9
votes
What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking?
What food and drinks have you been enjoying (or not enjoying) recently? Have you cooked or created anything interesting? Tell us about it!
What food and drinks have you been enjoying (or not enjoying) recently? Have you cooked or created anything interesting? Tell us about it!
I've been eating just an unbelievable amount of food. My partner and I are on vacation in Italy at the moment visiting friends and unlike many of our vacations, the mantra for this trip has ended up being "mange, mange, mange!"
We came out for new years and are spending 2.5 weeks. So far we've visited our friends in Padua, popped out to Venice and Bologna on day trips, and have now spent 3 days in both Florence and Rome. I'll batch all the food by city. If there are any Stanley Tucci fans here you'll probably recognize the influence of "Finding Italy" in the places we visited.
Padua
Having never visited, or even heard of, Padua it was a great surprise. Unlike many of the other cities on the list, Padua feels entirely like a town for Italians - read not touristic. The folks who work and live there are not burnt out by rude and flustered tourists and so they are endless patient, curious, and kind. I completely understand why our friends landed here and would recommend to anyone looking at Italy to check it out. There aren't the same scale of "tourist wonders", but it's a great slice of northern Italian life. We particularly loved the Jewish Ghetto and the night life there.
Food
Tramezzini, Cicchetti, and Araccini
Caveat coming in: We mostly ate at our friends house while we got our jetlag/hangovers out of our system so Padua was much more drink heavy than food focused. That said, we really indulged in the Italian form of pintxo or tapa. They come in two forms, tramezzini and cicchetti. The Tramezzini is like a small crustless sandwich, think finger sandwiches from English high tea. They are small, rectangular, and hand no crust. We actually made some at our friends house and saw that you actually buy the bread that way - crustless in long sheets. I found that quite funny. They are usually quite plain, with maybe a little procutto or cheese, or with something like tuna or egg salad. I thought they were a great pick me up. The Cicchetti were much more like traditional tapa. They usually had a thin slice of crusty baguette with some combination of meat/cheese/vegetable chutney on top. They are good and a fantastic addition to a drinking evening.
Drinks
Cold - Select Spritz, Americano, Amaro, and many many beers
We meant to save ourselves for new years but ended up going a little too hard at Bar Umbe on the 30th. The bar tenders were patient and fun, the bar was lively, and we ended up making a good deal of friends and dancing until about 4am. After wandering in our hangover on the evening of the 31st we returned to Umbe and once again had a great night (though only to 1am this time). It was such an easy place to make friends, even with our terrible Italian. We started with Select Spritz as Spritz our a favorite of our friends and Select is the version from Padua. I'm not a big bitters fan so I was apprehensive - but while I still loathe an Aperol Spritz, I can now handle and appreciate a Select. 5/10. The next to try was the Americano, as our new friends said "How can an Americani not like an Americano?!?!" Well, I like sweet vermut, but the Americano wasn't for me. Too bitter again. For me 3/10, can drink but don't particularly want to. The beer was a welcome change and they had a great selection. We had a number of regional blondes with a few Belgian triples (I believe Quak was the brewery) spiced in for good mix. A few nights later we had a similar evening though at a different bar, Enoteca Cortes, and made the mistake of overdoing it with Amaro. Amaro is an Italian digestive, usually taken after a meal, that is pretty potent. I think we had about 4 here and like almost every other drink I mentioned, they were way too bitter. I just don't get it. We had polished off another 3 bottles of wine which all together made for the worst hangover of the trip. Beware the Amaro!
Warm - Bombardino and Expressi,
I have never drank so much coffee in my life. I literally had more coffee in the last week then the prior 5 years, with no exaggeration. I am not a coffee person. That said, I had a lot here. I still don't totally understand the love of expresso - I find it bitter (see a pattern?) and it messes with my stomach - but the folks here are wild about them. I've learned there is strict timing for both eating and drinking. Afternoon you should only be having expresso, no more cappuccino or other milky drinks. Also expresso is for after the meal, so don't drink coffee and then order a sandwich (which I did many times). Also sweet and savory are to be separated - no cornetto with your sandwich. It's very funny how particular the Italians are about food, but it does seem to keep the standard quite high. The Bombardino was the opposite of bitter, it was unbelievably sweet. Folks there compare it to warm eggnog, but I compare it to slightly milky sugar. The first taste was delicious with the whipped cream on top, but by sip three I was completely sugared out. It's a great drink to share with a few friends (and hopefully one with a real sweet tooth) 7/10.
