The Foods of Venice...
We had been in Venice for a few hours and had worked (walked) our way from the hotel to the Rialto, and to San Marcos. It was time for sustenance.
Sustenance in San Marcos is Caffe Florian. A little caffe that has been around since 1720. yes... 1720. There was a small band playing, the waiters were all in white coats and ties, food was brought on silver trays. I feel at this point it is unnecessary to say the caffe was expensive.
I decided to go for it and ordered an €18,00 ice cream sundae. Chocolate and coffee ice creams, amaretto, crushed amaretti cookies, a couple of other cookies, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. Thankfully, there was not a cherry on top. Victor naturally went for a fruit and ice cream with another liqueur drizzled on.
2 ice cream sundaes - with entertainment charge - was a mere €48,50. Sometimes ya just have to do the outrageous. It was fun. it was delicious. It was worth it.
More walking around town and then we regrouped at the hotel. It was Megan's birthday. Her only request was a dinner by the water. Easy enough in a city built on water, but... it was hot in the sun - and the sun wasn't going down for a long time. We looked, we walked, we went up side streets and alleys. Seats abounded - in direct sun.
Seven people trekking through Venice were starting to get cranky. We finally saw one place and made a mad dash. We were seated - and then looked at the menu. It seemed that the vast majority of the items were not available for just one person - you had to have two people order them. And the other things on the menu just weren't worth the outrageous prices. We were beginning to see why the place was practically empty.
We got up and left.
That was exactly what we needed to do. It broke the cranky spell and we started laughing and joking again and within seconds, were at the Ponte Rialdo and a great little place right on the water.
We had fun waiters and a really good meal.
We started off with a Beef Carpaccio
and a Tuna Carpaccio.
The beef was topped with shredded parmesan cheese. The tuna with a really mild mustard sauce. Both were excellent.
And then the plates started arriving.
Light as a cloud potato gnocci with a gorgonzola sauce. It was unbelievably good.
A huge bisteca alla Milanese. Fork-tender delicious.
A Lobster Spaghetti that was to die for. The sauce had a rich lobster flavor and the half-lobster was perfectly cooked.
A simple steak...
I missed a couple of entrees, but I didn't miss dessert.
It was a great presentation! A fork was placed on the plate and cocoa powder dusted over it - and then the vanilla creme pudding was placed on top - along with a decadent chocolate sauce and cookies...
The perfect end to the perfect meal along the water.
It helps when the waiter is cute!
What do you get when you cross a small, cozy restaurant with excellent food and a cute-as-a-button flirt of a waiter?!? A fabulous dining experience!
We decided to stay close to the apartment tonight, so we walked up a hill behind the place, saw a small restaurant right away, cute-as-a-button waiter came out, saw us, I held up seven fingers (I'm a pro at Italian sign language and gestures) and next thing I knew, we were being led into a great little restaurant - Trattoria Bordino.
And what a fun meal it turned out to be.
Our waiter had a great command of the English language and an even better command of how to work a table. He was great.
And so was the food!
I had my first Bistecca alla Fiorentina. Beefsteak Florentine style consists of a T-bone or porterhouse steak (traditionally taken from either the Chianina or Maremmana breeds of cattle), grilled over a wood or charcoal fire, and seasoned with salt and, sometimes, black pepper, and (strictly after the steak is retired from the fire) olive oil.
It may be the best steak I have ever eaten. It was so rare, so tender, so mouthwatering-good. It was perfection on a plate.
Before the steak arrived, we had a few appetizers - smoked salmon bruschetta, and another absolutely fabulous chicken liver bruschetta. This I have to figure out how to make. it is stellar-good. It is grainy, not smooth and pureed, and has virtually no chicken liver taste - but it is so rich and flavorful that a little goes a long way.
It's served warm and it's not at all greasy - so it's not the same as Uncle Rudy's with all the butter. I'm going to have to figure this one out.
There was a seafood spaghetti that was fantastic, and a carpaccio, a farfalle with salmon, and a chicken breast that I never did get to taste - or photograph.
