B: BAGNA CAUDA

When I was 17 years old I was an exchange student in Piemonte, Italy. While there, and on my many successive visits, I NEVER ate bagna cauda, a specialty of the region. Now, not eating bagna cauda is like living for a year in Kansas City and never eating barbeque--shocking and, yes, a little shameful.  Well, 23 years later, this shameful gap in my Piedmontese experience has been closed. (Now, all I have to do is speak the local dialect, learn how to drive a stick shift, root for la Juventus, and avoid any air currents or drafts like the plague and I will move even closer to being a true Piemontese.) The season was right and, most importantly, my carissima sorellina was willing to make the dish. Grazie!

La bagna cauda is kind of like a fondue, except instead of cheese, the sauce is made out of anchovies, olive oil, garlic, and cream. You heat up the sauce:

You put the sauce in these special holders (note the little tealight keeping it warm):

Then, instead of dipping just bread into the sauce, you dip a variety of vegetables (cabbage, fennel, beets, potatoes, celery, peppers, etc.):

The next day, you heat up a little of the remaining bagna cauda and use it as a sauce for your pasta. BUONA!!