I have obviously not lived up to my promise to be a better blogger, but I will say the gap between this post and the last is not nearly as unforgiveable as the one between the last and that one in JULY of LAST YEAR! Ah, well ... I'm back for round two of my feeding frenzy in Italy. I titled this post "A Nation of Many Steps" because all those great minds who had a part in engineering the construction of Italy's magnificent cities CLEARLY had never heard of a little thing I like to call a ramp. Nay, these brilliant scholars and builders, politicians and thinkers ... they all thought that STEPS would be the way to get from here to there, point A to point B, one place to another. And not just a few steps, or shallow ones, or even level ones ... no, they had it in mind to build a nation that would have to climb to get anywhere. In Rome, we enjoyed walking down the Spanish Steps (a very famous place to hang out and people watch). In Florence, we climbed about 35 million steps to reach Piazzale Michaelangelo, a park situated above the city, where lots of people watch the sun set over the Arno River. In Venice, you have to climb up and down steps every time you cross one of those cute bridges to the opposite side of the Grand Canal, or any other canal for that matter. The amount of steps in this country is astronomical. And ridiculous.
But that's another topic for another day. I mention it only to point out that for all the eating I did in all of those cities, I still managed to lose a pant size, because we walked and CLIMBED everywhere!
Anyway. Let's get back to the food. In Florence (a city that I didn't care for at the time, but has since grown on me - perhaps that whole distance making my heart grow fonder thing?) I had a few good meals. Only one to really write home about. That was at this little restaurant near our hotel, which was in the Santa Croce area. No clue what the name of it was, and it was a little awkward because we ate pretty early that night - we were the only ones there. I ordered asparagus risotto and my brother had "Nonna's Ravioli," which were divine. My risotto (which I have not been able to duplicate, no matter how hard I try) was creamy and cheesy and the prettiest pale green color, thanks to the asparagus. It was super filling as well, and I couldn't finish the whole dish. The ravioli were fresh, bright yellow and so rich! Another meal was at a restaurant in a square not far from the Accadamia, where Michaelangelo's the David resides. The actual restaurant was part of a large building making up one of the sides of the square, but they had tables and umbrellas set out inside the square for outdoor dining, among the little carts and kiosks full of souveniers. It was like eating in the middle of a market in the park. I had orrichietti (little ear-shaped pasta) with mozzarella, tomato and basil. Sort of a warmed pasta caprese. Drizzled with golden green olive oil ... delicious!
As for the gelato (because we ate it so often it has to be mentioned), there was a fantastic little place about a block off the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio that had a flavor with a name I can't remember. Even if I could remember it I wouldn't be able to pronounce it, so it doesn't really matter anyway. It was chocolatey, and peanut buttery, and it had toasted sesame seeds in it ... which sounds weird but isn't. It was my favorite gelato of the whole trip and at the time the one redeeming quality of the city of Florence itself. (Now, when I watch David Rocco's Dolce Vita on the Cooking Channel I find myself actually missing Firenze ...)
Last on the trip was Venice. I have to start by saying that Venice is a city unlike ANY other. I haven't been a lot of places, but it's not hard to see that Venezia is truly unique. An entire city (and back a few hundred years, it's own small empire) built on the water. A city that is sinking, gradually, into the canals that have made it so famous. This place is postcard pretty, storybook unbelievable and the kind of town you want to go back to again and again because you just can't get enough of it.
The food, however, is ... special. I say that because eating anywhere that is touristy, which is pretty much everywhere, is horrible. You have to go out of your way a little bit to find truly good food. Of course, once you do ... it's impossible to get it out of your head.
Our first meal in Venice was pizza! The only pizza we ate on the whole trip, actually. In a fantastic little place that was so much like a pizzaria in the States that it made me homesick. The music piped over the PA was all hip-hop and pop. The pizzas were numerous and varied. I had sweet peppers and tuna fish on mine (don't knock it till you've tried it!) and my brother had artichokes on his. The pizzas were massive. We couldn't finish either one of them. But we gave a valiant effort, don't you worry!
We also had the most amazing lambchops at this restaurant that seemed so unobtrusive until we started looking around at the decor. The name of the place translated in English was "Beelzebub's" and once we became aware of that it was all too easy to spot the dedication. "666" hanging from the ceiling, paintings of demons, newspaper articles about Satanism and devil worship. Needless to say we were a little freaked out and ate with much haste and abandon. We still enjoyed every morsel and we still talk about that meal (and the creepy establishment, lol) so it's definitely stuck with us.
I had the pleasure, on our last day in the city, of eating freshly roasted chestnuts as I strolled through the streets to the Rialto Market. They were toasty warm and it was cool and breezy that evening so the snack was perfect. It felt very special to be able to be included in the teeming mass of people walking along the Grand Canal that night and it was a picturesque ending to the most amazing trip. A truly life-changing trip and two weeks that my stomach will never, ever forget.
