tagliatelle tonight

Say what you will, but I’m a fan of Giada De Laurentiis, the Italian-American chef, cookbook author and TV personality of Everyday Italian on Food Network Television.

Born in Rome and living in L.A., she’s bursting with celebrity blood  – her mother was an Italian actress and her father a producer/actor. Remarkably, her maternal grandfather was film producer Dino De Laurentiis, and if you watch a Fellini classic like La Strada, you will see his name in the credits.

Her TV cooking show features a variety of foods she grew up with and I have found the most inspiration in her simple and flavorful pasta recipes.

On deck for this week:

Tagliatelle with Smashed Peas, Sausage and Ricotta Cheese

1 pound fresh or dried tagliatelle pasta (or other wide, long pasta )

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pound hot Italian sausage

1 pound frozen peas, thawed

1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

1 bunch fresh basil leaves chopped (about 3/4 cup)

1/4 cup fresh grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1 teaspoon salt

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes if dry or according to package directions if fresh. Drain pasta reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet heat the olive oil and garlic over medium-high heat and add the sausage. Use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage into bite-sized bits. When the sausage has browned, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add the peas to the pan and, using the back of the wooden spoon, smash the peas. Turn off the heat. Add the ricotta cheese along with the cooked pasta and toss to coat, adding the pasta cooking water in 1/4 cup additions, if needed, to make the pasta moist. Return the sausage to the pan. Add the basil, Pecorino Romano Cheese and salt. Toss gently to coat and serve immediately.

recipe and photo credit: TV Food Network, Everyday Italian

home garden inspiration at the french laundry

A wrong turn in search for an outdoor spot to eat our picnic yesterday dropped us into the outdoor kitchen garden of  3-star Michelin,  award-winning restaurant The French Laundry in Yountville, Napa Valley.

My husband is a home gardening enthusiast – and I, a garden-eating enthusiast – so we were thrilled at our luck at this chance encounter to experience world-class methods and perhaps take a few tips home. With a mix of garden envy and awe, we wandered through the carefully laid out plots in between grass pathways. They are producing unbelievably beautiful vegetables, fruit, flowers and herbs.

I’ve read that in addition to being a professional test garden, the garden supplies around 30 percent of the The French Laundry’s produce. The restaurant is housed in a beautiful historic building that was once – you guessed it - a french steam laundry.

 

The restaurant’s organic garden grows many different kinds of vegetables and fruit and also tests unique plants. I walked past artichokes, lettuce, corn, eggplant,  three different kinds of basil and other herbs new to me, a variety of peppers and white strawberries. There were chickens and a bee house.

And then there were the tomatoes. We needed to find out what was in this soil to produce those tomatoes. The staff we talked to said they utilize crop rotation and organic compost – with chicken manure. There are perfectly placed drip tubes and tapes.

Enter the greenhouse where tomato vines are giant and tomatoes works of art.

The vines show off their supersized health.

The method of planting close together and meticulously stringing the vines up from top (see white string above)  are ideas we will take home.

The ice lettuce with hints of purple is beautiful covering.

The vegetables make room for flowers – many edible and used in the menu.

Freshly picked heirloom tomatoes, presumably for customers that night.

 

 Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry has earned its title as one of the  world’s best restaurants. The gardens, without doubt, are world class. Visiting them,  you will return home with fresh inspiration for your own garden.

Do you have a favorite public garden?

pirlo please

One of the first things I do when I’m in the Brescia area of Lombardy, Italy is order my favorite aperitivo Bresciano, a Pirlo. First, because it’s my all time favorite before-dinner cocktail. Second, because you can’t order a Pirlo by that name anywhere but in this province of Italy, as we learned when we lived there.

enjoying a pirlo - or spritz – in Italy this summer

First a bit of Pirlo trivia:

A Pirlo is not called a Pirlo anywhere outside of the Brescia province. It’s comparable to a Spritz in Venice.

It is not named after Andrea Pirlo, Italian soccer legend who played for Brescia. The name comes from the whirling, circular movement or “fall “of the campari or aperol when added to the base of white wine.

A Pirlo can be made with campari or aperol (I always choose aperol).

Brescians are passionate about their Pirlo. There is even a web site dedicated to the drink!

A Pirlo is a perfect, refreshing summer drink, in Northern Italy or out. Serve with some olives or patatine out on your deck or terrazza and enjoy. Cin Cin!

Pirlo Recipe

1/3 Prosecco or Brut  (a fizzy white wine)
1/3 mineral water (very fizzy)
1/3 Bitter Campari or Aperol
lots of ice and a slice of orange

photo credit: www.ilpirlo.com (cosi’ si beve a Brescia)

market day mementos

Inspired by ciao domenica blog’s recent post on bruschetta, I went to our local farmers market early yesterday morning to pick up some heirloom tomatoes and country bread for a batch of bruschetta I made for a party last night.

