Chef Raymond created this light cream sauce for a recent pasta-making class. It goes beautifully with handcut pappardelle or Spinosi Pappardelle.

Serves 4

• 1 1/2 tablespoons Olio Carli Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup dried Asiago Food Dried Porcinis, soaked in 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup Panna da Cucina or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped 
• 2 tablespoon Delitia Butter of Parma
• Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon Italian flat parsley, chopped
• 1/2 recipe Fresh Pasta cut in Pappardelle, or 1 package (8 ounces) Spinosi Pappardelle
• 1/2 cup aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
• 1 tablespoon Black Truffle Oil

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a sauté pan. Drain porcinis, reserving liquid. Strain through cheesecloth if necessary. Chop porcinis.  Heat a sauté pan, add olive oil and then porcinis, turning to coat. Add white wine, and chopped sage and let wine cook down slightly. Slowly add cream, keeping temperature low so that cream doesn’t boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add  butter,  hazelnuts and turn to coat, simmer 5 more minutes.  Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil, add pasta. When fresh pasta rises to surface remove with a slotted spoon. Toss immediately in the sauce, adding a little pasta water if the sauce seems too thick.  Sprinkle with parsley and cheese, and drizzle each serving with a few drops of Black Truffle Oil if desired.

CityWine Tours brings a group through the North End every Saturday. After a few stops tasting wines, they're ready for something to eat and to pair with wines. Salumeria Italiana offers them tastes of cheeses, cured meats, and olive oils to add to the oenophile education. After all, one does not live by wine alone. Here's what two participants, who write a blog, said about the store and about Chef Raymond who told them all about cheeses, meats and EVOO. 

We love these tours and all of the visitors who come through -- Simmons College nutrition and nursing students who want to know about extra virgin olive oil and how to tell the good stuff, a tour from California curious about the store's history and its links to Italy, and the regulars at Saturday tastings who drop in to see what cheeses are especially wonderful that week. 

Almost everyone gets a taste of Rubio Aged Balsamic Vinegar before they go -- a delicious way to remember Salumeria Italiana.

Bloggers have become a force in the food world, and we embrace the enthusiasm and DIY spirit that so many put into explorations of food and cooking. Recently Salumeria Italiana greeted nine area food bloggers who toured the North End, under the sponsorship of Bertolli. With Chef Raymond guiding them, the nine heard about the history of the store, and tasted delicious imported Italy cheeses and meats. Raymond told them all about extra virgin olive oil, giving a virtual regional tour of Italy as he did. And the tasting finished with a round of tiny spoons -- Rubio, our exquisite aged balsamico, what Raymond calls "love on a spoon." They all fell under the spell!

Of course, what bloggers do best is write about their experiences, so read on to hear why Salumeria -- and Rubio -- won their foodie hearts.

http://carrotsncake.com/2011/07/culinary-tour-of-the-north-end.html

http://freefoodboston.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/a-tour-of-the-north-end-with-bertolli/

http://analisfirstamendment.blogspot.com/2011/07/bertolli-culinary-tour-of-north-end.html

Professor Merry White's Food Anthropology class recently came into the store to learn about Italian foods. Chef Raymond told them about extra virgin olive oils, why it's worth buying artisanal pasta, and how to select cheeses. And tasting cheeses, meats, and olive oils made learning delicious.

Here's the story: