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.

Travelling Take II

This is much much delayed... I had written it in a notebook  and I only recently had time to actually type it up.  

It’s been a crazy couple of months or so. I left Rome on a Sunday afternoon and flew into Berlin Tegel for a 17 hour layover and then a very long flight to NYC. Hectic and exhausting. I honestly wish I could sleep on planes. 

Instead of sleeping I spent my time writing blogs or rather trying to write since I’m still very much behind.  I spent far more time watching movies and reading books instead.

But on the bright side I had some brilliant food along the way.

Not the best picture of the cafe but it was good.

Before leaving my apartment, I ate a sandwich with roasted peppers and cheese. I had made the peppers a couple of days before, so I finished them off before leaving the apartment almost empty for a month.  It was pretty good and tided me over until I got on my short flight where they gave us a pretty standard snack. 

Once I got to Germany I found a little coffee shop that looked pretty classy with beautiful signage and good looking buffet style food.  It was on the expensive side but then again, most airports are filled with the overpriced. Almost everything bought in an airport will cost more than it would in an ordinary store.

The sandwich options

The other dessert options

I was looking for a place that would have the best tasting food and I think I was pretty successful.  I got myself a roast beef sandwich with tomato, cucumber, cheese and a lovely rémoulade sauce and for dessert, I got a lovely cake that involved meringue and raspberry.  When I saw it, I thought it looked like raspberries but upon tasting it, I discovered it was strawberry, which works for me because I love strawberry.  I also got a coffee which I proceeded to spike with Bailey’s. I bought a small bottle in the Rome airport, thinking to bring it home, but there was no place where I could

wait without having to go back through security, so I had to drink it.  No liquids on the plane after all.  Cheers to that. J

I really enjoyed my sandwich, which I wasn’t sure I would.  The roast beef was surprisingly fresh and flavorful as were the vegetables, which also added a very nice crunch. The sauce was quite good and added a little bite and moisture to an otherwise plain roast beef sandwich.

The coffee was ordinary black American coffee but adding the Bailey’s was pretty baller. It made the coffee rich and just sweet enough,

which meant it went quite well with my dessert. Oh, that dessert! It was so delicious. I really want more of it honestly. The cake was light and pretty fluffy and made a lovely contrast to the semi hard meringue. The meringue was made quite well, not too sweet which meant that the sweetness of the berries was perfect.  Each component on its own was nothing particularly special, but a bite with a bit of each was utterly delightful. 

My Bailey's spiked coffee of deliciousness

That was the end of my dinner and meant I needed to find a place to settle in for the long layover. I found the one available outlet and settled into my cold corner. I watched movies and relaxed on the floor. I tried to nap, but I wasn’t overly successful since I was cold and uncomfortable. 

At around 7am, as everything was opening I walked through the airport again scouting around for shot glasses. Sadly I found none! It was ridiculous and quite shocking to me. I feel like shot glasses are fairly typical souvenir fair and yet they were nowhere to be found.

However, on my hunt I did find breakfast. I got myself a very large coffee and a bagel (the first of many that I had in the states on my vacation). The coffee was strong but didn’t do much to keep me awake sadly. The bagel was pretty good but not the best I’ve had (Boulevard Bagels on Bergen Boulevard in Fort Lee are the best of the best). It was an everything bagel with turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato and a mustard relish.  The mustard relish was too die for (although just a tad messy).  I originally wanted to get a breakfast bagel with sausage, egg and cheese but they insist on putting lettuce and tomato even on those… which I can’t help but find slightly odd. As it is I was quite happy with my turkey bagel and I was even more content to find a very, very comfortable chair that I wound up taking a nap in. 

Eventually after a couple more hours of meandering I was finally able to board the plane and start the last lag

towards home.  I was incredibly surprised at how good my food was. I think it was probably the best plane food I’ve ever eaten which is saying something because I’ve had quite a few airplane meals. I got their chicken dish and it was full of flavor but not overly salty.  I don’t know what the name of the dish was, but it was quite scrumptious and I ate every bite. Even the mashed potatoes were delicious as were the reduced onions between the chicken and potatoes. The only thing I didn’t like was the brownie. That was on the gross side so I didn’t touch it, which is fine, because it’s not like I needed dessert. 

