My Last Nights in Rome

Ok. It's so weird to say that I've been home for about a month and that I have no idea when I'm going back to Italy. It's been a good month, but strange. It's strange to be in Fort Lee and New Jersey and to know that I have no idea when I get to go back to the ancient sites and beautiful culture that I love so much.  There's definitely a hole in my heart right now.  I seem to have left part of it in Italy again, maybe the chunk is larger this time since I left a piece in Florence and now a piece in Rome too.  So if you find the pieces, feel free to mail them back to me.
Oh well, Jersey is here and for the moment I still have lots to talkabout Italy wise.  I still have to write about my trip to Florence (the one that was only supposed to last 2 days, that wound up being 5 days instead... yeah, that one lol) and of course my last couple of days in Rome.

Going away party deliciousness

On Tuesday I went to a goodbye esque party with coworkers and friends. It was hysterically amazing
complete with rain pouring down our backs (yay, outdoor seating!) but I'll do a whole separate review because the food was great. We got an assortment of delicious food and it was a great evening.
Then Wednesday I went to work to clean out my classroom.  It was a sad day for me, but good too because we had a going away party.  My coworkers were going to try and surprise me but I didn't have to

turkish delight

be there at any set point so they had to schedule it with me ahead of time.  It was great though. We had tortilla chips with salsa (a wonderful treat after months with no salsa), delicious cheese and prosecco.  I also tried Turkish delight for the first time.  My student brought me some from his vacation and it was delicious, extremely sweet, but delicious. I could only eat one since it was so rich. We also had delicious pastries that Ashley brought.  It was awesome and a lot of fun. I am so grateful to have worked with such a lovely bunch of creative, intelligent, strong women this year. It was a great experience and I was quite sad to say goodbye. But you never know, maybe I'll go back one day and do it all over again.

Delicious treats

Thursday I spent my day walking the forum and the Coliseum. I played tourist and then stubbornly decided to walk home in the sun as well. It was around 8 miles of walking total that day. That 8 miles with no shade also explains my minor sunburn and how cracked out I was by dinner time.

A wonderful view of the Coliseum from the Forum

Pesto Pork chops

And dinner was hilarious. I made myself pesto porkchops and pesto tortellini in an attempt to finish off the stuff I had in the fridge. It was pretty good and super simple to make. Apply pesto liberally to porkchops. Grill. No recipe necessary.  Make tortellini and coat in sauce.  I had so much other stuff in the fridge that I could have made, but this was the easiest.
Friday was panicked/depressed packing.  It was ridiculously painful and I really didn't want to. I'd already packed the majority, thank God, but still it was an annoying job to do. And then luckily enough for me, my friend Laure invited me out for a relaxing beer to chill out behind Piramide. She brought me to a fantastic little pub with an amazing rotation of beers. The barista really knew her stuff and was able to recommend some fantastic and particular beers. I got a Vudu, slighly sweet and bitter while Laure got one with a lighter, citrus taste. I wish I could go back there since they regularly switch up their beer choices.
Then we went over to Termini Station to meet Morgane (from France) and Steffi (from Germany). I met them 4 years ago in Florence while doing my masters.  I saw them in Florence that last weekend I visited. It seems fate pulled us together again for some fun. And then they speent Friday night in Rome hanging out with me which was awesome.
We got them settled into their B&B and then we went to Ai 3 Scalini. I've been wanting to go there for a while. It's an aperitivo esque bar famous in Rome. A bunch of people had told me about it but there's always a line. Luckily, Friday it wasn't incredibly croweded and we didn't have to wait. I'm guessing because August 1st means that most Italians escape to the sea (not that I can blame them with the heat in city center). It was

absolutely fantastic.
We shared a bottle of wonderful white wine and then I ordered eggplant parmigiana as did Steffi.  Morgane got a bufala mozzarella and tomatoes. Laure got fresh ricotta with a truffle honey.
Everything was fantastic.  It was one of the best eggplant parmigiana's I've ever had and the various cheeses were amazing.  The mozzarella was perfect and the ricotta was creamy and rich while the truffle honey added such a lovely kick to the dish.  The truffle honey was sweet but had a potent, yet delicious kick that complemented the creamy ricotta incredibly well. Sitting in Jersey, I would kill to have any of the delicious food in front of me now.

