Thank You Cortina

Today we're very excited to announce that Ryan has signed with the Fife Flyers for the 2015/2016 hockey season and we will be heading to Scotland in August! After four wonderful years in Cortina, we're ready for a change of scenery and are so, so excited about this new opportunity. That being said, Cortina will always be in our hearts and we are so grateful for the past four years that we got to spend there. Living in Italy was something that we never knew to dream of, but now we feel so lucky that for a while, we could call Cortina home.

Thank you to everyone who followed along during the Italy years....and now, on to Scotland! xo

Casunziei

Casunziei is completely Cortina, all the way. The normal reaction, if you've never heard of it - which most people never have - is to say "cas....what?!?!" Casunziei are half-moon shaped, very thin ravioli, stuffed traditionally with beets (also can be spinach but that's another story), and topped with melted butter and poppy seeds. It's a dish that we force all of our visitors to try (they all give it rave reviews) and one that we crave when we're in Colorado in the summer. We usually eat it at one of our favorite restaurants in town, but a few months ago, we made it at home for an article that I was writing for Italia Magazine. It took about four hours, but it's good to know that if we ever get a craving when we're away from Cortina, we know how to solve the problem.

Casunziei
Serves 6 (Makes about 60-70 ravioli)

For the filling:

4 small beets, roasted

1/2 ricotta

1 egg

2 tbsp melted butter

Salt and pepper

For the pasta:

2 cups flour

2 eggs

Water, as needed for the dough

For serving:

1/3 cup melted butter

Poppy seeds

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

To make the filling, put the roasted beets through a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in the ricotta, egg, melted butter and a bit of salt and pepper to taste.

Roll out sheets of pasta (here's how we make it) and cut circles with the top of a glass. Fill each circle with a small spoonful of the beet mixture and fold in half to seal, using a bit of water to seal the edges together.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle boil and add the casunziei – you don’t want to crowd them in the water so you will have to work in batches. Cook for about 3 minutes; remove from the water with a slotted spoon and drain. To serve, top with a sprinkle of poppy seeds and Parmesan and drizzle with melted butter.

 

This December in Cortina

It's no surprise that we love December in Cortina (last year I wrote about it here) and last week, I wrote an article for the Steamboat newspaper (here) about how living in Cortina in December is like living in a snow globe.

And it is, of course, because there are lights! And glasses of Prosecco! And giant Christmas trees! And skiers! And fur!

There are also some things that you have to battle in December though (and I don't just mean the crazy tourists with their crazy dogs).

The post office, for one. This December, I went to the post office six times - pretty standard for December, you may be thinking. Here's how the post office in Italy works though:

There are no lines (of course, because no one would stand in them anyway). Instead, when you walk in, you take a number from a machine by the door. The number system works like this: there are three letters (E, C and P) and then there are numbers to follow each letter. So, you may get E33 or P55 or C18, depending on which button you press on the machine.

There are usually two postal workers working at any given time, although there are windows for four. The workers make their way down the list calling out "E55! C20!" as they become available to help you.

Now, I'm not Italian, but I know how to read my slip of paper that says P40 on it. Other people though, are very confused by this. For example, if E20 is called, they may run up to the available window even though they have P20. Apparently, no one is actually reading the whole number which includes the letter.

Anyway. As you can imagine, it takes quite a long time to buy stamps.

Once you finally get up to the available window, you have to be prepared to spend. Of course the price of stamps to North America shot up this year (right before Christmas), to 2 euro and 30 cents per stamp. So to everyone we sent a Christmas card to this year: please save those for next year as well.

The other problem with the post office is that it's the only place in town where you can buy boxes to mail presents in. This means that people tend to bring shopping bags filled with presents that they pour out on to the post office counter while the postal worker finds a big enough box which is then assembled, packed, taped, addressed and finally, paid for. In Italy this process takes about 23 minutes per person. Also the post office only takes cash.

But! Now that it's December 22, I'm done with the post office! The most expensive Christmas cards in the world have been sent and all the presents have been mailed. Now it's time to tackle the grocery store. With that in mind, I'm taking the rest of the year off!

Ryan's mother is arriving tomorrow for Christmas and we're going to be relaxing and drinking Prosecco and watching Ryan's games (you can watch the live ticker here).

So! We hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year and we'll be back on January 5th, ready for 2015! xo

Our Guide to Cortina in the Winter

We're gearing up for our fourth winter here, and I thought it would be fun to put together a mini-guide for potential visitors of our favorite places to stay, eat and what you can do besides skiing. So! Here we go:

The Hotel Menardi is the most popular hotel with our own visitors - especially with my parents who stay there every year! Most hotels in Cortina have restaurants in them and the one at the Hotel Menardi is very good. In fact, we usually have a New Year's Eve dinner there.

It's fun to grab an aperitivo in the bar before dinner - they have these delicious little cheese sticks to go with your Spritz - and after dinner, you can take a deck of cards and one last glass of wine into the living room and sit by the fire.
(Via Majon, 110)

The first two years we were in Cortina, we lived in the Hotel Savoia which is a fancy five-star hotel near the center of town. You can stay in a room in the main hotel, or if you want to stay longer, rent an extended-stay apartment across the street (where we lived) which have living rooms for hanging out in and kitchens so you can cook your own meals. There is also a really nice spa on the bottom floor of the main hotel where you can relax after a day of skiing - we used to sneak in sometimes when we lived there and it was heavenly.
(Via Roma, 62)

The Hotel Cortina is right smack in the center of town, if you like to be in on the action. The week between Christmas and New Year's is packed in Cortina, and this is the place to be if you like to people-watch. They put out a good spread at aperitivo, with really good olives and chicken wings and they often have a band playing on the weekends.
(Corso Italia, 92)

There are also TONS of apartments in Cortina, owned by families in town or people who live elsewhere in Italy and rent them out. If you're thinking of coming to stay, it's worth it to check on airbnb for an apartment to rent, which can give you a real Cortina experience, most likely complete with Alpine-looking chairs which tend to show up in every apartment I've ever seen here.