A couple of hours later they brought a snack and even that was quite tasty. It was cold chicken fingers with a light potato salad that was packed with flavor but not too much mayo. Here is where the airline did dessert right. It was utterly delicious and not too sweet.  It was a berry cheesecake made quite light. And the coffee was pretty good too. 

Overall I had a really good flight even though as per usual I couldn’t sleep. 

It was far more pleasant than my return flight for sure. Sadly my return on TAP Portugal was not nearly as much fun. The entertainment system was down the entire flight so I couldn’t watch any movies. Lucky for me I had lots of books to read instead. The food also wasn’t nearly as good as the food I received on Air Berlin.

I got the chicken dish for my main meal and it was on the salty side. The vegetables, string beans and red

peppers were lightly cooked and I liked them quite a bit. The mashed potatoes were also good and helped counteract the salt in the marsala sauce for the chicken (I assume it was supposed to be a kind of marsala since there was a mushroom in it… yes only one). I was underwhelmed over all.

The snack however, was worse.  I didn’t even take a picture of it so I don’t remember what it was but it wasn’t great. 

At least it was a short flight. I got to Portugal in about 5 ½ hours and then had a shorter layover. I was tired but happy. Once the stores opened, little hungry me decided to get my last Starbucks for the foreseeable future. I had a great café mocha with lots of whipped cream to wake me up again. I also got a turkey sandwich  (turkey appears to be my travelling sandwich) with caramelized onion. It was a really good way to start my morning and also another great place to take a nap in the airport. I love big comfy arm chairs. 

Then I had a lovely 3 hour flight to Rome. I was a little cranky because I had finally fallen sleep on the plane and the stewardess woke me up to give me a snack. I would have much rather kept sleeping, but that’s ok. I had a little to eat and then tried to nap another second or two before giving up to read. 

Eventually I got back to Rome and went straight home where I impressively went right back to eating.  Ok, maybe I did a little unpacking too.  

Starting and Finishing the day right

Well, yesterday I started my morning right. I woke up early. I cleaned my room. I did laundry. Then I left for work early.

All on an empty stomach because I really can’t eat in the morning. Yes. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but when I try to eat first thing I get nauseous. I can’t eat breakfast for at least an hour after waking up.  Then I usually have a snack or something breakfast like to pick at so my energy levels don’t drop.

I wound up having a yogurt drink at that point yesterday. It was delicious and good for me too, full of protein and all sorts of good bacteria.  And since it was in drink form I could have it on the run on the way to work.

Then at work, I was pretty bad. Since I had a lot of lesson planning to do, I went downstairs and got myself a small macchiato coffee (similar to a cappuccino but espresso sized) and a bombolona which is the equivalent of an Italian donut. And it’s cream filled. Cream filled and rolled in sugar and therefore utterly delicious. I was so excited about it.

I was not wrong to be excited about it.  I ate it while fiddling with my creative projects for the children. The sugar and the caffeine helped me through exam making too. It was great. Definitely not good for me, but well worth it as far as I’m concerned.

I figure, I walk at least 45 minutes a day and I’m on my feet, up and down, running around after children so a cream filled fried pastry is absolutely allowed once or twice a week as a treat. 

Then I forgot to eat lunch, so I accidently made up for it.  I got so side tracked with work and was so full from the donut like creation that I neglected to eat lunch until my work day was pretty much over.  DO NOT DO THIS. Goodness knows I’m going to try not to do it (in fairness, it will probably happen again simply because I get scattered during the day sometimes when I have a lot to do).  If you haven’t eaten much in the morning, you should absolutely eat a hearty lunch. I was supposed to eat a fresh salad with lettuce, tomato, chick peas and three meatballs on the side. 