I have a confession to make. I can’t remember the last Saturday morning I was at our town’s excellent farmers market with its line up of local Northern California growers.  Why? Maybe when the weekend rolls around and I don’t have to take the kids to school,  the morning slips away. Or , with numerous local fruit stands,  picking patches and quality grocery stores, it would actually be hard not to buy fresh, local and organic.  (I know I’m lucky, my Canadian readers.)

In fact, I love visiting market days so much that when I’m traveling, I research the surrounding town market schedules and plan my itinerary accordingly. And, yesterday, somewhere between the heirloom tomatoes and the peaches, I was reminded of some of those market memories.

Earlier this summer when we were back in stunning Lago di Garda, Italy, we visited our favorite lake market in the town of Salo’.

prosciutto crudo at a good price at the market in Salo, Italy

It’s really a combination flea and food market. You can find underwear, Bialetti Mokas (we got one for 23 euros), cycling jerseys (husband got one), airplane gliders (son got one), a variety of meats and cheeses.

buying our mozzarella di bufala for the day’s lunch

Although we were nowhere near Campana in the south of Italy where fresh mozzarella di bufala comes from, we couldn’t help buy it to pair with tomatoes for lunch that day. (Northern Italy is closer to Campana than California at least and it was delicious.)  Back in California, my coffee poured out of our new moka each morning reminds me of our recent visit there.

I’ll also never forget visiting the Vucceria fish market many years ago in Palermo, Sicily.  This is a bustling market filled with smells and sounds including a dialect of Italian I couldn’t fully comprehend or speak. But the Vucceria is an exhilirating experience! Randomly, I have a hair bandana headband I picked up there that is stuffed in my closet and comes out from time to time at the beach. This great article describes Sicilian open air street markets.

Then there is my tablecloth from  Aix en Provence, France - which also has the most amazing open air markets. Olives, cheeses, meats, breads, housewares, linens, flowers, lighting, antiques and more.( The market at l’Isle sur la Sorgue is also well known for antiques). I have been to Aix twice and I would go back just for the markets. When I set our table – as I am about to in the above picture –  and lay out my tablecloth, I can see Aix!

olives in aix en provence

Market days are, for me, an essential part of exploring a village or city and an essential part of slow travel. Do you have a favorite market ?

top 3 new experiences this spring in Italy

On our trip back to Italy last month, we walked a lot down memory lane – visiting our old apartments, old jobs, old friends, favorite beaches, buildings, bars and restaurants. The children were gracious, my oldest posing in front of the hospital she was born and standing on the lungolago for a picture where I strolled her endlessly years ago.

But what was equally enjoyable was the creation of new memories with our children through new experiences in an old country with endless things to discover.

Three of our favorite new Italian finds this Spring include:

Visiting the Madame Fisscher exhibit at Palazzo Grassi, Venice (through July 15, 2012)

Even if you are not a contemporary art fan or have had enough of Venice (but is that possible in the city that never gets old?), it may be worth visiting this exhibit if only to  enter the breathtaking Palazzo Grassi for the first time.

From the brochure, “The exhibit offers a journey through Urs Fischer’s artistic career from the nineties to today.  His work, characterized by humor, penchant for paradox and virtuosity of execution, employes simultaneously an extraordinary diversity of media and materials.  It calls into question the history of art and sculpture, our relationship to the body, the notion of time and the status of the object.”  Our favorites include “Untitled”,  two men in candle wax allowing visitors to witness the transformation as the flame burns (the head representing Fischer himself had fallen into his hands when we were there) and the idea of the importance of all processes of transformation, the body’s endurance and duration of artwork; Jeff Koons monumental pink “Balloon Dog” (which is used to contrast a nearby Fischer work);  “A Light Sigh is the Sound of my Life”,  an enormous sphere, slowly rotating on itself made of different materials (what looked like skin and hair). My daughter also gave a thumbs up to the “floating” cigarette box  hung by a thin wire from the ceiling while the naked professional model/woman in the ”Necrophonia” room was a surprise.

Eating at GustaPizza, Florence

Near Piazza Santo Spirito in Florence I ate some of the best pizza I’ve had in central and northern Italy. Our friend who lives in the area introduced it to us. Delicious and affordable,  my pizza came with rucola and grana (above) while the kids had Margherita. If you are traveling in the area this summer, this casual restaurant is not to miss.