My favorite restaurant in Cortina is Beppe Sello for their incredibly simple and delicious ravioli, and for their shrimp and avocado salad. We like to sit in the bar for a more casual dinner, but still order off the main dining room menu. The dining room gets pretty hopping between 8:00 and 9:00 during the high season, so reservations are a must. 

(Localita Ronco, 68)

Our other favorite spot is Cinque Torri, located right in the center of town. We found our favorite plate of spaghetti carbonara here (ask for it with zucchini) and Ryan ALWAYS orders the casunziei and a steak. Casunziei is a traditional dish of Cortina – it’s paper-thin raviolis filled with beets (our favorite) or spinach. Also try the canederli which are big bread dumplings made with speck (a type of ham) and cheese. The dumplings are usually served in broth, as a soup dish.

For really special occasions, we walk up the hill to Leone e Anna which serves traditional Sardinian food and is known for their pasta with fish eggs.

(Via Alvera, 112)

At lunchtime, if you want to grab something quickly, my favorite is the tramezzino which is a sandwich made on a spongy, crust-less white bread. They’re usually filled with chicken salad, tuna or ham and artichokes and they make a perfect light lunch (or snack) with a glass of white wine.

Our favorite bar/café is called Bar Sport. We go there for cappuccinos in the morning and macchiatos in the afternoon (like a cappuccino but with less milk, served in a smaller cup). At aperitivo, usually from about 6 pm to 8 pm, we go there for an Aperol Spritz, the classic Venetian drink or a Spritz Bianco (the same thing without the Aperol), and sometimes we stop in after dinner and have a Montenegro.
(Corso Italia, 132)

For the tiny Italian wine bar feel, we like Enoteca which is under the church in the center of town. It has really low ceilings, delicious Lagreins and tiny sandwiches made with butter and anchovies.

(Via del Mercato, 5)

Villa Sandi is the more trendy wine bar. One of my favorite things to do is to grab a table and order their cheese plate – they’ll bring you about four different cheeses with different sauces (“mustards”) to try them with and a paper bag of cut up bread. This is a great way to fill up before the nine o’clock dinner hour.

(Largo delle Poste, 30)

La Suite has a bustling aperitivo scene with apres-skiers spilling out the front door. This is another wine bar (surprise, surprise) but the bartender has been known to get crafty with his cocktails as well. If you are American, NEVER order a Bloody Mary in Cortina. It won’t be what you think. It’s tomato juice, a little lemon juice, some Tabasco and pepper. No ice, no celery, no HORSERADISH (a crime), no lemon wedge or decorative olive…stay away from the Italian Bloody Mary!

(Piazza Venezia, 6)

My favorite ski mountain in Cortina is Faloria (the gondola is located just up from the center of town, near the bus station). I like to go at 8:30 when the mountain first opens, ski for a few hours in the morning before it gets crowded, then stop and have a cappuccino on the sunny deck before heading back to town. Faloria is small and manageable (or North Americans might use the word “boring”) but it’s fun to do a few runs, stop and have a coffee or a beer, do a few more, stop and have a sandwich, do a few more, etc. Skiing in Cortina is more meant to be a fun few hours, not like the skiing in North America where you’re meant to be on the mountain at 8 am for four hours of skiing before a lunch break and then another three hours after, until you can’t feel your fingertips anymore.

The other mountain in Cortina is Tofana (the gondola is located behind the hockey rink). This is a bigger mountain that has more options for runs and is good for both beginner and intermediate skiers.

Faloria and Tofana are the two ski mountains right in town but there are tons of mountains all over the area, if you don’t mind driving (or taking a bus). Cinque Torri (where we hike in September) turns into a ski mountain in the winter, and there is also a trail called the Sellaronda which takes all day. You ski from town to town, all over different mountains, stopping to have drinks and sandwiches along the way, and at one flat point, you can even get pulled by horses. 

One of my favorite winter activities is people watching, especially during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Literally everyone is wearing fur; women, men, dogs (more than usual), babies, children…one time I saw a man wearing a floor-length fur coat with a bear head hanging off the back. The busiest times in December are opening weekend, which is at the beginning of the month, and then Christmas and New Year’s. If you don’t like crowds, don’t come at these times!

Cortina has a small Christmas market that lines the main promenade in December. It's fun to grab a cup of vin brule - hot wine with spices - and walk around, checking out the different booths. There's usually one with fancy chocolates and another one with lavender products: soaps, pillows, honey, etc.

Even if you don’t like to ski, it’s still worth it to go up to the top of the mountain for the views – and, if it’s a sunny day, for the sun.

If you like to sled, there are lots of places to rent sleds; one is at Mietres, which is a smaller ski hill that was behind our apartment last year. You can rent sleds halfway up the mountain (walk up or take the chair lift) and then sled to the bottom. I'm not one for sledding but many people think this is great fun.

In addition to downhill skiing, there is also a lot of cross country skiing in this area. Or, if you don't like any type of skiing, there's a great walking path that spans the whole town.

If you come in February, you can see the winter polo which is really fun and different.

And you can always go to a hockey game at the Olympic rink!

Come visit!