Ahhh, Italia-9/17/09

This is the blog post where I tell you about my incredible trip to Italy and all the wonderful food I ate there. Sadly, I can't. I've never been to Italy. I've been to much of Western Europe but never made it to the boot. Italy is a "must see" for foodies and it is on my short list of places to go next.
Just because I haven't been to Italy doesn't mean I haven't eaten some great food while traveling, though. My best travel food memory was while attending the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. I was a member of a Christian drama team that was performing in and around the athletic venues. When not in the city, our group stayed at an old villa on a hillside twenty minutes out of town. A local woman and her daughters cooked for us each day and the food was incredible. I had never eaten paella before and I will forever be in search of a dish that perfect. I would love to take Richard and Eyrleigh back to Barcelona to experience the flavors of that summer.
Tonight's meal was inspired by the cuisine of Italy. For dinner, I made the Linguine and Zucchini with Bagna Cauda Sauce on page 114. This was an excellent cream based sauce incorporating threads of zucchini. It was simple but probably one of the best sauces I've made in this project. The garlic and anchovies added good flavor to the cream sauce and the zucchini added texture and complexity.
The Italian Parsley and Beet Salad is probably one of the prettiest salads I've ever made. My hands stayed purple for an hour after making it so they were somewhat pretty too. I neglected to take the recipe's recommendation to wear gloves. This was also a great tasting salad. I have to admit I was a bit concerned that the beets were not cooked. No worries, they were cut into very small matchsticks and softened while marinating in the dressing. The citrus in the dressing worked well with the sweetness of the beets and cut some of the bitterness of the parsley.
I had hoped to make one more dish, the Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Ricotta, but it appears that finding squash blossoms is a bit trickier than I thought and there is not a good substitute for squash blossoms. I was able to make dessert though. The Sorbetto Di Uva, or in English, Concord Grape Sorbet, was extremely simple. Blend grapes, pour through sieve, and add sugar. After a quick turn in the ice cream maker, this sorbet was one of the purest tasting sorbets I've ever had. Richard said I should have just froze grapes. It had a beautiful purple color and tasted just like grapes, without the skin.
Linguine and Zucchini with Bagna Cauda Sauce-A
Italian Parsley and Beet Salad-A
Sorbetto Di Uva-A

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hambrick's-Party of Four!-8/1/11

Image
On August 24th of last year, I wrote a innocuous little post on this blog about my husband being a good sport about my creative culinary exploits.  And then....nothing....for over 11 months.  What happened, you may ask?  Well, the picture at left tells a rather significant part of the story but not the whole thing so I'll try to summarize here in case another 11 months go by before I post again.  (Okay, I will seriously try not to do that!)  The year 2010 started off on the wrong foot with the loss of our fourth pregnancy (Thankfully, pregnancy #2 had resulted in Eyrleigh!) at 18 weeks.  We were still reeling from the devastation of that event when my only sibling, my brother Ben, committed suicide at the end of February.  Then in April, Richard's company hired a new CEO and things professionally went south from there for him.  Since a blog is a public format and could therefor be accessed by anyone, including this individual, let me suffice it to say that after 9 years with th
Read more

I Don't Boil Lobsters...July in Review-7/31/09

Image
Gourmet's July recipes are in the bag and aside from the two recipes I refused to do, I made every recipe for the month. I suppose I should explain... I eat meat but I cannot actually kill the animal before I eat it. I suppose I should amend this statement. The mussels I brought home from the store said "Live mussels" but they sure didn't move or give any other indication that they were alive. Lobsters do, they move, they squirm, and whether you believe it's simply air escaping from their shells or not, they make a high pitched screaming sound when first put into boiling water. I just can't do that. The very thought of it turns my stomach and makes something I find fun, cooking, fill me with dread. So I didn't make the Boiled Lobster Dinner with Sesame Mayonnaise on page 54 or the Lobster Rolls with Lemon Vinaigrette and Garlic Butter on page 28. Everything else I made and here's my highs and lows from this month's issue. This month's best reci
Read more

He Even Eats Sardines-8/24/10

Image
My husband is a really good sport.  I was reminded on several occasions this week how many spouses, husbands in particular, would take no part in the experiment I've been blogging about for over a year and a half.  Some friends came to eat last week and the wife made a point to tell me her husband did not eat vegetables.  He's a great guy but I'm really glad I'm not married to him.   I couldn't handle a picky eater.  And I'm 100% sure a picky eater could not handle me!    Another friend, after I told her what we were having for dinner, asked very incredulously if Richard would eat that.   Tonight I think I found Richard's least favorite food.  It's sardines.  I had to eat them as a kid so though I don't love them, I can eat them.  Richard took one bite of the sardine spread and asked what I had made him eat.   The recipe for Grilled Monterey Sardines with Lemon and Herbs in the To Big Sur, With Love article in this month's Bon Appetit called for
Read more