Renting a motorboat, Lago di Garda

All the years we lived on the lake, while we enjoyed its stunning water by ferry-boat and swimming, it’s hard to believe we never rented a boat. On the lungolago in our old village of Toscolano Maderno, you can rent a motor boat for an hour for 75 euros. While a splurge for us, the kids agree it was one of the best activities we chose to do on the trip. The views of the villas and castles and mountains lining the coast are best experienced by boat. The boats go fast enough to feel the thrill of bumping over small waves and wind through the hair.

unjarred

One of the good habits I brought back with me from Italy and have kept up – unlike ironing – is how I cook. More specifically, this refers to food items that I now make myself instead of purchase in a jar. They include salad dressing and a basic tomato sauce. Why? They taste better. You know exactly what is inside them. And it feels good. When it comes to the basics, it’s quite easy to pass up the jar and do it yourself.

Vinaigrette salad dressing: Pour a cup of extra virgin olive oil into a small bowl (local if possible tastes the best, in my opinion. We get our olive oil at the local farmers market and it comes from the olive orchards in Corning, Northern California). Pour half cup of red wine vinegar (any will do). Add dried oregano, a small teaspoon of dijon mustard, a few teaspoons of honey, a garlic clove (or less, depending on your taste) chopped finely, and salt and pepper. Whisk together in a small bowl or shake in a jar. Play with the amounts and see what works for you. Tonight we tossed our dressing with our own lettuce and arugula from the backyard garden, and it tasted heavenly!

Basic summer tomato sauce: Place peeled, diced, very ripe Roma-style tomatoes (in can – we like Italbrand - or from the garden or market) in a pan. Salt and cook tomatoes until the water is mostly evaporated. (Americans like sauce runny, Italians do not. I side with the Italians on this one.) At the end of cooking, add a bit of extra virgin olive oil and hand-torn basil.  If the tomatoes are good quality and well matured, the sauce will be delicious. It’s all about the ingredients. Use as a basic sauce to add to, or as is, mixed with spaghetti or pasta of your choice.

Buon appetito!

alligator pears

In the latest and exceptional book about Ernest Hemingway, “Hemingway’s Boat”, by Paul Hendrickson, I took (rather large) notice of a minor mention because it had to do with my favorite fruit, the Avocado. Hemingway’s name for it was alligator pear and  I love it even more now. 

Hemingway picked his alligator pears fresh off the hillsides near his home in Cuba and often enjoyed it as a first course while fishing in the blue seas off Key West and Cuba on Pilar, his beloved boat.

My favorite ways to eat an Avocado include sliced in a sandwich, dressed with sea salt and olive oil, mixed into salads, and smashed for guacamole. I probably have been caught peeling and devouring it like an apple, too. The book  – which deserves a separate post and is not about Avocados, but a deep, thoughtful, well researched book offering a different look at Hemingway through the incredible, obscure stories of  a few men lucky enough to cross paths with him –  describes how Hemingway ate his alligator pears. Simple & straightforward. (Of course.) But more delicious sounding than any method I’ve tried.

Cut  in half.

Take out seed.

Pour a puddle of vinaigrette dressing inside the seed cavity.

Scoop out the flesh with a spoon or fork.

Enjoy. Mmmmm.

(Salt air, blue seas and a cold beer recommended, but not necessary.)

You can read the NY Times review of recent Hemingway books including  ”Hemingway’s Boat” here.

favorite things have their place

In The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews sings about raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…those favorite things that “I simply remember…. and then I don’t feel so bad…”

Lately I’ve been thinking about favorite things and experiences abroad that – even today - you can’t find at home or buy at World Market Cost Plus. Growing up, a highlight of the holiday season was the arrival of heavy brown boxes of the sweet-smelling, purple-wrapped Milka chocolate bars from our German relatives. ( It sort of depresses me to find it so easily – in fact, at World Market –  in California today.) I felt the same way finding American-style bagels in Milan. Just not the same as when they would arrive in someone’s suitcase when visiting me in Italy.

So, I got to thinking. What are some of those favorite things that belong to a time and place and can’t be transported? A type of food we encounter on our travels, or a holiday or tradition from home that we miss while living abroad. So I begin by asking fellow blogger and expat Michelle at I Heart Mondegreens  if she would share with us via a guest blog a list of her favorite things about her homes in California and Southern Spain. Read on….(and if you are like me, after reading this, you’ll be ready to book your next trip to Spain asap!)

Things about my homes that I love the most

by Michelle at I Heart Mondegreens

Four years abroad perhaps comes with the inevitable – dealing with the occasional homesickness and, somewhere in the process, beginning to idealize your home country. When I first arrived in Spain, I loved every single thing about it. Spain was fun, exciting, a real dream – I never wanted to leave. Then three years rolled around and, while happily married and living in my beautiful home away from home, I couldn’t help but start to miss certain things about my original niche halfway across the world…

1. Family and friends. Not that I didn’t miss them initially, but having spent 4 years abroad (and moving around during those 4 years) means I’m still in the beginning stages of establishing real friendships. For me, this is the toughest part about living abroad – there have been times when I’ve really needed a true friend around, someone who isn’t always my husband, if only to have the occasional girl talk and additional support.

