The Italian Coffee Bar

an espresso just for me

OK, I never liked coffee.  

Actually, I down right detested it until I moved back to Italy in 2009/2010 and even then I really only drank it about once a month for the caffeine. I was on a masters program and super active.  I needed the pick me up.  

I started to appreciate the strength and depth of flavor very slowly. I'm not sure when I started ordering espresso and cappuccino less for the caffeine and more for the taste, but I now drink coffee (ok, not as much American coffee but Italian coffee) with pleasure.  

But more than the espresso itself, more than the macchiato or cappuccino, I find that in Italy I love the entire process of getting a coffee.  

In the United States we have Starbucks and quick places where you run in and run out.  You have quick drip coffees, to go cups and people impatiently tapping their toes on line.  Italy is not like that.  

a macchiato and Italian doughnut like thing

Italian coffee bars are an entirely different experience.  Expect slow movement and expect to enjoy it.  

When you walk into an Italian coffee bar there is the promise of time to enjoy your coffee.  There is no need for a to go cup, in fact most often they've not even heard of them.  There is no need to run, to rush.  You can stand at the bar and socialize or you can sit at a table and sip your espresso.  Grab a cornetto or some other wonderful pastry, because your servers making the coffee will not make it any faster.  You can make idle conversation with friends or if by yourself it is completely acceptable to talk to random strangers at the bar.  

It is normal to discuss the weather, or about soccer, or politics (although I would avoid the politic talk simply because Italian politics are fairly incomprehensible and usually result in loud discussions about the idiot known as Berlusconi).  It's okay to ask the person next to you how their day is going. Eavesdropping is a normal sport and you're entitled to an opinion.  It's okay to pry (and kind of fun too).  

A coffee bar is a great place to flirt or simply people watch.  

Either circumstance is acceptable. 

What I love is that no one rushes you. No one expects you to vacate your space quickly. No one expects you to down your espresso in one scalding hot gulp.  

An espresso, for as small as it is, is expected to be sipped and enjoyed. You can take pleasure in consumption. 

In the USA it always feels like there's a giant dragon at your back, breathing down your shoulders encouraging, no prodding you into moving faster.  Get away from the counter, drink as you move. Drink your coffee as you drive, as you work.  It's not about the flavor but about the energy you receive from the caffeine dose.  

In Italy, it's the flavor not the caffeine that must be savored. It's the richness of the bold, dark coffee and the creaminess of the rich, steamed foam.  It's the perfect blend of bitter espresso with the sweetness of sugar. And more than that, it's the atmosphere of camaraderie. Anyone can speak to anyone else.  You can take a moment to breathe and savor your day.  

a cappuccino and sweet treat in Testaccio

Repeat Success: Marsala

I don't often repeat my recipes.  It's weird, but I never feel super inclined to repeat my recipes.  I like, instead, to experiment, to play with different and new concepts. I like new favors and I like to try out new experiments to see what I can do.
So instead of repeating a recipe I know I can make, I often make different variations.  I don't often make plain chicken fingers.  I make variations like my Pesto Chicken Fingers or my Honey Turkey Fingers .  I really like to try new taste combinations with unique proteins (even if this does mean than my Italian roommates often look at me like I have 5 heads... Italians are VERY traditional when it comes to flavor pairings).
That being said, I will repeat a recipe at the request of friends. So last week I remade my Pork Marsala to great success.

Just yummy

It came out very tender and the sauce was delicious

I followed my own recipe and was quite happy with how it came out.  I doubled the portion of the sauce
since it came out so well the first time and decided to use a fizzy white wine because it's what I had.  Other than that I followed what I had written and it came out really well. Maybe even better than the first time.

Restaurant Review: Skene Restaurant and Event Coordinator

I went to Skene last Friday night with my coworkers. I didn't go there to eat although there was good food

available. I went there for an Expat comedy show and it was pretty amazing.
The place itself was pretty snazzy. It was modern with some beautiful lighting in the entry hall and wonderful art in the general seating area.. I loved the colors in the paintings and the general vibrancy.  I was really impressed with the interior and was particularly happy when they dimmed the lights which reduced the glare.  Then when the comedy show began they lowered the lights entirely and put spots on the stage and it felt like a real comedy club.

We got there early and some of my friends ordered food. Endira, Tanya and Ashley got hamburgers with roasted potatoes. The potatoes were quite tasty, roasted with salt and rosemary, not with tons of oil. The edges were crisp while the center was deliciously soft. Blatantly, I tried a few potatoes, you know, for research purposes. I didn't try the hamburgers but they looked fantastic and juicy in the center.  They all cleared their plates, so they must have been delicious. I will warn you though, if you order a burger at Skene be aware that it will come Italian style. AKA: No bun. It's fairly typical of the Italians but they bring Italian bread to the tale if you really want to eat your burger as a traditional sandwich..
The burger dishes were €10 which is not bad in pricing. However, there was a cover for the comedy show.

