tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22831413530648422992024-03-14T03:26:10.794-07:00Ugo's Personal Food JournalA diary of some of my food experiences: in the kitchen, at the market or store, or on the road!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-60705846767196316122013-07-16T00:41:00.003-07:002013-07-16T00:42:32.073-07:00Ristorante Al Focolare di Maddi in Fontana di Papa (Ariccia, Roma)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you ever happen to drive on the Nettunense (the road that connects the road Appia to the cities of <a href="http://funsimpleandtasty.blogspot.it/2012/03/seafood-in-anzio.html" target="_blank">Anzio</a> and Nettuno where the US troops landed to fight the Germans during WWII), you might want to stop at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AlFocolareDiMaddi" target="_blank">Ristorante Al Focolare</a> for a great meal experience. Maria Elena Achilli is the owner and cook and the restaurant features a number of Roman and Marchigian dishes. Their specialties are the appetizers, their home made pasta and sauces, and the grilled meat, particularly the ABBACCHIO SCOTTADITO (grilled lamb), which is one of my favorite entrees. I am lucky enough to live in close proximity to the restaurant so every time we have guests, we love to take them there for a great Italian eating experience. The restaurant is open only for lunch, with two evenings open for dinner (Friday and Saturday). It is recommended to call for a reservation and to check on their schedule (+39 06 937 4131) although the place can accommodate 130 people inside. If the weather is nice, it is great to eat outside where there are a few tables between the shade of the trees. They have internal parking and a small kids playground. The address is Via Piani di Santa Maria 93 or Nettunense Km 12,800 in Fontana di Papa (Ariccia, Roma).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeIZLKP47Td9lJJGlfnjl7_I0_s0nlVoY_NXDJpR0hKambVdhgsb47fq1w-rcyBqKPnpydk_5CAk5_bmNxdU69_OpkRLvL7lTVTi1_Ki3RdGYq8rSah2zWmBbJzQwIKZZUqZgl0zR7ak/s1600/IMG_3635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeIZLKP47Td9lJJGlfnjl7_I0_s0nlVoY_NXDJpR0hKambVdhgsb47fq1w-rcyBqKPnpydk_5CAk5_bmNxdU69_OpkRLvL7lTVTi1_Ki3RdGYq8rSah2zWmBbJzQwIKZZUqZgl0zR7ak/s320/IMG_3635.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzMCBgqsNL72eAT5PI5zMoIfyQL-2D2FyUO8x50b3OxNV5SHxl4RLsAIBRa1drmry1CpUDTf1pfzp9ld4Tg9SedtEpNMfROXXqFVMHohIYHk4wBqD-Rod2-kJ3jl1XvoD2_dGWwSi2Io/s1600/iPhone+Picture+March+-+May+2012+167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzMCBgqsNL72eAT5PI5zMoIfyQL-2D2FyUO8x50b3OxNV5SHxl4RLsAIBRa1drmry1CpUDTf1pfzp9ld4Tg9SedtEpNMfROXXqFVMHohIYHk4wBqD-Rod2-kJ3jl1XvoD2_dGWwSi2Io/s320/iPhone+Picture+March+-+May+2012+167.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiW7jSZZmfSgifVqWccGPcazhTMra46z85JudePBQUM1MRKKbytcyLrKtrfWr2vcmimrwxGC-AlNjebIn40IZly9UrUbPu9j3fGFoTI3dVoaEE2JKzcvhhONmeqdYyKhGJnQlZKpGIEXQ/s1600/IMG_2988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiW7jSZZmfSgifVqWccGPcazhTMra46z85JudePBQUM1MRKKbytcyLrKtrfWr2vcmimrwxGC-AlNjebIn40IZly9UrUbPu9j3fGFoTI3dVoaEE2JKzcvhhONmeqdYyKhGJnQlZKpGIEXQ/s320/IMG_2988.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2sJC2yx3Ao72DPCV7gSvaCc84aos3-2mjvSMiNh0V6c0AfJQ9VTuBv54U9gWZDa4e0qnsWIeiniI-9Xm9akt0DaHDPmSui0KCStIHfTQ7MRTdGA-Bb5cp5jr1AuKsDxTCd2hY7-pJyMI/s1600/IMG_3629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2sJC2yx3Ao72DPCV7gSvaCc84aos3-2mjvSMiNh0V6c0AfJQ9VTuBv54U9gWZDa4e0qnsWIeiniI-9Xm9akt0DaHDPmSui0KCStIHfTQ7MRTdGA-Bb5cp5jr1AuKsDxTCd2hY7-pJyMI/s320/IMG_3629.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAuphQzZY0pZdYfc1bnvVDr7m8qb8EzGBA5g4wZ6WYAG86DxsWur5p4awfLGZgQ9pb7UIyAqcsHH1kTCpGBci8FHMAOqacapBxkiOgwHuqAO5RW5Voy0p6NRvWcK3cKXcimIF5zKH86Y/s1600/IMG_3628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAuphQzZY0pZdYfc1bnvVDr7m8qb8EzGBA5g4wZ6WYAG86DxsWur5p4awfLGZgQ9pb7UIyAqcsHH1kTCpGBci8FHMAOqacapBxkiOgwHuqAO5RW5Voy0p6NRvWcK3cKXcimIF5zKH86Y/s320/IMG_3628.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51GhxXP7_q5RD1C7mN8fMcK7Isi_urtYOq5DneKLnnniCS8mCShL67QmHXTBTrFCp5EB-StzhPP88yvuIllXNa_me-MVBXeHp_ql271KvcIPDVG6iajav0Bhul_AmzIqXVl2ukmWWi7k/s1600/IMG_3246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51GhxXP7_q5RD1C7mN8fMcK7Isi_urtYOq5DneKLnnniCS8mCShL67QmHXTBTrFCp5EB-StzhPP88yvuIllXNa_me-MVBXeHp_ql271KvcIPDVG6iajav0Bhul_AmzIqXVl2ukmWWi7k/s320/IMG_3246.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqH32_5LcQ02HUKH79VqcKCULPYFYemFN39iuefRmLdUGe5RIUBO09-25jhZwiyjORpqXl3Q8w8mGGymuxDLVSJl9qp0GHlLpsg43DpuHn-84a4tzv6MLHNVrlLU-IEv-hw91HQQEBwY/s1600/iPhone+Picture+March+-+May+2012+520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNqH32_5LcQ02HUKH79VqcKCULPYFYemFN39iuefRmLdUGe5RIUBO09-25jhZwiyjORpqXl3Q8w8mGGymuxDLVSJl9qp0GHlLpsg43DpuHn-84a4tzv6MLHNVrlLU-IEv-hw91HQQEBwY/s320/iPhone+Picture+March+-+May+2012+520.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5yqxuM0Z0fB8xmkYN8SgJ5OSdlISkYbyCRsYkHFJMS2qUVsISFamknfchPMLkr43nCm-fRdy7TED6odi_0gr-rtR4sl6Asbzh7LUMPVki9XW-XlsGNrtCxqgtDfBJPB7LhZ7kMJtIXL0/s1600/iPhone+Picture+March+-+May+2012+521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5yqxuM0Z0fB8xmkYN8SgJ5OSdlISkYbyCRsYkHFJMS2qUVsISFamknfchPMLkr43nCm-fRdy7TED6odi_0gr-rtR4sl6Asbzh7LUMPVki9XW-XlsGNrtCxqgtDfBJPB7LhZ7kMJtIXL0/s320/iPhone+Picture+March+-+May+2012+521.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOtY-YCBf9usw8mttJ9lIK8tpDCN-i-dwkLiPD_jh3G7KyebbrLhtoLWibzrYTV6Lt6DAvFSKt_pG_4yunCWwlPgRx3qNXC50FFJ4XWmGKmFCsh_saahgKzxSmGcD6ESR0ug0Nn50pNI/s1600/iPhone+Picture+March+-+May+2012+522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOtY-YCBf9usw8mttJ9lIK8tpDCN-i-dwkLiPD_jh3G7KyebbrLhtoLWibzrYTV6Lt6DAvFSKt_pG_4yunCWwlPgRx3qNXC50FFJ4XWmGKmFCsh_saahgKzxSmGcD6ESR0ug0Nn50pNI/s320/iPhone+Picture+March+-+May+2012+522.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdoID3hHw1SxE5D5xkzX_lgL49lrxVgWh9ybAOoBh8JBdLKfp47sr9IwljWzAiqWM1EU8WE7PrwFqFyRaG9klhtFVDwJE2whCTMsWZHOA4v5dLoT9Hq3juEdy8O2zjEKH7rQftisC6Mh0/s1600/iPhone+Picture+March+-+May+2012+523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdoID3hHw1SxE5D5xkzX_lgL49lrxVgWh9ybAOoBh8JBdLKfp47sr9IwljWzAiqWM1EU8WE7PrwFqFyRaG9klhtFVDwJE2whCTMsWZHOA4v5dLoT9Hq3juEdy8O2zjEKH7rQftisC6Mh0/s320/iPhone+Picture+March+-+May+2012+523.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYgtGOZ3udCI-dnv31PnEACZXlEX6bYsg0gstHVa4FA1YjRSV-ftuHHxBw0dvN7UZXHKFMCxiRQy9vki7z90HKLB5kmsowzcW7oOyRub0zUxOwRCaHygtqTTFQfUejFAYI4oF3Jiz4Tg/s1600/iPhone+Picture+March+-+May+2012+524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYgtGOZ3udCI-dnv31PnEACZXlEX6bYsg0gstHVa4FA1YjRSV-ftuHHxBw0dvN7UZXHKFMCxiRQy9vki7z90HKLB5kmsowzcW7oOyRub0zUxOwRCaHygtqTTFQfUejFAYI4oF3Jiz4Tg/s320/iPhone+Picture+March+-+May+2012+524.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-20253883360554626912012-03-05T23:39:00.005-08:002012-03-06T00:09:37.014-08:00Seafood in Anzio<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="text-align: left; " >A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I were finally able to go on a real date together. We chose as our destination the seaport of Anzio, about 12 miles from our home. Anzio is historically significant as it is the harbor where US troops and their allies landed during WWII to fight off Germans and Italians. We came here before for Gelato with our kids, but we were eager to try a small seafood restaurant that was recommended to us: La Fraschetta del Mare.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKn_pmcKxHQuYs1BcfmARBAjY2bz9RFWc3HNda5pBMhl5_pZU7xheaE6IdahPqnML_27KWCqtvf4JD1N9wv1FQmcQgyvL9ulbsIxsbXvDUjEp4hNpUuJgv5LHSmn71mbYDwMqpxY2hZ4/s1600/Mom.JPG" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKn_pmcKxHQuYs1BcfmARBAjY2bz9RFWc3HNda5pBMhl5_pZU7xheaE6IdahPqnML_27KWCqtvf4JD1N9wv1FQmcQgyvL9ulbsIxsbXvDUjEp4hNpUuJgv5LHSmn71mbYDwMqpxY2hZ4/s320/Mom.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716688930596154914" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><span >The restaurant offers a fixed-price menu (16 euros/person, which is not bad for seafood), which varies from time to time depending on what fish they can buy in the morning from the fishermen returning with their catch. It is located right on the harbor so you know they don't have to go far to get fresh fish. The type of cooking is based on the concept of <i>Pesce Povero</i> (poor fish), which means that this is not the top of the line seafood, but it is mostly whatever get trapped in the fishermen's net. However, if cooked properly, this also can be very tasty and presented well. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><div style="text-align: center;"><span><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_5L3SvLPNm6fJZRhyphenhyphenSqY96QT6xnX9cBb5V8mw4vYtDyhr0YflUMLeb5uzTFrPJaPdGYxNhiTfpafOXNFlAFngB-koQNQLwdnP0BGEc4uy7VLVyj3rsaIaEx6awxuYbmyrs-vyR3vjyk/s1600/Seafood+2.JPG" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU4q2jpQmt1C6p_NvrNUJ5XHDDdh-9EWkwJRwCSs09bX9Ejo8xLSY4MxxF6HQH_rwafParKUxTg-R8VfkZ2l0rdJzh4QDEFYUYOcv-5a6MSFwhlaEyM_L8s5whMveZOXGfB0oitdTfj2g/s320/Seafood+1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716688935863090914" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><span >The eating experience include three courses: appetizers, a main dish, and a second dish. Drinks are extra (but we were lucky that the cashier did not have exact change so he gave us a nice discount and we ended up paying 15 euros each including drinks). Everyone gets the same things and this should make it for quick service and low prices. The place is small and quite popular so you are pretty much sitting elbow to elbow with other customers. Our appetizers included a small piece of fried polenta with a topping of black olives and anchovies, a cod meatball, couscous with a tomato and fish sauce and a small fish salad with fresh fennel and oranges.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><span >Next they served us some pasta with tomato sauce and shellfish (shrimp, mussels, and clams). It was pretty tasty and it helped fill us up. The last dish included three small deep fried fishes, bruschetta with cod and tomato sauce, and some fish with zucchini that I can't remember the name.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; text-align: justify; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; text-align: justify; "><span style="text-align: left; "><span style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_5L3SvLPNm6fJZRhyphenhyphenSqY96QT6xnX9cBb5V8mw4vYtDyhr0YflUMLeb5uzTFrPJaPdGYxNhiTfpafOXNFlAFngB-koQNQLwdnP0BGEc4uy7VLVyj3rsaIaEx6awxuYbmyrs-vyR3vjyk/s1600/Seafood+2.JPG" style="text-align: left; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_5L3SvLPNm6fJZRhyphenhyphenSqY96QT6xnX9cBb5V8mw4vYtDyhr0YflUMLeb5uzTFrPJaPdGYxNhiTfpafOXNFlAFngB-koQNQLwdnP0BGEc4uy7VLVyj3rsaIaEx6awxuYbmyrs-vyR3vjyk/s320/Seafood+2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716688944927562018" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; text-align: left; "><span style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_5L3SvLPNm6fJZRhyphenhyphenSqY96QT6xnX9cBb5V8mw4vYtDyhr0YflUMLeb5uzTFrPJaPdGYxNhiTfpafOXNFlAFngB-koQNQLwdnP0BGEc4uy7VLVyj3rsaIaEx6awxuYbmyrs-vyR3vjyk/s1600/Seafood+2.JPG" style="text-align: left; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLF13S7al684w97Ih9SZXIoIotwgcUqnt9lUqMwfaLjWvUzcmJvUpOWnCfp4MPvUNm0fv3X2ijuAlzecIK5gA2-0ybDlwqmWQDz890P8_s1hzT5ZGdN2Hj5r65Jmd4GBDkcGQ1oZJ5qJw/s320/Seafood+3.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716688952299745682" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span><div style="text-align: left; "><span style="text-align: justify; " >Overall, it was a pleasant surprise and we will probably come back. It is definitely not a five star restaurant, but the price was adequate and we had plenty to eat. </span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-30545357865948362362012-02-15T13:10:00.001-08:002012-02-15T13:57:59.700-08:00Carciofi alla Romana (Roman Artichokes)<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left; ">We have moved to Italy a month ago. It has been a really busy time during the past year and so and I neglected my food blog. I guess I had a million excuses for doing that... but for heaven's sake... WE ARE IN ITALY NOW! The world-capital of delicious food. I don't have any more excuses. Wherever I go, whatever I eat is worth building a lasting memory. So, here I am again... after a long silence, I am ready to repent from the slack and resume my food journal. And since we now live in Rome, what better start than the original CARCIOFI ALLA ROMANA?</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Roman artichokes are smaller and with no thorns. They are rounder and I would also say they might be a little more tender. We bought ten of them for 5 euros from a guy selling them from a truck parked on the side of the road. I would think this recipe would work for any kind of artichoke.</div><div><br /></div><div>INGREDIENTS:</div><div>1. Fresh whole artichokes</div><div>2. Fresh parsley</div><div>3. Fresh garlic</div><div>4. Olive oil</div><div>5. Chicken broth</div><div>6. White wine (optional)</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCHkUU-HA65l8IDuZv5O0U4Yxpiwp0Gx6-7IJ12g9PvNSGJg4je53rSYQyvsofthims3b_Jqkm6y6zOm0TNBXA_zfBaXH0_HOwfDZAhqnXPBU_ciV4uv29xm2lA2dLjVFJjhyphenhyphen2p0U8i2Q/s320/Step+1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709484067985133778" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline; display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 190px; " /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Remove a couple layers of outer leaves and cut about 1/4-1/2 inch from the top. Roll the artichokes on a hard surface until they become a little more lose and tender, enough to stuff them in the middle. Chop the fresh parsley and mince the garlic. Mix them and stuff a spoonful inside each artichoke. In a large pan, place oil, broth, and wine. Place each artichoke face down in the pan, cover and cook at low/medium heat until artichokes are tender (use a fork to poke them). Enjoy!</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwI6Aqt5qwlze1R6_DVcMIDwSfDshcUPhuokclRsB8jXopwzJGFO_smayP1yH0WDrWP5uesiUphZzPXLCBwIPBUz4o6AulLzb06Ht5VEjWRTxE66_OnKG58r26nrQhsaifnmXFszn8s50/s320/Step+2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709484427464498962" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline; display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 217px; " /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAp2BBcL9PfWirxLJvLH5wvjsfrANP1B9efQC_ZMnZkqEFNn89dkAoJz79yojQaCCrP8cwQLiq96D8MKdP7bhNolzCt3AaggwjL6Lu7pkcvMZC07kLaZqqeivCagHD3-tJdEVOnj1MyME/s1600/Step+3.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAp2BBcL9PfWirxLJvLH5wvjsfrANP1B9efQC_ZMnZkqEFNn89dkAoJz79yojQaCCrP8cwQLiq96D8MKdP7bhNolzCt3AaggwjL6Lu7pkcvMZC07kLaZqqeivCagHD3-tJdEVOnj1MyME/s320/Step+3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709484437934140850" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 221px; " /></a><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-31707996668569840402011-03-07T12:01:00.000-08:002011-03-07T12:41:56.372-08:00Apple Fritters (Frittelle di Mele)<div style="text-align: left;">This recipe was shared by my good friend Arianna. <i>Frittelle </i>are a traditional treat Italians make or buy during the month of February, when celebrating the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnevale_Ambrosiano">Carnival Season</a>. After kids play with each other dressed-up with traditional customs (such as <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin">Arlecchino</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulcinella">Pulcinella</a>, </i>etc.) and throwing <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confetti">coriandoli</a> </i>(this is the Italian word for confetti) and <i><a href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1374/532968248_d392166a88.jpg">stelle filanti</a></i>, they return hungry at home where their mothers feed them with <i><a href="http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chiacchiere.jpg">Chiacchere</a></i> and <i>Fritelle</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ingredients:</div><div>- Four cups of white flour;</div><div>- 1 Tbsp of white granulated sugar;</div><div>- 2 Large eggs;</div><div>- 2 Cups of warm milk;</div><div>- 3 Apples;</div><div>- 2 Tbsp yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup of warm water;</div><div>- A pinch of salt;</div><div>- Canola oil to fry.