Then Laure had to go, so we said our goodbyes and Steffi, Morgane and I explored Rome at night for a while on a hilarious walking tour on the sites of center. They kept asking me where to go and I sadly still don't fully understand the whole layout of Rome. It is a huge city. We had a fun night and then said our goodbyes and I walked back home.
Saturday was more packing, lots of walking for some last minute errands and lunch and inner at home.  I made myself pasta with the tomato sauce that my previous roommates mother made.  Let me tell you, there is nothing like homemade tomato sauce. It was delicious and so much better than anything bought at the store.
Then after dinner, the girls and I went to Gazometro which is behind the house. If you're anywhere near Piramide you should definitely go for some vibrant night life!
And that's how I ended my time in Rome. It was definitely a good week with great people who I'm missing a lot right now.

Recipe: Homemade Honey Mustard Sauce and Roasted Honey Mustard Chicken

I don’t know if honey  mustard exists in Italy but I’ve never seen it in the stores. Luckily, when the craving for the rich, sweet, tangy flavor hit me, I had honey and mustard at home and let’s face it, I’m also quite good at concocting random things in the kitchen.

I used my honey mustard as a glaze for chicken and with a few easy tweaks, I also used it as a dressing for my salad as well.

Honey Mustard (to make glaze and dressing)

My perfect honey mustard blend with basil

Equal parts honey and mustard, about a ¼ cup each

1-2 tbs basil (or rosemary, either works beautifully)

2 tbs olive oil

I chose to make relatively large quantities of the dressing because I had grand plans for my sauce (salads, dipping sauce, glaze) but you can also make it in smaller batches, you absolutely can. 

When I mix my honey mustard, I tend to add a little bit more mustard than honey, because I like the tang of the mustard just a little more than the sweetness of the honey.

Mix your honey, mustard, basil (or rosemary) and oil together well.  At this point you can serve it as a dipping sauce  or use it as a glaze for meat. Or you can add another tablespoon of olive oil to thin it down and use it as a dressing.

Made with Rosemary

Once you’ve made your honey mustard you can make your chicken. 

Honey Mustard Chicken

1 small roaster chicken, completely defrosted or fresh

½ mixture of honey mustard

1 tbs olive oil

Additional basil (or rosemary)

Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200°C (around 350°F I think).

Coat the chicken with honey mustard on both sides. Really coat it well and sprinkle with additional basil (or rosemary) and pepper.  I chose not to use salt because the mustard already has plenty of salt in it. Rub the spices, honey mustard and an additional drizzle of oil into the chicken.

When the oven is hot, put the chicken into the oven and let the chicken roast slowly. Turn when the skin has begun to turn golden brown.  Repeat.

In total, the bird cooked for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Watch the bird carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn, because each oven is different. The chicken is done when the juices start to run clear. Don't let it overcook because chicken dries out quite easily. It's much better juicy!

Honey mustard and chicken made with basil

The first time I made this, I served my chicken with sauteed spinach and a salad—mixed greens, tomato, red onion and cheese with a light vinaigrette. I also had slow roasted potatoes. I just threw them into the oven whole next to the pan and let them roast until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. 

Then, I made the chicken again with a side of

Made with rosemary

roasted potato and asparagus. I cut up the potatoes and asparagus and roasted them with a little bit of white wine and fresh lemon juice. 

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!

Recipe: Rigatoni alle melenzane, Eggplant Rigatoni

I really wanted to make eggplant parmesan the other day. Eggplant, mozzarella, sauce and parmesan cheese all baked together to the perfect consistency. You really can't go wrong.
I had the fresh eggplant from the market, pamesan cheese and a tomato base but I was missing mozzarella, egg and bread crumbs to make the perfect "parmigiana".  I wanted to go to the store right after work, but sadly by the time I got back to my area, it was already after 8 and sadly the supermarkets in my area (and in a lot of residential areas in Italy) close at 8pm on the dot. So with no supermarkets open I decided to improvise. I decided to make a dish similar to the sicilian "rigatoni alle melanzane" or eggplant rigatoni. I tried it once, a long time ago in Sicily and I really enjoyed it so I decided to finally try my hand... without looking up a recipe. I decided to work from memory and intuition and everything worked out really well actually.

Now, doesn't that look good?