I would have made it through my baby class a lot saner if I had eaten it.

As it is, I’ll eat it tomorrow for lunch.  By the time I was done, it was after 6pm, so I snacked on a meatball (only 2 for lunch tomorrow) and went home.  I stopped in the grocery store which I probably shouldn’t have done while I was so hungry. Hunger shopping means you always come out of the grocery store with far more food than you absolutely needed.

Last night was no exception. But that’s okay because I got the makings for sandwiches, fried polenta and tortellini. 

I won’t have to go to the grocery store for a while which works out well since I won’t have time to go until Sunday (maybe). 

Sandwich with ham, tomatoes, cheese, spinach and cranberries

 I built myself the most beautiful sandwich. I’m not kidding. It was GORGEOUS. I’m going to have to post up exactly what’s in it, because it was quite delicious and not just because I was hungry. 

After finishing up every last morsel of my sandwich, I had a clementine while chatting with my roommates.

So I started and finished my day strong in terms of food.  The middle was a little wonky, but I was really efficient at work which is good.  

Restaurant Review Rome: Il Secchio

Ristorante Il Secchio

A couple of months ago, I went with Endira to a restaurant right near Termini Station for a quick bite to eat. It was a cute, little place with lovely outdoor seating called Il Secchio. "Il secchio" means the bucket and I would love to know why they chose that name. The restaurant itself was definitely on the touristy side because of its location but it was decent food, a little lacking in flavor but definitely not a bad price point. Our waiter was quite nice, but not always super attentive.

We ordered a bottle of the house white wine and it was quite good and light, definitely not too sweet or dry.

I ate a pasta dish that used tonnarelli (a typical thick Roman noodle) and had a lovely cream and mushroom sauce. It was on the bland side but I coated it with lots of grated cheese and added some salt and pepper. The mushrooms were well cooked and the cream was well made. I liked it even though it wasn't my absolute favorite pasta dish.
Endira ordered roast chicken with french fries. In fairness, I think she actually orded roasted potatoes and some how wound up with french fries because the waiter was not super attentive. The plate itself looked good

but the chicken was a little dry and bland so Endira wasn't thrilled with her meal. The fries were good and hot though.
We also ordered a side of chicory and that was actually quite flavorful. It was the most flavorful thing on the table and I loved it. It was made "ripassata" so cooked with olive oil, whole cloves of garlic and some red pepper flakes. I really love it and it was probably one of my favorite chicory dishes that I've tried in Rome. I could have eaten two or three plates of it... Ok, let's not lie. I could eat that chicory forever. It wasn't overly bitter and was light on the oil but not on flavor.

Il Secchio wasn't my favorite restaurant but it had some shining moments (mostly the cicoria) and I would go again in a pinch. 

Chicory: A specialty of Rome and probably a vegetable you should know

Raw chicory bundled from the market

I've heard about chicory before... well, at least I think I'd heard about chicory. I honestly had no idea what it was exactly until getting to Rome two weeks ago.  Chicory or Cicoria is a specialty here (along with artichokes). It is a leafy green vegetable, similar to spinach but more bitter, almost like a broccoli rabe.  It is utterly delicious but is somewhat particular.
I love it.  I've tried it a bunch of times now and I can't get enough. I honestly wish I had known about it sooner because it's a great addition to my vegetable repetoire. It's a leafy green like spinach, broccoli rabe and kale, so it's very, very healthy and packed with vitamins.
Chicory is a somewhat woody plant with beautiful, bright blue flowers. Upon seeing a picture of it in the
wild, I wouldn't naturally think that it's an edible plant, but now that I've tried it, I know better. The leaves are edible raw in salads or cooked down like spinach while the roots can be baked, ground and then used as a healthy coffee substitute. It is far more common in Europe which is why it isn't very well known in the states but it has recently started being cultivated in North America and Australia. It's becoming more widely available which is definitely nice. I would really hate coming back to the states and not being able to eat it all of a sudden. It's slowly becoming a staple in my diet.