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Mix sifted flour with sugar and salt. Add eggs and the yeast solution. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer with the flat beater for the whole mixing thing. Peel and slice apples in small pieces. Add apples to mix. Add warm milk slowly. Continue mixing until you obtain a fluffy and smooth dough that is quite sticky (almost the same consistency of pancake mix). Cover the bowl with a dumped towel and let it rest until it doubles in size at room temperature (ca. 30 minutes). </div><div><br /></div><div>Heat oil in large frying pan or wok. Place a small piece of bread in oil to see if it is frying. When the piece of bread turns golden-brown, the oil is ready. Dip a metal spoon in a glass of cold water and scoop a spoonful of the soft dough into the hot oil. The dough should come off quite easy from the wet spoon. Dip the spoon each time prior to scoop up the though. Place few fritter in the oil at the time making sure they are floating in a single layer. Make sure the oil is not too hot or it will burn the outside of the fritters while the inside will still be raw. When the fritters are golden brown on one side, flip them with a wooden spoon or a slotted spoon or spatula. When ready, remove fritters carefully and place them on a dish or bowl covered with paper towel to absorb excess oil. Sprinkle the fritters with additional granulated cane sugar and enjoy them when they are still warm.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXxQZHZUTdI2cfmg1tzfPJIXx2z9WfEV7n2KtNywHrkItYzD3DKXhrJ3DGgDIymrnt0FOPkrR8q9ny9muu7tEpScZYIBSmm5z8gBB6gy_3djHjE4lJm2tnrotTSK1oeUWQmsHoZmwBcHA/s320/Frittelle+di+Mele.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581440586089339186" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-47913741980506844152011-02-19T10:17:00.000-08:002011-02-19T10:47:11.001-08:00Risotto Quattro Formaggi<div style="text-align: justify;">Here is a simple but very tasty recipe, one of my family's favorites! Risotto can be made in many different ways and I might post other variants in the future. The basic recipe can be used to make <a href="http://funsimpleandtasty.blogspot.com/2008/01/fun-in-kitchen.html">ARANCINI</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For risotto, you need to have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arborio_rice">Arborio rice</a>. You can find small packages of this type of rice in the pasta/rice aisle at Wal-mart. It is a bit more expensive than regular sticky rice, but you have not much choice as you won't be able to get the needed texture with any other kind of rice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For four people: </div><div style="text-align: justify;">- a small finely chopped onion or 1/4 cup of dry onion;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 1/2 stick of butter;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 2 cups of Arborio rice</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 1 cup of white cooking wine;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- salt and pepper to taste;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 4 oz (half a box) cream cheese;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 4 slices of finely sliced <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provolone">Provolone cheese</a> (you can find it at Costco or Harmons);</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 2 bullion cubes;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- hot water;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream (optional).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a large sauce pan melt butter and saute onion until golden on medium heat. In the meantime, in another pan boil some water, cover, and keep at hand. Add rice to the first pan with onion and butter. Stir well and add cooking wine and bullion cubes. Keep stirring. When the wine is absorbed, add a cup of the boiling water. Keep stirring and keep adding water as it is absorbed by the rice. The consistency has to be somewhat cream. Don't let the rice stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Add salt and pepper to taste. When the rice is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_dente">"al dente"</a>, add the four cheeses and a couple tablespoons of butter. Keep stirring until all cheese has melted. Serve immediately. Preparation time ca. 45 minutes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT1qCV-w2OQ1d2XTeuVM2yvkUov21uPDXbmkGPr2GJgOITIZeP7pG4EVzQeENNsuHjV_d3e4g213r0jYRzuAAygjuLjJumaVRqREGyYQjBwdtq9frbLwtLMkKdyleuEqSNaUCQPjcwCsQ/s320/Risotto+formaggi.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575473976625049554" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 254px; " /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-72267674926244449702011-02-05T16:12:00.001-08:002011-02-06T16:53:42.507-08:00Chocolate Cake with Butter Frosting<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This recipe was given to me by my good friend Melissa. It was a huge hit. Delicious and nutritious (if nutritious means tons of calories). At the end the whole thing had four sticks of butter in it. Wow. Never had anything before that taste so chocolaty. Love it! Love it! Love it! I can't wait to make it again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For the cake batter:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (or dark chocolate);</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 9 oz. granulated sugar;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 6 eggs, divided;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 9 oz. (two sticks) of unsalted butter;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 1 cup white flour.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Melt chocolate with butter (either in the microwave or on a double boiler). Add sugar and yokes, one at the time. Mix well. Add flour and mix. Whip egg whites and fold them into the batter gently. Bake in a round cake pan for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chocolate butter frosting:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 9 oz. (two sticks) of unsalted butter;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 5 oz. powder sugar;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 9 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (or dark chocolate);</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 3 yokes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let butter stand at room temperature until it is soft, usually 30 minutes. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or on a double boiler. Mix half of the sugar with the butter until you obtain a smooth thick cream. In another bowl mix the egg yokes with the rest of the sugar, until your mix is smooth and silky. Mix the two creams together, ensuring that there are not lumps. Mix in the warm melted chocolate until you have a smooth chocolate cream.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You should prepare the frosting when the cake is baked and cooled down. Spread the frosting evenly on the cake. Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Decorate each slice with a touch of whipped cream. Enjoy!</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSl1w_G7w890VVWr-6vxICzsRYedDamt2qEZQigPY_j9dkgarFmcH-iFs4dn7apbzfYyrOzmecX4_BFBtRbeoDMvUlbIpYHueCbzWhpzPn6LLX4vZfBJZnc2Hdv4ejT9YbQxWTNORQYs/s1600/Cake+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizSl1w_G7w890VVWr-6vxICzsRYedDamt2qEZQigPY_j9dkgarFmcH-iFs4dn7apbzfYyrOzmecX4_BFBtRbeoDMvUlbIpYHueCbzWhpzPn6LLX4vZfBJZnc2Hdv4ejT9YbQxWTNORQYs/s320/Cake+1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570432334603013170" /></a></div></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhuNgTzeZGL7du5uXUOkclCcoe5ilG2RFKexhNbxuQ8BZXkSzBu36-UGqMgJct9Z8DFbpyteubJT7PBX0s7qCTu8ug-i3VwD-ABRWBoQ-Em2wgkUKkyvUTVX2ZnwirEZfbmSoDyNERPvo/s320/Cake+2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570432335508509026" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 231px; " /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-77762078760513874112010-03-15T11:41:00.000-07:002010-03-15T12:57:55.755-07:00La Cassola!<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Cazzuola</i> o <i>Cassola</i> (lit. "casserole") is a pork-and-cabbage-base dish typical of Brianza, a very beautiful hilly area north of Milan and between the two branches of Como's Lake (Lago di Como). Every time I visited my parents, my mother would prepare this family favorite for everyone. Now that my future visits to Italy are quite uncertain, I have decided to experiment in the kitchen and see if I could make it myself. I made it twice in the past month and both times it turned out excellent, which means, according to science, that it was no accident and that I can actually duplicate my initial success. :) The difficulty with this dish lays in finding the ingredients and in the amount of time they need to cook. Besides that, it is not very complicate to make and the final results is a true feast for all your taste buds. It is a dish that require faith also. The ingredients and process may not be very stimulating at first (my wife comment when she first saw me making it was: "...and we are going to eat THAT?!?!"). However, when I pulled it out from the oven and she tried some, I could not keep her away from it! The photos with this blog entry are from last week preparation, which was for a large dinner we had Sunday. The quantity of ingredients I used was for at least 12 adults (about 2-3 times the normal recipe for 4-6 people). So, the recipe I am describing here will serve 4 to 6, not the amount you see in the photos.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">INGREDIENTS:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Large slab of adult pork ribs (half rack)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- One package (5-6) fresh pork bratwursts</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- One pig foot cut in two halves (don't freak out yet)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 4-5 pieces of pork neck bones (OK, you can freak out now) :)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- One small onion</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 3 carrots</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 4 celery stalks</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- One cup of white cooking wine</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- One large green cabbage</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Half stick of butter</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- Salt and pepper to taste</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 2-3 Bullion cubes (optional) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">PREPARATION:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rinse the pig foot and place it in a large pot with the neck bones. Fill the pot with cold water until all pieces are covered and boil for one hour. I found pig feet and neck bones at Wal-mart in the fresh meat section. They are both fairly inexpensive (duh! - who really buys this stuff?!?!). The pig feet I got came already cleaned, halved, 5 pieces per tray (which is what I needed for the amount I was preparing). For the regular recipe you can boil two halves and freeze the rest, or boil all of them together for extra rich pork stock. My mother keeps the pig foot with the rest of the meat as my grandfather loves it. In my case, after the pork stock was ready, I only kept the neck bones (rich of meat) and got rid of the feet. The traditional recipe would ask for <i>cotenna</i> (pig skin) boiled with the pig foot. The boiling turns them into a tasty gelatin, but I just can't get myself to like the texture. That is why I replaced the skin with the neck bones. The end product is a rich, flavorful, and thick pork stock to be used for cooking the ribs, sausages, and cabbage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4IZL-YSAX1_sR8e-chwvZtJoEACv8urkNK96vXSjUbYDTd0SAMCkUZttnE3dWp99ZlcJfRBFHzcIVmSgtopbznReAAJdaVyoyGwWZIegEVo1DVdxJyBh2TqjAZcaG5BH5li4NMzSJtw/s320/Neck+Bones+and+Feet.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448950004348982482" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In another large pot, melt the butter over medium heat with the finely chopped onion, until golden. Cut the meat as to have single rib pieces and cook with butter and onion. When the ribs are lightly brown, pour wine and keep cooking until it evaporates. Add finely chopped carrots and celery. Stir as to ensure all the ribs are cooking evenly. Chop the cabbage in large chunks, removing and disposing of the stem (the cabbage will eventually cook down to nothing, releasing much fluid to the juice). Add to ribs. Poke the bratwursts with a fork 3-4 times, cut them in three pieces, and place them with the cabbage and ribs. Add 3-4 cups of the pork stock, the halved foot (one or two pieces) and the neck bones). Cover and let it cook on low heat for another hour. From time to time, move the pieces of meat around as to ensure they cook evenly. If necessary, add more pork stock (you can then freeze the rest for soups). Add salt and pepper to taste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJ2OGf98Z01ZUyBXmTiGr9TFal77BFr_Z1wQo49U2jFajGVhDxHYOv_KJyMwsTojbVQv-mt2mVp1wStLHuerC-yfXcLwEyJTqxAyyk-_wVRHKTgh50grUQFQvRl3PXFYE9vJgwTjCFjg/s1600-h/Pork+Ribs.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJ2OGf98Z01ZUyBXmTiGr9TFal77BFr_Z1wQo49U2jFajGVhDxHYOv_KJyMwsTojbVQv-mt2mVp1wStLHuerC-yfXcLwEyJTqxAyyk-_wVRHKTgh50grUQFQvRl3PXFYE9vJgwTjCFjg/s320/Pork+Ribs.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448950000771060946" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJklvSnFAOfX3hCZ-gYIAzLUuptps1T-7yKt6nowYoY95oRK-xsEy5HFJR4hSYpm9RtUZbyZN6qbeS4JTnjzfcQqD0ZPKir9bv5GC9nkTNEOR9b-xqVnyR1GVIQDpkOua-r7_zv-MN-I/s1600-h/Cabbage.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJklvSnFAOfX3hCZ-gYIAzLUuptps1T-7yKt6nowYoY95oRK-xsEy5HFJR4hSYpm9RtUZbyZN6qbeS4JTnjzfcQqD0ZPKir9bv5GC9nkTNEOR9b-xqVnyR1GVIQDpkOua-r7_zv-MN-I/s320/Cabbage.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448949989058508690" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrRQwihzzCC1TBB5HbK14DDQay5RTjIhP4YYUdKATOrZikC4ya1aLUL7xgv03oaXmZpetx2nJOump3_cHzlLa4ELJqTrGSVkemhwLVYTg8WAnx3s3XpskbPVjjzWl5fwVfDVu5UWjPWuc/s1600-h/Bratwurst.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrRQwihzzCC1TBB5HbK14DDQay5RTjIhP4YYUdKATOrZikC4ya1aLUL7xgv03oaXmZpetx2nJOump3_cHzlLa4ELJqTrGSVkemhwLVYTg8WAnx3s3XpskbPVjjzWl5fwVfDVu5UWjPWuc/s320/Bratwurst.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448949984673693650" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After about one hour, transfer the content of the pot in one large oven Pyrex pan (9x13). For a more flavorful dish, you can crumble 2-3 small Bullion cubes on the top of the meat. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 300 for another hour. After about half hour, check to ensure that the meat on the top is not getting too dry. Use a spoon to pour some of the juice on the top or move meat around carefully. Continue to cook until the meat is basically falling off the bones. I like my meat well done so I tend to cook it a little longer. Remove foil if you desire your meat a little more dry (which provides a contrast to the more juicer pieces at the bottom of the pan).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Cassola</i> is traditionally served on a bed of <i>Polenta</i> (corn mash), which can be prepared about 5 minutes before serving the meat. (Note that in the picture I am only showing one of the two Pyrex pans I obtained with the larger amount of ingredients I used for my dinner. One Pyrex pan should be sufficient for the amount of ingredients listed for this blog entry).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4IZL-YSAX1_sR8e-chwvZtJoEACv8urkNK96vXSjUbYDTd0SAMCkUZttnE3dWp99ZlcJfRBFHzcIVmSgtopbznReAAJdaVyoyGwWZIegEVo1DVdxJyBh2TqjAZcaG5BH5li4NMzSJtw/s1600-h/Neck+Bones+and+Feet.JPG"><br /></a></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5Vbs4ApypMyPog6JF9aGBZ64QmUQVpJ2rwOpN72ZTnhwZzehP3PdFpLclS43FYgQl9BfMS2rMw2YxSbIDztFl6jPVppakv07msrbYvZ-eRVqngfn6W0-Guq25WWa5jN0KygIoEfGGcU/s1600-h/Cazzuola.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5Vbs4ApypMyPog6JF9aGBZ64QmUQVpJ2rwOpN72ZTnhwZzehP3PdFpLclS43FYgQl9BfMS2rMw2YxSbIDztFl6jPVppakv07msrbYvZ-eRVqngfn6W0-Guq25WWa5jN0KygIoEfGGcU/s320/Cazzuola.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448949976125386242" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-56642315871485342312010-02-20T09:55:00.001-08:002010-02-20T09:56:28.415-08:00Great food in Italy!<div style="text-align: justify; ">Of course, during the week I was in Italy to complete my PhD requirements, I also tried to eat as much of the local food as possible. Let's simply say that I have a different approach to the "ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT" concept!! Here are some of the delicious food I had while I was there.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">This first item is called SPAGHETTI AL CARTOCCIO. It is a seafood pasta dish where spaghetti noodles are mixed with a rich tomatoes and cream sauce and an incredible variety of shellfish (shrimp, mussels, prawns, clams, squid, etc). Then, the whole thing is placed in aluminum foil and served as a "cartoccio" (rough looking package). Very messy, but an absolute treat for seafood lovers like me). I ate this at the Ristorante Pizzeria Italia, one of my favorites in Pavia, both for quality and quantity (as well as reasonable prices) in Pavia.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZYNXvEuHOIXLIELxv8BNkYpjv8RGp4x7KQWA-QrqW1LM_dQh4_aKkRAlYp5KpYexMn2hnXCLaakWuqYN1Age2hCyIiPMdglct24ysWTx-e9JY6o0fG43bDcaRSZtiU9hdOBq_nwtnDQ/s320/Spaghetti+al+Cartoccio+1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440361565069884754" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTukWTezxmNeRV4xRsQfCvYUEzesGNyOlZex_eAytaa7ebxVPJ8xyJ0zXnhm7JRUb-fC4AyF1PZpIBHUFwBzLCUR14xRUM5wvbcF-lpT-8itBK7DUe_fdtLj3lADYaGLz17sQZz5BDWHA/s1600-h/Spaghetti+al+Cartoccio+2.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTukWTezxmNeRV4xRsQfCvYUEzesGNyOlZex_eAytaa7ebxVPJ8xyJ0zXnhm7JRUb-fC4AyF1PZpIBHUFwBzLCUR14xRUM5wvbcF-lpT-8itBK7DUe_fdtLj3lADYaGLz17sQZz5BDWHA/s320/Spaghetti+al+Cartoccio+2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440361568849449730" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify; ">Another day, Ale and I met his wife Patrizia for lunch and went to a very fancy restaurant downtown Pavia (I can't remember the name, but as soon as I find it I will add it here). It has a lunch only menu with few specials that change from day to day and the pricing was reasonable. They serve an awesome tray of mixed breads and then I ordered some gnocchetti al ragu di mare (small potato dumplings with a diced seafood and tomato-based sauce), trota salmonata with zucchine trifolate (pink trout with sautee zucchini) and a delicate dessert made of sliced cupcakes and fresh custard cream.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHuGv0HFIU1THZkcyCjaN_uUS93FlEC7fHPRTQUkPhY_ihgd80SUdP5mruBr4nNpIwm_h7DBYH7aIwmJ8NHAClFBgpXGFTMqSoXXiu-BQ8Udp_kqRJP8TkQd_bLSSPtxnLhK5s_x7nv0/s1600-h/Bread.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeHuGv0HFIU1THZkcyCjaN_uUS93FlEC7fHPRTQUkPhY_ihgd80SUdP5mruBr4nNpIwm_h7DBYH7aIwmJ8NHAClFBgpXGFTMqSoXXiu-BQ8Udp_kqRJP8TkQd_bLSSPtxnLhK5s_x7nv0/s320/Bread.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440363139459398210" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnF4xQE6NqArMSfcnfq3ujmTbmBS_NkAElxkvw2tCHJ6HYGeS8vZQLcD3ioXmC-pKe116aEE8FS-zD6rybivvgRwqUHCp3Mn4WFQVef1-DLxzDYZ_gXd-8SMy8HBCspa5baUr9OfGU5BA/s320/Gnocchetti+al+ragu+di+mare.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440363176238054130" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQyeastDXb6XiBtEL48w0j5eCuUlciBv-K5D05J0LCKfP5CseCTU0Zs1t0PsA2q4AMVndh9s_32dX48rzc37c16OT8Y-FvXtc2ZJuSYMwNaUuGDNZ_UCdex2LEOB9ZQwr-BzpMsKm7Pg/s1600-h/Trota+salmonata.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQyeastDXb6XiBtEL48w0j5eCuUlciBv-K5D05J0LCKfP5CseCTU0Zs1t0PsA2q4AMVndh9s_32dX48rzc37c16OT8Y-FvXtc2ZJuSYMwNaUuGDNZ_UCdex2LEOB9ZQwr-BzpMsKm7Pg/s320/Trota+salmonata.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440363186430788434" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuG3jnuoccC6AU2MGQKSgaChKRa69NUzoQApimXICJLbQldoSzTMOd8egeXLTFDil7nV115-ImJhnxDTuCi5Md_1FplTAlcPqdtakWiSnMil_4ILrkvVpGTHH8wqfzCNNZsZ2_JYv-gg/s1600-h/Dessert+alla+crema+di+vaniglia.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuG3jnuoccC6AU2MGQKSgaChKRa69NUzoQApimXICJLbQldoSzTMOd8egeXLTFDil7nV115-ImJhnxDTuCi5Md_1FplTAlcPqdtakWiSnMil_4ILrkvVpGTHH8wqfzCNNZsZ2_JYv-gg/s320/Dessert+alla+crema+di+vaniglia.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440363150016542482" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div style="text-align: left; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">On the Saturday before I left, I was able to take the Achillis to one of my favorite restaurants near where my parents live. The name of the place is Ristorante Simposio and they are famous for their seafood dishes (for a change). We really overdid it here!! But who could resist. First, who knows when I would be back here. Second, it was a goodbye with some very good friends and there was a little bit of uncertainty now that the PhD was over about when I was going to be able to see them again. Lunch was absolutely incredible. We started with some appetizers and things the kids could also enjoy such as Antipasto Misto di Mare per Patrizia (mixed seafood appetizers) and some Fritto Misto (mixed fried shrimp and calamari) for Leonardo. Ale and I instead enjoyed a very tasty, yet delicate Risotto al Pesce Persico (risotto with perch fillet). It was a joy for every taste buds. I think Ale ended up ordering a second serving since his daughter Beatrice was eating all his.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><div style="text-align: justify; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbwDBugL24HkmAxTpslWkXqgPvZ75tKP0bVAd-d42POK_1ynkBShXU6sF28imH6fui65k5ofHl67l7o3hcQFXP-VXoQHctRVBNg4msYRDYKpYsguAAnaWoQo4wnAyff6T3jp7BvCo54E/s1600-h/Antipasto+di+mare.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbwDBugL24HkmAxTpslWkXqgPvZ75tKP0bVAd-d42POK_1ynkBShXU6sF28imH6fui65k5ofHl67l7o3hcQFXP-VXoQHctRVBNg4msYRDYKpYsguAAnaWoQo4wnAyff6T3jp7BvCo54E/s320/Antipasto+di+mare.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440367695423141650" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 226px; " /></a></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfXoazS9u2zBn-Sm0dEZj4sKemmOZjsQ-EjvbReTIQoltS3YJWKx2FoEqKX9pOa3cT0IH-7EjqrUwqO2D-gEcPrGsBTKDyJJAKk8df0B0fpnGRYlPR-Fc6fTExpWa8xx06ISprgyvMmk/s1600-h/Fritto+misto.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfXoazS9u2zBn-Sm0dEZj4sKemmOZjsQ-EjvbReTIQoltS3YJWKx2FoEqKX9pOa3cT0IH-7EjqrUwqO2D-gEcPrGsBTKDyJJAKk8df0B0fpnGRYlPR-Fc6fTExpWa8xx06ISprgyvMmk/s320/Fritto+misto.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440367706864985778" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 241px; " /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhu6CcrUt_vcOObPmnJyB6BhxQjnSjYLzTXoSpBY5mYidAvjIMiOt2B3tQznji_f8cdfK79EnywVRO5wmcHMHGZwOvmJiMgg7Rged6hNu-vMR5Z0FdkzDBMGf00kp4HdwVmNrEXagamnY/s1600-h/Risotto+al+persico.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhu6CcrUt_vcOObPmnJyB6BhxQjnSjYLzTXoSpBY5mYidAvjIMiOt2B3tQznji_f8cdfK79EnywVRO5wmcHMHGZwOvmJiMgg7Rged6hNu-vMR5Z0FdkzDBMGf00kp4HdwVmNrEXagamnY/s320/Risotto+al+persico.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440367712323130738" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 238px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Next, we ordered one of the house specialties and the very reason we came here to eat: their magnificent and colossal seafood soup (with some more grilled fish just in case we were still hungry! What a feast for the eyes, the fingers and the mouth!!</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZv0LsH7osUBWxUKzhOk9KXsx73iitW8vtM_DDo7oj6twDC_l3hA3CCmG4IyBQH-IhTfofws5pcWgYGrbyQtKMxG4-Zyj1oPVSH0sfpNsnBZGblECXB11spirLmEGbFu5JVMz55buqF2o/s1600-h/Zuppa+di+pesce.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZv0LsH7osUBWxUKzhOk9KXsx73iitW8vtM_DDo7oj6twDC_l3hA3CCmG4IyBQH-IhTfofws5pcWgYGrbyQtKMxG4-Zyj1oPVSH0sfpNsnBZGblECXB11spirLmEGbFu5JVMz55buqF2o/s320/Zuppa+di+pesce.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440379066312821714" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzg0RC48gs7qWVHJtO6ps08FrZ2v0CnJmNha9m_YOPIcC_f-Vfip5IzCGP-JOsEawutAM1uIxIaKKlifegP8ioYYtARTqGP2MPDlvnxYWe1EPeduCGP-JnIC231-RNSarJQ-txVLSnNY/s1600-h/Grigliata+di+pesce.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzg0RC48gs7qWVHJtO6ps08FrZ2v0CnJmNha9m_YOPIcC_f-Vfip5IzCGP-JOsEawutAM1uIxIaKKlifegP8ioYYtARTqGP2MPDlvnxYWe1EPeduCGP-JnIC231-RNSarJQ-txVLSnNY/s320/Grigliata+di+pesce.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440379057429384738" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><u><br /></u></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzg0RC48gs7qWVHJtO6ps08FrZ2v0CnJmNha9m_YOPIcC_f-Vfip5IzCGP-JOsEawutAM1uIxIaKKlifegP8ioYYtARTqGP2MPDlvnxYWe1EPeduCGP-JnIC231-RNSarJQ-txVLSnNY/s1600-h/Grigliata+di+pesce.jpg"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfXoazS9u2zBn-Sm0dEZj4sKemmOZjsQ-EjvbReTIQoltS3YJWKx2FoEqKX9pOa3cT0IH-7EjqrUwqO2D-gEcPrGsBTKDyJJAKk8df0B0fpnGRYlPR-Fc6fTExpWa8xx06ISprgyvMmk/s1600-h/Fritto+misto.jpg"></a><div style="text-align: justify; ">The last item on this glorious week of food delicacies was dinner at my parents' home with the sweet company of my grandparents Perego. Mom made one of his the dishes she is famous for: La Cassola (aka Cazzuola), a typical dish of this area of Italy (Brianza). It is a mix of cabbage, pork sausage and pork ribs cooked slowly in the oven and eaten with Polenta (corn mash). I need to learn how to make it myself because once a year is just not going to do it for me! Grandma Perego completed an already perfect meal by bringing a beautiful Meringata ice-cream cake (a cake made exclusively of vanilla ice-cream and meringues), which is my very favorite dessert in the world (it is only better when eaten with hot chocolate poured on it!).</div><div style="text-align: left; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3hSsYcx0whMl-L7USkQyGJyV2-x2soKEc_nnKnbpOGzUqa5kxxs26p-GRXHEKJrLssncjuKvSWUM3N0VKPLE4pkQCnTrL0obcfkaK04H2sRxRMwBQhPy00c5eWEbOVC5tTmrWbddODkw/s1600-h/Eating+at+the+Peregos.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3hSsYcx0whMl-L7USkQyGJyV2-x2soKEc_nnKnbpOGzUqa5kxxs26p-GRXHEKJrLssncjuKvSWUM3N0VKPLE4pkQCnTrL0obcfkaK04H2sRxRMwBQhPy00c5eWEbOVC5tTmrWbddODkw/s320/Eating+at+the+Peregos.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440384912066022082" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKRXLEWJiVnnZWOYyoNFq2JX15AljiSsKZEWijW_zBjLyf8_tcA7CCVtmM5Phx2xDcWlFh9jKLG6r-v_ADhZQTUIozsVnZ7fKQ3CUBi9uZ8vCF5IFDC9yE7eKBS0lneeyz6kxu4KMySc/s1600-h/Meringata+Nonna.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKRXLEWJiVnnZWOYyoNFq2JX15AljiSsKZEWijW_zBjLyf8_tcA7CCVtmM5Phx2xDcWlFh9jKLG6r-v_ADhZQTUIozsVnZ7fKQ3CUBi9uZ8vCF5IFDC9yE7eKBS0lneeyz6kxu4KMySc/s320/Meringata+Nonna.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440384899593830818" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbwDBugL24HkmAxTpslWkXqgPvZ75tKP0bVAd-d42POK_1ynkBShXU6sF28imH6fui65k5ofHl67l7o3hcQFXP-VXoQHctRVBNg4msYRDYKpYsguAAnaWoQo4wnAyff6T3jp7BvCo54E/s1600-h/Antipasto+di+mare.jpg"></a></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-83545942809097054082010-01-02T11:40:00.000-08:002010-01-02T12:09:22.531-08:00New Year's Day<div style="text-align: justify;">Italians are a very superstitious people. This is particularly evident on the first day of every year. Everything that happens or that you do, could be potentially reflecting on the type of year you are going to live. The first phone call you receive... The first person you see on the street... And of course, the first meal you have. The traditional dish in Italy on January 1st is a pig leg called <i>Z</i><i>ampone </i>(=big leg) or <i>Cotechino</i> (which is basically the same thing without the pig foot at the end of it). For how awful they may sound, they are actually delicious since what you are really eating is a cooked, juicy, soft salami. Here is a photo I found on the internet. </div><div><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2HRp1T_q3Nb65O-QGpQDQXGnqeUxczF9qX-_owKBSq1vqhvmuZ8AWBOom0m06otejryOkPRIxB2td7Fvuz09yGc-ZcU1zvzw77NwaXNiJ43wmvIsMyDcmrdFpzByo21gb5U169qeJZP0/s320/Zampone+pure+e+lenticchie.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 248px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422231135504367202" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I usually bring one with me from Italy as they are vacuum packaged. Unfortunately, this past Fall I did not go there and therefore this is the first time in years that I have to do without. Instead I made a small pork roast cooked slowly on a stove top in milk. As you can see from the photo I just posted, the Zampone is served with mush potatoes (optional) and lentils (mandatory!). Lentils represent money. The more lentils you eat on New Year's Day, the more money you will make during the year. If I am correct, such tradition derives from the biblical account of Esau selling his birthright to his younger twin brother Jacob for a bowl of porridge (and the folklorist version is that the bowl of porridge was indeed a serving of lentils). Of course, I made plenty and ate as many as I could possible handle. Here is my recipe for lentils (great as a side dish or as a soup):</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">- a package of dry lentils (1lb)</div><div style="text-align: left;">- one small carrot, one small onion, two celery sticks</div><div style="text-align: left;">- 2 cloves of garlic (minced)</div><div style="text-align: left;">- 4 TBSPs extra-virgin olive oil</div><div style="text-align: left;">- 4 slices of bacon</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 2 bouillon cubes (I prefer the vegetable based flavor from the Knorr brand that you can find in the ethnic section of the grocery store)</div><div style="text-align: left;">- 1/2 TBSP of Paprika<br />- Pinch of black pepper</div><div style="text-align: left;">- 1 small can of tomato paste</div><div style="text-align: left;">- water</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a food processor mince finely carrot, celery and onion (soffritto). Sautee in a large saucepan or pot with olive oil and garlic. Cut bacon in small pieces and cook it with the vegetables for a couple of minutes. Rinse the lentils in cold water, drain and pour in the pot. Add black pepper, cubes, paprika and cover with water. Add tomato paste. Stir occasionally and cook covered on low heat for approximately one hour. Check from time to time stirring regularly and adding more water if necessary (it depends on how "soupy" you would like the end product to be. I don't like mine watery). The lentils are ready when they are soft. Have a prosperous 2010!!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-81260791332422840232010-01-01T22:57:00.000-08:002010-02-21T21:11:53.179-08:00Pasta "Amore" for New Year's Eve<div style="text-align: justify; ">We usually don't do much on New Year's Eve. Since we have been married, Jenna and I have traditionally fed and put the kids to bed at their regular bed time and then I would make a candle-light seafood dinner for the two of us with some sort of sparkling juice and/or San Pellegrino mineral water. However, this year we have been invited by Jenna's cousin to attend a party in Heber City to welcome home her son from his two-year LDS mission in Chile, as well as celebrating the end of 2009 and the arrival of 2010 together. I was asked to cook the main dish for the evening, specifically to make the same pasta dish I prepared last August at Jenna's family reunion. This is a fairly simple dish, very tasty and very rich that I came up with during the past year and it has now become a family (and apparently also an extended family) favorite. I don't have a name for it, so for the time being I will just call it "Pasta Amore". Any suggestions for a better name are welcome! :)</div><div style="text-align: justify; ">For this occasion I made 6 pounds of pasta and of course the three photos below reflect the amount of ingredients necessary to feed 30-50 people (there were other food available at the party). The following ingredients are for the typical one pound pasta packaging and it would feed approximately 6 people.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">INGREDIENTS:<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">- 1lb Pasta. I prefer the <i>Farfalle</i> (bow ties) shape from either Garofalo (Costco) or Barilla (many grocery stores carry it), but even <i>Penne</i> or other pasta shapes would do it;</div><div style="text-align: justify; ">- 3/4 cup sundried tomatoes (I get mine at Costco);</div><div style="text-align: justify; ">- 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (depending on taste);</div><div style="text-align: justify; ">- 1 TBSP of dry basil leaves or a couple of fresh ones;</div><div style="text-align: justify; ">- 1 bouillon cube;</div><div style="text-align: justify; ">- 1/2 pint of heavy whipping cream;</div><div style="text-align: justify; ">- 1 lbs of cooked, tail off medium or large shrimp (I get mine frozen in a 2lbs bag at Costco);</div><div style="text-align: justify; ">- 1 cup of fresh mozzarella cheese (I prefer the Belgioioso Pearls at Costco or any fresh diced mozzarella would do it).</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Cook pasta following the directions on the packaging. In a non-stick fry pan, sautee the sundried tomatoes in their oil with the bouillon cube, garlic, and basil. Do not overcook. When the tomatoes look softer, add the whipping cream and continue to cook over low/medium heat. In the meantime, thaw the shrimp (if frozen) under lukewarm water, drain and place in a bowl. If you are using a larger mozzarella loaf or ball, dice in cubes approximately 1/4 inch in size or smaller. Set aside. When the pasta is <i>al dente</i>, remove from heat, drain, and mix with the sundried tomatoes sauce. Add shrimp and fresh mozzarella. Toss and serve immediately.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6rccYqYBjdHuXCp1n02VJoTj51MZZkaJp8q_9Z8Aw37SOCifuJl9d0QgFHThem17MuL67dYB8zWr2AKQPQcQvlJm4rvdmyggj3JxJdacf_09p5rnpWQtcL7PtH4ztH7cAyfoHp7rTUc/s1600-h/Shrimp+and+Mozzarella.jpg" style="text-decoration: none; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6rccYqYBjdHuXCp1n02VJoTj51MZZkaJp8q_9Z8Aw37SOCifuJl9d0QgFHThem17MuL67dYB8zWr2AKQPQcQvlJm4rvdmyggj3JxJdacf_09p5rnpWQtcL7PtH4ztH7cAyfoHp7rTUc/s320/Shrimp+and+Mozzarella.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422025387695107122" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijNO_BJbAKl_Vy3OfNSZtGFr3PO6PRTWxJEXmtf3obuyJkCSXBptA0o115tukobm-VCfPkwULetj1OrFJH7B2rVGacOdKU8n24S7IR59BfZ5bc6UgN2hMLICzjPnDiBkfpveYun441yw/s1600-h/Sundried+Tomatoes.jpg" style="text-decoration: none; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijNO_BJbAKl_Vy3OfNSZtGFr3PO6PRTWxJEXmtf3obuyJkCSXBptA0o115tukobm-VCfPkwULetj1OrFJH7B2rVGacOdKU8n24S7IR59BfZ5bc6UgN2hMLICzjPnDiBkfpveYun441yw/s320/Sundried+Tomatoes.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422025382345605506" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJ1suPgo_5zMe9W2vSfaXS3PeXRhpFI0VD9HlH4gryeijoggrFsBXAS1qrcKuCmw3aIkIVH1z00BGKhCcINmYAluLZSVh8Lm7U3fmJHCdz98lvTC4xaz1ywZZu8rEWKLnYLKg0hGTOKo/s1600-h/Pasta+Ugo.jpg" style="text-decoration: none; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJ1suPgo_5zMe9W2vSfaXS3PeXRhpFI0VD9HlH4gryeijoggrFsBXAS1qrcKuCmw3aIkIVH1z00BGKhCcINmYAluLZSVh8Lm7U3fmJHCdz98lvTC4xaz1ywZZu8rEWKLnYLKg0hGTOKo/s320/Pasta+Ugo.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422025372695908050" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-35737633085934018192009-12-27T22:03:00.000-08:002010-01-01T23:58:41.205-08:00Christmas Dinner 2009<div style="text-align: justify;">Oh how much I love to get Christmas dinner together!! I think Jenna likes it too because she does not have to do any planning, shopping, and cooking. I did not go as extravagant as I did in the past couple years (remember sea urchins?) especially because I did not spend the last two months in Italy where I would get few funny things to try on Christmas day. So, I think I did pretty good with what I could find locally, with the exception of one dish. I will let you guess which one. The menu consisted of four appetizers, two pasta dishes, turkey with roasted potatoes, tiramisu, and San Pellegrino water a go-go.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Here are the details. We ate for four straight hours. Oh how much I love Christmas dinner!! (Did I already say that???).</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">APPETIZERS:</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Like last year, I made a platter of Italian cold meats, which is pretty traditional in my home country. I cover a large tray and a bowl with aluminum foil and use it as my serving plate for the meats. I buy them at Harmon's as I am fairly pleased with the quality, texture and flavors of their Boar's Head Italian selection. This year we had Parma Prosciutto, Italian dry salami, Genoa Salami, Pancetta (Italian cured bacon), and Mortadella with pistachio nuts.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420168359006441010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQhtRiugBtTktF7Vs5KKK7yrX4VxoYHZrsMU9ZLQUFn-n4aN_yQ_LRl0RIqaMXqAccy75TI6sZrdFhnF_Dl0zfvOCCkiJ_hRdzIu9ET6Xvd643L_Rxwyw_sng2Ljs6l_uWaqccOJvZvgM/s320/Cold+Meat+Platter+1.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420168362768175522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtTNzcPeLPswbA-fbvjIrpJWXLv-FAUJALzxAbi1ZmkAJmxMD_mNVLp-RDZlA0KekYSef3PvWP8gIrOiidm4x8jq5koSSs66duqZbxk7Pv3kQs_fAxlAzLChXiupqE8XGklEwr3izYjE/s320/Cold+Meat+Platter+2.JPG" border="0" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Next, another classic from my Christmas at home as a young boy: Shrimp in cocktail sauce. I believe I posted this recipe before, but here it is again just in case. I get a bag of frozen cooked tail-off shrimps at Costco (2 lbs) and thaw them under lukewarm water. In a bowl I mixe 1/4 cup of ketchup, 1/2 cup of mayo, 1 pint of heavy whipping cream, and two tsp of Paprika. Then I add the shrimp and mix them with the sauce. They tasted like candy!</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420168369553592130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5iWC5gDbP5vLgxGJlnxzH3NZRSY-afQ3qo7u5RXrPFkpwxextv7bRzYLmYakM-ej5AbsvLkpWFGcoLFFw_styhoWgz5bwWz5RGiI4kN02BFSWXIDZkFv3APpI8mJgsuoUHDs83p8fVWY/s320/Shrimp+Cocktail.JPG" border="0" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Here is something new that I did not try for Christmas before: mussels au gratin. I buy the mussels at Walmart as they have a 2 lbs bag of froze, cleaned, cooked mussels ready to eat. And the price is excellent (less than $4). I place the sealed plastic bags under hot water and let the mussels thaw. I open the bags, discard the liquid, and remove the half shell that is empty. In a bow I mixed two cups of bread crumbs, minced garlic, parsley and olive oil as to make a nice moist mixture (garlic and parsley may vary depending on taste). I fill each half shell with some of the mix and the press with the palm of my hand to make sure it is nice and compact. I place the mussels on a cookie sheet and then in the oven at 350 for 1/2 hour. They taste better if they are still warm.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420168368091265890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiby8Dz8HPk0mv8lfpJ0GhXZ4lKenCvvjgKMj19I_Hd3Gi5gWcDet7V8XZD9D2q8Q5RcnYu_R0vbmyP7A5JgyycnxxY8-BZiM7TrWBRNEGVzEEa5VfL21_csHr9jybsZ_vJ0TYDeQSky7Q/s320/Mussels+Gratin.JPG" border="0" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Here is the table before we sat and started eating. The appetizers are all there. From the top, the Italian cold meat platter (with a rose butter on the top...), a nice chunk of Parmesan cheese some friends from Italy brought me as a gift a couple of months ago, sliced artisan bread from Costco (I love it! But Jenna can make some pretty good bread too) in a banana leaves basket we got in Hawaii last October, the shrimp in cocktail sauce, and the mussels au gratin. Buon Appetito!</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420168351123306114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0g24JcMcxNWJeaiAgQFJyhS5q6D5I6HB2tlf1kz9dppVCzqokiDX07sm3gc7n2L0L7fzpgbZVxgDE78zf2AQfNI4ZTWluaPzobDmPhD6Y7OFZnMrvDoobKQgxZl8ySOwqx8zhSfWJcCU/s320/Apetizers.JPG" border="0" />PASTA:<br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">The two pasta dishes were quite simple, but very very tasty. I love the pasta from Costco, both the fresh and the dry one. For this year dinner we got some of their large ravioli filled with squash. I served them with a light butter and sage sauce. They also taste like candy. We could not have enough of them. For the second pasta dish I did something a little extraordinary (that was the surprise for this year... surprise that usually I am the only one to appreciate!!). I used the dry egg noodles from Costco. It was the first time I tried them and they also tasted very good. For the sauce I sauted two black <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truffle_(fungi)">truffles</a> finely grated that I brought with me from Tuscany last June. I have frozen them and waiting for a special occasion to sacrifice these two beauties (see picture). Jenna saw them on the counter and nearly fainted for the look and the smell... :) I simply adore them. Truly one of my favorite food ever. I added a cup and a 1/2 of heavy whipping cream and let them cook together on medium heat for few minutes. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!!!</div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHy-s7msky0GV5V9TV0Y3g4W9wn4lNFyLssscU1O_hf6uIIb624G-Qa071IqQTm-5MLaBR-V-9RNjzIPE6ZKxnUF-Gk7SADyuAKwXsUoRD3V7xzJoMyhY9BD6u3k4nDPDdqIBV1oyC7g/s1600-h/Truffles.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420168495909080962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: left" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHy-s7msky0GV5V9TV0Y3g4W9wn4lNFyLssscU1O_hf6uIIb624G-Qa071IqQTm-5MLaBR-V-9RNjzIPE6ZKxnUF-Gk7SADyuAKwXsUoRD3V7xzJoMyhY9BD6u3k4nDPDdqIBV1oyC7g/s320/Truffles.JPG" border="0" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CXiOq4rcyo9SVqgt3lX1kSDHQ9WkHWKBzx2xoqmIlkn8_QQBmkn60ltrt_BlAlhkPbaI_oF9n7jhtRIluI0-bqMvPafbYdsk5_gP8gg_YBUrEVFqqrOB_ArS3nr7T8PuxwbYtnKaUf0/s320/Tagliatelle+with+Truffles+Small.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420757595446950642" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span><div>MEAT:<br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">The meat dish was turkey with a side of roasted potatoes. Both recipes come from my grandma Perego. In fact, I knew my parents ate the same dish this year as grandma's only Christmas job is to bring the sacrificial turkey to the table. I bought a small young turkey at Costco and then using a large butcher knife, I cut it in pieces about the size of my palm, plus the two legs and two wings (I then used the body with the little meat left attached to it to make turkey stock). I place everything in a large pot with: dry sage, dry rosemary, dry juniper berries, garlic, dry bay leaves, and a couple of bouillon cubes. I add two cups of white wine and some water and let it cook slowly, moving the pieces around from time to time, until it is mostly cooked and the spices have done their job. At this point I move everything in a roast pan with lid and place in the oven at 300 for a couple of hours, checking on it from time to time and making sure the pieces are moist. The meat just fall off the bones and it melts in your mouth!! The roasted potatoes are very easy and tasty. I used 5 lbs of peeled potatoes cut in pieces and place in a large oven open pan. I sprinkle them with dry rosemary, two-three crumbled bouillon cubes, extra virgin olive oil and some coarse salt. I baked them at 380 for 1-2 hours, until soft, moving them around to make sure the top one would not get too dry (no photo available).</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">DESSERT:</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">The real Italin tiramisu recipe asks for fresh mascarpone cheese, which is hard to find and quite expensive here in Utah. So, I came up with a less expensive alternative using ingredients that could be found locally. My wife had both and she thinks they are both very good. In a large mixing bowl, mix six large and very fresh egg yokes with 1/2 cup of sugar until lighter in color and fluffy. Add a box of American Neufchatel Cheese, which is similar to cream cheese, but with a much lighter flavor (and 1/3 of the fat). Next, add two containers of creamy cool whip and mix until the cream is smooth and velvety. In a Pyrex pan, make a layer of lady fingers (Savoiardi, which you can buy in many stores, particularly Italian grocery stores such as Caputo and Granato in the Salt Lake Valley). I soak them (with the help of a spoon) with an unsweetened roasted barley drink as a substitute for coffee. Postum or Pero could do it too (the latter is better). I then cover this first layer of cookies with half of the cream and repeat the operation for a second layer. I cover the whole thing with surround wrap and place it in the fridge until ready to serve. When ready, I cut a small portion on a dessert plate and sprinkle it with unsweetened cocoa powder.</div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivyIkoSA-66zJDn0wmXXIngQ-BFs-xK_3YD-q7tkdQqIUrRZ_U8Bi29n8MDgcLd7Z9joNrYep90jVZiaLY0hwK9afNzZuOa2CrcK75Q6ZbZNltdMmgLSeJ1RJ6UFI53_6yHszr1g-m4vQ/s1600-h/Tiramisu.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420168490850861538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center; TEXT-DECORATION: underline" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivyIkoSA-66zJDn0wmXXIngQ-BFs-xK_3YD-q7tkdQqIUrRZ_U8Bi29n8MDgcLd7Z9joNrYep90jVZiaLY0hwK9afNzZuOa2CrcK75Q6ZbZNltdMmgLSeJ1RJ6UFI53_6yHszr1g-m4vQ/s320/Tiramisu.JPG" border="0" /></a>I can't wait for next Christmas dinner already!! :)</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-18260329782458496532009-09-13T21:38:00.000-07:002010-01-01T23:57:37.593-08:00Peperonata<div style="text-align: justify;">Summer is almost over and thanks to the "great" weather Utah has... this is also the peak of the gardening season. Tomatoes are ripe, zucchini are abundant and people bring you over all sort of veggies that they planted for fun and now they don't know what a heck to do with them. I received bags of goodies last week and made several bags of ready to use tomato sauce, sliced zucchini, and a great "peperonata." Peperonata is a vegetarian dish (or sidedish) made with bell peppers. It is very simply to make and very tasty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since I had 12 peppers, I based my recipe on this amount.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ingredients:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 12 bell peppers, washed, cleaned (no tops or seeds), and cut in small pieces;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 5 fresh tomatoes;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 1 can of tomato sauce;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 6 small/medium size potatoes;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- a small onion, minced;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 1/2 stick of butter;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 2 boillon cubes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Place oil, butter, onion, and cubes in a large sauce pan. Cook until onion is soft. Add bell peppers and let them cook over medium heat until tender. Add diced tomatoes, diced peeled potatoes, and tomato sauce. Cook covered with a lid on low heat for about 45-60 minutes. Stirr occasionally. The peperonata is ready when all the veggies are tender and the sauce is reduced.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCgrXERnwYwD3IFmpd4UWIQuttqzCU3KvnNnWkc1jnKvzJQZEK15LGVSjwM2ZOiC0S8qU7tDY5gXBoBGEhOP6Ju0wvoTyEUNUbWsapJpb-3t43qapiczybiI2YfnDhJsLeVr_2JimT_I/s320/Bell+Peppers.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381180175660715922" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6r0GFjOqQ8-VxSWHrOG6eEJ6Ncf0Y3ZfQkghaxgz-fvR2xRRMNNi6PsBXDB6FGW1H9f8QBumzcMRm25_Fa5kgzJJe1EZd5jOEQTfyFg24JB05jLjKhaAEQexLcVc_NMntRnZPD5HyiBA/s1600-h/Tomatoes.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6r0GFjOqQ8-VxSWHrOG6eEJ6Ncf0Y3ZfQkghaxgz-fvR2xRRMNNi6PsBXDB6FGW1H9f8QBumzcMRm25_Fa5kgzJJe1EZd5jOEQTfyFg24JB05jLjKhaAEQexLcVc_NMntRnZPD5HyiBA/s320/Tomatoes.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381180178180863314" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhVlNuEEZpNtPk7naoLrmBTTwMtLQDAsHO6csBn16lPGO_PbVDAT_SdopWcTZuIuFUZ-UTpn0Ny_4dHHYD7ED1D7MvlV8B54ccJmxlLhtD_2JSLEEqwwpwGIsX-HDGAHIUj2MLRxTZiMY/s320/Potatoes.