Venice
Venice was only one day so I'm sure I'll have missed a lot but it was also quite the highlight. We arrived in the morning and had a little brunch at a cute little coffeshop/cafe combo called Sullaluna Libreria. This place knocked my socks off. They had the best Cicchetti of the trip so far (and on fantastic bread!!! - a toasted dark sourdough) that were a combination of cheeses, vegetables, olives, and chutneys. And, maybe more importantly, it was the greatest cappuccino of my life. I don't like coffee that much, but I do love a cozy cappuccino and this one was special! Again, living up to the mange, mange, mange mantra; we stopped into a Stanley Tucci suggestion -All'Arco - for more cicchetti. These were largely seafood based and phenomenal. Everything was fresh and went down with some of the regional Prosecco. We followed some seemingly lesser tracked narrows to a small jazz restaurant, Novecento Jazz Club 900, for pizza. After that we wandered a bit until dinner, stopping in at The Gritti Palace (pretty much just a fancy hotel bar on the grand canal) and a few other cute little spots for drinks. Dinner was such a highlight! Our friends suggested a place called Al Bomba that on the outside looks like any traditional restaurant, but once inside it was very modern. They had very modern take on traditional food and everything from the Dogfish to the pasta to even the tomato butter for the amazing bread. Uuuh, it was all so good. We were also a one long communal table and had the nicest family from the Tuscany region next to us. All in all that meal was 9/10.
Bologna
Take this section with a grain of salt. It comes off the back of the hangover from the Amaro and wine evening and some built tension with my partner and I from the evening before. I think it probably colors our experience. As with the name sake lunch meat, the sandwiches are on point here. We got a mortadella and mozzarella from a small shop across from the train station, but honestly you could get one anywhere in Bologna and hit a great sandwich. They use ciabatta, which was good but why not just on the focaccia train? I'm being too negative, it was really good. Otherwise Bologna was beautiful but really, really touristy. It felt like they were really burnt out on tourists, like even more so then Venice which was socking to me. The other regional specialties are a duck ragu (that was ok) and Tortellini in Brodo - little stuffed pastas in a broth. The Tortellini in Brodo were pretty good and it's going to be an additional to my winter "I feel sick" arsenal. It's just little tortellinis in caldo, so easy. Otherwise we weren't the biggest fans of the city (again it was super gorgeous but we were in a mood) so we GTFOed back to Padua.
Florence
Oh Florence, how I thought you would be overblown, but no you are spectacular. We had a great time and the food was to die for. The region is known for steak - think steak florintina - and a number of pasta dishes. We spent a few days here but I'm going to jumble it into one big mess the way it is in my head. We'll start with gelato. We stopped into Gelateria Della Passera and had some of the best gelato we'd ever had. As some of the folks pointed out on the "where to do in Rome" thread last summer, real gelato is stored in little covered buckets. The woman who owns the store had an incredible variety (creme and lavender, fior de latte, coco nibs in riccota...) and was just the greatest hostess. She never once spoke Engish to us, constantly spoke at a slow pace pointing at things and explaining the history and significance (somehow all of this landed even though it was in Italian and we don't speak it) and would gently correct our pronunciation when we continued to butcher the words we did know. She was amazing and I think it made the gelato taste just that much better. We had actually stopped in because I'm bread obsessed and there was a focaccia sandwich joint next door I wanted to try. Schiaccia Passera had some beautiful sandwiches - better than Bologna in my opinion - and just perfect focaccia. I highly recommend over the over funded and over loved, All’Antico Vinaio. No line either. After the sandwiches we grabbed cappuccinos up the street at Ditta Artigianale Sprone. Another fantastic cappuccino. For dinner we had an amazing evening at Osteria Cinghiale Bianco where we indulged in an absolutely massive steak (they said we'd need more that 1.5kg for 4 people, which is crazy and we did not do thankfully) and a few pasta dishes (butter and sage ravioli and a bore ragu). The giant T-bone was super rare, to the point where some was raw, but it just made it better. We savaged everything and even looked for marrow. The fat caps popped like little flavor bombs and there was just enough salt to make everything really jell. It was beautiful. The pasta was as well but I think a little overshadowed by the steak. But the star of the show was the dessert. We had tiramisu, panna cotta, and an almond cake. Everything was great but I think the panna cotta was the star of the show. A 9/10 for me. The most surprising meal was our last breakfast before we left. It was a little cafe, Rifrullo Firenze, and it had one of the most delicious croissant, or cornetto as they are know in Italy, I've ever had. I'd like to go back to Florence just to get another one. It was heavenly.
Rome
Now we're in Rome and I'll update the post when our time here is complete!
