Heaven Found in a Bowl of Gelato May 6, 2013

Thanks to my Italian friend, Marco, who has been so resourceful in finding so many Italian products here in Northern California, I found the best authentic Italian gelato I’ve ever tasted in the most unlikely place possible!  Stuffed into the corner of the freezer section in a Mexican produce market sat these perfect little gems.  Creamy and with the most exquisite flavors, these imported Italian gelatos are as good as those found all over Italy.  Of course, the variety of flavors is so small compared to the multitude in Italy, but that doesn’t matter as they have brought over my favorites!  Bacio – a chocolate hazelnut flavor that tastes exactly like the Perugina Baci chocolates – was my favorite!  The pistachio, with pieces of real pistachios, was pretty darn good!  And finally the capuccino…what can I say?  Heavenly!!  All in all, I must have eaten 1000 calories of gelato in one sitting!  Someone had to have the hard job of making sure they were all up to par!  Luckily, I didn’t buy the other flavors available!  I have to leave something for next time!

Siviero Maria gelato is made in Italy and can be found at Felipe’s Market in Sunnyvale, California.

The Contessa’s Desk April 25, 2013

I have recently been inspired to try my creativity on repurposing furniture that would have been thrown away because it was no longer wanted or needed. Because of my Italian heritage, I am always drawn to the Old World style of decoration. This desk, which I’ve nicknamed The Contessa’s Desk, is my first attempt at re-creating a lost piece of furniture and to bring it back to life.

I wanted to create something that would remind you of something found in an old villa. If you use your imagination, you can imagine the Contessa sitting here and writing her correspondence while looking out onto the rolling hills and vineyards of her estate somewhere in the heart of Italy!

This Contessa’s Desk is available in my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/listing/130329809/the-contessas-desk-an-elegant-writing?ref=pr_shop.

Amazing Wines of Piemonte April 11, 2013

The gorgeous Northern Italian province of Piedmont (Piemonte, in Italian) is rich with all sorts of thrills – both in panorama and in cuisines. The lakes and Alpine peaks create unsurpassable beauty – wonderful backdrops for enjoying ultimate food and wines. Piemonte produces the largest number of prize-winning wines such as Barbera, Barolo, Barbaresco, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, Grignolino, Malvasia and Asti Spumante. Within the province, there are 45 DOC areas, as well as 12 DOCG ones. It actually produces more DOC and DOCG wines by volume than any other Italian wine region! DOC stands for Dominiazione di Origine Controllato (controlled designation of origin), while DOCG stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (controlled designation of origin guaranteed). These designations are given to those food products that are produced within a specified region using defined methods and that satisfy a defined quality standard. Italian wines and cheeses are usually those items given these special designations. The DOCG designation is one step above the DOC in that they have been analyzed and tasted by government-licensed personnel. Not a bad government job by any means!

Piemontese wineries are usually small family estates consisting of relatively small parcels of land. Both Barbera and Nebbiolo are the main grape varietes grown in the province. These grapes form the base to the exquisite red wines produced here. These strong reds form a perfect complement to the rich and hearty cuisine of this mountainous province like fondue, stuffed vegetables, and white truffle delicacies.

Some whites are also produced, among the most notable being Asti Spumante. This sweet dessert wine is made from the Moscato grape and is perfect with the rich pastries and fine chocolates of Piemonte. All in all, this region has wonderful food and the perfect wine to accompany the flavors!

Within Piemonte, the DOCG regions are: Asti, Barbaresco, Barbera d’Asti, Barbera del Monferrato Superiore, Barolo, Acqui, Dogliani, Ovada, Gattinara, Gavi, Ghemme, and Roero.

In subsequent posts, I will delve into a few of these regions to highlight the wines produced as well as the food and scenery of this gorgeous corner of Italy.  In the meantime, pick up a good bottle of DOC wine from Piemonte and don your favorite outfit…and enjoy   Cin…Cin…

Fettuccine alla Papalina April 4, 2013

Affectionately known as the “Pope’s Fettuccine”, this delicious pasta recipe was the favorite of Pope Pius XII back in 1939.  It’s nice to know that we can still use the same fresh ingredients as they did back then.  Even though it’s probably not the most heart-healthy of pasta sauces, it’s genuine ingredients are the hallmark of true Italian dishes.  As long as we keep our portions small and don’t eat rich dishes like this every day, it’s OK to indulge every so often….especially when it’s SO good.

Fettucine alla Papalina

1 white onion

3 1/2 oz. sliced prosciutto

5 1/2 T. butter

3 eggs

3 heaping T. grated parmesan cheese

2 T. heavy cream

14 oz. fresh egg fettucine or pappardelle

Salt and pepper

Finely chop the onion and cut the prosciutto into narrow strips.  Brown the onion and prosciutto in the butter until the prosciutto is golden brown and crispy.

