The Police Came Knocking

Here a old photo of Deme asking for my residence card. I got a call from my custode this morning telling the police came by looking for me. This is actually a good thing, it means the city is getting ready to grant me my residence card. Part of the process if the police come by and see if you live where you say you do. She verified that I have lived here for over a year. Both of our names are on the call box on the outside of the building and on our doorbell right outside our apartment. They however said they were busy and would not come all the way up to check if I was physically living there. The word of the custode and the names of the outside call box were enough I suppose.

With the residence card we will be able to get reduced prices for electricity and our parking pass. Yipee!

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Pasta and Fresh Spring Peas

There is nothing that signals spring in Italy more than fresh peas. Only about 5% of the fresh peas in the U.S. make it to markets. Most of them are frozen or canned. I must say that I like both as well. The first time I had fresh peas with pasta, I was awestruck and now try as often as I can in springtime to make this wonderful dish.

Enzo’s Pasta with Fresh Spring Peas

½ C to 1 C. of peas per person (A pound of peas in the pod will yield about 1 cup of shelled peas)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
good olive oil
parmigiano cheese
chopped parsley
fresh egg pasta

1. On low heat sauté the diced onion in a liberal amount of oil, when they are very soft and translucent, add the garlic, a bit of salt and set aside. Some people sauté a bit of pancetta also but I love the flavor of the peas on their own so I leave it out.

2. Cook the shelled peas in salted water until they are soft and creamy in the middle. The timing may surprise you; this can take as long as 15 to 20 minutes. Taste a larger one of the peas every 5 minutes or so until you have the right texture. They should not be firm in the middle at all. When the peas are cooked drain them and add the to the onion mixture. Reheat everything and set on low until the pasta is ready.

3. Cook the fresh pasta and when it is almost done, add it to the peas, add some pasta water if it seems dry. Blend all the ingredients together for a minute or two, then serve with cheese on top. A simple dish bursting with flavor, drizzle good olive oil on top and enjoy.





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Herbs, Herbs, Herbs

While I lived in Seattle I had ready access to many, many types of herbs. At the local grocery store you could find many of the basics such as flat leafed and curly leafed parsley, mint, sage, English thyme, tarragon, rosemary, basil and more all at about $1.99+ a package. If I wanted more ethic herbs, Chinatown was the place to go for Thai basil, Vietnamese coriander/cilantro, lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal and fresh wasabi. As soon as I moved out of my college apartment and into a house I began to plant herbs at a somewhat alarming rate. Within a year I had a thriving herb garden with no less than 20 types of culinary herbs. Fresh is best.

Here in Italy, some herbs such as rosemary, sage and bay leaves are freely available at local butcher shops. When you line up for your meat, you can help yourself to a sprig or two free of charge. (I find this to be a very nice perk.) Many, many types of spices and herbs are commonly available from vanilla beans and capers to pink peppercorns and marjoram; most of them at ¼ to ½ the price of herbs in the U.S. A bunch of fresh basil will run you about .50 Euros, what a great deal!

Two herbs common in the U.S. but have eluded me here are tarragon and dill. So this spring I have decide to try to plant some fresh herbs in window boxes on the balcony. The English thyme and lemon thyme, chives, mint and oregano are still doing fine from last year. This year I’ve added dill, cilantro, Thai basil, Mexican coriander/saw tooth herb, and a few others. Tarragon I could not mail order from Richters readily since it is best propagated from cuttings rather than seeds. I can’t tell you how I am craving cured gravlax and for this I need a lot of dill.



My precious little dill seedlings.



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My Veterinary Experience

I have been on the lookout for a good vet since I planned to have my cat fly over from Seattle. I asked around at my local pet store and got a great recommendation from the owners. We took the dog there first. In January he was due for all this shots and a full exam. If anyone knows me personally they will know my nickname is “dog Nazi” among others. Since the pups were little, I had 2 dogs but one died, I have worked hard in training them but also in loving them and giving them everything I would give a child. A bed, a handmade blanket, toys, homemade food, clothes, bubble baths, brushing their teeth, the works… as you can imagine I adore my pets and looking for a great vet was a top priority. Today with my aging cat in tow, I am positive Dr. Fortunati is the best vet I have ever encountered.

Once again the cat needed to have his gums treated, they had grown so they stuck out of his mouth and had begun to bleed a bit. The first diagnosis was gingival hyperplasia but now he needed anther surgery a biopsy to check for mouth cancer. I was allowed in the back room to hold him as he was put under the anesthesia, then as he was operated on I waited in the waiting room, as he was coming out of the anesthesia, I was given a chair to sit on and told to watch him and cuddle him as he snapped out of it. It was a very nice experience. If the cat had a negative reaction I would have been there and to tell you the truth I would have had it no other way.

At the end of the procedure which took less than 20 minutes, I took the cat home but was instructed to keep him warm and give him lots of cuddles. I have never seen a vet in the US cuddle or kiss any of my animals but Dr. Fortunati was open with his affection, probably since my cat is one of the sweetest around.



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My Own Chicken Cacciatore

I used to make this dish when I was a nanny and it is easy, simple and delicious. Over the years this recipe varies here and there depending on who I am serving it too. For the super spicy yummy version see below.

Chicken Cacciatore

1 chicken cut into pieces
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 small cans to chopped tomatoes
1 small onion chopped (you can add a chopped carrot and celery if you wish or a chopped red pepper too.)
2 T. capers chopped
2 T. olives chopped
5 anchovy fillets (optional)
chili flakes, to taste
flour for dredging
salt+pepper
1 T. fresh herbs or 1 t. dried herbs of your choice (I like sage, thyme and oregano)
white wine or stock, about 1-2 C.

1. Dry chicken pieces, sprinkle with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Shake off excess. Brown the pieces in a bit of olive or vegetable oil and set aside.

2. Add the garlic, onion, chili flakes and half of the herbs to the same pot and saute until fragrant. Add the wine, bring to a light boil while scraping all the goodies off the bottom of the pan.

3. Add the olives, capers, anchovies (this does not make the dish taste fishy, but adds a great rich flavor and salt as well). Stir well and let boil, now add the chicken back to the pot as well as the tomatoes.

4. Now let simmer, cover and cook for about an hour or until the chicken pieces fall off the bone and are soft. Towards the end of the cooking, taste for salt and pepper, remove the cover and let the sauce thicken and reduce. Sprinkle the rest of the herbs at this time and then serve with thick crusty bread.

I love the taste of the chicken as it soaks up the flavors of the caper, olives, tomato, and the rest of the spices. It's even better the next day!





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Easter in Rome 2006

The Easter Holiday in Rome is year was extremely nice, with wonderful weather, friends visiting and great food all around. We arrived on Thursday night quite late but were up with the sun on Friday. One of the main holiday events in Rome is the Via Crucis-The Way of the Cross where the Pope walks a path meant to simulate Jesus' walk to his crucifixion. Its a crowded event, we did not attend this year but saw the road block and street barricades being set up in front of the Coliseum.

A leisurely Saturday followed with a big emphasis on Easter Lunch. Half of which was being prepared by me and half by Demetrio. On Easter morning, Demetrio's family usually eats hard boiled eggs and salami. Eggs are painted but not hidden, in fact they are just eaten after te decorating. There are giant chocolate eggs everywhere as well as colomba-sweet brioche-like breads with candied fruits and shaped into a dove.




Back to Easter lunch:
I was in charge of the fennel and orange salad, the tomato brushetta and the roasted lamb and potatoes. (a traditional food)

Demetrio was in charge of the:
Pasta and the Coratella, a very traditional dish made with lamb or sheep innards and artichokes. I wasn't going near this with a ten foot pole.




We were given a pastiera pie by enjoy and Claire, also a very traditional dessert from Naples. Which went well with our other dessert a millefoglie-Which means a thousand sheets or layers from Cavelletti, a famous bake shop in Rome.

Lunch was nice and long and we all had a chance to rest between courses so none of us was worse for wear.


It was especially nice to have our friends from Luxembourg come over for the weekend. Here is Fergal and Demetrio enjoy a bit of sun.

