RED WINE SYNONYMOUS OF HEAVEN

Red Wines

Cold weather, a fireplace with the ipnotic fire, nice people to talk with watching the snow falling, your favorite music. A perfect atmosphere for a good glass of red wine, accompanied with some seasoned cheese, like: parmesan or  pecorino and salami, bread made with dark weat and some rosted chestnuts.
A red sipping wine that I love is the "Montiano" made 100% from merlot grapes (puro) produced by Falesco.
When you taste a  wine first of all you will have the visual examination, the limpidity, the consistency and the color. The colors of red wines are:
*Ruby red
*Garnet
*Orange red
After the visual examination you will pass to the olfactory analysis and finally the taste, by the visual and the olfactory analysis you can already tell if a wine is good!

ROMAN STYLE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

When in Rome............

If you visit Rome on Christmas time some of the must are:

* A taste of Panettone, Pandoro and Torrone, the top three of
   the Christmas cakes and suites.

* Visit the most beautiful nativity inside the Roman Churches:
    S. Maria del Popolo for example.

* Visit the the Christmas market in Piazza Navona.

*  Have the Christmas Eve seafood dinner in one of the top
    seafood restaurants like: La Rosetta or Assunta Madre.

*  Take a walk around the city centre and buy the
     "Caldarroste" a paper-cone of hot chestnuts.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Italy's Traditional Christmas Cakes

One of the most traditional Christmas Cake is the "Panettone", from Milan crossed Italy and all over the world, the best is the one that you can find only in some artisan bakeries like "Romeo" in Rome, the original version is with candied fruit and dried raisins, other versions are with dark or white chocolate. The "Pandoro" originally from Verona, is the big competitor of the Panettone, more butter, and fruit free. The "Torrone" the classic version is white with nuts, the modern version is the white covered with chocolate or all chocolate and nuts. "Ricciarelli" from Siena, made with almond paste and chocolate, "Struffoli" from Naples, made with tiny balls of sweet dought, deep-fried and covered with honey and little colored sprinkles of sugar. The "Panpepato" from abruzzi, a cake made with spices and covered with chocolate, the "Buccellato" from Sicily a sweet dought filled with nuts, almonds, pistachios, dried figs and spices, sounds very Arab, as you probably know Sicily has some Arabic influences. For Christmas Eve and the 25th lunch we eat a bit of every one... Bye - bye  diet till Jannuary 7th. we go back to the diet after Epiphany.  

EATALY

The Temple of Gourmet Italian Food

Food in Italy is a religion. When the first McDonald  fast food opened in Rome by the Spanish Steps in 1986 the Romans protested. From  the other hand the Slow Food movement started in 1989, theyr filosofy is to preserve traditional and regional Italian cuisine, and 15 years later in Turin opened the first large store dedicated to top quality typical local food named Eataly, now has nine branches in Italy, nine in Japan and one in Manhattan. From past June Eataly is also in Rome, located in the spaces of the ex Ostiense Air Terminal, converted into the temple of gourmet food.
Something of the typical food you can find: a bakery that only uses natural stone-ground flour and natural yeast, piadine (Italian tortilla-sanwich), artisan beer, the best Italian olive oil from Sicily, and more.
If you go to Eataly, in the nearby district named Testaccio there are some interesting places to visit, one is the Montemartini Museum, where you can admire ancient Roman sculptures located inside an old power plant, the plant's machinery provides such a stunning contrast to the art! another modern Art Museum, named MACRO is located inside an old ex slaughterhouse, and in the some area you can have dinner in one of the typical restaurants with typical Roman cuisine: Checchino, elegant with a great wine list, Felice, very nice ambient, Bucatino more simple, less expensive compared to the other two, but good food too!

FALL TREAT

Marron glacès - Glaced chestnuts

Very elaborate recipe, a cuple of days are needed to prepare glaced chestnuts. If you prefer to buy the already made one, the best glaced chestnuts you can get in Rome are the one made by "Giuliani" I define Giuliani "the temple of glaced chestnuts". For over 60 years produces in the some artisan way and still with high quality ingredients. You can find also chocolates, suitable for all types of taste, some very exotic like: yogurt and chilly, almond stuffed date, plum walnut, and more.....

Giuliani is located in Via Paolo Emilio, 67

in the district named Prati, not so far from the Vatican City.   

FALL TREAT

Persimmon tart dessert

One of my favorite dessert is the fruit cake made with a thin puff pastry, chantilly cream and fresh fruit on top, usually we use strawberries, kiwi, pineapple. In the restaurant La Rosetta, in Rome, the pastry was served topped with persimmon slices, raspberry and prune, an unusual combination that I really appreciated, so delicious!

Persimmon are ready to be eaten only between September and December

FALL TREAT

Truffles can be white or black, the best quality is white

Truffles are one of the fall foods, very hard to find,  fine and delicious,  of course very expensive , the white truffle from Alba can cost 160 euros per kg.
I suggest to eat the truffles in a good restaurant as a great treat,  and at home you can use truffle paste, a lot less expensive. Is possible to buy an already made truffles pureed made with truffles and olive oil, that create an intensely flavorful  easy to use in many dishes.
You can add a little truffle paste to mashed potatoes, risotto or fettuccine with butter and parmesan cheese, for an incredible finishing touch. Just a little paste  will transform a simple meal into a gourmet one.

FALL TREAT

Recipe: Fettuccine with porcini mushrooms

Ingredients:

1  Garlic

2  Olive oil

3  red pepper

4  Salt

5  Porcini mushrooms

6  Fettuccine pasta

7  Parmesan cheese

Method:

1  Slice mushrooms, prepare 1 or 2 cloves of garlic

2  Warm up olive oil in a saucepan with the garlic and red 

     pepper, put in the mushrooms, let them cook until soft, add 

     salt.

3  Boil "al dente" the tagliatelle and stir into the mushrooms sauce, finish with parmesan, if you like it

FALL TREATS

Autumn is here with its warm colors and cooler days, perfect moment  for a hot meal and a good glass of wine....Seasonal food that mate perfectly with read wine are:

*Funghi porcini: the tasty mushroom grows in many areas of Italy. Are a delicacy, you will find this delight in the form of "fettuccine or risotto ai fughi porcini " or in a sauce over the steak.
*Tartufo: truffles, another specialty from the Italian woods, very hard to find, thats why are very expensive, are served sliced over risotto or pasta, or on appetizer.
*Chestnuts: you can buy chestnuts call "marroni" from the street vendors, who are part of the Roman scenery from decades, a paper cone filled with large hot chestnuts is a fall must!
*Persimmon: persimmon in italian "cachi or loti" this soft fruit grows in mediterranean climate and are ready to be eaten only between September and December. When are mature the sweet pulp inside the shiny skin turns into a juicy jelly.

ROME STREET MARKETS

Campo de' Fiori street market

one of the most popular street markets of Rome,
If you plan a visit in the "Eternal city" don't miss it! is located in the heart of Rome, in one of the most charming areas where you can also find many artisan food shops,
fresh bread and pizza, salami, prosciutto and cheese, pastry, coffee and of course one of the best gelato!