Ok, continuing Rome and Lucca:
Rome
Rome was a whirlwind. While all the other cities have a rich history and an absolute slurry of sites to see, Rome is on another level. We focused heavily on history here (I did my undergrad thesis on roman trade via amphora analysis so this was heaven for me), but there is so much in terms of bars, music venues, cafes, book stores, etc... It also feels like a younger city. After the trip I'd say I'd love to live in Rome in my 20s but would now be happier living in Florence (or more likely Lucca ;). We stayed literally next to the Pantheon at Hotel Albergo del Senato where the rooftop bar overlooks the Pantheon. It was a great view. We first had lunch at Antica bottega di Norcia where I accidentally had the best sandwich of my life. The shop owner was a little overwhelmed by the 30 sandwich order before mine and wasn't thrilled with my like of Italian. So when I asked for "Prosciutto" he threw his hands up and pointed at a thick cut of entire pig and said "porchetta not Prosciutto" and then pointed at the Prosciutto and said "Prosciutto, AH!". And proceed to quickly make a Porchetta sandwich. I didn't argue, even though I actually wanted the Prosciutto, and I'm glad I didn't. It was incredible. For another few dollars I had a sando and Peroni in my hand. Heaven. After a little siesta we decided to grab a slot at a "roman bath", more like a hotel spa, but it was quite fun with different temperature pools, saunas, steam rooms, and scented showers. From there we roamed around and found our way to the Travestere neighborhood. It's a beautiful old town teeming with nightlife. We settled in for some pasta at Tonnarello and waaaaay over ordered. The two women seated next to us laughed when literally 2 massive pans of pasta came out (they are served in the pan at that restaurant) and began giving advice for ordering/eating in Rome. They were really kind and started sharing the dishes they had ordered and give us some of their wine (even though we had our own bottle). They were easily a symbol for all the hospitality we received in Italy. After we wandered the quiet streets home.
The next day we started with a Fat Tire tour of the city and learned about the different neighborhoods and the "3 seasons of Rome: The Caesars, the Popes, and Kings". That led us to find a guide for the Forum, Marco, the next day. From there we walked to Traversere B (the area across the river) that is much more of a modern, car accessible part that felt more like Madrid than Rome. It felt like more "real" people, the day to day citizens of rome, lived here. We had recommendations from a friend of a friend that lived in Rome to try Flavio al Velavevodetto. This was probably my favorite food of the trip to Rome. It felt much closer to what season 1 romans would have eaten. We got stewed lamb and pasta, both were phenomenal. For dessert they gave us hard little butter cookies and red wine to dip them in. They were great and apparently very season 1. We wandered back towards our neighborhood and took a little siesta. After that we headed to dinner at a cozy restaurant, Giulio Passami L'olio. It has a gorgeous bar, dark wood paneling, and very tasty food. The staff was nice as well. Another "passajare" helped with digestion and then bed. Finally we spent the day at the Forum and Colosseum with our guide Marco. He was fantastic, the ruins blew me away, the story of how everything came to be is just, well, almost unbelievable (and entire human and believable). We had a pretty forgettable lunch and dinner at one of the Stanley Tucci restaurants right next to the Pantheon for dinner that again was forgettable. All in all Rome was pretty awe inspiring.
Lucca
Lucca was a little bit of an audible on the trip. We found ourselves so, so full and boozed out that we wanted to find non-consumption based activities and ASAP. I found a city to city hiking trail in the Cinque Terre region but many of the segments were closed for maintenance during the low season. Another option was bike touring or packing. My initial find near Rome was a bit too long for the number of days we had left, but there were a number of offerings around Florence that could be 1-4 days so we packed up and headed North. We landed on Lucca after reading this blog on the Via Francigena and deciding that looked like the most fun leg. Lucca topped all our expectations. The first night we stayed in a hotel just inside the old city gates, and then got an Airbnb in the city center. The hotel had beach cruisers to get around the city (not really necessary but very fun), which gave us a great lay of the land on the first night. We stopped into Chrono Bikes to see about bike rentals and tours and met Paladino, the kindest person we met on the entire trip. He deserves a whole post to himself but I'll just say if you go to Lucca, go see him and his dog Igor, they are awesome. He set us up with bikes for the following day so we could explore while our friends drove down, and when we asked about a recommendation for dinner sent us over to his friends as Gigliola. Gigliola is the second restaurant of the young crew that heads up the Michelin starred Giglio. At their other location the food isn't as refined but it's affordable and delicious. Most importantly, it wasn't pasta (we were done!). We had possible the best bao bun I'd ever had, an amazing felafel sandwich, perfect cauliflower, and perfect desert. Also they made their own sourdough in house and it was just as perfect as the other dishes. It was a 9/10 meal. The next day we saddled up the