It was €15 and included one drink, so most people spent €25 minimum.  It's a bit on the expensive side but the show was worth it. If you are with 2 friends I suggest ordering a bottle of wine as your first drink which will go toward your 3 included drinks in the cover. As a result you'll each have more wine to drink.
I wasn't hungry that evening (I had a very large and late lunch= but when I go back next time I think I'll take advantage of the meal deal available.  The cover, a starting antipasto, a pasta dish and a dessert all for €25. I think that would definitely be worth it as it costs the same as the cover and a burger.  Of course, it's only worth it if you're hungry or if you're sharing.  I recommend getting there early so you can order your food with calma. The waitstaff is a little slow and hectic so if you're just drinking go straight to the bar. If you're ordering food, have a little patience, it may take them a second to sort out.
I really enjoyed the comedy show as well. It was an ex pat event and therefore all the comedians were English speaking.  There were American, British and even an Italian comic. They were hilarious. Almost everyone there was part of the Expat community in Rome.
So what is an expat?
An expat is someone who has transferred from their home country somewhat permanently to Italy.  Many have married Italians or have dual citizenship. The have all chosen to live in Italy, just like me.
Therefore I thought the humor was great. They joked about living in Italy with lines that aren't lines, the post office that doesn't function, and lack of multi-symptom cold medicine.  My favorite jokes were about the Italian American family. It was relatable and hilarious.
We were all cracking up to almost all of the comedians. There was one Brit who we did not find funny (because of general inappropriateness) , but other than that every performer was great.
The crowd was also quite friendly and it seems like a good event to socialize and meet new people.  The expat group is a great place to get to meet new people, American, English and Italian.  If you don't speak Italian it is a great way to comfortably meet and socialize with people and from there you can meet Italians and practice speaking Italian as well.

Recipe: Meatballs

So this recipe made about 20 small to medium sized meatballs.  This is not how many I actually intended to make. I meant to get a pound of ground meat so I'd have enough meatballs for the next 2 or 3 days, however, I was still jetlagged when I went to the grocery store... or at least that is the excuse I shall be using... And I accidently ordered a kilo which is more than twice the amount I wanted.
Luckily I adapt well and was able to adjust my recipe accordingly. But I did wind up with about 20 frozen meatballs which will take me some time to finish. Actually, it's quite nice because on nights when I get home from work late, I can just reheat some meatballs in a pan and make a little pasta and I'll be set to go, although it would be better if I made some sauce as well (oh, well, one step at a time).
I'm only one person, so this recipe is actually great if you're cooking for a family or friends.  They are great on their own or even in a tomato sauce and they're pretty healthy because they're baked. And if you want to make them even healthier use ground turkey or chicken as a substitute for the ground beef.

my meatballs served with some salad on the side

Ingredients:
1 kilo (2.5 lbs) fresh ground beef
between 1/2 and 1 cup of bread crumbs
2 eggs
basil
red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic crushed and minced finely
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350°.
Place the ground meat into a large bowl. Use your hands to mix the eggs into the meat one at a time, alternating with about a 1/4 cup of bread crumbs at a time. Mix well and add in your spices, about a tsp each. If you don't like a lot of heat, you can absolutely omit the red pepper flakes.
If the mixture is looking a little dry, you can add a little bit of olive oil or another egg.  The mixture should be moist but not sticky, so if you see it is too wet, add more bread crumbs about a table spoon at a time.
Then roll the mixture into balls about the size of a small golf ball.  I made them on the smaller side so they would cook faster but you can also make them larger, just keep them in the over longer.
Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and then place the meatbals about an inch apart.
Bake turning the meatballs every 10 minutes or so, or as the sides begin to brown.
They should cook about 20-30 minutes.  Keep a close eye on them so they don't burn.
If you are also making sauce you can remove the meatballs as soon as they're browned on the outside and then you can finish cooking them in the sauce.

I have to say that these came out really well. They were packed with flavor and very moist. They were absolutely delicious and I'm quite glad I had so many leftovers.  I have my last 6 waiting to be eaten some time this week!!

Recipe: Lemon Chicken

I have been craving lemon, something lemony for the last couple of days.  I’m not sure why, but lemon has seemed very appealing to me. When I went to the grocery store a couple of days ago, I bought chicken and a lemon with the intention of making myself some lemon chicken. I didn’t have time right that moment so I froze the chicken legs in packets of 2. Finally, on Monday I got a chance to experiment and make some lemon chicken—my style.

My Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

4 chicken legs FROZEN

¼ cup flour + extra for sauce

Basil

Red pepper flakes

1 lemon

¼ - ½ cup lemon juice (ideally I would’ve used another lemon, but I only had one)

¼ onion diced finely (almost minced)

1 garlic clove crushed and diced finely

Olive Oil

Water

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Mix a ¼ cup flour with a pinch of basil and red pepper flakes. Take your frozen chicken and rinse in warm water to defrost slightly (let it sit in hot water for about 5 minutes if the chicken is frozen together).  Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and rub over skin, then lightly dredge with the flour mixture.