Ripassata served at "Il Secchio" in Rome Center

I love how it's prepared in Rome. It's either prepared "all'agro" which means cooked down in a pan with some olive oil and salt and then drizzled with freshly squeezed lemon juice. The lemon works quite nicely with the bitterness of the chicory leaves. The other popular preparation of chicory is "ripassata". Basically the fresh chicory leaves are cooked down in a pan just like all'agro except it is cooked with olive oil, whole cloves of garlic and a small quantity of red pepper flakes. It is absolutely delicious and my favorite way to eat it. I even taught myself how to prepare it.  It's super easy to make and utterly delicious.

what I started with in my pan...

The only thing to remember is that like spinach, it is a very deceiving vegetable. When you first put it into a hot pan it looks like you're going to be making a lot of it. However, by the end of the cooking process, the leaves loose their water and shrink down. So I suggest always making more than you think absolutely necessary so you have enough to eat. It is utterly delicious but you always need to make more since it shrinks.

what I wound up with...

Chicory has been around for a long time, even Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) a leading Roman lyric poet through 65 to 8 BC ate chicory. It's been a cultivated crop for centuries but is still a delicious staple in many people's diets. I strongly recommend giving it a shot. Add it to your diet for its lovely flavor and the healthy addition it makes to your diet.  It is a great vegetable so try cooking it for yourself or if you're in Rome, you should absolutely order it as a side dish to go with your meal. It's usually very affordable and I've never had it poorly made. Believe me, I've tried it in a lot of restaurants. It is generally really, really good.

As part of your New Year, give it a chance. Try something new!

A Weekend in Germany

Well, a couple of weeks ago I got to have a great weekend in Germany. I met my half-sister and her family for the first time ever (long story which I won’t go into now) and it was wonderful. We got to talk and hang out. Plus I got to see a castle and eat some really good food so it was a really great weekend.
It's crazy what a busy weekend I had running around with my sister, her husband and her son.

On the first night I had german food at The Big Emma or Zur Dicken Emma.  I really enjoyed my first taste of fabulous German food that I wrote a review for here.  It was so good and soooo much food. We went home stuffed and watched movies until late.
The next day we woke up late and my sister made us a camping breakfast with eggs and potatoes cooked and scrambled together. I added some cajan to the mix for some spice and gobbled it up for a day of just chilling and catching up.

That evening we actually went and got Mexican food of all things. I was a bit skeptical but it was the going away party for some of the soldiers so I was happy to go. It also worked out wonderfully because the

Mexican food was quite delicious. We went to a place called Cantina Mexicana in Kaiserslautern, Germany. 
I got chimichangas with extra spicy sauce.  The chimichanga was crispy with a moist chicken filling.  Great flavor and a wonderful shell.  I didn't love the hot sauce because it was almost a bbq sauce in flavor but it did have a nice kick to it so I used most of it. The restaurant had a fun atmosphere and was a great place for a fun going away party especially because the margaritas were so utterly delicious. They were just strong enough and full of flavor. I tried the mango and drank two of them because they were so light and tasty.

After that wonderful dinner we went over to the military base and saw a German market where we got hot mulled wine and chocolate. It was really nice and warming especially since it was so chilly outside in the open air. After a little shopping at the mall we went back to the house for some warmth and movies and then off to bed again after drawing a tattoo out for my sister.
The next morning we had more campers breakfast and slowly woke ourselves up with lots of coffee. Then we went over to a castle and walked around for the afternoon. The castle was incredible with its brilliant red bed rock. It was quite beautiful surrounded by trees and mountain views. It was definitely a good day.

Then we went back to the house and I made us an Italian meal so they could try eggplant for the first time ever!! I was shocked, they'd never tried eggplant before so I promptly decided that I would prepare Eggplant Rigatoni.  My sister tried the eggplant as I was cooking it and really enjoyed it so I was quite glad. It was quite delicious and came out quite well. Everyone ate it up.
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The next morning, bright and early I had to go back to Rome but I had a wonderful trip visiting with my sister and her family. And I got to eat and try a lot of new food while sharing some of my favorites with them as well.