Mr. Cute-as-a-button was just that - as well as attentive and fun. He asked how long we were in town, suggested we come back for another meal, said the restaurant was open 24 hours and the waiters were all strippers after hours. Needless to say, we laughed and laughed - and fought over who would be first. I won't even describe the swiping of the debit card - or the punching of the card code.
We were bad.
And then there was a table of desserts... All made in-house. Mr Cute-as-a-button had us all come out to look and choose - much easier than trying to describe the.
I had a chantilly cream cake topped with meringue - Zuppa Inglese!
It was made in a casserole dish, topped with the meringue, and then spooned out.
I told Mr Cute-as-a-button I wanted to make it at home, and he gave me the basics - a sponge cake thinly sliced, sprinkled with liquor, layered with lemon chantilly cream, layer upon layer, topped with the meringue and then popped into the oven to brown.
It rocked the Casbah.
So... Another fabulous meal, a really fun waiter, and a train ride to Venice in the morning.
Life is good.
For those taking notes... The restaurant is:
Trattoria Bordino
via Stracciatella, 9r
Firenze
We may stop back for our last night in Italy... It was that much fun!
Food in Firenze
We have been eating well. From simple salamis and cheeses along with a bruschetta I made,
to a fabulous ravioli with a pesto cream sauce my sister, Phoebe, made last night,
to street sandwiches, small cafes and trattorias, we're really eating well. The food is just better.
One place that was on the top of my must-do list was the Mercato Centrale - the central market. I want to live here so I can shop there every day!
Produce, meats, poultry, pastas, pane... I walked through the doors and immediately fell in love - and immediately felt at home. I could shop here, regularly, become a local and grow old and happy.
We bought gifts for us and a few others. I need to make one more trek before we leave...
I could literally spend hours here. Everything one could possibly want is sitting here under one enormous roof. It's like a Reading Terminal Market or Ferry Plaza Marketplace on steroids. And clean.
I need to figure out why we're living in the nowhere Philadelphia suburbs.....
Antica Caciara Trasteverina
I found my dream-store - in the Trasteverina district of Rome.
Trasteverina - literally after (or across) the Teverina (Tiber) - is what many consider "old Rome." It's not as touristy, it's a bit more run-down. But for many things - less expensive and much more real. We had a great dinner there the other night and wanted to return to see the area in daylight. I am so glad we did!
We found a meat and cheese shop that was just out of this world! A salumi & formaggio store with so many meats and cheeses, I wanted to cry. The cases were just filled to the brim with the most fabulous foods. The owner saw the look on my face and broke into a grin. He spoke no English at all, but we had the best conversation.
I asked if I could take pictures and he smiled and shook his head yes. And then got out of the way. He was a bit camera-shy, himself. Or part of the witness protection program. But, oh... what a shop full of earthly delights!
He had every conceivable smoked or cured meat, from different prosciuttos and speck to a dozen salamis - spicy and not - along with lots of wines, dried pasta, and fresh-baked breads. It was the store I want right down the street from me!
And the cheeses!
The case went on and on...
Filled to overflowing with some of the most beautiful cheeses I have ever seen. They weren't displayed as art - as they would be in a negozio di formaggi di Parigi. But art, it all was. Handmade cheeses from all over the country.
Besides the meats and cheeses, there were walls of wine and olive oil.
I wanted to just sit on the floor and start eating. And eating. And eating. Savoring every new flavor, every new texture, every new aroma...
The owner let us know that they are online and they ship to the United States.
I see an order being placed when we get home...
Antica Caciara
Via San Francesco a Ripa, 140 a/b
00153 Roma - Italia
The Food, The Food
It's non-stop eating.
From local mom-and-pop restaurants to the fast food at historic sites to the sandwiches in mobile trucks, the food is awesome.
I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but the Italians - and Europeans in general - respect food. So unlike their American counterparts.
Yes, there is packaged sliced bread in the grocery store, but the folks are lined up buying the fresh-baked bread in back.
Lots of Coca-Cola - but it's made with sugar - and tastes so much better. Even crappy McDonald's has what could be referred to as real food - not that we've been in one to prove it - but the outside menus show so many offerings other than the chemical-laden crap sold in the US.
