Italy | Food Nouveau

How to Make Gnocchi: An Illustrated, Step-by-Step Recipe

Having been in Italy for two weeks, it has been a bit difficult to keep up with the competition in Project Food Blog, away from home and without access to a kitchen for half of my trip. In case I would participate in the 4th challenge, I paid attention to the food around me in Rome, and tried to find what I would be able to make in my miniscule (update: and *very* ill-equiped) Trastevere apartment. After seeing it served as a primi piatti in countless restaurants, I decided I would make gnocchi.

The great thing about gnocchi is that they’re made with few ingredients: potatoes, flour, eggs, olive oil, salt. They also require no special equipment. You can make a large quantity of gnocchi for a few dollars and roll them pretty much anywhere, as I found out when I made a batch on my apartment’s wooden bedside table.

Posted on October 9, 2010 • Category: Europe, Italy • 105 Comments

10 New Things I Learned About Italy’s Food Culture

Italian food is my favorite to cook at home, I own countless cookbooks on the subject, I love to go out and eat at Italian restaurants and it’s my fourth trip to Italy – but still, I’m learning. Nothing compares with being immersed in the Italian culture whenever you get the chance to travel there. Your knowledge increases tenfold in just a few days. Ask questions, eat where Italians do, mingle with locals and you’ll come back home with hundreds of ingredients to taste and recipes to cook.

Here are 10 new things I learned about Italian cooking and food culture over my latest trip to Rome.

1. Cappuccinos are a no-no after breakfast.
You probably heard of that one. It’s every guidebook’s golden rule. I knew this but never talked to native Italians about it. It’s their pet peeve, they really can’t stand the idea of a cappuccino during the day, especially after dinner.

Posted on October 7, 2010 • Category: Europe, Italy • 9 Comments

Five Tips for a Successful Dinner Party and How to Eat Like a Roman

I’m a good planner. I like to set myself a goal and write up a plan for reaching it. I’m also a bit of a perfectionist, which made the first dinner parties I organized a bit fussy and very stressful for me. Experience has helped me sort out which tasks are key to a successful evening from those that are just making life harder.

A table set for thirteen for brunch at Mother’s Day 2010.

The five tips that drive my dinner party planning are:

1. Plan in advance
Decide how many people you want at your table. Your guest count will dictate what kind of dinner you’ll be preparing: 4 to 8 guests (plus hosts) is ideal for a seated meal. More guests can mean it’s easier to plan a cocktail party.
Send your invitations well in advance so as to make sure your friends will be there. Three weeks is a safe bet.

Posted on October 3, 2010 • Category: Europe, Holidays, Italy • 23 Comments

How to Make an Authentic Bolognese Sauce

I’ll be flying to Rome at the end of the month and, to prepare for my trip, I’ve been reading guidebooks every night, sticking Post-It notes to each spot I want to visit and every restaurant I want to go to. I love, LOVE the planning phase of each new trip. I think I might have been a travel agent in another life.

The prospect of going back to Italy has also made me want to go crazy on cooking Italian food. You know – the fresh, simple, authentic flavors of Italy. The great thing about Italian food is that everybody loves it. It’s approachable but not simplistic. It’s easy to cook but so satisfying.

I’ve invited my parents to come over for dinner, and I know my Dad loves meat sauces. I have my shortcuts to making a great meat sauce (the one I always make as part of my very popular lasagna), but this time I decided to tackle a great classic: the Bolognese Sauce.

Posted on September 8, 2010 • Category: Europe, How-Tos, Italy, Pasta/Pizza/Risotto, Recipes • 94 Comments

How to Make Gelato: A Detailed, Step-by-Step Recipe

What is gelato anyway? Is it any different from ice cream? Being lactose intolerant, regular ice cream isn’t a treat that I can enjoy anymore, it’s just too rich. Because I love refreshing summer desserts, I have in my adult life traded ice cream for sorbet, which I quite like but let’s be honest: you can’t really call sorbet indulgent, can you?

Before going to Italy for the first time, I read and heard about the awesomeness of gelato. Everybody who had tasted it seemed possessed by the souvenir of its taste, telling me about its creaminess and intense flavor. Nobody seemed to know whether it was ice cream or sorbet or what, but for sure they knew it was heavenly good. I ended up trying almost all fruity flavors, which are my favorites. The taste of a fruit gelato is very intense and pure, the color is vivid and the texture is clean.

Posted on July 21, 2010 • Category: Desserts, Europe, How-Tos, Italy, Recipes • 33 Comments

Caprese Pasta or How to Include More Mozzarella di Bufala in Your Diet

Tasting genuine mozzarella di bufala in Italy is a life changing experience. The cheese’s softness, its milky interior and its creamy yet somewhat strong flavor (it comes from buffalos after all) make it absolutely unique. It’s no secret that since I had my first taste in the heart of Tuscany, I’ve been an advocate. Don’t talk to me about common fresh mozzarella (made from cow’s milk). Its texture is rubbery and it lacks flavor. Maybe it’s snobbery on my part, but everyone who tastes my Caprese Salad is convinced.

Since one ball of fresh Italian mozzarella di bufala sells for $10 at my local grocery store it’s not something I buy every week. I usually buy it when it’s hot and sunny and when we crave a classic Caprese Salad with a glass of Chianti Classico. Sometimes, though, I also get some in the heart of winter when we want to remember summer.

Posted on May 14, 2010 • Category: Europe, Italy, Pasta/Pizza/Risotto, Recipes • 0 Comments

Visiting Italy’s Chianti Region During the Harvest Season

The yearly production of wine in Chianti starts with the harvest in September. This is the time of year we chose to visit Italy for the very first time a couple of years ago. We visited many wineries in the towns of Greve, Gaiole, Radda and Castellina in Chianti, and had the chance to taste wines produced by each winery – always free of charge. It is now common to have to pay for your wine tastings in many other wine countries (and frankly, I think it’s fair if you’re not going to buy anything else), but Chianti’s artisans are exceptionally generous.

Wineries in the Chianti region are scattered around its steep valleys. We often had to drive on narrow gravel roads that allowed only one car at a time and climb abrupt hills to reach the coveted wineries. With the exception of only one or two wineries, the people who welcomed us were those working in the field or producing the wines, not employees hired just to smile and pitch us the story of the place.

Posted on April 15, 2010 • Category: Europe, Italy • 1 Comment

A Taste From Lucca: Lemon and Thyme Meatballs With Simple Pasta

Back in 2006, when E and I toured Italy’s Chianti region, I really wanted to go to a cooking class. Eating being one of the reasons why I wanted to go to Italy, I figured I should get a return on my investment and be able to cook genuine Italian food (as opposed to Italian-American) when I got back home.

I researched the numerous cooking school options – there’s a huge food and wine tourism industry over there – but in the end, we didn’t want to pay a fortune and didn’t need anything fancy. We just wanted to spend some time with an Italian cook and learn a few basic and traditional recipes. I finally chose a class at the Koinè Center, which also offers language classes. I think their offering might have changed a bit, but back then I was able to register for one single class held at night in the heart of beautiful Lucca.

Posted on April 8, 2010 • Category: Europe, Italy, Pasta/Pizza/Risotto, Recipes • 4 Comments

Category Archives: Italy