Heat a tablespoon or so of oive oil in a medium saucepan over a low flame. When the oil is nice and hot, add in your chicken. Watch your fingers when you do this, if the oil is hot enough it may start to sizzle.  Since the chicken is frozen keep the flame low and allow the chicken to brown on each side.  Add olive oil if the pan gets too hot or if the chicken starts to stick. Don’t let it burn. 

The chicken will NOT cook all the way through so don’t worry. 

When each side has begun to get nice and golden, remove from the heat.

Place the chicken into a heat proof baking dish (Note: do not throw away the oil, you’ll need it for the sauce) and put it into the oven.  Keen an eye on the chicken and turn in about 15 minutes.  It should take about a half hour or more to cook through since it was frozen through. 

Place the previous pan (with the same oil) over a low heat and once it is hot again, add in the onion and garlic. Cook slowly and squeeze the fresh lemon into the pan carefully. Before cutting the lemon in half, roll it on the table, the juice will squeeze out more readily. Pour in a ¼ cup of water at a time as the mixture cooks down. Stir continuously so the onion and garlic do not burn.  Taste and add additional lemon juice if the lemon taste is not strong enough.  Continue to stir and cook down. 

Add dried basil, salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in a pinch of flour at a time mixing constantly until the sauce has thickened sufficiently.

After 25 minutes (after the chicken has already been turned once), cut into the thickest piece to see if it has cooked all the way through. You can also use a meat thermometer to see if the chicken has come to the correct temperature inside. I cut into the chicken, the juices were still running a little pink so I turned the chicken again and let it back for another 5 to 10 minutes.

The Perfect Plate

This gave me enough time to play with my lemon sauce. I added a little more water and flour since the lemon flavor strengthens as the sauce cooks down.  I didn’t want it to be TOO lemony.

When the chicken is cooked through, serve it hot with a generous helping of the lemon sauce on top.

We had our chicken with a lovely light salad made with lettuce, tomato, onions and chick peas lightly doused

with a creamy balsamic vinegar reduction. Since the sauce was so tasty we used some wheat bread to sop it up. The meal would have been utter perfection with potatoes but sadly I didn't have any at home so next time, I'll have to make some delicious, creamy mashed potatoes to serve as a side.

My light and perfect lemon chicken sandwich

The next day with my left over chicken, I decided to make a sandwich. I went to the market and bought some beautiful, fresh bread and lots of crisp, fresh spinach. It made and absolutely stunning sandwich.  In fact, I want another one, right now.    

Restaurant Review Rome: Taverna de Pasquino Pizzeria

La Taverna de Paquino 

A couple of months ago Endira was telling me about a really good restaurant right by her house, so finally one evening in November we decided to go so I could try it out. We'd walked passed it dozens of times on the way back and forth to the grocery store and to various other bars in her area, so I was extremely curious to see how it is.

Beautiful Table settings

From the outside you can see that it is quite charming and small,. It doesn't look like much surrounded by
graffitied metal, but it is worth a second look. It has a very old school feel with lots of wood. We decided to sit outside because of the lovely weather even though the entire was very clean with lovely low lighting and atmosphere.  The outdoor seating consists of a couple of tables under a couple of small trees that lend beautifully to the ambience. It is set up with umbrellas, lights, colorful tableware and menus. I thought it was quite fun.
The menu was small but had quite a nice range of

La Bruschetta

dishes, those traditional and slightly more un-traditional. We decided to share a couple of dishes: bruschetta with fresh tomatoes, cicoria ripassata (our favorite Roman vegetable dish), a traditional matriciana dish using bucatini and an untraditional veal meatball dish served in a lovely lemon sauce.
The bruschetta was quite good, simply done and very traditional but it packed a lot of flavor especially because the tomatoes were so fresh. Fresh tomatoes have such a lovely texture and flavor. They're not mealy or grainy but crisp and tender and the flavor bursts in your mouth with every bite.

La Cicoria

I was a big fan of the cicoria as well because it packed quite a lot of fresh flavor as well and wasn't overly
heavy on the garlic.
The matriciana was good but not my

The Matriciana was pretty good

favorite I've had since being in Rome. It was good and had a lot of flavor but the sauce was a little too runny for me. The sauce needed a little something to pep it up. Next time I go to the restaurant I would like to try one of their more non traditional pastas to see how it stacks up.

Veal Meatballs in a lemon sauce

My favorite part of the meal (and I think Endira would agree) were the veal meatballs. They were unique and amazingly light with a wonderful consistency. They were not dry even though they weren't cooked in the sauce. I'm not sure if they were baked or sauteed on the stovetop, but they were cooked perfectly and the slight gaminess of the veal was counteracted by the sweet and sour of the lemon sauce.
At some point I would definitely like to go back for the food and also because the waiters were quite friendly.