2. The Holidays. Okay, so Spain has plenty of awesome holidays and fiestas. But once November (aka The Holidays) start to roll around, I can’t help but become a mushy lost soul who wants nothing more than to hop on the first plane out and spend Thanksgiving with her family. I’ve cooked and celebrated three memorable Thanksgivings with several of the utmost wonderful people here in Spain, but there really is no place like home.

3. Multiculturalism. Growing up in California, I always had a very multicultural group of friends – we spoke up to 10 different languages between us! Learning about my peers’ different cultures and beliefs throughout the years taught me tolerance and how to keep an open mind, as well as other lessons that have been invaluable to me during my travels and life abroad. Not that there isn’t a sense of multiculturalism in Spain, because there is, but I might say that it’s still not something Spaniards strongly embrace.

This next section is where I’ll admit that my homesickness got the better of me this year, which, albeit pensively, led me to book a ticket home to California in the middle of the night. The holidays are just around the corner, and I was delirious with excitement. But the following day I woke up and, realizing I’d be gone for a month, immediately began to miss my Spanish abode. In some ways Spain can be like that thrilling badboy relationship you know you need a break from but just can’t get enough of…

1. Spanish food. Maybe it’s because I’ve been here a while, but there is something comforting about Spanish food. Based on a Mediterranean diet, a typical Spanish meal consists of a balanced variety of local vegetables, fruits, legumes, meat, and fish. Since moving to Spain, I’ve never felt healthier when it comes to my eating habits.

2. Tapas! Living in Granada means indulging in the tapa culture, and it’s not hard to see why it’s so popular. A tapa is a small free appetizer served at local bars and restaurants for each beer or glass of wine you order. At 2 euro a glass (about $2.75), many students order two to three rounds and call it a meal.

3. The daily market stalls. I love wandering around the city and smelling the dried fruits, spices, teas and treats found in the open markets. It reminds me of the Farmer’s Market, and is open most everyday as long as there’s good weather.

4. Feeling European. There are days where I still wake up with excitement and think, “I’m in Europe!” There’s something sexy and enchanting about walking the old cobble-stoned streets amongst ancient stone buildings, all while listening to church bells ring from inside of a 500-year old cathedral and feeling its dark, tumultuous history seep into your bones.

5. Living near the Alhambra. A 14th century palace built by the Moors for the last Muslim Emirs in Spain, the Alhambra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I love walking outside the palace walls, where there are lush gardens, streams, and peaceful areas for just sitting and relaxing. I’ve wandered the palace grounds several times, and it never ceases to be one of my favorite spots.

6. The cheese selection. I fell in love with cheese in Europe. Belgium, Holland, France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain – I cannot get enough of their cheeses! Goat cheese, sheep cheese, pesto cheese, spicy cheese, fresh cheese, cured cheese, aged cheese – it’s all locally made here, in almost any town or city you live in. Heaven, pure heaven.

7. The wine selection. Okay, I know California has a great wine selection, too, and I love it. Yet Spain’s is just as delicious and also offers a wide local variety. The best part is that there are still plenty of traditional families who make their own wine from their small vineyards, and most happen to be very delectable (yes, women still crush grapes with their feet!). It’s an opportunity to taste an occasional rare wine, and goes to show that bottling fermented grapes isn’t only for the posh.

8. Not needing a car. One of my favorite parts about living in Spain. Having grown up in Southern California, where a car is essential for even the basic necessities such as grocery shopping and getting to work, I relish in the freedom of not having to worry about filling up my tank or looking for parking. Walking, riding a bike, taking the bus, or hopping on a train is quite common here, and much more economical. Not to mention the fact that you get a daily dose of exercise mindlessly incorporated into your daily routine.

 

9. Spanish traffic jams. I’d trade road-raged drivers for these happy sheep any day!

10. Siesta. The days run much later in Spain (9pm to 11pm is normal dinnertime), so shops and small businesses usually close from 2pm to 5pm, allowing its employees enough time to go home, eat with their families, and relish an actual break before returning to the humdrum of evening work. With more recent globalization, siesta may no longer be a daily occurrence for everyone, but is still highly appreciated, especially during the boiling summer months.

a lotta gelato

Last week we took our first spring dip into ice cream for the year.   Admittedly, we’ve been spoiled having lived in the country of gelato. Where it has no age or gender limit. Where I couldn’t get enough of watching grown men – businessmen – walking with briefcase in one hand and gelato in another (in a CONE and not a hint of insecurity about it).  And where I ordered pistachio and chocolate every time at our local gelateria and it was divine.  In our town I have found a place almost as good. 

We love ice cream, any way you say it and any way you serve it.

amo el helado – chocolate caramel chunks

gelato ti amo - mango with a cookie on top

j’aime la glace – pomegranate

ich liebe eis – strawberry

What’s your favorite flavor ?