Well, we knew that we weren't going to attempt to track down and roast a turkey for Thanksgiving, so we decided to go with something more Italian. We had found a butcher in town that always seemed to have a nice selection of rabbit. Previously we had bought some loins and made rabbit ragù to spoon over polenta. For Thanksgiving we decided to make rabbit cacciatore.
I wasn't about to attempt to butcher a whole rabbit on my own, so we bought 3 leg quarters and 2 pairs of loins. The butcher asked if we wanted him to cut the leg quarters and we agreed, giving us 6 rabbit pieces with bones and 4 whole loins. We picked up some Sicilian red and yellow bell peppers, onions, garlic, and a jar of passata rustica.
We still needed antipasta, a side dish, and dessert. At the Conad grocery store we bought a mix of olives (teeny-tiny black ones and enormous green ones), little cipolle, marinated artichokes, and a burrata. To that we had some 54-month aged Parmigiano-Reggiano with balsamico, brie, dried sausage, and finocchiona back in the apartment. That should make respectable antipasta. Cinzia made a small tray of polenta with plenty of Parmigiano-Reggiano which we crisped up under the broiler. For dessert, we went to the famous Ditta Paolo Atti e Figli bakery here in Bologna and picked up a small Sacher torte and a small amarena tart. A torte and a tart? You have to like that. Add a baguette for dunking and a bottle of white wine and we were set.
The rabbit cacciatore turned out better than expected. Although it was much leaner than the usual chicken we use when making cacciatore, it was still fall-of-the-bone tender. If only we could eat as much as we could when we were younger! Plenty of antipasta, cacciatore, and polenta was left over. Not so with the dessert. I had never tried Sacher tort before, but had seen it in many bakeries. It’s two layers of dense dark chocolate cake filled with a layer of apricot jam and coated in dark chocolate ganache. The word “Sacher” is always written on the top in more chocolate. Give it a try if you can find it and mark your calendars as December 5th is National Sacher Torte Day! The amarena tart was wonderful as well. We’ve gone through 2 small jars of amarena Fabbri here in our apartment and will try to bring home a large jar.
We still needed antipasta, a side dish, and dessert. At the Conad grocery store we bought a mix of olives (teeny-tiny black ones and enormous green ones), little cipolle, marinated artichokes, and a burrata. To that we had some 54-month aged Parmigiano-Reggiano with balsamico, brie, dried sausage, and finocchiona back in the apartment. That should make respectable antipasta. Cinzia made a small tray of polenta with plenty of Parmigiano-Reggiano which we crisped up under the broiler. For dessert, we went to the famous Ditta Paolo Atti e Figli bakery here in Bologna and picked up a small Sacher torte and a small amarena tart. A torte and a tart? You have to like that. Add a baguette for dunking and a bottle of white wine and we were set.
The rabbit cacciatore turned out better than expected. Although it was much leaner than the usual chicken we use when making cacciatore, it was still fall-of-the-bone tender. If only we could eat as much as we could when we were younger! Plenty of antipasta, cacciatore, and polenta was left over. Not so with the dessert. I had never tried Sacher tort before, but had seen it in many bakeries. It’s two layers of dense dark chocolate cake filled with a layer of apricot jam and coated in dark chocolate ganache. The word “Sacher” is always written on the top in more chocolate. Give it a try if you can find it and mark your calendars as December 5th is National Sacher Torte Day! The amarena tart was wonderful as well. We’ve gone through 2 small jars of amarena Fabbri here in our apartment and will try to bring home a large jar.