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Fried Calamari-2 Ways

I am not a giant fan of deep fried foods. We don't own a fryer but my wok is an excellent substitute. Last night we decided to co-operate and make fried calamari. In Italy, fritto misto, is a plate of mixed and fried items. The selection can vary from seafood, to vegetables, or a mix of both. It is also common for Italians to fry offal, aka the fifth quarter, aka organ meats such as liver, brains and sweet breads.

I love Japanese tempura so we decide to make both a regular batter as a coating as well as one with panko.

Start by cleaning the calamari, remove the purple skin, the tentacles and the backbone inside as well as the inner organs. Wash the bodies with lots of water and slice into 1/4-1/2 inch rings. Sprinkle about a quarter cup of salt all over the rings and give them a good scrub, then rinse, drain and pat dry. If you want to fry the tentacles too, be sure to remove the beak and cut the tentacles from the just below the eyes (the tentacles retain a lot of water and tend to pop a lot when frying, dry them well). After all the squid has been cleaned and dried dust liberally with cornstarch. Now get ready to batter-up!

Batter #1
1 C. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 egg
carbonated water or beer (start with about 2 C.)

Mix all the batter ingredients together until smooth, it will foam, and set aside. The consistency should be that of very thin pancake batter. Dip a few cornstarch coated rings into the batter and fry at medium heat. Be sure the rings cook for only about a minute per side or they might get tough. Taste the fried rings, adjust the amount of water depending on how thin you like the batter. I like just a very light coating on my food so I end up with a very, very thin batter. Serve with course salt and lemon wedges or a mayo/tartar style dip.

Batter #2

2 egg white lightly beaten
Panko bread crumbs

Coat the rings quickly with egg white then dip into the panko crumbs. Make sure to coat the inside of the rings as well. Press the crumbs into the calamari and fry. Panko crumbs fry up quicker and more golden regular batter and you will have to skin burnt crumbs from the oil now and then. Still fry them quickly and serve with lemon or mayo/tartar style dip. Enjoy!


The finished product. They were crisp, tender and very light. I enjoyed both types of breading, it was nice to have a choice.


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Roasted Peppers and Secret Sauces

Roasting chilis and peppers are one of life's great joys I think. The flavor of these beauties is enhanced and concentrated, all they need is a little salt, and good olive oil but if you want to get creative you can try my "no so secret sauces."

To Roast the Peppers:

The best and least messy way to do this is over a wood fire. The wood smoke adds a wonderful flavor but if you don't have a wood fire handy, a stove top or oven will do. To roast the peppers on the stove top, simply place them whole on the electric coils or on the gas burners, turn the heat on medium and turn them as they begin to char. Make sure they are evenly blackened on all sides and soft to the touch. After they are cooked, place them in a paper or plastic bag to steam for about 5-10 minutes then slip off the burnt skins. I do not recommend rinsing them with water after this step. Pick off all the seeds, now you're ready to serve.

In the oven, remove the tops/stems of the peppers, the seeds and cut them in half. Place them cut side down on a baking sheet lined with foil and bake at 425 F until they are soft and blackened. Then follow the rest of the directions above.

Once the peppers are peeled, you can serve them with just olive oil and salt, you can puree them into a sauce or soup, chop them up with a few olives, anchovies and capers and make a bruschetta out of them or you can serve then with sauce accompaniments.

**For a super colorful dish, used red, yellow and orange peppers.

Anchovy sauce

6 anchovy fillets
1 garlic clove
2-3 capers
olive oil
ground pepper

Combine the ingredients and blend with a stick blender. This sauce needs more oil b/c the anchovies are very salty, the consistency should be runny.

Lemon-Mint Sauce

a handful of mint leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 garlic clove
rind of one lemon
olive oil

Combine all the ingredients and blend with a stick blender. Add enough oil so the sauce resembles a pesto.



Peppers before sauces.


Peppers after sauces.


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Food Sin # 2-Steaks

As a child growing up on Guam we got most of our meat from Australia and imported from the United States. Every once in a while we would go to a Sizzler, a Chuck's Steak House or some other meat restaurant for a great steak. We loved steaks so much my younger sister earned the nickname T-Rex, as she could eat an entire T-bone steak on her own, and she was only 6 or so at the time. We learned to love our steaks rare and bloody. In the U.S. you can have your meat cooked anyway you like, in Italy they will cook it medium-rare to rare unless you tell them to not to.