Respect for food.
We were in Ostia Antica yesterday and had sandwiches at the small cafeteria at the site. Simple salami and cheese on fresh rolls. Yes, they were made in advance, but they were made in advance on-premise. They were delicious.
I had a Saltimbocca alla Roma night before last. Simple, yet so much flavor. Fresh ingredients...
One of our real treats is having a pasticceria around the corner... One Euro pastries to die for! Those, along with fresh melon, have been our standard breakfast. Maybe some Italian yogurt... I should eat like this all the time.
Only thing I'm missing? My American-brewed coffee. I like my mug-o-coffee - sans milk. We do have a coffee maker in the apartment, but the coffee has all been espresso-ground. It makes for a bit of a murky brew.
But I think I'll survive...
Gastronomic Heaven
Food, glorious food...
I thought the best food I had ever had was in France. I'm changing my mind...
Okay... I know that so much of the dining experience is time and place. But... so much of it is the quality ingredients, too. Just wonderful.
Last night Phoebe and Nancy made Nancy's take on a classic putanesca. Olives, tomatoes, garlic, crushed red pepper... On fresh pasta. With fresh - fresh - crusty bread.
Okay... so we're eating this in an apartment across the street from the Colosseum. But... It still doesn't get any better.
The food seriously has been great. From small sandwiches to multi-course dinners, the pride in the food is evident. This is not American Fast Food. Even the fast food isn't American fast food. The people here demand quality - and they get it.
I've taken lots of pictures of lots of food, but right now I want to get out and eat some more of it... So...
I'll be back. In the meantime, here's Phoebe and Nancy dancing in the Piazza Navona...
Italian Food
A kitchen in Rome! Am I a happy kid, or what?!?
Our first trek into Italian eating was yesterday lunch. A sidewalk cafe down the street from us. I thought I took pictures - evidently, I didn't. Oh well. I'll blame the excitement of lunching on the street in Roma and lack of proper sleep.
I had a great sandwich - filled with tomatoes, mozzarella, arugula - and a thin omelette. OMG! Good. Gastronomic heaven. Others were having risottos, pasta dishes, much more substantial foods. I went simple. I'm glad I did. It's hot in Rome right now. Light meals are much easier on my system...
We hit the grocery store around the corner for fresh pasta and a bunch of vegetables and I cooked up a papardelle with garlic, onions, Italian zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, bell pepper... Who knows what else... It was so much fun!
The store itself was fun. We had a lot of fun in the back with the fresh bakery and butcher. Very little English was spoken with the woman and man behind the counter. I said "pane" and pointed to a large loaf on display. She motioned cut in half and I sad no. She moved to a quarter and I said "all." She good-humoredly lectured me on how to say a "whole loaf." I laughed, repeated it back, got an A for my Italian lesson - and promptly forgot the word.
We have a small kitchen but a great gas stove! And lots of pots and pans. We'll cook, again...
After touring the ruins, we headed to a pizzeria - and air conditioning. My first Roma Caprese salad. Fabulous, as one would expect. It's just amazing how good simple ingredients can be - when they're grown right and without Monsanto being involved.
Victor ordered an "Assortment" of sandwiches - which turned out to be a singular Tuna sandwich. Methinks the translation should have been "Assorted" - as in "we have assorted sandwiches for €3,00 each." Since he also ordered a large salad and I had ordered a pizza, neither of us left hungry.
The tuna sandwich was awesome. No mayo or binder...
The huge salad...
Just brimming with fresh produce...
And the Pizza...
Prosciutto and artichokes. Oh, yeah!
And it was a thin - but substantial - crust.
It was also a combination I wouldn't have thought of, but damn! It worked well!
We haven't even scratched the surface of Rome - sights or food - so there's plenty more exploring and excursioning to do.
This is a lot of fun!
La Cucina Italiana
The past week or so has been interesting eating around the Dineen/Martorano household. We have been in serious clean out the refrigerator mode in anticipation of our little trek to Italy on Friday.
What?!? You didn't know we were heading to Italy for 15 glorious days?!? With apartments in Rome and Florence?!? You been hiding under a rock?!?