Meanwhile, mix the eggs in a food processor.  Add 2 T. of the parmesan, the cream, and some salt and pulse until smooth.

Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente.  While the pasta is cooking, melt the rest of the butter in a small pan and pour it into a bowl.  When it is a little cool, add the egg mixture – mixing all the while so that the egg does not cook.  Add this into the prosciutto mixture and mix all together.

When the pasta has cooked, drain it well.  Add it to the pan with the prosciutto mixture and turn the heat to low – mixing all the time to incorporate the sauce well without cooking the egg.

Remove from the heat and toss the pasta with the remaining Parmesan and some pepper.  Enjoy!

This recipe serves 4 people.

A Beautiful Song by a Beautiful Artist February 27, 2013

Standing in line at Molinari Italian delicatessen in San Francisco’s North Beach district, I heard this beautiful song. Not knowing who it was or what song it was, I used Shazam on my iphone to see if it could identify the artist and song. To my amazement, it picked it up and spitted out this good looking artist’s name and song title: Gianluca Grignani and “La Mia Storia tra le Ditte”!

I immediately downloaded it and added it to my repertoire of Italian music. I am so glad that I found out about this artist, as I find his songs great to listen to. It is just the perfect mix of rock and pop that I enjoy.

Sai penso che
non sia stato inutile
stare insieme a te.
Ok te ne vai
decisione discutibile
ma si, lo so, lo sai.
Almeno resta qui per questa sera
ma no che non ci provo stai sicura.
Può darsi già mi senta troppo solo
perche’ conosco quel sorriso
di chi ha già deciso.
Quel sorriso già una volta
mi ha aperto il paradiso.

Si dice che
per ogni uomo
c’é un’altra come te.
E al posto mio quindi
tu troverai qualcun’altro
uguale no non credo io.
Ma questa volta abbassi gli occhi e dici
noi resteremo sempre buoni amici,
ma quali buoni amici maledetti.
Io un amico lo perdono
mentre a te ti amo.
Può sembrarti anche banale
ma é un istinto naturale.

Ma c’é una cosa che
io non ti ho detto mai.
I miei problemi senza di te
si chiaman guai.
Ed é per questo
che mi vedi fare il duro
in mezzo al mondo
per sentirmi più sicuro.

E se davvero non vuoi dirmi
che ho sbagliato.
Ricorda a volte un uomo
va anche perdonato.
Ed invece tu,
tu non mi lasci via d’uscita.
E te ne vai con la mia storia fra le dita.

Ora che fai,
Cerchi una scusa
se vuoi andare vai.
Tanto di me
non ti devi preoccupare
me la saprò cavare.
Stasera scriverò una canzone
per soffocare dentro un’esplosione.
Senza pensare troppo alle parole
parlerò di quel sorriso
di chi ha già deciso
Quel sorriso che una volta
mi ha aperto il paradiso.

Ma c’é una cosa che
io non ti ho detto mai.
I miei problemi senza di te
si chiaman guai.
Ed é per questo
che mi vedi fare il duro
in mezzo al mondo
per sentirmi più sicuro.

E se davvero non vuoi dirmi
che ho sbagliato.
Ricorda a volte un uomo
va anche perdonato.
Ed invece tu,
tu non mi lasci via d’uscita.
E te ne vai con la mia storia fra le dita.

*****************************************

You know, I don’t think
  it’s been useless
  being with you.
  Ok you go
  questionable decision
  but yeah, I know, you know.
  At least stay here for tonight
  but no, I won’t try.  You’re safe.
  Maybe I already feel too lonely
  because I know that smile
  of one who has already decided.
  That smile that once 
  opened paradise.

It is said that
  for every man
  there is another like you.
  And in my place
  you’ll find someone else
  The same? No, I do not think so.
  But this time, lower your eyes and say,
  we will always remain good friends,
  but what kind of cursed friend?
  I will forgive a friend 
  but you, I love.
  It may seem too trivial
  but it is a natural instinct.

But there is one thing that
  I have never told you.
  My problems without you
  they call themselves trouble.
  And it is for this
  you see me being hard
 for  in the middle of the world
 it helps me feel more secure.

And if you really do not want to tell me
  I was wrong.
  Remember, sometimes a man
  should also be forgiven.
  And instead you,
  you do not let me escape.
  And you just go with my story between your fingers.

Now what are you doing?
  Look for an excuse
  if you want to go.
  About me,
  you do not need to worry
  I will know how to handle it.
  Tonight I will write a song
  to drown the explosion inside of me.
  Without thinking too much about the words
  I’ll talk about that smile
  of she who has already decided.
  That smile that once
  opened paradise.