Steaks are big business here in Italy, with no one mentioning calories, fat, or cholesterol. Everyone knows the famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina, the famous steak from Florence that may weigh as much as 2 kilos each. The secret to this steak is the way it is cooked, over a real wood fire. The smokey taste is addicting and once you've had it, you'll never forget it. The Florentine steak come from the breed of cow called the Chianina (pronounced Kee-a-nee-na, one of the oldest breeds of cattle in the world. Originating in Central Italy, Chianina were initially introduced into the United States in 1971.




This is a cut version of the Bistecca alla Fiorentina, called a Tagliata.

In Piemonte we have a famous breed of double muscled cow called the Piedmontese. It's this double muscling that make the Piedmontese one of the leanest types of beef available. These special cows are from the northern Italy. The first Piedmontese animals exported to North America arrived in Saskatchewan, Canada in the fall of 1979. These cows are gentle and beautiful. When visiting Piedmonte, you must sample the vitello albese, a very special veal tartar that is chopped by hand (babutta al cotello). (In winter, you may get them with shaved truffles on top.) And the filetto di fassone, a filet of this very special type of beef. You will not be disappointed.


This is the vitello albese.

When shopping at the local butcher I am in the habit of asking for very thick cuts of meat. Most butchers pound filets of pork, beef and chicken breasts quite thin but when we want to eat a good steak, I ask for the thickest cut possible. This piece weighed over 2 kilos, almost 5 pounds. No, we did not eat it all ourselves, I saved a bit for steak salad the next day.




Our dinner waiting to be cooked.



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A Response from Delta Airlines

The short version of what happened to my cat in my letter to Delta:

"My husband took a flight out of Seattle on Jan. 17th, 2006 and landed in Milan on Jan. 18th, 2006 without our cat and another piece of baggage. The cat was not placed on the outbound flight from Seattle to Atlanta and was placed on the next outbound flight. The cat missed my husbandÂ’s connection and had to wait in Atlanta for the next flight (8 hours later) which was due to leave Atlanta the evening of the 18th and arrive in Milan on the 19th of Jan. A Delta representative in Milan called us the morning of the 19th to inform us that the missing bag had arrived but once again, the cat did not arrive. I was told the cat was still in Atlanta as of the 19th of Jan. but was due to fly to Milan on DL#74 on the evening of the 19th and arrive in Milan on the 20th of Jan. He did not make that flight and was left to spend another night at Atlanta kennel due to a miscommunication."

The condition of my cat when he arrived:

"When he arrived in Turin the afternoon of the 20th of Jan., his kennel which had a cat bed in it, had been layered with shredded paper and newspaper (not by us), all of which were soaked with urine. His front and back legs were stained black from the urine soaked newsprint. We proceeded to immediately to take him to the veterinarian who informed us he was dehydrated, and looked very stressed out. In addition to this, his bowels were filled with compacted stool; he was given a laxative at the vetÂ’s office and I am to give him another syringe-full the next day. His nose and lip were raw, we (the vet and I) assumed from constant rubbing against the kennel."

The compensation I asked for:

1. A reimbursement of the $110.00 extra baggage fee, plus $60.00 (the total I spent on 3 calling cards that I used to call the U.S. from Italy, I spent approx. 3 hours on the phone on the 18th and another 3 hours on the phone on the 19th of January.), plus $ 30 dollars for the vet visit, plus $100 dollars a day that my cat and I were inconvenienced, (the 17th, 18th 19th and 20th ), $400 total for the 4 days. The grand total for all the grief suffered is $600.00. I await your reply.

I looked on various websites to see what I should ask for in compensation but there were no guidelines. So I just winged it.

I received a letter from them yesterday with this response.

"They were sorry to learn" the cat did not arrived with Demetrio in Italy as planned and the difficulties my cat faced were "disturbing."

"They try to ensure that pets arrive with the passenger but irregularities can occur."

"Your comments were helpful in the review of the service we provide."