Happy New Years!

Wow, I cannot believe it's already 2014. This year has equally dragged and flown by and I can't quite believe 2013 is finally done and over. So it's time for a new year and a new adventure. But before I can do that I figure I should celebrate the last and first meals of 2013 and 2014.
It's been a good two days of eating.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Last night I went with my girls (and Steve) to a lovely Korean noodle restaurant right off of Bergen Boulevard. I'll have to write a full review of it when I figure out its name and what all of the dishes are called

The traditional noodles in a delicious brown sauce

in Korean and how to spell them in English. :D We got a delicious sweet and sour pork and then each of us got different noodles.  I tried a new spicy variation of my favorite which was truely spicy. It started out mild but the heat built as I ate. My mouth was on fire in a good way by the end. Steve got the non spicy, traditional version of my noodles. It's bathed in a brown sauce made with beef, onions and sometimes potatoes. Saucy and delicious. Angela and Andrea got a combination platter that was so big they couldn't finish. It was half spicy seafood soup noodles and half traditional noodle in the brown sauce that Steve got.  We were soo ridiculously full after all this food that I have no idea how we decided to get coffee and dessert afterwards.

Angela's Capuccino

We went to a coffee shop on Broad Avenue in Palisades Park where I got an incredibly large mocha coffee

A lovely slice of Pistachio Cake

to keep me awake to dance the night away. Ang and Steve got a slice of Pistachio cake to share. I was wayyy to full to try any but it looked utterly delicious. Everyone got some form of coffee as well, all of which was quite delicious.  We took our time just hanging out and talking while waiting to go dancing.
And then off to the club we went. It was a lot of fun dancing the night away with some of my best girls (and Steve). We went to Mariachi, a night club/lounge in Palisades Park. It had wonderful music and some decent drinks. We weren't hungry but when we bought our tickets there was a promised buffet. It kind of sucked so I'm really glad we had eaten so much beforehand. There were only cold chicken fingers and french fries available. Needless to say we didn't try any because we were all so stuffed. The music and DJs well made up for the lack of food. We had a lot of fun goofing around and dancing like fools. I only had to complain a little at the end when they took forever and a half trying to find my credit card. They were not overly organized in terms of that. We stayed till around 2:30 in the morning and probably would have stayed even later except that it got so ridiculously crowded at that point.

My girls and me at the club

Overall, we had an excellent night and danced a ton!
Then this morning we got up around ten and headed to Gotham City Diner for brunch with Andrea and Inch. It was on the crowded side but we were seated right away and had a blast. We all got different breakfast foods and Gotham was up to its usual lovely standard of delicious. I had sooo much coffee and Eggs Benedict too. So much good breakfast food. And then Angela got half a cantalope filled with vanilla ice cream. It was pretty crazy and yet looked delicious.
We had a blast just talking about the night before and about the coming week. I have to make cupcakes for everyone. I've decided it's a good idea. I think my friends agree. :)

Mom's beautiful meal!

After we separated, I rested and watched tv until Mom called me for dinner. She made Baked Breaded Shrimp and spicy baked sweet potatoes with a salad. The salad was delicious with mixed greens, honey roasted, avocado and tomatoes in a peach balsamic vinaigrette. She made with the vinaigrette with the peach balsamic that I bought during the summer at Carter and Cavero Old World Olive Oil Company. It was refreshing and delicious and I couldn't get enough. The shrimp was great too. Crispy but not greasy because it wasn't fried but there was a lot of flavor because of the breading.  I also put tobasco on it for a little extra heat. They really went well with the richness of the sweet potatoes.
It was a really great mom made meal and I'm so happy she cooked for me. I really need to cook for her before I head back to Rome because she's amazing and deserves some pampering for all the good things she's done for both of my brother and I. One meal is definitely not enough, but I have all year to try and give her back a little of what she's given us.  Everybody have a wonderful new year filled with laughter, good food, love and fun!