Really... I'm sure my coworkers would gladly take up a collection to get me to stay home for the next two days if they could. I mean... It's not like I've been totally obnoxious. Much...
In less than 71 hours, we're on our way.
And that means a clean refrigerator before we go. Waste not, want not and all that...
Renting apartments - with kitchens, washing machines, living rooms and real chairs and couches - is going to really make the trip. I've been scoping out the neighborhoods around our apartments and already know where the grocery stores, supermarkets, specialty stores, and other mercatos are located. We have one store directly around the corner from us in Rome. I'll be there early Saturday.
I want to cook in Italy. I want to eat in Italy. I want to experience as many flavors as I can. And I want to shop and bring home as much as I can. I'm traveling with a big suitcase.
La Cucina Italiana, indeed.
Besides the mercatos, I've been checking out kitchen stores. Who knows what tool or gadget I'll find that I just won't be able to live without.
And while I've been checking out kitchen stores, Victor has been checking out pottery, dishes, platters, bowls, and the like. I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with a new set of china... Hand-painted Tuscan... We shall see...
We will be posting regularly here and at TimAndVictor.com.
I just can't wait.
Mad Men Monday - Dessert
I have to admit it's been a while since I bought Jell-O, but two small boxes of the artificially-flavored Island Pineapple made it into my shopping cart today. They were a necessary ingredient for the Aloha Pineapple Cream Squares we had for dessert tonight while watching the second-to-last episode of Mad Men. I have just loved this show - and it's been a lot of fun culling through my mom's recipe books looking for fitting foods to match the times.
This dessert epitomizes the '60s - from the Jell-O to the fact that it actually takes time to prepare. This really would have been considered a time-saving recipe in its day, but because of refrigeration and cooling times, it took several hours from start to fork.
This really is the kind of stuff my mom used to make - and this particular recipe is written out in her hand. I don't know how or where it came from. It may have been on the back of a Jell-O box or she may have taken three recipes and combined them. She was good at doing that. All I do know is it was really good!
There was a surprise for me, though. The final step is to pour a "family-sized" box of cooled Jell-O over the cream layer after it has refrigerated for 4 hours. I thought it would add a top layer of Jell-O. It actually seeped under the cream and created a layer between the cookie crust and the cream. 1960s magic.
The recipe states any flavor of Jell-O. I went with pineapple to stay with my theme.
And it does make a lot.
Only one more week of Mad Men. I guess I'll just have to drown my sorrows with Italian Food. In Italy!
Mad Men Monday
If this was a magazine, tonight would be the Pineapple Issue.
Tonight's dinner is pretty much brought to you from the Hawai'ian Islands and the nice people at Dole. Well... It's probably more of what the folks on the mainland envisioned Hawai'i to be rather than what it really was. Madison Avenue was selling us Hawai'i the same way they were selling us Ford's, Oldsmobile's, and Speedy Alka-Seltzer. And we all know how Madison Avenue sells illusion rather than truth. That's the show we're watching!
My first visit to Hawai'i wasn't until 1973 - and while I was only there for about 8 hours, it definitely was different than I had expected. It was actually a lot better. Granted, I was weeks before my 21st birthday and I was highly intoxicated the entire time I was there, but it really was a lot nicer than I had imagined. I was on a Pan Am 747 that was flying from Saigon to San Francisco. Problems in Hawai'i kept us on the island for many Mai Tai's.
But back to the mainland and the 1960s...
Chicken and pineapple and teriyaki sauce were all the rage for the backyard luau on the lanai. So for this one I started off with Auntie's Teriyaki Sauce. It was probably Uncle Tommy's, but...
Auntie’s Teriyaki Sauce
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 2 tbsp oil
- pinch black pepper
Mix all ingredients. Use for chicken, beef, or pork.
So tonight, I made chicken ka-bobs. Anything on a skewer was a kabob - I didn't learn the word brochette until I started working in restaurants. These were alternating pieces of tomato, pineapple, marinated chicken, onion, and red bell pepper. Grilled to perfection.