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381180185964505522" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99uC-a42O9NA-eBW365wnWo1bzOETDBJq7Oh5Osmpjd1CHtMG6OCtPS9hl271vDyx46L8k81mcSsuFUKoezDMaLkhrt3WQTH-HY1TfEElVWAZt2Yxjwd_RzgDUB0ArW7cICyVBoIPq2g/s1600-h/Peperonata.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgCkk7E99FW_CnnX3HAsdYO9Y1O64Qc7oqxY81iL6UpEt1Oe3SAgzRmFsn1lMvJkCK4dfhbIw8H-Q11uzj38ZoFoSHbTlWNP84tsAypNNsEgYoj8h-Oe32ai-cNtz06QAHGsnPVKdWKI/s1600-h/Pan.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgCkk7E99FW_CnnX3HAsdYO9Y1O64Qc7oqxY81iL6UpEt1Oe3SAgzRmFsn1lMvJkCK4dfhbIw8H-Q11uzj38ZoFoSHbTlWNP84tsAypNNsEgYoj8h-Oe32ai-cNtz06QAHGsnPVKdWKI/s320/Pan.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381180189246449986" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99uC-a42O9NA-eBW365wnWo1bzOETDBJq7Oh5Osmpjd1CHtMG6OCtPS9hl271vDyx46L8k81mcSsuFUKoezDMaLkhrt3WQTH-HY1TfEElVWAZt2Yxjwd_RzgDUB0ArW7cICyVBoIPq2g/s320/Peperonata.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381180201617193746" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 237px; " /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-26878983519044773182009-09-02T09:44:00.000-07:002010-03-12T11:50:30.151-08:00Eggplant Parmesan<div style="text-align: justify;">A friend recenly asked me for this recipe as this is eggplant season in Utah and I have been eating Eggplant Parmesan almost every other day. My mother was visiting from Italy and we asked her to make three pans of it so that we would have some even after she left. This is actually her recipe. I will post some pictures when I bake the next pan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here it is.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I usually buy two or three medium/large size eggplants at the grocery store (Walmart has them too). In the stores you usually find the dark purple fat ones. There are many variety of eggplants. Choose the ones that are firm and not squishy (they are either old or have been dropped). Farmers Market has some great eggplants nowadays. I got myself 6 last Saturday (Borsky Farm table). They have the white and light purple kind that are sweeter and tastier. I made two large pans over the weekend!! Yummy. Prices varies. Usually between 1-2 dollars each eggplant. The ones I got at Farmers marker were $2 each, but they were all worth it!!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At home: wash them and slice off the top where the eggplant attached to the plant. Peel them using a knife or potato peeler. Slice them about ¼ inch thick per slice and place them in a large bowl. Sprinkle some salt on each slice. Let them rest for 20-30 minutes. The salt will remove some of the bitterness from the eggplants (you will notice large dark drops sweating from the slices.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rinse under cold water thoroughly as to remove as much salt as possible. Dry the slices using a kitchen or paper towel. Fry the slices in canola or sunflower oil until tender (not golden). Do not overfry them. Place them in a container with papertowels to remove some of the grease.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Make a tomato sauce using regular tomato sauce (I love the brand found at Costco in cans), some minced garlic, basil (dry is fine), and extra virgin olive oil. You can add more spices (IE dry onion, etc.) if you want to, but I like it this way as I want to taste the tomato sauce.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a Pyrex pan (9x13 or smaller depending on how many eggplants you are preparing): place a couple spoonfuls of the sauce on the bottom and arrange a layer of eggplant slices. Cover with few spoonfuls of tomato sauce and sprinkle some mozzarella and parmesan cheese on the top. Repeat the process until you have 4-5 layers (leave about ½ inch from the top border of the pan). Complete with the two cheeses. If you are going to save it or if you made more than one pan, cover with aluminum foil and place in a freezer. Otherwise, leave in the fridge until you are ready to bake it (cover with aluminum foil). Place in oven at 350F for 1 hour. Remove foil and let it bake another 15-20 minutes until cheese has melted. Remove from oven and let it stand for 15-20 minutes before serving.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Buon Appetito! Ugo</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">--------------------------------</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As promised, here are some pictures taken a couple of weeks ago when I made some more Eggplant Parmesan. I made a particularly large pan, which I then froze for a perfect time to enjoy them in the near future. The approach I took is to simply fried the eggplant slices in canola oil "au-naturelle". Other options to get them ready would be to pass them in flower or bread crumbs prior to frying them or, for a lighter version, to grill them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>After slicing and soaking the eggplant (ca. 30') in cold water, </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>rinse well and pat them dry on clean kitchen towels before frying:</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHm5-7cxhFSe6pVo-v7iVJzoVDylm0PqbcFm_uzJJe852VxI2l2rQrBldL9fjJDxjNHV3EznAX5P6yxUmYRNtzdIHp4Ztt3E4ZXnHIlYgjUpZYXGFJiHbk23Mxco8RotujObkrlQYdJkc/s1600-h/Slices.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHm5-7cxhFSe6pVo-v7iVJzoVDylm0PqbcFm_uzJJe852VxI2l2rQrBldL9fjJDxjNHV3EznAX5P6yxUmYRNtzdIHp4Ztt3E4ZXnHIlYgjUpZYXGFJiHbk23Mxco8RotujObkrlQYdJkc/s320/Slices.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447831157711657106" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Frying:</i></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-CCsKV7ev0iYtJumQXgSnrvn3b-3H2LyAMtYZXtoZFBNNFdqJyVc7pMPmQMIHiXVqSVVEn2KXm20GhUW0JD99EPEka_VwT-yZGNXi_OXPLzXpfC5nPtHABJLEPW1t4H38vjWHmD-G3I/s1600-h/Frying.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-CCsKV7ev0iYtJumQXgSnrvn3b-3H2LyAMtYZXtoZFBNNFdqJyVc7pMPmQMIHiXVqSVVEn2KXm20GhUW0JD99EPEka_VwT-yZGNXi_OXPLzXpfC5nPtHABJLEPW1t4H38vjWHmD-G3I/s320/Frying.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447831153081358994" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Fried slices:</i></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPPbbr3ikAXA5S_tisNJwM2yCBhmxE74o0JBNBcuyLAjz7k1NOKB3Qm8xKmsOBebCnZKeX6McJpveqK3gqe3kLrkJm7ks7n6RVHxxUCMcrb7jHhXSOCGxBQQE5gnKkcXKSSbA6cp30hk/s1600-h/Fried.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPPbbr3ikAXA5S_tisNJwM2yCBhmxE74o0JBNBcuyLAjz7k1NOKB3Qm8xKmsOBebCnZKeX6McJpveqK3gqe3kLrkJm7ks7n6RVHxxUCMcrb7jHhXSOCGxBQQE5gnKkcXKSSbA6cp30hk/s320/Fried.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447831143202494386" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Marinara sauce</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(tomato sauce, olive oil, dry onions, dry basil, salt, pepper, sugar):</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkieJ2WBqQa8rTNwrLP6PfKY3oqjmAJ6GQT5OR5DRZcRBZBCAlRSufneF0X6QJxGJtXd6LugabRYaQAWKcm7CgmELB6qjSmmWpfxm0V3vIKf436wMGA76LeXfTovUW4_UBRSPF7hCHDw/s1600-h/Marinara+Sauce.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkieJ2WBqQa8rTNwrLP6PfKY3oqjmAJ6GQT5OR5DRZcRBZBCAlRSufneF0X6QJxGJtXd6LugabRYaQAWKcm7CgmELB6qjSmmWpfxm0V3vIKf436wMGA76LeXfTovUW4_UBRSPF7hCHDw/s320/Marinara+Sauce.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447830801790936210" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Everything is ready:</i></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZilo9X5s5njG116BX-I5oZVrqshtQLs2xRZFQhj_GsFiFCZU1mVoVsZdK2G57QrECgzbknXH2dEZZjqvdmLYYDVAwVhitk29tb3G4tucMXf32fjPGd5scaCpu-MNUJzp4FQKLUjPwVeg/s1600-h/Everything+ready.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZilo9X5s5njG116BX-I5oZVrqshtQLs2xRZFQhj_GsFiFCZU1mVoVsZdK2G57QrECgzbknXH2dEZZjqvdmLYYDVAwVhitk29tb3G4tucMXf32fjPGd5scaCpu-MNUJzp4FQKLUjPwVeg/s320/Everything+ready.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447830792951272402" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>First layer:</i></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaBPiZBBE4sEwqvVYu5lP831hUi0DR33uLVfjhdSOEBEaUwC14mtU9oYNfEnSvtG06vTyJwX37GO3wsCxRuT5OJ1pQqxBlOAgrLjWgg0BzSxK4GVoa3-5SZoKd0mk6wecf77Z0EzvN6xI/s1600-h/Layer+one.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaBPiZBBE4sEwqvVYu5lP831hUi0DR33uLVfjhdSOEBEaUwC14mtU9oYNfEnSvtG06vTyJwX37GO3wsCxRuT5OJ1pQqxBlOAgrLjWgg0BzSxK4GVoa3-5SZoKd0mk6wecf77Z0EzvN6xI/s320/Layer+one.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447830788478816354" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>First layer with cheeses:</i></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsP4kJY_FK9OOPJpytuLKmP28PRIy5Toz5ApSleYFpzxUH7CzW4Rn0ruMdFzq0ip2-SaJolpwqP61YmDrUtjHvb7UarXiI7LDkoyM48Wy6z3dTWadQDn_wrYe7_vMxPQ_0poe6anyYkTE/s1600-h/Layer+one+with+cheese.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsP4kJY_FK9OOPJpytuLKmP28PRIy5Toz5ApSleYFpzxUH7CzW4Rn0ruMdFzq0ip2-SaJolpwqP61YmDrUtjHvb7UarXiI7LDkoyM48Wy6z3dTWadQDn_wrYe7_vMxPQ_0poe6anyYkTE/s320/Layer+one+with+cheese.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447830779439203730" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Ready to bake:</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfwikUYBieOYh-d6LppK5ArF1on7dTRXLhIBJyGXEtAilnjvqGTsEiFqEexP8D421G_FeSdt5sNDjhzY8DU4FxYLUTcUagEgHiPSSGCOjlJgLwmyrIv2o6gZgqURM2SNLPipycQt62x8/s1600-h/Ready+to+bake.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfwikUYBieOYh-d6LppK5ArF1on7dTRXLhIBJyGXEtAilnjvqGTsEiFqEexP8D421G_FeSdt5sNDjhzY8DU4FxYLUTcUagEgHiPSSGCOjlJgLwmyrIv2o6gZgqURM2SNLPipycQt62x8/s320/Ready+to+bake.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447830763687630642" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-66585393208543574872009-06-26T21:22:00.000-07:002010-01-01T23:56:20.482-08:00Firenze and Perugia (Tuscany and Umbria), Italy - June 2009<div><div style="text-align: justify;">During my last week in Italy, I was invited by my good friend and colleague Alessandro Achilli to a quick trip to Florence (Tuscany) and Perugia (Umbria). I think it is needless to say how beautiful the countryside and these two cities are. Everyone should get a chance in their lifetime to visit them. I can't wait to take Jenna and the kids there (maybe next year?). The purpose of our trip (at least my part) was to meet with the ancient DNA people at Dr. Caramelli's lab in Florence (with whom we have a number of collaborative projects) and a lecture at the faculty and PhD students of the Life Sciences department at the University of Perugia, where Alessandro has a position as a researcher and instructor.</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">The trip was the crowning experience of my two months in Italy, the last required stay for my PhD three year PhD program. We were on the road most of the time, but we had some very productive time both with those who we met as well as discussing plans for the next few months. Moreover, we had some of the best food Italy has to offer... and that is always good!</div><br /></div></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGngMYND1M9t97I2Z6uUWCxhFYspDMkoFqZGShLcxmUxm67R_3IHOY2g-Ix8pDNg0SZZBzbeU9RkOga3AqVjFJ_2xvS-bL6S6pxSeGrlEF0i_ZJGYZnYUa_5ubhxF-4599ITdHKAaQbU/s1600-h/MilleSoli.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGngMYND1M9t97I2Z6uUWCxhFYspDMkoFqZGShLcxmUxm67R_3IHOY2g-Ix8pDNg0SZZBzbeU9RkOga3AqVjFJ_2xvS-bL6S6pxSeGrlEF0i_ZJGYZnYUa_5ubhxF-4599ITdHKAaQbU/s320/MilleSoli.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351863865522458450" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">B&B Mille Soli (Perugia)</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHBQsQRoojvDK5FqMCdetrTn9Eyr2qjC02rdvdb4DpB0xQ4IDOdenLJBzyUsGgKrgMYvkiOFESqpevZbmvUj4kMqh5EU222qwGtXGV1_ZkWF4sCNZqU11P8RAfW2oGxt6y0H28mXlmsU/s1600-h/MilleSoli+Surroundings.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHBQsQRoojvDK5FqMCdetrTn9Eyr2qjC02rdvdb4DpB0xQ4IDOdenLJBzyUsGgKrgMYvkiOFESqpevZbmvUj4kMqh5EU222qwGtXGV1_ZkWF4sCNZqU11P8RAfW2oGxt6y0H28mXlmsU/s320/MilleSoli+Surroundings.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351863867852239122" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">B&B Mille Soli - Surroundings</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSdWVcNgVJc-bsxUIqabxcJ5tUPYWG1Bk2dtuhdKElmVuUBTV1UG2TlO8qC_5ms8qAB88Qm8CDTvwy3uU0DN7REMqb5Hr3s7XrcMS2A1LtCz31G99fJzFvaI5VuLS0uFugyXXB2sD7do/s1600-h/Secular+Olive+Tree.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSdWVcNgVJc-bsxUIqabxcJ5tUPYWG1Bk2dtuhdKElmVuUBTV1UG2TlO8qC_5ms8qAB88Qm8CDTvwy3uU0DN7REMqb5Hr3s7XrcMS2A1LtCz31G99fJzFvaI5VuLS0uFugyXXB2sD7do/s320/Secular+Olive+Tree.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351863868830876898" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">A centenary olive tree</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1e2W9TOOqQOonxNW_ZDU25tNaeIQ94FbEVfrRHkhdePUM8XXLd8dQWU5Zoz4qWyCo6QBeCIOIIGmBiL_gaqjY8uubmXiuxSG1gpV49peDPtBH5ltkmL_K-CwCvK8j_C7QT-b524Tx4qQ/s1600-h/Il+Rifugio.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1e2W9TOOqQOonxNW_ZDU25tNaeIQ94FbEVfrRHkhdePUM8XXLd8dQWU5Zoz4qWyCo6QBeCIOIIGmBiL_gaqjY8uubmXiuxSG1gpV49peDPtBH5ltkmL_K-CwCvK8j_C7QT-b524Tx4qQ/s320/Il+Rifugio.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351865932946067714" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"Il Rifugio" restaurant - Caprese Michelangelo</span></span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCTd1YQ10IPwnqQtdQjM0WRuU3oGyd2kZAvjBG-0u0X0JKpIejF3R9aQ8emkbQGMwPIvXqom-Ec3iO5ivJbaci9376zPt4ff3Sphb_qbH9AdDQ9RzmSqaKxXLbJNwofOlfx1nCHPfqdA/s320/Pecorino+with+truffles.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351865936286041922" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Pecorino cheese with black truffles<br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YxpCuxZm9rWuRk_IoLkvy2MEQzTmRdCQpqtfC4QGQpK4EY4_wKrQWTLV52hEUigDE4FOAUxf1PawssmiNN-_SGyTn7wufoXJGGrh6PjdELmp7dYQqjxe82y7vHvcKw4cDCdt7qEEd08/s1600-h/Homemade+noodles+with+porcini+mushrooms.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YxpCuxZm9rWuRk_IoLkvy2MEQzTmRdCQpqtfC4QGQpK4EY4_wKrQWTLV52hEUigDE4FOAUxf1PawssmiNN-_SGyTn7wufoXJGGrh6PjdELmp7dYQqjxe82y7vHvcKw4cDCdt7qEEd08/s320/Homemade+noodles+with+porcini+mushrooms.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351865924847994066" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Homemade egg noodles with Porcini mushrooms<br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3G4wDyCAPtQpqFKWudKpgZVHLt4f_bPxEpddHf5ntsYXtZ_uZETaY_YVXQwdHgmKoswcw0vK9EBwgcl2i3Xn4FXLP2ALDydipWXRyuDnvqye1Qayt_f5tw1mKI9ION9Cn1rjTovUrN0/s1600-h/Crostono+with+cheese+and+porcini+mushrooms.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3G4wDyCAPtQpqFKWudKpgZVHLt4f_bPxEpddHf5ntsYXtZ_uZETaY_YVXQwdHgmKoswcw0vK9EBwgcl2i3Xn4FXLP2ALDydipWXRyuDnvqye1Qayt_f5tw1mKI9ION9Cn1rjTovUrN0/s320/Crostono+with+cheese+and+porcini+mushrooms.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351864924608098018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Crostoni with cheese and Porcini mushrooms<br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgTFZ3GXM5eaPZ3alzBTaGA3zAJk-tl3S0s1ks2hOFR6dSyO_QhQ3oiOUrmrV068BPjer1Pom8Un8K07BkOE0Hm9ZWAG0KqDaohtPV-r3BB1PiMAi7AJsr9GiPOoYiDSnM8Rwc6mqwEo/s1600-h/Crab+meat,+truffles+and+cheese.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgTFZ3GXM5eaPZ3alzBTaGA3zAJk-tl3S0s1ks2hOFR6dSyO_QhQ3oiOUrmrV068BPjer1Pom8Un8K07BkOE0Hm9ZWAG0KqDaohtPV-r3BB1PiMAi7AJsr9GiPOoYiDSnM8Rwc6mqwEo/s320/Crab+meat,+truffles+and+cheese.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351864921482034002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Crab meat with cheese and black truffles<br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaxAvWTw3gERbWz-BfP7K4MY4EWhm4wuip2KSynrH-rH-xYj0f2I-MI9nG3y2V7D7AMsRSaNBeBcbmvlXjNY8lFBIhYewoZUgt3GE0QQaX62qj73s31_z5g3V6rWfFl8X_5-KBfLrYmg/s1600-h/Bread+soup+with+porcini+mushrooms.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaxAvWTw3gERbWz-BfP7K4MY4EWhm4wuip2KSynrH-rH-xYj0f2I-MI9nG3y2V7D7AMsRSaNBeBcbmvlXjNY8lFBIhYewoZUgt3GE0QQaX62qj73s31_z5g3V6rWfFl8X_5-KBfLrYmg/s320/Bread+soup+with+porcini+mushrooms.