Eat
Sometimes We Go Out to Eat
Never Forgotten: Locanda al Gambero Rosso
It was a bittersweet dinner at Locanda al Gambero Rosso. A restaurant we’ve loved, that we’ve called our favorite in the whole world, will shut the lights and shutter their doors at the end of August. Our hearts are broken, but we are looking forward to the next chapters in the lives of Giuliana, Moreno, Michela and Paolo.
Pass the Prosciutto – Just in time Holiday Potatoes
It’s holiday season. That time of year when you are either entertaining, or being entertained and you need to bring something delicious to the next party.
Here’s a simple and delicious way to make potatoes using Prosciutto di Parma. If you use little red potatoes and a chopped parsley as a garnish, it will look extra holiday perfect.
Drums, Flags & Sausage: Festa in Montone!
It’s August, so it must be Ferragosto, and if it’s Ferragosto, then it must be festa time in Montone! We are in the midst of our annual, week long medieval festival, the Donazione della Santa Spina.
August 15 is the official Ferragosto holiday in Italy, but one can go ‘on ferie’ (fair-ee-a) or vacation, anytime during the summer. We can all thank Emperor Augustus who, back in 18 B.C., thought it was a great idea to take a little break from work during the dog days of summer.
Crossing the Border into Culinary Crazy Land?
How far would you travel for a superb lemon? Would you consider giving up eating shrimp after tasting fresh red shrimp and knowing this is the best you’ll ever have? Is the market your first stop in a new place even when you only have a hotel room and no kitchen and you feel as though you’ve been denied entry to Paradise? Do people still tell stories about that time in Puglia when you bought out half the fish market and invited a boat load of strangers to dinner? Do you hang around in coffee bars and restaurants eavesdropping to hear what people are cooking? Do you keep track of when peaches are at their peak in different regions of Italy?
When do you cross the line from culinary traveler to Culinary Crazy?
Food Meets Art in Venezia & Bologna
A weekend adventure that transports and recharges. Bright cones of ground spices seduce with their colors and their aroma. A mosaic pattern on the floor is actually an intricate arrangement of rice, beans and peas. A bowl of black seppia ink pasta coats our lips and teeth, turning us into daytime ghouls. Meals that are more than memories…a moment of pleasure on the lips, a liftime on our hips! Welcome to Venice and Bolgona, exotic plantets of fantasy, light, art, water, fruity white wines, friends and the search for surprise and delight.
Cult of the Prugnoli: A Secret Mushroom
I swear I’m not trying to rub it in, but unless you are in central Italy, right now, and unless it rains again, you probably won’t be able to taste the elusive prugnolo mushroom.
There is a prugnolo cult in Umbria. Small signs pop up on restaurant windows simply announcing ‘prugnolo’. Nothing more. No dish is mentioned, no hint that it’s a spring mushroom; it’s an insider thing. That would be an insider who is willing to pay for her pleasure.