All in all, "We agree that a refund of the excess baggage fee is in order. However, we respectfully decline your request for reimbursement of your phone calls and decline payment for your inconvenience. As a gesture of goodwill they gave us 2 $150 transportation vouchers, valid for future travel. Not redeemable online and that expire in a year."

They thanked me for writing and apologized. What do you think? Is this fair and resonable? Thoughts?

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Pho-Vietnamese Noodle Soup

Have you ever loved a dish so much, you felt is if it was a part of your family's history and therefore a part of you? This is how I feel about pho. I made it for lunch today as Demetrio went on a daytrip to go cart racing in San Remo. As much as I love my DH (dear husband) I knew he could never fully appreciate the time and authenticity of my mom's pho recipe; plus he's not a big broth/soup eater. Instead I invited 2 people over for lunch who I knew would gush over some really good Vietnamese food, my new friend Sharon, who is Chinese and from Singapore and her French husband. Both love all Asian cuisines and enjoyed the dish almost as much as I did.

As a child, I help my mom in the kitchen constantly and I think I have been learning to make pho since I was about 10 years old. My dad, my sisters and I used to have pho contests, in which we would all season our soups in our own special way, then we'd taste all the other soups and decide whose tasted best. My dad's was always on the oily side, mine on the sweet side and my sisters' on the either salty or sour side. Who would not feel comforted my a big, steaming hot bowl of rice noodles in a fragrant broth? To read more about the history of Pho, click here.

My Mom's Pho Recipe

4-6 pounds of oxtail and/or beef soup bones
2 onions, medium
2 pieces of ginger, the size of your thumb
5 pieces of star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cloves

Rice noodles or rice sticks

Garnishes:

sliced onions
chopped cilantro
chili peppers
Thai basil
lime wedges
mint leaves
hoisin sauce
chili paste
fish sauce
thinly sliced flank steak or sirloin-freeze slightly until firm enough to slice paper thin
green onions
bean sprouts


1. Char the ginger, onion, and cinnamon over a flame or on the your stove top until they are blackened all over.

2. Cool the ginger, onion and cinnamon. Peel off the outer layers of the onion and place in the stock pot, rinse the ginger under running water and place it along with the cinnamon and cloves into the stock pot. Add the rinsed beef bones/oxtail and just cover with water. Bring to a boil. Once the soup starts to boil, skim the impurities from the stock. Add several tablespoons of fish sauce and palm sugar or rock sugar (my mom did not) to the soup and let simmer until the oxtails have become very soft. Upwards of two hours.

3. Remove the oxtails from the soup and set aside, discard all other bones and strain soup. Once the soup is clarified, trim fat off the oxtails and add them back to the soup. Keep warm while you prepare the garnishes.

4. After all the garnishes are prepared. Cook the rice sticks according to the package directions; remember to keep the noodles chewy. Drain the noodles and put into large soup bowls. Carefully place thinly sliced beef on top of the noodles, ladle the hot broth along with 1-2 oxtails per bowl. The hot broth will cook the thin slices of beef. Serve immediately with all the garnishes.



Charred pieces of ginger, garlic, star anise and cinnamon.


Oxtails, waiting to be cooked.


The finished soup. A wonderful dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I crave it when the weather turns cold and it's my "chicken soup" when I have a cold.


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Agretti

Agretti an Italian green, are sometimes confused with sea asparagus or sea beans.

Sea beans are available in the U.S. at places like QFC and Whole Foods and have limited uses in my book. I do however love the crisp, salty bite that sea beans have. They are great raw in seaweed salads, great as garnishes to sushi dishes, they are fantastic pickled but I must admit I have zero experience with cooking them.

Agretti look like bunches of fresh green chives, tubular in shape, they don't have a fragrance to them but when cooked are a nice accompaniment to just about anything. They are mild when cooked and when eaten raw, taste like a simple blade of grass. Demetrio says they are mainly served boiled, and they take a long time to boil (about 5-10 minutes), and dressed with lemon and olive oil. I've seen other recipes on the internet which use agretti, they are such a mild green that they would go with just about anything without adding extraneous flavors or taking away from the main ingredient. Try some today.

Click here, and here for more info.





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Click here, and here for more info.