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351864916223518562" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Bread crumbs soup with Porcini mushrooms<br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMbSY58sf0O6zPQPxCpu7YGxejakUTeyeY3ZbKEIn9yKWvgZKMOmcP5p9jYpoXj-cRqEARxYmywZnsq44zFWH_IldLLMkuotSrNNceumTFHbmdPPQ6jWr7jkZMT06mVVhOJf3pzLE1as/s1600-h/Bread+crumbs,+truffles+and+cheese.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMbSY58sf0O6zPQPxCpu7YGxejakUTeyeY3ZbKEIn9yKWvgZKMOmcP5p9jYpoXj-cRqEARxYmywZnsq44zFWH_IldLLMkuotSrNNceumTFHbmdPPQ6jWr7jkZMT06mVVhOJf3pzLE1as/s320/Bread+crumbs,+truffles+and+cheese.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351864914089108434" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Bread crumbs with cheese and black truffles<br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfwjTuA91ZnG-rF5gYuaYuiPqbO6qFBmRzLWO2aSE1sYNj3FNt0jDBPcFaOGAXtoryvzZ1B_oMcA5S8W3kODZhOXUl_eh2GX5d9zz5YKXAwdJMWMKgEbmT-Jl_4ifGadqOZpR-efusWc/s1600-h/Agnolotti+with+truffles.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfwjTuA91ZnG-rF5gYuaYuiPqbO6qFBmRzLWO2aSE1sYNj3FNt0jDBPcFaOGAXtoryvzZ1B_oMcA5S8W3kODZhOXUl_eh2GX5d9zz5YKXAwdJMWMKgEbmT-Jl_4ifGadqOZpR-efusWc/s320/Agnolotti+with+truffles.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351864911120477346" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Agnolotti with meat filling and black truffles</span></span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-63808935510726842602009-05-27T14:45:00.000-07:002010-01-01T23:55:13.166-08:00The Beautiful Region of Marche, Italy - May 2009<div align="left"><div style="text-align: justify;">Taking advantage of a speaking invitation in San Marino, the Achilli family and I spent the weekend in the beautiful region of Marche (for more information about this area, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marche">MARCHE</a>). The Achilli family own a small vacation home in the hilly village of Penna San Giovanni. This is a great place because it is on a hill (about 2000 feet in altitude), but only 30 minutes drive from the beach and 30 minutes from the mountains. It is also a place for great eating experiences and for relaxing. We started on Friday evening, when we stopped in a great restaurant in Porto San Giorgio, right on the beach. The restaurant name is Lo Storione. We could only manage to eat the apetizers and the pasta dishes... Here are some snapshots:</div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRCAckPr_Y_518NzkSctE-8e5OnXCyPxFLfe206O_SdMYT5aTCBlRJhZNmczfVUcHdi1Uw676DWG6moN28CFhbHba15qe-aihhvB4OMVpCvbl03_XJLSOa9yU3T-uRaJwler7XiOtraU/s1600-h/AT1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340637359372008450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRCAckPr_Y_518NzkSctE-8e5OnXCyPxFLfe206O_SdMYT5aTCBlRJhZNmczfVUcHdi1Uw676DWG6moN28CFhbHba15qe-aihhvB4OMVpCvbl03_XJLSOa9yU3T-uRaJwler7XiOtraU/s320/AT1.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p align="center"><em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Agritourism "L'Antico Gusto" di Penna San Giovanni (MC)</span></span></em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9YQEhaNPObOywPPMAMYW-JEskU_hFgG6ig3IQhBv_uaWVydznfX7E4rZlkcRqnS4V0Zl3jNhrjKBRtbXqAX34AEvirDfuxL1JTy4jtMDVFN0soIiwnh4P9oAEVpXWcBZE-dt2nnziLw/s1600-h/AT2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340637352037415922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9YQEhaNPObOywPPMAMYW-JEskU_hFgG6ig3IQhBv_uaWVydznfX7E4rZlkcRqnS4V0Zl3jNhrjKBRtbXqAX34AEvirDfuxL1JTy4jtMDVFN0soIiwnh4P9oAEVpXWcBZE-dt2nnziLw/s320/AT2.jpg" border="0" /> </a></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9YQEhaNPObOywPPMAMYW-JEskU_hFgG6ig3IQhBv_uaWVydznfX7E4rZlkcRqnS4V0Zl3jNhrjKBRtbXqAX34AEvirDfuxL1JTy4jtMDVFN0soIiwnh4P9oAEVpXWcBZE-dt2nnziLw/s1600-h/AT2.jpg"></a><p align="center"><em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Space for children to play with the backdrop of the beautiful Marchigian hills</span></span></em></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_9lEimsWsk5nIN3KfXL6nLX4HvmxYHXp38SJhRAyOD_LoeYSi35UI6NPXofHrjlcVsXqh1UM325xIvJ34ifb0j79sNsDBLxoeOVFZvoNg2WLIGQmoHwD9zgtsEblWh4799KKXAX1V0U/s1600-h/AT3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340637352946860258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_9lEimsWsk5nIN3KfXL6nLX4HvmxYHXp38SJhRAyOD_LoeYSi35UI6NPXofHrjlcVsXqh1UM325xIvJ34ifb0j79sNsDBLxoeOVFZvoNg2WLIGQmoHwD9zgtsEblWh4799KKXAX1V0U/s320/AT3.jpg" border="0" /> </a><p align="center"><em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">BEFORE...</span></span></em></p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340636952465894626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBHwm4ymWHt0NEJif9m116QWpjARQe9f77LdJY5rndbK2F8tjTD-jphNztqaZdrp-1HiLCwyxyOGguFOWgf57TfFn39DSgk4SP1fe69g69V28Ds7AuHJJk78rJwIrkjmVOlVOli_3hVo/s320/AT7.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center"><em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">...and AFTER!</span></span></em></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFMRnwXnZb2JffQh2h6K2W65ZMGYnHy8o261pJqx5XweHkF3sVsT2wa-_qHsnJFyutZmxne3xM47_xG7-oyBVZuTJZwH8iUjlYHRjWUgzgBCRjP8swK231r2h5eSVmMXPrJnUKhOv8oe8/s1600-h/AT4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340637347766896978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFMRnwXnZb2JffQh2h6K2W65ZMGYnHy8o261pJqx5XweHkF3sVsT2wa-_qHsnJFyutZmxne3xM47_xG7-oyBVZuTJZwH8iUjlYHRjWUgzgBCRjP8swK231r2h5eSVmMXPrJnUKhOv8oe8/s320/AT4.jpg" border="0" /></a> <em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The restaurant</span></span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6d67ueu6eq92ryHKlv5xA1XneFtWvXBo-Z-D61xXTgLqZ-I7zedx4E21Zo2a9RQnDsCgDEWBsfkXMzqd4H60kV-Pemqs1y6TjM3MTqG1j8owZadxsv0jph0uFahkyBuGVB8R4n9d8WUs/s1600-h/AT5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340636963319709938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6d67ueu6eq92ryHKlv5xA1XneFtWvXBo-Z-D61xXTgLqZ-I7zedx4E21Zo2a9RQnDsCgDEWBsfkXMzqd4H60kV-Pemqs1y6TjM3MTqG1j8owZadxsv0jph0uFahkyBuGVB8R4n9d8WUs/s320/AT5.jpg" border="0" /></a> <em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Appetizers (round #1)</span></span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjraYAVDIAz-jhvc-orpxo7-eQJ_hM4wyrZZlPs-_QF8f_idpKbdkVZkP3nexZdia-RyfYwDn7M2PMwJn6IYdO3V7z3_peu07FnBJL_qkpuETUx7LbsA-19Jz7OCdlgelIekeYaJam3GW4/s1600-h/AT6.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340636956983259058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjraYAVDIAz-jhvc-orpxo7-eQJ_hM4wyrZZlPs-_QF8f_idpKbdkVZkP3nexZdia-RyfYwDn7M2PMwJn6IYdO3V7z3_peu07FnBJL_qkpuETUx7LbsA-19Jz7OCdlgelIekeYaJam3GW4/s320/AT6.jpg" border="0" /></a><em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Appetizers (round #2)</span></span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL32hiby_oAl1USQZ1choeZ478tfPff9CGUk688I5Ik3WDU1YD4R-8zXOrRAShTud6O4d-R0CsBU6owvbiu5FVBYc0T3kmOtlpGYV_fvfHgNSuyBEXrIZ60c_cgpBwx9JT7OEanjMSrBY/s1600-h/CC1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340636949685876706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL32hiby_oAl1USQZ1choeZ478tfPff9CGUk688I5Ik3WDU1YD4R-8zXOrRAShTud6O4d-R0CsBU6owvbiu5FVBYc0T3kmOtlpGYV_fvfHgNSuyBEXrIZ60c_cgpBwx9JT7OEanjMSrBY/s320/CC1.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lunch at "Il Fiorentino" (Citta' di Castello, PG) - Appetizers</span></span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwH_Za4CRhy26LZpNzSbQSkc5Wz9HXveHcU2UzcD8nJ-DJqWnSnnEdgwmgum-8yrbiZqwjL9tfXiUAMz7JddH8BPquMJEvcfQVqjtq7NxrxYuEHs_3OaseOOHfZIXPHNOhhZAk_gUw-o/s1600-h/CC2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340636948562389970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwH_Za4CRhy26LZpNzSbQSkc5Wz9HXveHcU2UzcD8nJ-DJqWnSnnEdgwmgum-8yrbiZqwjL9tfXiUAMz7JddH8BPquMJEvcfQVqjtq7NxrxYuEHs_3OaseOOHfZIXPHNOhhZAk_gUw-o/s320/CC2.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> <em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lunch at "Il Fiorentino" (Citta' di Castello, PG) - Homemade noodles with black truffles</span><br /></em></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNWBvvAPdc6KCy1XpZGtG7Tgmbe1Rs_w06R2U_uJmmHBYgHfPDlCZoLMRy3GOAFYt-bl3FQQdgM3_fF8KfJRX3B9ujSWHNIP4MayrlK7XYc1ygz_AUKAgVfK1G0ulVy6ka1oT6prKMoAM/s1600-h/PSG1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340635376958253938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNWBvvAPdc6KCy1XpZGtG7Tgmbe1Rs_w06R2U_uJmmHBYgHfPDlCZoLMRy3GOAFYt-bl3FQQdgM3_fF8KfJRX3B9ujSWHNIP4MayrlK7XYc1ygz_AUKAgVfK1G0ulVy6ka1oT6prKMoAM/s320/PSG1.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">View from my bedroom in Penna San Giovanni, MC</span></span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXwIJK3teGZItfNdZbLdHJfPyISEvXlZgUCU1b_RyOpwFvHhlYMJyrt6ThYA9NME6EBh3zy6D5EtfDu8WNfML63lps2yOmnI3VZFDjQBBqsWgCCoiqaFCGVDgbzaDsGNWOTfWia1YeG8/s1600-h/PSG2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340635372577835010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXwIJK3teGZItfNdZbLdHJfPyISEvXlZgUCU1b_RyOpwFvHhlYMJyrt6ThYA9NME6EBh3zy6D5EtfDu8WNfML63lps2yOmnI3VZFDjQBBqsWgCCoiqaFCGVDgbzaDsGNWOTfWia1YeG8/s320/PSG2.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Walking around Penna San Giovanni, MC</span></span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02_ffqoSq8lWnV9Jg0BgvZeKgZBQ0COQOMKgR-OkhGLUAdsu05jGZn9gdG0n7fyV7j0Gp2Z4I7f1bJ2UcF9CvmL9-iBgjKh5-bRjFBgYj4wNLt6L_3QCb6fEZ7TuME36yKcMLMYNfvns/s1600-h/PSG3.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340635368464962834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02_ffqoSq8lWnV9Jg0BgvZeKgZBQ0COQOMKgR-OkhGLUAdsu05jGZn9gdG0n7fyV7j0Gp2Z4I7f1bJ2UcF9CvmL9-iBgjKh5-bRjFBgYj4wNLt6L_3QCb6fEZ7TuME36yKcMLMYNfvns/s320/PSG3.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Downtown" Penna San Giovanni, MC</span></span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ09b4xFcXlfil0K58azJniDHi6deFIhuahQS2qQ_ihLskEWsuoc7rsTcZv2ik0ocjeWK-B7z4Uy6TPxWT_JChJxomLyrX90slLSOpKIvCh7ddoEEupth6USdpcdRFwAli2Rp4id-xY-s/s1600-h/SF1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340632658053915826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ09b4xFcXlfil0K58azJniDHi6deFIhuahQS2qQ_ihLskEWsuoc7rsTcZv2ik0ocjeWK-B7z4Uy6TPxWT_JChJxomLyrX90slLSOpKIvCh7ddoEEupth6USdpcdRFwAli2Rp4id-xY-s/s320/SF1.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Restaurant "Lo Storione" in Porto San Giorgio, MC - Seafood appetizer #1</span></span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVinVbNF91GxyLPtdw3Ww5rGijwE0azTqxF0LmGRWyczg82ud9h56LNBNTyie4Uby0ip3q8uuy3arkJLvB_bBrBw1xq3e8iMqQO1SwlLlPq1d5mXKNcey7BcOXuDXWqv5S7cNoNQwINY/s1600-h/SF2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340632657029448178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVinVbNF91GxyLPtdw3Ww5rGijwE0azTqxF0LmGRWyczg82ud9h56LNBNTyie4Uby0ip3q8uuy3arkJLvB_bBrBw1xq3e8iMqQO1SwlLlPq1d5mXKNcey7BcOXuDXWqv5S7cNoNQwINY/s320/SF2.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seafood appetizer #2 - Prawns</span></span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInP97rTXKbPt0AIO11pTjuzqox8QKn_7cZOZ9j-63msBicI-thq1XQRlkR61bkPXozvdI0EmnKeCaxblz7E09vfqd9LGFXaB9w58H1faKmgiVji-as_r2PNZhxq8w3P38YDprcDAUz3w/s1600-h/SF3.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340632653172209218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInP97rTXKbPt0AIO11pTjuzqox8QKn_7cZOZ9j-63msBicI-thq1XQRlkR61bkPXozvdI0EmnKeCaxblz7E09vfqd9LGFXaB9w58H1faKmgiVji-as_r2PNZhxq8w3P38YDprcDAUz3w/s320/SF3.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-size:78%;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seafood appetizer #3 - Mussels with tomatoes sauce</span><br /></em></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf99xl63v8JPe2jpqZbieXeRTyZRz_r2VX7OUvmnx_SXVTyIb49i3ThWGC9w5bpRZJfB2WqlGaZ8lr0G4-rc37pDjQMVUuevH6bDnxglwe1EalRC9lqGV0WclQjhnmVYJLp8CvyVAjpbM/s1600-h/SF4.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340632650075547186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf99xl63v8JPe2jpqZbieXeRTyZRz_r2VX7OUvmnx_SXVTyIb49i3ThWGC9w5bpRZJfB2WqlGaZ8lr0G4-rc37pDjQMVUuevH6bDnxglwe1EalRC9lqGV0WclQjhnmVYJLp8CvyVAjpbM/s320/SF4.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em><span style="font-size:78%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seafood appetizer #4 - Code di Rospo</span><br /></span></em><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340639121431790306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EWXFovg1x0dNc9Zk9Qtx2blyw_k1u8XpsRo1JZM_zIjBqiSkrFEA10fS6uxBWX9BM2QTAFs-CaO_b51jR-d9WjXZlV8ILvIZkSlxRAp06DHae85sQDw6RUG8W_yCrBcPEozFSAHipDE/s320/SF7.JPG" border="0" /> <em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seafood appetizer #5 - Sea snails</span></span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtYGhhcgjWbrvHZrP5gResZXf62Ysn1wuPJMGFviUmtHPHVhUqKVcaEoxgbw5f3qamroIO9IMosVBP1BktEOqk8vWdTIOFaD3KD7qdYwvF3l3wvjDYvYWqiWwCx9BTnY2kU-G6BkixpXo/s1600-h/SF5.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340632647469206130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtYGhhcgjWbrvHZrP5gResZXf62Ysn1wuPJMGFviUmtHPHVhUqKVcaEoxgbw5f3qamroIO9IMosVBP1BktEOqk8vWdTIOFaD3KD7qdYwvF3l3wvjDYvYWqiWwCx9BTnY2kU-G6BkixpXo/s320/SF5.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em><span style="font-size:78%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seafood appetizer #6 - Fish tripe</span><br /></span></em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKkUPpfJtBvG4coR9Nv7TSBXvtBEsIiUyd_ptMpa5xkLpuh-90Xbpx7oGfOt2cht033mq6fyn2EGLv2DHB6ttUhqt9oOXE5frhfsO67VmKlluHfkFuoR_RpoCbU0gS2lBM9DtddXUiX0/s1600-h/SF6.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340632354994785474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKkUPpfJtBvG4coR9Nv7TSBXvtBEsIiUyd_ptMpa5xkLpuh-90Xbpx7oGfOt2cht033mq6fyn2EGLv2DHB6ttUhqt9oOXE5frhfsO67VmKlluHfkFuoR_RpoCbU0gS2lBM9DtddXUiX0/s320/SF6.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em><span style="font-size:78%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seafood appetizer #7 - Steamed mussels and clams</span><br /></span></em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9nYONHgVpvAI8sbyAt42dZfib1n5jCMLQp_Md8m_2m2lbZc_c93H_OJxkLwqgLszslFv58oAgA1hhqqkA7QR6-MmmT2utlbMCBwFkQ2VwLy8nWPWdE0Ry8mbRONzNIhTvC2Y_9CycSo/s1600-h/SF8.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340632346481447026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9nYONHgVpvAI8sbyAt42dZfib1n5jCMLQp_Md8m_2m2lbZc_c93H_OJxkLwqgLszslFv58oAgA1hhqqkA7QR6-MmmT2utlbMCBwFkQ2VwLy8nWPWdE0Ry8mbRONzNIhTvC2Y_9CycSo/s320/SF8.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em><span style="font-size:78%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Seafood appetizer #8 - Mussels "au gratin"</span><br /></span></em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzX6ZhFqRbx6eoDh92P2XE5zglcX_mqghG9IgxZ9uaR1jbGw_Rz7vZtoCnXeHyiWtmCKUZjtRkVHFYpqlctFWvqKVHedSL2aFVu881aJs4fNbs0IJIK79mUegJFZJq4DhrX_ZipmddtU/s1600-h/SF9.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340632338997429074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzX6ZhFqRbx6eoDh92P2XE5zglcX_mqghG9IgxZ9uaR1jbGw_Rz7vZtoCnXeHyiWtmCKUZjtRkVHFYpqlctFWvqKVHedSL2aFVu881aJs4fNbs0IJIK79mUegJFZJq4DhrX_ZipmddtU/s320/SF9.JPG" border="0" /></a><em><span style="font-size:78%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Pasta dish #1 - Homemade noodles "allo scoglio"</span><br /></span></em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDWsL_lcj4GyrdEHqF97q_HmvM7FLUKm9k1aoqlQcoA5QzozdvZl9nigJu8UuGwS33rzH-ZAF3vUBBlHMC5g9x-5vNP28R8NKjccvlhFwPhRvoqO2tiZHEEvCaY12n6mfxAJXTCIKIr54/s1600-h/SF10.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340632336658545650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDWsL_lcj4GyrdEHqF97q_HmvM7FLUKm9k1aoqlQcoA5QzozdvZl9nigJu8UuGwS33rzH-ZAF3vUBBlHMC5g9x-5vNP28R8NKjccvlhFwPhRvoqO2tiZHEEvCaY12n6mfxAJXTCIKIr54/s320/SF10.JPG" border="0" /></a> <em><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Pasta dish #2 - Homemade gnocchi with white Marinara sauce</span></span></em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-43364024775714006442009-04-14T22:35:00.000-07:002010-01-01T23:51:22.618-08:00Stuffed Roast<div style="text-align: justify;">Here is a great recipe I learned from my grandma, who is one of the best cooks I have ever met. It is a stuffed roast made from a large and lean steak. First you tenderize it and try to make it as thin as possible (since it will need to be rolled up).