The Triangle Plate

This is the story of why I love Luca. Wherever he is now, I hope he knows how he changed my life . . .  and my kitchen. It was an affair to remember, and dear readers (in case you thought you were about to get in on something really juicy), it was all about the food. Luca worked at Di Gennaro, an Italian specialty shop in the Fünf Höfe in Munich. It was Dave who discovered the shop originally, in search of some real ciabatta and told me how much I would enjoy the place. I paid a visit, the first of many, and somewhere along the way became friends with Luca of Sardinia, with us both speaking of a strange mixture of Spanish, Italian, and German to communicate, and not without lots of laughing. Whenever I was passing by, there he was, standing by the door and yelling “Ciao! Bella!” in a loud voice (at which point every shopper nearby would turn and look). Mostly what I came for (besides the thrill of watching those guys cut into a huge whole wheel of parmeggiano reggiano and to laugh with Luca) was the “Aceto balsamico di Modena — Old” which was aged something like 24 years and poured out thick and syrupy, making just about any food ethereal. And I came for the cheese. I blame Luca for my addiction and addition of parmeggiano reggiano to my “pantry list.” For 8 years, I’ve considered this cheese an essential ingredient in my kitchen, and we never, ever run out. The same goes for good balsamic which is now an expensive habit of mine.

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