents or how something is NOT done.

Click into the picture left and in a new window a American cooking show starts until something goes wrong after 80 seconds.

Today’s question is, if you cannot fry Gnocchi, how else are these dumpling delights cooked then? All correct answers until February 15th, 2012 win a plate of Gnocchi of your choice. And NO, we do not cook buffalo gnocchi and we never even thought of frying them!

The poster to your left was an advertisement for …… Vespa; the caption ”Alla loro felicità manca solo la Vespa” translates into “What’s missing to their happiness?”. Well, those days advertisement was simple and straight to the point by only promoting the product without a lot of blabla around it.

Alan B., Bruce S., Fredi S., Greth R., James E., Josef S., Karl-Josef S., René G. and Roberto W. were spot on and win a handmade Ticino Pepper- & Salt Shaker set which will decorate their dining table at home and may refine your own meals. We congratulate!

600 liters of raw milk are processed into 36 kgs of Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan cheese) and is used to refine pasta, risotti, lasagne and gnocchi. Boccaccio in his “Le Decamerone” referred to it as “Bengodi - where there is a mountain of grated Parmesan cheese with dwelling folk that do nought else but make macaroni and raviuoli, boil them in capons broth and roll them down the mountain”. We could not find out the name of the artist who crafted the Colosseum in Rome though but the pictoral evidence is breathtaking enough. Click onto the Colosseum and a new window will open with a file with complete information about Parmesan cheese.

The right answer cam from Alan, Chrukan, Duangkamol, Hardy, Josef S., Jürgen L., Karl-Josef, Rüdiger M., Siwasit H. and Thanwarat H. who may enjoy a pizza of their choice until December 31st, 2011.

….. between 890 and 905 grammes in answer to our last VespaQuiz. Closest was Léon Dossé with 927 grammes, hence he and another person (most likely his lovely wife) are invited to feast on a pasta dish of their choice until December 15th, 2011.
The difference in weight is because they are all handmade. The lightest answer came from Switzerland with 90 grammes, from Nigeria (hi Al!) countered with 2′318 grammes.

The uncomparable quality of the Canadian “Angus Beef” is the result of breeding the cattle outdoors all year as well as no addition of antibiotics or growing hormons to their food whatsoever. The meat is extremely  tender, marbled and has an unmatched flavour. Best enjoyed with Rocket Salad and Parmesan. A truly award-winning dish for meat lovers indeed, we guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

The following participants answered correctly, that it was no one less than Sophia Loren on the picture: Annermarie B., Axel S., Duangkamol S., Greth R., Guido R., Karl Josef S., Martin C., René T., Ruedi F. and Walter S. They may enjoy a pizza of their choice by latest November 30^th, 2011.

The additional question on what pizza was baked by Sophia Loren regretfully nobody answered correctly. It was a Pizza Margherita.

Sophia Loren also published cook books. Despite the cook books she stayed slim all her life while others manage to inch the dial of their scale to the right by the sheer thought of food.

This Italian actress was born in Rome and is pictured here making ….. a pizza.

She even had published her own cook book with some interesting recipes of her favourite dishes.

Name the actress to win a Pizza of your choice and if you can correctly name the pizza she is making then you get a Merlot-filled Boccalino on top of it; juniors under 18 get a non-alcoholic drink. Deadline is November 15th, 2011 - avanti!

The Italo-American Cesare Cardini (1896-1956) “invented” the Ceaser Salad in Tijuana/Mexico. It was - like many other great recipes, a kitchen accident; he tossed together whatever he found in the kitchen as a salad, as he got overrun on Independence Day on July 4th, 1924. The prohibition prevented legal sales of alcohol and hence the entire Californian High Society crossed the border into Tijuana/Mexico. The salad consists of Romaine Lettuce, Parmesan cheese and Croûtons; what makes it really special is the dressing, which consists of a vinaigrette (egg yolk, olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and anchovies). And that is exactly the way we present this salad at the Ticino restaurant. Anneliese, Greth, Guido, Martin, Peter, René, Robert, Ruedi F., Sepp and Walter knew this; until November 15th, 2011 they are invited to enjoy a Gnocchi dish of their choice on the house. Buon Appetito!