</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324790885351258498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZNKrANEwwLPaYKn-DIO6fJov-VRORC6uisQYlRD91VT2206nadS6HX9izTn9eJqkUnYgeopHfuQHLgErSO8-YPsq_-FoGXwEjwghmwvUGxDcWBSwfDQTuF3YOgOLBWl4zkGOAI9dgoY/s320/Carne.JPG" border="0" /><div style="text-align: justify;">Then you get some cold meat (ham is best) and lay it inside. Make sure to leave about 1 inch free from the edge of each side. Make two thin omelets and lay them on the top of the cold meat. Optional: cook some spinach, drain them well and spread them on the top of the omelets. Lastly, boil a couple of carrots for about 10 minutes and place them in the middle.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Carefully roll the whole thing, making sure that nothing spills from the sides. You can fix everything in place with toothpicks or with cooking strings (that is what I did for mine).</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Brown the meat on stove over low heat with butter, extra-virgin olive oil and some spices (I used garlic, sage, juniper berries, and a bouillon cube). Add a cup of white cooking wine and 3 cups of chicken broth. Place in stove at 300 degrees for a couple of hours, checking on the roast regularly to make sure that it is not getting to dry (move it around a little and use a spoon to pour some of the sauce on top).</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324790975478964002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiak_4klfaP96oZjlwqsYdJ6ACccUcrqEyQcmIESKvmx5WkJagp23IDF74oQ5ioabDE6JFCBjVryanBBQ0Qp8Rk1F1gSmu6kd17OQRN39ehmezauSQnCD8UN3k2iSZ9Wh9sOGlTYZ1X5X4/s320/Arrosto+1.JPG" border="0" /><div style="text-align: justify;">When cooked, remove from pan and let it cool. Blend the sauce in a blender and then cook it in a saucepan with a couple of TBSP of white flour. Make a nice and dense gravy. Slices the roast and place in a serving plate. Either pour the gravy on top or serve it aside in a gravy bowl. Enjoy!</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324791090581792866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0Q2ARFJi5oxloMlE_ZOENKkKPzfUzKwBXjo9RGch54TjGdLh68YrJkJN_LbP3xCXkmrPJl2qUZGFEbiD6SRphyvYjyQMOmwNU1K-J_gA6hXfHmhSes-3lN7lllEIfcoSb9OL57_9tYs/s320/Arrosto+2.JPG" border="0" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-57291781436494284872009-02-09T08:32:00.000-08:002010-01-01T23:50:38.842-08:00Ricotta Cheese: Pasta and Cannoli<div style="text-align: justify;">Here are two simple but delicious recipes where <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricotta_cheese">Ricotta cheese</a> is the main ingredient. Ricotta is much lighter than real cheese as it has only 5% of fat. The first recipe is a pasta sauce. This is the very first thing I made for my wife even before we were dating. I guess it wasn't too bad after all!</div><br />RICOTTA AND SPINACH SAUCE (for 5 adults)<div><br />- 1 lb pasta (penne or bow ties)<br />- 15 oz Ricotta cheese<br />- 3-4 cups fresh spinach leaves (or 1 1/2 cups frozen)<br />- 2 Tbsp butter<br />- 1 bouillon cube<br />- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese<br />- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese<br />- garlic powder, nutmeg, black pepper to taste<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Boil pasta in abundant salted water until <i>al dente.</i> In large sauce pan, add a small amount of water and the fresh spinach leaves. When leaves are cooked and water evaporated, add butter. Add Ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Cook on low/medium heat and continue to stir. Add a dash of each of the spices and the bouillon cube. For a creamer sauce, place in the blender for few seconds. Drain pasta and pour the sauce in. Even my kids thought it was delicious!!</div><br /><div> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300846860214799490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpz0mwT_u4nE9UpwNtHJ_5sJGX6OltxMWKBVWxOmCarMhD_xaEEV5hxmK1-LMSjfK5wwMqoWgQGuq4knsx0lF5ie1on_Oe9Sm_VZ6e_mqrdpwqWQ-3s9i6J9J7FJgZEr2x-BmEn6KhMFw/s320/Spinach+and+Ricotta+Sauce.JPG" border="0" /><br />CANNOLI</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannoli">Cannoli</a> (plural) are a typical southern Italian dessert (from Sicily). Last week as I was buying ingredients for a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiramisu">Tiramisu</a> at a local Italian grocery store, I also found a box of Cannoli shells (I bought mine at Granato's, but you can also order them online at <a href="http://www.ferrarabrand.com/">Ferrara</a>) and did not resist the temptation of making some for this Sunday's dessert. The recipe is quite simple (for six Cannoli shells):</div><br />- 15 oz Ricotta cheese<br />- 1/2 cup powder sugar<br />- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract<br />- 2-3 oz chocolate chips<br />- dash of cinnamon<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Crumble the chocolate chips in a food processor. Mix sugar and ricotta cheese in a bowl with a fork. Add chocolate chips, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix well until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Fill the Cannoli shells with a small spoon. Sprinkle some powder sugar on the top and...enjoy!</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300846722906045378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmD0U_Xiyj24gYqIlMm6j33PTzZ-45G0iUSNAMpNo_kd2JabU8fkOgyuxIfSbUBJmEjZzuAYj8aD3Ic_3SG2_P1ePwG79jrQGgKPJmumkWU8qX-7oiPdyckl4j0hQ-rz-nWrtzBEcUGZM/s320/Cannoli.JPG" border="0" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-63066537529902111862008-12-31T09:40:00.000-08:002010-01-01T23:48:47.278-08:00Christmas Dinner 2008<div style="text-align: justify;">The traditional Christmas dinner at the Peregos started at about 3pm. This year we had the pleasure of being with our good friends and neighbors Jeff and Vauna Stam and Treena, as well as Jenna's sister Julia and her family. Here is the menu we all enjoyed:</div><div><br />Antipasti:<br />Toasted bread with walnuts spread<br />Toasted bread with sea-urchin meat (see photo)<br />Italian cold meats (prosciutto crudo, pancetta, salame di culatello - see photo)<br />Shrimp cocktail (Italian style)<br /><br />Primi:<br />Risotto with safron and sausage<br />Ravioli with ricotta cheese and spinach filling with butter and sauge sauce<br />Large rotini pasta with cream and smoked Italian bacon (pancetta affumicata)<br /><br />Secondi:<br />Pork roast<br />Turkey roast<br />Baby carrots sauteed in butter<br /><br />Dessert:<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Christmas treats from Italy (gianduiotti with pear filling, hazelnut cookies, soft chocolate covered torrone, marzipan treats)</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286016154256540706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4TVG3CnebrA8KNGbzUHklsf0a27yWnf-HY99bP0_pd_-nZPJKd25UOgoM_DphHYfjTexOd3_XBtKxZ0SOMw1KtuEVZy8w4Yw7wUBxbObyQukgpqJj4Q504-N7LA2k9aDluer9qWroWtU/s320/Tartine+Riccio.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286015942107364370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBsriHiJQWzqpi50sg2cfQTsfWGv4GP5kXqYkOHG3Ty6LDkHJnTTgYnZhs96I6pr-Ubea7j-8uUodhF3W-D_lNDsbJIpYN7Rd10ZR-RxcGUcV8x8Wfgc5IL5spZuQ9Wbl02C3fZhfvCD0/s320/Affettati.JPG" border="0" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-3992976249678032202008-09-27T01:39:00.000-07:002010-01-01T23:47:42.808-08:00Traveling and Eating Around Europe - September 2008<div style="text-align: justify;">I have been in Europe for nearly a month now doing several things for work, school and a little also for myself. It has been a very intensive month with lot of traveling, preparing, studying, working, EATING, and with very little quality sleep! It is kind of hard when you have to change bed every one or two nights!! "Luckily" I have been now in Pavia at the university where I am getting my PhD for nearly a week and it has been nice to feel like you don't have to pack and leave the next day. That feeling will soon be gone since I am leaving today to spend the weekend at my parents, returning to Pavia for two more days, leaving for Alghero (Sardinia Island) on Wednesday for a scientific congress, and leaving for the United States the day after I fly back from Sardinia!!! But the words "flying home" are like music to my ears!</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I started this month-long trip in Philadelphia, as recorded in my previous entry. After the rocambolesque, but successful attempt to fly to Europe nothwistanding the bad weather, I arrived as originally planned to Italy on Sunday September 7 only to discover that all my luggage did not make the connecting flight in France. That was not good as I was planning to leave the following day for the Czech Republic and I had pretty much only what I was wearing to take with me... Luckily, the luggage did arrive that evening and my parents were so kind to drive the two hour r/t to the airport to recover it for me.</div><br /><div><div style="text-align: justify;">I left as planned on Monday for Wien, Austria, rented a car and drove to Brno, Czech Republic that evening. I was stopped twice by the Czech police late at night. The first time they were just stopping random cars to ensure no one was smuggling anything in the country (interestingly, they removed the custom check point at the border to promote "free exchanges and travel" with other European countries, but then set a police check point about a mile past the border...). The second stop was when I was driving in the historic part of town that was limited to pedestrians and bicycles... One of the two cops had the booklet in his hands ready to give me a ticket, but before he said anything, I jumped out of the car (something that I would probably get shot for in the US) and explained to them that the GPS told me to turn in there and that I was lost on my way to the hotel). The cop did not speak any English or Italian, but I think he got the message. Took my GPS in his hands and in a broken English (more broken than mine!!) exclaimed: "Piece of s***!" and told me to follow their car to the hotel. No ticket was issued!!</div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">The purpose of my short visit to Brno was to attend and speak at the EASR 2008 congress on Science and Religion. Months ago I submitted three abstracts and two were accepted for presentations. It was a positive experience, but the true surprise was to run into Christian Euvrard, who served as mission president in Milan Italy when I was a young child. He was also a presenter at the same congress. It was cool to have two LDS presenting at an interfaith congress dealing with different topics related to religion, but it was even cooler to find a friendly face in a stranger place. I left Brno right after lunch, to drive to Bratislava, where I spent the following two nights.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275181273036220466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHAbyJMt26h5xPY34xb7iVWoxdOBDu0rU0wWRyZ4JURkCnkmg_bJlljqxJ3spS4bjTj0F5iHGis9dKBD9KG7Ne9mNsGDl9HvM5cGnLnIaLA7msZYr5YfY_oDki_y0KpVFwIXviCrJjK4Q/s320/Brno2.JPG" border="0" /><div style="text-align: justify;">The drive to Bratislava was enjoyable and fairly quick. The nicest thing was that I could drive in the daylight, not like the night before as I was trying to find my way to Brno. Outside of Bratislava I met with my dear friend Dana, whom I knew from the BYU days. Dana spent two semesters at BYU working toward her PhD. It has been probably ten years since we last saw each other. I remembered that I was the one that left BYU first, going to Italy for a short vacation and Dana returned to her country shortly after. So that was it. I thought we never saw each other again, but there she was again... with her two kids in the car and her big friendly smile! It was sooo good to see her and one of the highlights of my journey through Europe.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I spent two days in Bratislava, meeting with a professor from the Bratislava University about working together to collect Slovakian DNA samples, visiting the beautiful city and eating great food (Dana even made me some Slovakian original Bryndzové halušky). Dana and her husband were wonderful hosts and I truly enjoyed my time with them, their kids and their funny dog Tommy. The only bad thing about this visit was that it was too short. I hope our paths will cross again!</div><p></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275181712755233762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijlmVu4fpKvlDQ5DLUpsEQ8gfFXsE7Jwuh2O2X-5kqbDOekqmaS23vJLmd4lBzEnve3jZtKxuxGUIYkFXvQEBULWsEX8spn3XsCb2sd14qF2kLLs13LYmny6D88WsbxfYwFNxUeg0TWRM/s320/Bratislava1.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275181595703611314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCVfM4SWNfMJdD34F4DCKS8YESVIyEEed_j2s5zzh4wT_YoSBD53vv_hi_YXK7zRjW2SIZEI6Ul1upsOGMxG_h-bQyOX1NqAvCFIr9HeHHhcWFul_9iqVNjWMYW2krtOa6KrXV-tleruQ/s320/Bratislava4.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275181795897656402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCzrhFwihaG1lf-KnF8xZVttY9-rkrEd63sB2WpgKxS3dpzlYLReyylZU0c2Ef5WMwdXxPYbhpGqBTxAaw_-fEmWf-Z9ajp6A3qLJekhrpVDsf_4VpRYdwzp6UdymybEtuexm4Ygj3t44/s320/Bryndzov%C3%A9+halu%C5%A1ky.JPG" border="0" /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-74820177746791328682008-08-13T15:50:00.000-07:002010-01-01T23:46:36.568-08:00Porcini Mushrooms Extravaganza!<div style="text-align: justify;">I am a big lover of Porcini mushrooms. In Italy you can buy them at about $25/lb. Here in Utah I have heard of only one place that sells them and the price is about $50/lb. A couple of year ago, a friend of mine told me that they are found up in the mountains, at about 9-11,000 feet. We did in fact find them back then and it was a very joyous day for me. Yesterday, we planned another trip. Ale Achilli came along. We left work at 3pm and were up past Woodland by 5pm. We found the first 4-5 right on the side of the road. After about 3 1/2 hours of walking among the beautiful pine trees, we felt satisfied with what we were able to find.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234149434392106450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUpULk32HPmLDZebvyEPrAIV8wYaBkv5EAO6XaFc2J6Hhh1D6SQoXGpuI6czMvtaBk69FTVbmBhyskb8_WRDcSSQnx6vIYGDMUC_u9BKaD_8hNgaL1KEJmWF4d-a8PzGitO6obuAmsVw/s320/Achilli+and+Porcini.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234149568518626178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1PrVPL6oaCvqw6ZEQJJDd9bUq-7rtgFkHqBoDPxdpRhU_rNwWr6KP7JmA9fL_DRhyzshl8SosFuUkR2t7qOMrZbAKeWyFrrEaq2EnNH_goZR2PhaCkQvIlMcE38SbfoQlz_8aMe9OwtQ/s320/Il+raccolto.JPG" border="0" /><div style="text-align: justify;">We did not get down to SLC until about 10.30pm and stopped at a grocery store to buy some fresh egg noodles. Although we were soooo tired, we could not wait to taste the gorgeous Porcini. We divided them in three groups: those that were going to be sacrified tonight, those that will be eaten tomorrow, and those that were a little older to be eaten fresh and that we sliced up and start drying to eat in the future in soups or risotto. It was a Porcini feast!!</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234149646755280562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrb9aub8nz1srnpoImcg77wwGeeEETxmb71J2O-erccl4-QZlVqs-zuXMGBki2p0EnCH7SlOmhN1GxUd_ZyAbecuI7qxvtAeG4vmqC6Hivs9pq27OKujga9Dp67rT2bOXZn3aXgYEV-8/s320/Eating.JPG" border="0" />Pasta with Porcini Mushrooms (for 4 people):<br />- 2 packages fresh egg noodles (we got Buitoni brand - ca. 1/2lb each)<br />- 1lb fresh Porcini mushrooms<br />- 2 cloves of garlic (peeled)<br />- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil<br />- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley<br />- salt and pepper to taste<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Boil water for the pasta in a large pot. In the meantime, prepare the Porcini mushrooms as follow: clean the Porcini with a brush or kitchen towel. Remove excess dirt with a knife. Dice the Porcini mushroom and sautee them in a fry pan on medium heat with the olive oil and garlic. Let them cook until tender. Do not overcook or burn them!! Add salt and pepper to taste.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Add pasta to the boiling water. It will cook in less then 3 minutes. Drain and place back in the pot. Add the cooked Porcini mushrooms and stir well. Add more olive oil if necessary. Serve pasta in four bowls and sprinkle with the fresh parsely. Enjoy a trip to heaven!