They were served atop a Rice and Noodle Pilaf. Shades of Rice-A-Roni! My mom used to make homemade variations of Rice-A-Roni all of the time. This is a classic - and it worked perfectly with the ka-bobs. In fact, it worked really, really good. I'll be making this again.
I halved the recipe and still had way too much, but it will make great leftovers...
And then, because I wanted to stay with the pineapple theme, we had Pineapple Carrots.
These were merely okay. They weren't stellar, but they didn't suck, either. They might work better with brown sugar and a splash - a very small splash - of rum... I'll get back to you...
And I figured I really should show a picture of Aunt Dolores and Uncle Tommy. Here they are in Honolulu in 1958 having breakfast with their driver on their last morning before heading back to California.
They vacationed in Hawai'i several times...
And then we have dessert - which will get its own post after we watch Mad Men. Aloha Pineapple Cream Squares.
These promise to be interesting...
The Week In Review
I haven't been writing much here, this week. It has nothing to do with us heading to Italy in 12 days, 7 hours, and 32 minutes. Really.
I mean... just because I've been spending every waking moment looking at maps, train schedules, events, and attractions for our 15-day vacation doesn't mean I haven't been cooking. I have been. But I must admit that The Vacation has taken up most of my time.
It hasn't been about planning the vacation. Tickets are bought and apartments are rented. We have tickets to get there and places to stay when we arrive. It's more about learning the lay of the land. Studying maps and figuring out where things are, what's going on, how to get from Point A to Point B.
While there are a few things that I definitely would like to see - and we have bought some advance tickets - for the most part, it's doing what we feel like doing when we feel like doing it.
The one thing we have NOT done is search out restaurants or take restaurant recommendations from friends. We're going to be in Italy. The food is going to be good. As I said in the Travel Blog, I’m not a fussy eater. Some of the best and most memorable food I have ever had in my life has been street food. I’d rather eat with the locals than a celebrity Chef del giorno. Really. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love a great meal prepared with the best ingredients with the utmost care and skill, but both of my feet are generally planted down here in reality-land.
Your best whatever and mine would probably be different, anyway, because so much of what makes something "the best" is more than the ingredients or presentation. It's the weather, the lighting, the comfort of the chair, two glasses or three glasses of wine... Was the waiter flirting with you as you ordered and what was the wait? Were you seated immediately or did you have to wait for an hour for your table? It's amazing how horrible a wonderful meal can be when the peripherals were off... It's also amazing how wonderful an otherwise mediocre meal can be when the stars are all aligned...
The whole reason for going is not to see everything we can see - it's more about experiencing the culture and being a part of it. It's why we have rented apartments instead of staying in hotels. I worked in hotels for close to 15 years. The room amenities and decorations may vary, but at their core - they're all the same no matter where you are.
So... where was I?!?
Ah, yes. that wonderful Blueberry Tart up there. It was quite simple. A single crust blind-baked and filled with a vanilla pudding and topped with blueberries.
I have a standard pudding I make and just tweak it a bit for a firmer or looser consistency.
Basic Vanilla Pudding
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp butter
Mix sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Add milk and whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat until thickened – about 3-4 minutes. Beat egg in small bowl. Add a bit of the hot milk mixture to the egg to temper. Add it all back to the pot and cook until thickened – another 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and butter – stirring until butter is melted.
If you want it a tad thicker, use two egg yolks and a couple of scant cups of milk. Thinner? Add a scosh more milk. Basic.
Now... man does not live by dessert, alone - although I'll hit the dessert buffet before the entrees if they'll let me - so we have had a few other goodies. A green bean salad, for one... Fresh green beans, tomatoes, red onion, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. And just because I had three slices of bacon in the 'fridge, crumbled bacon on top. It carried us through a couple of meals - along with Mom's Potato Salad. A salad I cannot make in a small quantity.
With grilled pork chops and roasted potatoes.
With BBQ'd Short Ribs.
A salad with grilled chicken.
And another salad with grilled pork chops.
So the culinary week in review is posted. The Travel Searching is still ongoing.
And Mad Men Monday is back tomorrow. I skipped it this week because we didn't watch it until Thursday. But with just two episodes left... something special is going to be called for...