I'll end my reminiscing with a comment about Italian hot chocolate. It is the very best thing you'll ever put into your mouth and your tastebuds will thank you. We drank it on cool mornings at the bar (in lieu of cappuccinos or espresso) in Venice and Siena, and it was thick and rich and so very chocolatey. You won't find anything quite like it here in the States (it's has that same elusiveness as gelato, of course) but the following recipe is a very close facsimile. It's phenomenal and the perfect thing to bring back some very sweet memories.
Cin! Cin!
Italian Hot Chocolate:
100 g of good dark chocolate (I use a bar of lindt 72% dark)
1 1/2 - 2 cups of whole milk (or cream or half & half)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
sugar to taste (you don't want more than a few tablespoons though)
Start with a rough 3 tablespoons of milk in a heavy saucepan over LOW heat. Add your chocolate, broken into pieces. Using a wooden spoon, stir the chocolate until it is COMPLETELY melted and smooth. Add the rest of the milk, slowly stirring until all the chocolate is well blended. Stir in the sugar, slowly, keeping the heat on LOW. Finally, whisk in the cornstarch making sure there are no lumps. Leave it on LOW heat and stir occasionally, allowing it to thicken. This could take anywhere from 10-30 minutes. When the chocolate coats the back of the wooden spoon, it's ready. Pour into mugs (a little goes a LONG way) and top with fresh whipped cream. Buon Appetito!
As for the gelato (because we ate it so often it has to be mentioned), there was a fantastic little place about a block off the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio that had a flavor with a name I can't remember. Even if I could remember it I wouldn't be able to pronounce it, so it doesn't really matter anyway. It was chocolatey, and peanut buttery, and it had toasted sesame seeds in it ... which sounds weird but isn't. It was my favorite gelato of the whole trip and at the time the one redeeming quality of the city of Florence itself. (Now, when I watch David Rocco's Dolce Vita on the Cooking Channel I find myself actually missing Firenze ...)
Last on the trip was Venice. I have to start by saying that Venice is a city unlike ANY other. I haven't been a lot of places, but it's not hard to see that Venezia is truly unique. An entire city (and back a few hundred years, it's own small empire) built on the water. A city that is sinking, gradually, into the canals that have made it so famous. This place is postcard pretty, storybook unbelievable and the kind of town you want to go back to again and again because you just can't get enough of it.
The food, however, is ... special. I say that because eating anywhere that is touristy, which is pretty much everywhere, is horrible. You have to go out of your way a little bit to find truly good food. Of course, once you do ... it's impossible to get it out of your head. Our first meal in Venice was pizza! The only pizza we ate on the whole trip, actually. In a fantastic little place that was so much like a pizzaria in the States that it made me homesick. The music piped over the PA was all hip-hop and pop. The pizzas were numerous and varied. I had sweet peppers and tuna fish on mine (don't knock it till you've tried it!) and my brother had artichokes on his. The pizzas were massive. We couldn't finish either one of them. But we gave a valiant effort, don't you worry!
We also had the most amazing lambchops at this restaurant that seemed so unobtrusive until we started looking around at the decor. The name of the place translated in English was "Beelzebub's" and once we became aware of that it was all too easy to spot the dedication. "666" hanging from the ceiling, paintings of demons, newspaper articles about Satanism and devil worship. Needless to say we were a little freaked out and ate with much haste and abandon. We still enjoyed every morsel and we still talk about that meal (and the creepy establishment, lol) so it's definitely stuck with us.
I had the pleasure, on our last day in the city, of eating freshly roasted chestnuts as I strolled through the streets to the Rialto Market. They were toasty warm and it was cool and breezy that evening so the snack was perfect. It felt very special to be able to be included in the teeming mass of people walking along the Grand Canal that night and it was a picturesque ending to the most amazing trip. A truly life-changing trip and two weeks that my stomach will never, ever forget.
I'll end my reminiscing with a comment about Italian hot chocolate. It is the very best thing you'll ever put into your mouth and your tastebuds will thank you. We drank it on cool mornings at the bar (in lieu of cappuccinos or espresso) in Venice and Siena, and it was thick and rich and so very chocolatey. You won't find anything quite like it here in the States (it's has that same elusiveness as gelato, of course) but the following recipe is a very close facsimile. It's phenomenal and the perfect thing to bring back some very sweet memories.Cin! Cin!
Italian Hot Chocolate:
100 g of good dark chocolate (I use a bar of lindt 72% dark)
1 1/2 - 2 cups of whole milk (or cream or half & half)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
sugar to taste (you don't want more than a few tablespoons though)
Start with a rough 3 tablespoons of milk in a heavy saucepan over LOW heat. Add your chocolate, broken into pieces. Using a wooden spoon, stir the chocolate until it is COMPLETELY melted and smooth. Add the rest of the milk, slowly stirring until all the chocolate is well blended. Stir in the sugar, slowly, keeping the heat on LOW. Finally, whisk in the cornstarch making sure there are no lumps. Leave it on LOW heat and stir occasionally, allowing it to thicken. This could take anywhere from 10-30 minutes. When the chocolate coats the back of the wooden spoon, it's ready. Pour into mugs (a little goes a LONG way) and top with fresh whipped cream. Buon Appetito!
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