Remembering Romagna, and a Giveaway

It's been well over a year since the inaugural Punk Domestics trip to Emilia-Romagna, Italy, but a day doesn't pass that I don't reflect fondly on it. I remember each day, each activity as clearly as if it were yesterday: 

• Making a local conserve called savor out of quince, apples, pears, nuts anda saba, reduced wine grape juice.
• Experiencing formaggio di fossa, a sharp cheese left to cure in the tufa stone caves of a small town. 
• Touring through Parma and Modena to unlock the secrets of Pamigiano-Reggiano, prosciutto and aceto balsamico.
• Enjoying the freshest, most succulent seafood imaginable, and learning new methods of preparation, including using the sweet salt from Cervia, known as il sale dei papi, as it was favored by the popes for centuries. 
• Meeting our new friend, the norcino, who stepped us through breaking down a 200 kg hog and turning it into salame, salsiccia, cotechino, pancetta, guanciale, strutto (lard) and the delectable cracklings known as ciccioli. 
• Learning to make hand-rolled pasta, including local specialty strozzapreti, at the tutelage of two very experienced ladies.
• Making piadina, the local flatbread, which has since become a staple in our house. 

We are going back for a return trip this October -- and you should join us! This time around we're letting the pigs live another day, and instead we're foraging for porcini mushrooms, and visiting a charming hill town for their festival of white truffles. It promises to be delicious indeed. Don't just take my word for it -- see what our travelers had to say about the first trip.  

But I simply couldn't wait another six months to relive some of the tastes of Romagna, so I reached out to my friend and tour organizer, Vanessa, begging for formaggio di fossa and the curiously flavorful salfiore di Cervia. So when she and her husband Mauri appeared on our doorstep the other night for dinner, she brought me the goods: A sizeable hunk of that deliciously astringent cheese, and two bags of salfiore. 

I know it may seem odd to be so passionate about something as mundane as salt, but this is truly special stuff. So instead of hoarding both bags for myself (and don't think I didn't consider it), I'm going to share it with you. Yes, you! 

This stuff will set you back nearly fourteen bucks on Amazon, but I'm giving one bag away for free. Free, I tells ya! (But yes, I am keeping the other one. I'm not that generous.) Here's how you can win it: In the comments on this post, tell us about an amazing ingredient or dish you had while traveling that haunts you to this day. Doesn't have to be Italy; it could anywhere, even be the next town over. But it should be delicious.

And here's a way to get more chances to win: Click here to tweet about this post, or pin this post on Pinterest (make sure the above image gets pinned so we can find it). All comments, tweets and pins must be logged by midnight PDT, Friday, April 5 to qualify for entry. US and Canada residents only. (Sorry, but I do have to ship the thing.)

So what are you waiting for? Get to it! And then be sure to check out our itinerary for the trip in October. We'd love to have you join us!

Congratulations to commenter Peggy on winning the bag of salt!