Ingredients:
1 long thin eggplant
1/2 lb pasta (or enough for whoever you're serving... there were 2 of us)
1 jar of tomato puree (I believe the jar is about 500 grams)
1/2 onion
salt and pepper
1 dried red pepper
oregano and rosemary to taste

Thinly slice your onions and put to the side. Thinly slice your eggplant into rounds. Sprinkle each with a little salt and let sit for a few minutes. The salt should bring some of the water out of the eggplant making it easier to cook.
Put some oil into a pan and heat over a low heat. Sweat the onions and then add your eggplant. The eggplant will absorb a lot of oil so you may have to add some more. Let the eggplant cook slowly until just tender. Add your tomato puree and mix well. Put about a half a cup of water into the jar and swish to get remaining sauce of the sides of the jar. Pour into the sauce pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then add in about a half a teaspoon of both oregano and rosemaryand 1 dried red pepper sliced into very thin slivers. If you like a lot of heat don't remove the seeds.  Let simmer for about a half an hour, until the sauce has reduced down a bit and the eggplant is cooked through.  I would recommend covering your pan to avoid some of the mess from splatter.
When you've put your sauce to the side to reduce, boil water and prepare your pasta according to the packaging.
When everything is ready you can serve the pasta with a heaping portion of sauce and some parmesan cheese. You can also serve it all mixed together depending on your preference.  It tasted delicous.

Makeshifting my lunch

Everyday I try to bring lunch with me, that way I save some money (it definitely costs more to get pizza or a premade sandwich) and eat a little healthier.
On some days I make myself salad and on others I try fun variations of sandwiches.

Last week I brought a colorful and tasty salad with me. It had cherry tomatoes, some pesto chicken, lettuce, raddichio and roasted red peppers in it. The flavors were a good blend with a lot of different textures. I also made a little balsamic, olive oil and oregano mixture to drizzle over it. I went very very light though since the peppers and chicken already had a lot of flavor.

This week was a week of sandwiches for some reason. I made a couple of different varieties though so it was a lot of fun.

Pancetta, turkey, cheese, and cherry jam

I came to work on Monday with no lunch so I took a quick spin to the grocery store and found a
long baguette for €0.59 so I knew sandwiches for the week were going to happen. I found pancetta which is similar to bacon, except sliced super finely so it can be eaten raw. I also found turkey and a sliced cheese (similar to American cheese except white and more creamy). I decided to put it all together with a bit of cherry jam. It added moisture and a great flavor contrast to the salty pancetta.

Delicious lunch #2

Tuesday's lunch was vaguely similar with another pancetta and turkey sandwich. Except I used
fresh tomatoes for moisture instead of cherry jam and served it with pasta in my homemade tomato sauce. I had leftover sauce that I wanted to use before it went to waste. It had started out with eggplants but I ate them all, so this was just a spicy sauce to go with my pasta and grated cheese. It was absolutely delicious.
I had another similar sandwich yesterday but I didn't take a picture of it because it looked very much the same, but I ate it with a helping of chick peas which were nice and light.

Mozzarella, prosiutto and honey

Today I went back to the store and had to refresh my supply of bread and cold cuts. I got ciabatta which is a wider bread that's not as long. I also got prosciutto crudo and mozzarella.  Then I added a little drizzle of honey for a nice touch of sweetness.
I know, I'm a little strange, but I really enjoy the combination of salty and sweet. It doesn't work for everyone, so I recommend experimenting a bit with flavors until you find the right combinations for you.

So far this week, I've had some really good sandwiches and we'll just have to see what I cook up for tomorrow!

Homemade Healthy Pizza

Sometimes all you want is a little pizza. But goodness knows, restaurants can get expensive, and take-out, well, it's not always good. You have Domino's, Papa John's, Pizza Hut and countless other Italian pizzerias. Some are good, even amazing, but many are either greasy, the sauce is sweet or salty, the pies are small, the crust is too thin/too thick... You can't really control everything. It may be good, but not perfect. Yes, I know, I sound like a control freak. Sometimes I am.
And I kind of am when it comes to my pizza. Sometimes, all I want is a healthy, fresh pizza. Most delivery places don't have many options (although I admit there are several pizza places that do delivery and do pizza really, really well... I'll be posting about some of those options in my area soon).
So, what does the control freak in me suggest? Make your own. It's really easy to make your own  HEALTHY pizza and it's a lot of fun. It can be an individual activity (think stress relief while pounding out and rolling your dough) or a family activity (flour flying, individual pies ecc).

