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Posts tagged ‘Food’

Jan 5

11 Comments

What did you eat for Fish-Mas?

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Happy New Year to all of you!!

Nahhhh!!!

Now, rewind to December 24th,  2013 – Christmas Eve dinner, the so called “La cena della vigilia”.

I am still thinking about what I ate for dinner on that day. Why? Because on Xmas Eve Italians eat seafood ( and I go nuts for “i frutti di mare”). Not only they prepare delicious dishes, but they alternate their Holidays menus. Think about it: we are all stuffed and tired of eating meat based delicacies throughout our celebrations. Italians play it smart, they indulge on spaghetti alle vongole, or a great boiled sea bass, together with other frutti di mare scrumptious treats. However, on Christmas day – like most of us – they eat meat.

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Jul 26

13 Comments

Longing for Marzapane

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Have you ever thought: what am I going to eat for dinner tomorrow? –or- what will I be eating for lunch next Saturday? breakfast next Sunday? What will I order from the menu of a restaurant next time I go there?  Isn’t it bizarre how our love for food makes us think about our upcoming meals over time?

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Jul 9

7 Comments

Gluttony or Sloth?

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I  am a sinner. Everyone sins. All of us human beings were born sinners. In fact, in Christian moral tradition seven sins are said to be deadly:  wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.

Out of these seven sins, I usually have a conflict between two of them – sloth (which refers to laziness) and gluttony, which  Pope Gregory I defined as: “seeking delicacies and better quality of food to gratify the vile sense of taste.” 

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Jun 27

11 Comments

Shredded veal salad with radishes, tomatoes, spinach and yogurt-mustard dressing

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I have a confession to make: there are some ingredients I just don’t know how to cook. This is was the case of – radishes. I used to eat radishes in salads, and sometimes as crudités pairing dips, but I never really understood its usage in the kitchen – or even how to make the most of it.

While scrolling down tweets from Food52 – a truly amazing food site- I discovered a simple, delicious recipe with grilled chicken, radishes pickles and greens from Caroline Wright, who creates recipes for Food52.

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Jun 10

28 Comments

Simply Gelato

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At some point in your life you have probably met that girl who just can’t shut up about herself: how cool she is, how she only wears designer clothing, how she knows the right people, how clever she is and – of course – how rich she is. Chances are you have also met that guy –  a colleague-who just can’t shut up about himself: who brags rights about a project he’s done – all by himself –, who boasts about staying later at work than his other colleagues, and who has the right business connections. The truth is that most probably their claims are far from reality…blah blah blah… Sounds familiar?

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May 25

16 Comments

Give me whatever crap: Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

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Even though it’s not tomato season yet in Italy, the other day I was craving for a tomato- based pasta. To be more precise, I was searching for the recipe of Spaghetti alla Puttanesca.

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May 19

20 Comments

Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, strawberries and cream gelato

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I don’t know about you, but when Spring arrives, I become lazy (well ..let’s put it this way…I am lazy but I become even lazier!). And yet, I am still that food snob (not foodie please!) who’s willing to travel all the way down from Rome to Modena to get the real deal: Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena -TBVM-, the right name for this luscious, fascinating potion.

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Mar 4

112 Comments

How to make Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe like a Roman

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It took me years to make a decent Cacio e Pepe, one of Rome’s traditional pasta dishes (the others are Carbonara, Matriciana, and Gricia).

Since Cacio e Pepe has only three main ingredients -Pecorino Romano cheese, black pepper and pasta-, it might seem an easy recipe to make – but it isn’t.

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Dec 26

21 Comments

A matter of cultural perspective

 

How would you eat this dish? Would you start by eating the rice first, the squid or the pesto? Would you call it fusion, creative cuisine or a concept dish? Anyway we see it, it is a matter of perspective. So is the way we eat our food. If I had to define food in one word, I’d say food is culture. When it comes to food, our preferences – and our choices of what we eat and cook – are shaped by our cultural backgrounds. Food defines who we are and where we come from: Italians eat pasta, Mexicans eat tacos, Americans eat burgers, Chinese people eat dim sum, etc.

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Dec 24

14 Comments

Buon Natale!

Buon-Natale

Today I went to the market near home to buy seafood for an appetizer I had to bring for tonight’s Christmas Eve dinner (Vigilia di Natale). According to Italian tradition, you eat seafood on Christmas Eve and meat on Christmas day. Since there is a lot of demand for fish on the 24th of December, you need to order seafood in advance. So I went to the market’s fishmonger and to my surprise they couldn’t find my order so they had to redo it (cleaning and preparing seafood included!!). That meant I had to wait for more than half an hour with little Ambrosina, who was hungry and crying!! To me this was the icing on the cake, or in Italian Christmas tone – as the picture portrays it –  confectioners’ sugar on Pandoro (that is my daughter’s Xmas cap!).

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