But there is one thing that
  I have never told you.
  My problems without you
  they call themselves trouble.
  And it is for this
  you see me being hard
for in the middle of the world
it helps me feel more secure.

And if you really do not want to tell me
  I was wrong.
  Remember, sometimes a man
  should also be forgiven.
  And instead you,
  you do not let me escape.
  And you just go with my story between your fingers.

Lucrezia and Family January 29, 2013

Borgia, that is…wow!  We have been watching the Showtime mini series The Borgia’s and have gotten through Season 1 and Season 2.  Season 3 is coming up beginning this April.  It’s been an interesting tale, full of intrigue, deceipt, lust, and power.  As I’m sure you know, I love stories of Renaissance Italy.  I’m always drawn to that era, but I don’t think I would have liked to have lived through it.  Human life didn’t seem to have much value back then.  If someone got in the way of someone else, whether it was for wealth or love or jealousy, they were conveniently taken care of.  Even siblings and family members were not exempt to revenge!

The story of the Borgia’s follows the life of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia).  He was a Spaniard of common descent who rose to power within the Vatican.  He had many mistresses and, prior to becoming the Pope, fathered four children.  The male children were given roles of power within the Vatican, while his daughter Lucrezia was married off to wealthy and prominent families in order to gain more power for his papacy.  The success of the papacy depended on how much power he could wield to get what he wanted, and his daughter was a tool he could use to build alliances with various ruling families. The head of the Borgia clan was an interesting dichotomy of a man. Both ruthlessly ambitious and utterly devoted to his family, he used his position in the Catholic church to acquire power, influence, and wealth. He was incredibly shrewd and managed to outmaneuver his rivals at every turn. He took care of anyone that got in his way.  He enjoyed the carnal pleasures of life, particularly the company of beautiful women, and this left him open to his enemies.   It didn’t seem like the main focus of being a Pope in those days was to do God’s will…and the Popes were not what I would consider holy!  They seemed to break every commandment…and merely confessed their way out of it!

According to this mini-series, which I’m sure has been embellished for the sake of creating some excitement, portrayed each member of the Borgia family as being ruthless if someone got in his or her way, or if the family’s honor was at stake.  They were all tortured souls with hidden demons.  I’m sure some of the facts are true and therefore give us a glimpse into life in Italy during this period.

The show is gruesome at times, with stabbings and tortures at every turn.  It’s love-making scenes are, at the least “R” rated, if not “X” at times!  The depictions of the grand Italian cities and architectural elements within the Vatican and the palazzos are beautiful, and hopefully fairly realistic.  Jeremy Irons, with his “regal sneer” is the perfect actor for the role.  He portrays a man of extreme power, and his voice has that perfect snobbish air to bring home the point!

I am anxious for the new season to begin to see what treacheries are in store for Lucrezia and family…

The Monster of Florence – A Book (and Audio) Review January 24, 2013

 

Last month, my friend gave me the audio version of The Monster of Florence, a true story about a serial killer who brutally murdered seven young couples as they made love in their cars outside of Florence.

The author of this book, Douglas Preston, had moved his family to Italy while he was doing research for a crime novel he was planning on writing.  When he discovered that a brutal murder had occured in the olive grove right by his idyllic country home, he became interested in the tale of these horrific murders.  He teamed up with Mario Spezi, a journalist who had chronicled the murders.  Together they took it upon themselves to see if they could figure out the mysteries that surrounded the case, and to discover who this Monster could be.  They pieced together lots of evidence and met and interviewed a multitude of people, including those they thought might be the Monster himself.  In the end, they were even indicted as being involved with the Monster killings.  This is a tale not only of murder, but of corruption within the Italian judicial system. Oddly enough, the same judge from Perugia that tried to pin these murders on Mario Spezi, the journalist (just because he “knew too much”) was also the same judge involved with the Amanda Knox trial.  An interesting similarity of finding an easy “victim” to be the culprit!  There was never a real  Monster of Florence conviction, even though the real culprit was probably involved in the investigan at some point.  Many were arrested and many people’s lives were tainted and ruined from the speculations against them.  The interesting thing to me was that these horrible murders did not make  many headlines outside of Italy – why not?

Victims and accused

The story was well written, but I cannot say the same as to the quality of the narration of the audio verson by Dennis Boutstkaris.  He has a great voice to do these audio books, but his imitation of the Italians in the story speaking is pitiful.  He does that horrible pseudo-Italian accent which sounds like he is joking ( and in the context of this book, there are no joking matters.)   His pronunciation of Italian words is even worse!  His accents are always on the wrong syllables, to the point where you cannot even understand the word he is trying to say.  In my opinion, it would have been better if he just read the words spoken by the Italians in plain English like the rest of the text, and he brushed up on the Italian words before attempting to pronounce them.