bikes and pedaled to Montecarlo. Here most things were closed, everything but 2 restaurants and we picked poorly. Everything came out of the microwave. I'm just going to blank this meal and say the ride itself was breathtaking. That evening we ate at Trattoria da Giulio and it was awesome. The waitress was so fun, patient, and encouraging. She wouldn't let me get away with others speaking Italian for me. Joked when I tried speaking in Spanish and nearly applauded when I answered what wine we wanted as a group. She was a great sport when we miscommunicated and she thought I was holding a plate I wasn't and it dropped. She was freaking awesome and the food was too. It was very traditional fare, things like roast chicken/rabbit, pastas of all types, hearty soups, and delicious desserts. There wasn't a thing we ordered I wouldn't get again. The food plus the familiar ambiance and amazing staff made this a 10/10. The next day Paladino took us all on a little ebike tour of the area. We stopped at a winery, Azienda agricola Valle del Sole for some truly fantastic wine, possibly the best white wine of my life. We bought 6 bottles (only 12 euros each) and had them shipped home (for an additional 10 euros each). It was well worth it and we live in wine country. They served it with fresh bread, a variety of cheeses, and cured meats. The master wine maker gave us a tour of the site and gave us a little history. Meanwhile we were all getting loaded as we were all poured out 5 glasses, Paladino bowed out after 2. We were all in pretty high spirits and Paladino took us to a little cafe for an espresso with sambuca and amaretto. It sounded terrible but it was delicious. All a little drunk we made our way back to Lucca where he took us into the fortifications in the old city walls before heading back to the shop. It was an 11/10 experience. We even strapped a basket on one of the bikes and brought along our friends dog. After the ride we headed for a little tea/hot chocolate and pastries at Caffè Santa Zita. It felt like stepping into a swanky bar or cafe from the 1920s. Beautiful decore, delicious cakes/cookies, thick hot chocolate, and a piano player. Each room is unique and it's worth spending an hour just drinking tea and chatting there. After that we finished up the day with dinner at Ristorante Mecenate. The food was incredible but the staff were just "eh". I was also pretty stuffed from tea and cake so am probably a bad judge. Everyone we talked to said we needed to go here to try authentic food from Lucca and I'm sure they are right. The artichoke and wild boar were in season and probably the highlight of the menu. The last day we picked up great sandos at Ciacco and hit the road. The fig and cheese was my favorite.
My wife just started making bread! She got a nice sourdough starter from my mom over the holidays and we did a couple of loafs in the last couple of days. Its very exciting (and the house smells amazing).
But for myself I have really been trying to refine my pasta dishes. Haven't gotten around to making my own pasta yet (soon though, as time permits) and really focused on doing fresh tomato sauces (dice tomatoes, cook them down with basil, salt, pepper, and a little bit of tomato paste) and do some veggies or pork in the sauce.
We got ourselves the KitchenAid stand mixer recently too but since we have a young lad we haven't had time for it yet. Hopefully our new bread obsession helps out!
My daughter always complained of the smell when I cooked seafood and once, after making calamari steaks, she really lost her mind. Well, now she’s away for college and I can cook calamari again!
The steaks are one of the cheapest cuts at the local market these days and really one of my favorites. I bathed them in the juice of an entire lemon to cut the smell then grilled them for four minutes on each side.
I’m hoping this will become part of the regular rotation. Anyone with non-deep fried calamari recipes who want to share, I’m all ears.
I don't know what your outdoor cooking opinions might be, but have you considered grill with a griddle surface or a pan and hot plate outside? If the smell is the problem, it might help.
I am allergic to shellfish, so have zero experience, but setting up the grill is almost a hobby in itself, then you get to do the cooking too.
Thanks, I actually set up an electric grill in the garage and opened all the doors for cross-ventilation. I think the most important factor was my use of lemon juice though. It really cut the smell.
Sorry everyone, but I'm going to post my shame instead of any food glory. For the past 4 weeks I've been living on McDonalds, pizza, and various other fast food (with some fast casual mixed in). What started as allowing myself to indulge for the holidays has turned into a return to bad habits.
Never fear, I'm hoping to get back on the wagon this week and shed of some of these holiday pounds.
Yesterday my wife and I made fried cabbage topped with halloumi, jalapeno, and roasted pine nuts. We drizzled hot honey and lemon juice on top, and it was delicious. We made the hot honey ourselves (simmer a cup of honey with a tablespoon of white vinegar, and whatever chillis you desire then let it cool) and toasted the pine nuts as well. Overall it was a fantastic meal, and really simple:
Oats. Lentils. Noodles. Sometimes mixed lentils and noodles. Mixed nuts. Eggs. That's basically been my diet for the past week and not too far off from my norms. I had takeout pizza last month when I wanted to splurge. It's a simple answer but that's my simple culinary life.