</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234149727615708322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLIN2DRSh5UW192ZGffQO7z01_gLasWZ5ntTvc35Neq0n0JqxIXjkYLY9ZM9cXnQc6q8jeR6hS6YLH5dZpm6bIa4O7i65bL2f21U6bJ2DeWBcFRMtNREOK4WXaG_yY8teS-VLjrHbA5w/s320/Egg+Noodles+with+Porcini.JPG" border="0" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-13209407986647601812008-05-28T14:32:00.000-07:002010-01-01T23:45:34.053-08:00Ancona, Italy - August 2008<div style="text-align: justify;">I am in Ancona, Italy... a lovely city on the Adriatic Sea coastline. I have never been here. I am attending a conference called DNA in Forensics. Lot of great researchers and interesting presentations. The nice perks are the room with a view of the sea and an extraordinary dinner at a local Trattoria with more seafood than I could eat (but I ate it all!!). In this picture I am having a local favorite:<i> l'impiccato</i> (the hangman). It is a bunch of fried seafood hanging upside-down from a metal stick. I was happy!</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205546072588728834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-d8qh_lPHX2ayQsmp3hYuDx_U8_b2QSK_2-23PFoVl1hFgB5ypYNO9cMSj_aiZKKNVbO67jRlw2q9AwmJtNCfUbMPnMAmshZMDFbLZBSmBn5jBHn6TPPn-C8Ml-lPBg_A3sUafTvKR3Y/s320/Ugo+Trattoria+Ancona+Maggio+2008.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205546210027682322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7B1tukBfarfRobO_voSDt9dWsLXrsHzOwS7RZzMbUkb1Y1gQ0aaRPZmLj5SSqGcbyCHh_gn_l3SkHO9W6cH8dz1rpy_kPsn3bDxbnFwmZ-TwWW-bXtRZYtnYI056HO5Lt4CvmRp5S8s/s320/Mare+Ancona+Maggio+2008.JPG" border="0" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-24435020155304986152008-04-30T08:07:00.000-07:002010-01-01T23:44:35.099-08:00Gnoccone Ripieno<div style="text-align: justify;">This is a first for me, as I came across this recipe lately, browsing through the pages of a new Italian cookbook I recently purchased. Although it did not turn out just like the picture in the book, I was pretty satisfied and I probably figured out where I could improve. This is basically the same recipe for traditional <a href="http://funsimpleandtasty.blogspot.com/2008/03/spinach-gnocchetti-chicken-marsala.html">gnocchi</a>, without the frozen spinach (white gnocchi). Instead of making little potato dumplings, you keep the whole dough as one piece and you flattened with a rolling pin (or wit your hands!) until it is about 1/4 inch thick. It is better if you do it already on a kitchen rag as it might be difficult to move the dough once it is flattened (see picture).</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195064715709561586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFOfjJZ3sY2MPDNGCyIo4QKNBnhlBsDrPO2SmqNgWKQoPur-9dShOcVa76koszNoBljYqWATlXNfYnLlev55QEB3Hq6s1gzum6OfwSl070xk39J-WOt2iT4MSQRrhI_P3UDlcDyLD2iOo/s320/Gnoccone+1.JPG" border="0" /><div style="text-align: justify;">At this time you can place on the flattened dough your favorite ingredients. I went for some sliced white mushrooms cooked in butter and garlic, and then finely chopped into a sauce using a blender. I spread the mushroom sauce on a thin layer of shredded mozzarella e Parmesan cheese and topped it with fresh spinach leafs.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195064638400150242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdyrGO7iXgJU77QMFxyJvHbej6IMGxntSJou6_DVHOxozYUx3sqbhnV0B-NQU_m3Nw2ze59DB6BLzYe2dCmuQ7zKkgziRFwuze0zSYPo5xeH4PCoMMREwCw8BrqoTuiWizjN7LsR_aR0k/s320/Gnoccone+2.JPG" border="0" /><div style="text-align: justify;">Carefully, I rolled the dough using the rag and then tied the two extremities with a string. Make sure the rag is as tight as possible around it. That will give it a nice and firm cylindrical shape to the final cooked product. Place the whole thing into a large pan with boiling salted water for 30 minutes. Remove it from the pan and let it sit, still in the rag, until it has cool down (15-20 minutes). This is an important step as it will ensure that the large rolled dough keeps its cylindrical shape once you untie the ends and remove the rag.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195064548205837010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIyu9VdduQ5Qi-2hVGuAH4HRuWXWIrtyCyRFfDFx5soid9fqfrAsSEA2_CZPCMoVrUlIRQA1urIuKktdl93i9Md-e6eQVqB-tW9MyiucaPCwbAvESKxn_WeqH69WEQn7UwtD6st788Go/s320/Gnoccone+3.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195064483781327554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMO96ZRE98kz6H0MOYNT4jl194LmeWFljl4fmKS8BeR-DjvsLjKiqZlOTsUH_FIgOiL0BAKFJ578jbzInR38rmNUmoDXIg5XVcuBJB9LGGoES81hG_iHbjHgrBfYPB-Zxrtnpr-Wxe18/s320/Gnoccone+4.JPG" border="0" /><div style="text-align: justify;">At this point you can slice it and place the slices in a baking pan. Cover with small pieces of butter and with parmesan cheese and baked at 350F for few minutes, until cheese has melted. Enjoy!</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195064376407145138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpk3q6oC6Co4XY5yMay2Jtcj9qI8ALn6GWPF8xbmqsmAjcusA_vCqs-Z-WrM0-1aW6iwNWEfIAeQJttsdsKNxza0d17x9ra5K1OakkJ6cyLcS7lDwmvFzIBpc6zZp6MrRUY6kF4ntpfyg/s320/Gnoccone+5.JPG" border="0" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-11648482206103470332008-04-16T21:53:00.000-07:002010-01-01T23:42:22.129-08:00Crespelle<div style="text-align: justify;">This is a total knockout dish and one you can't ever get tired of, because there are so many little things you can do differently each time. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Crespelle</span> is the Italian adaptation of a France classic: Crepes. As you may already know, crepes can be prepared sweet (for desserts) or plain (for main dishes). This is the recipe for the plain (salty) crepes:</div><div><br />- Butter 40 grams;<br />- Flour 250 grams;<br />- 2 cups (500ml) milk;<br />- 3 eggs;<br />- A pinch of salt.<br /><br /><div><div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190081104289763874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigd546w6Rv3aE76CXRNFgkovdbTlocs2W22M6wJ-UEr-aWm5GhJMLkrGTq93Lyy_VkAIiWt3Ul-bC30fOP-7eMDABGPK225xflOe9tndj_SvoQMpKOq27qbOfsq0YLvyc92GKLdggeWp0/s320/Ingredienti+Crepes.JPG" border="0" /><div style="text-align: justify;">Sift flour into a mixing bowl with salt and milk (I used my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">KitchenAid</span>). Mix well until it is lump-free. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs slightly and then add to the mix. Continue mixing for another minute or so, then remove bowl from mixer, cover with a kitchen rug or plastic wrap, and let it sit for 1/2 hour. Melt the butter in the microwave and add to the mix (stir with a spoon). If you have a crepe-maker, this is the time to finally use it... otherwise you can simply use a non-stick frying pan. If you are using the frying pan, place just enough mix to cover the bottom (help yourself with a spoon, but act quickly as it will harden right away). Cook for one minute on each side. Place on a plate and proceed with the next crepe.</div><br /></div><div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190080971145777682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IPbDIX6bOuwqfoofYueBCHao-vhyc4yJyaD4d3oj-PIEL9TiZfjlB0RjWikhBT2SJcfms7I7swBzZFViN0eVjkX1Mr4b85bYgb3ebcymriPQikYsJHlBbCqywzYSdAvA0gkRUnxHMLU/s320/Crepes.JPG" border="0" /><div style="text-align: justify;">After all the crepes are made (you should have a nice stack of 12-15 of them), you can proceed with preparing the filling (or you can prepare it while the crepe mix is resting). Three typical fillings used for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">CRESPELLE</span> are ricotta cheese and spinach, ham and cheese, or mushrooms. This time I chose mushrooms. I cooked several sliced white mushrooms in a pan with some butter, dry parsley, and a crushed clove of garlic. When the mushrooms where fully cooked, I placed them in a food processor and obtained a nice mushroom paste which was easy to spread. I took my first crepe and spread half of it with a spoonful of the mushroom filling. Then I folded the crepe in half two times (to obtain a triangle shape). Place each crepe prepared this way in a baking <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Pyrex</span> pan. In a saucepan, prepare 2 cups of <a href="http://funsimpleandtasty.blogspot.com/2008/02/fun-in-kitchen-2.html"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">bechamel</span> sauce</a> and pour it over the crepes. Sprinkle the top with some mozzarella or <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Parmesan</span> cheese (or both) and a touch of dry parsley (for looks). Cover with an aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350. Alternatively, you can place 1-2 crepes (with filling and folded) on each plate and pour a little bit of the hot <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">bechamel</span> on them. Enjoy!!</div><br /></div><div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190080846591726082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-gvHe2S0Mtjk3aB7ysx99ThwON70X_wsFf5mlgxFoUL4v-SwwHfsnY1O1_MDNHy41PhBwFfTid5LsmDrwmD1V1ummuDtrutTCJYc0yxhHw_ClJiX00_c23Pj_lRo8BjLW8XFrpfL9UM/s320/Crespelle.JPG" border="0" /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-19656848070644111972008-03-12T21:17:00.000-07:002010-01-01T23:41:05.879-08:00PESTO SAUCE!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaquEkheQBhQBjA17GVmVSQ_34x6-EsFIE49RzEF1GNyjjfebZHt3Hx9mz4UOlMNUZdyJE9YI7FgyngS7XIGSBZsgMAbFFb0wFgzPDzXUMOz1XtMI-OJRucEY6NOEZnwgQaCSqHABL8Oo/s1600-h/Pesto+sauce.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177077484347617778" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaquEkheQBhQBjA17GVmVSQ_34x6-EsFIE49RzEF1GNyjjfebZHt3Hx9mz4UOlMNUZdyJE9YI7FgyngS7XIGSBZsgMAbFFb0wFgzPDzXUMOz1XtMI-OJRucEY6NOEZnwgQaCSqHABL8Oo/s200/Pesto+sauce.JPG" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Here is one of my very favorite and simplest recipes: Pesto sauce!! This sauce is delicious with any kind of pasta shapes, particularly linguini. It can also be used as a spread in sandwiches, on pizza, or with chicken. The ingredients I used made me 9 bags of pesto (I can use each bag with one pound of pasta), but this is what you need as condiment for just one pound of noodles:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div>- 3 packages (ca. 3 cups) fresh basil leaves;<br />- 1/4 cup of pine nuts;<br />- 1/4 cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese;<br />- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (for a low fat recipe, you can substitute half of the olive oil with chicken broth);<br />- 2 cloves of garlic;<br />- salt and pepper to taste.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until you obtain a thick and smooth sauce. Pour on your favorite pasta noodle. Sprinkle additional parmesan cheese on the top of each plate.</div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177077291074089442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3bABo2Oq6PGhlkSIOZ_hB7HswxgrETnz9VXByrMRibYEI5OkbVWD6GcTYrLxlejSosLZyGdMgoWcEvmu9Iek39dkJ8hzRWrR8ePduTd2kWLnphLuD_6tkFLu94QAV1Q0MgxwOurbg6I/s320/Pesto+Ingredients.JPG" border="0" /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2283141353064842299.post-25212665648464375532008-03-03T21:40:00.000-08:002010-01-01T23:38:33.928-08:00Spinach Gnocchetti, Chicken Marsala, Lemon Meringue Pie, and Pistachio GelatoSPINACH GNOCCHETTI<div><br />- 4-6 potatoes;<br />- 1 egg;<br />- half package frozen spinach;<br />- white flour;<div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Peel and boil the potatoes as if you were preparing mush potatoes. When the potatoes are soft, whip them with one egg and the cooked spinach that you will have previously blended and pureed. Mix well, adding the flour gradually until you obtain a soft dough that does not stick to your fingers. On a well-floured counter, take small pieces of dough and roll them in the flour into a snake shape about the thickness of your finger. Cut with a knife every 3/4 inch and pass the individual pieces in the flour. Place them on a cookie sheet and freeze them. When hard, you can remove them with a spatula and place them in separate zip lock bags ready to use. To cook: boil water with a couple of TBSPs of salt. When the water boils, drop frozen gnocchetti and cook until they began to float. Drain and serve with your favorite sauce. Eat immediately. My favorite sauce is melted butter flavored with sage leaves... Yummy!!!</div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173758334731023346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Ni9nwzDV2Hs85r2EAC-lqd3Go1IHcVwpF_ouJmGsBPdWzIx8nBUThaWbAyOTXcm4E0sbeZi32xkebn7Uf2om0rRGFvgrVwRKF3UBAvp_buAjH4oID4BPLke3M1IP1NQU7IoPkM5dPs8/s320/Gnocchetti+Spinaci.JPG" border="0" /></p><p>CHICKEN MARSALA</p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">- 8 small pieces of chicken breast (chicken finger style similar to those used for the Chicken scaloppine);</div>- one cup white flour;<br />- one cup cooking Marsala wine;<br />- one package of white mushrooms, sliced;<br />- chopped fresh or dry parsley;<br />- one cup of butter;<br />- 2 TBSPs of minced garlic;<br />- 2 bouillon cubes.<p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Melt 3/4 of the butter in skillet or a large non-sticky frying pan and add the cubes. Pass Chicken in flour and place in the pan. Cook slowly until fully cooked (turn it once or twice). Increase heat and pour Marsala wine. On a separate pan, cook mushrooms in remaining butter with garlic and parsley. When mushrooms are done, add to chicken and serve together.</div><br />LEMON MERINGUE PIE<p></p><p>- 0ne shallow pie crust;<br />For the filling:<br />- 50 grams (2 TBSPs) white flour;<br />- 90 grams (3 TBSPs) potato or corn starch;<br />- 200 grams of white sugar;<br />- 3 cups boiling water;<br />- a pinch of salt;<br />- 3 eggs yokes;<br />- 1 lemon peel<br />- 8 TBSPs lemon juice;<br />- 1 TBSP butter;<br />For the meringue:<br />- 3 egg whites;<br />- 5 TBSPs of white sugar;<br />- 1 TBSP lemon juice.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Bake the pie crust following the instructions. Let it cool down. Prepare the filling as follow: in a sauce pan mix sugar, flour, and starch. Add the boiling water little at the time stirring continually. Keep stirring while cooking on low heat for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, beat the egg yokes and add few spoonfuls of the mix. Pour beaten eggs with mix in the suace pan and stir vigorously until you obtain a thick cream. Remove from heat and add the lemon peel, the lemon juice, the salt, and the butter. Mix well and pour inside the baked crust. Prepare the meringue as follow: beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt and one TBSP of lemon juice until firm. Add sugar and mix gently. Cover the pie with the meringue and sprinkle additional sugar on the top. You can caramelize the meringue by placing it back in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes or until the meringue is golden. Alternatively you can use a cooking torch (that is what I did). Refrigerate for few hours. Serve cold.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173758545184420866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_qwMJUQE6SOb5PYuwcgIcDBwgej-9zrmrfRerXcc0x0bfNn9AYVOVAYH9SgX9hOlo-mHr74ZjV4NqRsD9ir-ngwpmpDR3NdL8Kc1yV_KoBx9pKRFkKoo1rZO07ZgxwrIkM8olmUOb7w/s320/Lemon+Meringue.JPG" border="0" />GELATO PISTACHIO<p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The base recipe is the same as for the other gelato flavors I made in the past (see for example the <a href="http://funsimpleandtasty.blogspot.com/2008/02/fun-in-kitchen-2-part-ii.html">Oreos Gelato</a> one). After placing the gelato custard base in the ice-cream maker, let it freeze for a while and five-ten minutes before the ice-cream is ready, add one package of Pistachio flavored Jell-O. I know it sounds silly, but I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised!</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177078884506956290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip7LULA58DvvYhZznZPg8ADywAb1LvANQWc5ZSJW2HXAbroVjL8-J2QsDQmZGtXTUGuzNOBuzh_IQwPyfIZIxcdhKN3ME9Jzv3goJDBlPie22UbLx3PwCall2d6VctoZcnvNU0K-RRIjE/s320/Gelato+Pistachio.JPG" border="0" /></p></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2