On Saturday night I made some pizza.
I was tempted to make my own dough, but laziness definitely won out.
We found delicious wheat dough at the supermarket. Freeze until you need and then defrost for a couple of hours before you wish to make your pizza. And if you're less health conscious (or just dislike wheat dough) there's always regular pizza dough.
When the dough was almost completely defrosted, I rolled it out and shaped one onto a circle pan and the other onto a rectangular baking sheet. If you want to make sure the dough doesn't stick, you can either spray the sheets with pam or lightly dust with flour (or semolina if you have it).
Next, toppings. Ladle some tomato sauce onto each pizza in a small layer. You can use homemade sauce or jarred (if using jarred, I usually add more spicing). Then cheese. Shredded mozzarella. I used a mix of the full fat and low fat Polly-O's shredded cheese and the melt on it was great.
And finally the last toppings. I did one meat pie (since my brother would not stand for "green things" on his slices. It was half pepperoni, 1/4 plain and a 1/4 canadian bacon. Just evenly space the pepperoni and the canadian bacon and pop into the oven. On other pies I usually drizzle a little olive oil on top, but with pepperoni and other fatty meats, it isn't necessary. I did, however, sprinkle the pie with a little oregano.
The round pie was another half and half: diced red and orange baby peppers and onions on one half and swiss chard and onions on the other. Both halves were drizzled with olive oil, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.
And into the oven they went. 350° for about 20 minutes.
The thicker the dough is the longer the pies should stay in. If you prefer a thicker crust you can even bake the dough sans topping to ensure it cooks all the way through without burning or overcooking your toppings.
And that's that. Serve warm with parmesan and red pepper flakes on the side.

It was DELICIOUS!! My family and I ate alot of those pies on Saturday night!

--Raspberry Truffle

Recipe: Stuffing to beat all stuffings...

So for Thanksgiving, there are generally only a few things that I'm in charge of (although when I'm here in Italy I'm pretty much in charge of everything lol) one of which is stuffing.  But usually we use premade... Stovetop or one of those things and I just add in other things.  My favorite things to mix in are apple, sausage, onion, carrot and celery (sometimes mushrooms) all cooked down in some butter... mmmm yummy... seriously my mouth just started watering thinking about all of the delicious flavors...

And then yesterday for the first time I decided to make stuffing from scratch!  I was a little stressed out so I needed something time consuming to make.  So of course my brain still semi being on thanksgiving decided that stuffing was the way to go.  So how do you make stuffing in Italy when no one has sent you a package of stuffing? 
Tis a very good question.  One that I shall answer.

STUFFING FROM SCRATCH
1 very large round loaf of Italian bread
olive oil
butter
4-5 carrots
1/2 a whole stalk of celery
1/2 a large onion
1-2 apples or pears (a combo of both would also be great)
around 200-250 grams of sausage
1 boullion cube
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, garlic flakes, and nutmeg

Remove the crust of the bread and cut into fairly even cubes.   Put into a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and oregano.  Bake for a half an hour to an hour and check periodically (don't let the bread burn!!). 
In the meantime, dice the carrots, onion, celery and apples into small cubes.  Keep the onion in a separate dish. 
Heat some olive oil in a pan and sautee the onions.  Add garlic flakes (or fresh garlic finely diced).  When they begin to turn clear add in the other diced vegetable and fruit.  Simmer and stir for about 10-15 minutes.  When the vegetables start to lose their crispness add in the sausage and stir rapidly so it spreads evenly through the mixture.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and a good dose of nutmeg.  When the sausage is almost cooked all the way through add in butter to taste (the more the better). 
In a small pan boil water and a boullion cube.
Remove the bread from the oven and place into a large bowl.  Pour in the sauteed mixture and stir well. Very slowly add in the broth making sure that the bread does not become too soft.  When the bread has absorbed enough water and the vegetables are mixed well, put the mixture into a large baking tin. 
Cover with alumnum foil and bake at a moderate temperature for 1-2 hours.  Check periodically to make sure that it hasn't dried out.

mmmm goodness right there :D

You can't really see the stuffing clearly, but that's my first version from Thanksgiving.
Yummo!!

~Raspberry Truffle