Panettone

 One of the signs that Christmas is around the corner is that panettone sales start popping up everywhere. I love them and I love looking at the vast array of packages, each one more beautiful than the next. It's true that Italians don't go in for a lot of holiday decor, but they do love their exquisitely packaged panettone.
No one really makes them at home anymore because although fairly simple the numerous risings render panettone making a lengthy endeavor requiring you to be on hand for eight to ten hours.
I didn't do so this year, but I often make small panettone to give out as gifts. I use old 16 oz peeled tomato cans for baking tins and it works out perfectly.
There is a constant changing of hands of panettone throughout the holiday season as whatever holiday party you attend it is de rigueur to arrive with a panettone in hand for your hostess.
Tre Marie is one of the better known panettone makers in Italy. Many shops (such as the specialty food chain Castroni) either make their own panettone, or have them custom made. Local bakeries all make their own panettone and I enjoy offering up an artisanal product at my holiday table or as a gift to friends rather than a mass produced panettone.
Do I like panettone? Actually, I do. Early on I envisioned the super sweet desserts like pumpkin and pecan pie as quintessential Christmas desserts. I've gotten over that and prefer the raisin bread-like panettone.

This year we're in the San Francisco area for the holidays once again, but we've stocked up on three panettone from a top Italian bakery: Emporio Rulli.
Whether in Italy or abroad you'll never go wrong giving a gift of panettone to friends and family. And should you find yourself with a massive inventory of panettone post-Christmas they make the best french toast you'll ever taste!
 

 

Smoking Salmon at Frantoio

When I'm in San Francisco my favorite restaurant is Frantoio in Mill Valley. I love it because it's genuine Italian food with wonderful fresh ingredients, mostly from the Bay Area.

Our first lunch upon arriving in San Francisco we had here: a simple pasta all'amatriciana, salad and fresh bread. We had lunch early with Sous Chef John and the frantoiano (olive oil maker) Patrizio who was in San Francisco for six weeks to press olives before heading back to Tuscany for the Christmas holidays.

Frantoio has a wonderful wood burning pizza oven that is used to make pizzas and bread and roast meats. John also uses it to smoke salmon, which is what we did today post lunch.

For two days before the actual smoking process John places the salmon under a mixture of two parts salt to one part sugar. The salmon is then weighted down using a baking sheet with heavier objects placed on top. Twice a day John bastes the salmon with the liquid the fish has cast off to keep it moist.

Once it's ready for the smoking process John gets a small fire going in the back of the pizza oven with about four logs. The wood used depends on the flavor he wants to achieve. He uses apple or olive or whatever else strikes his fancy.

The oven needs to be more than warm, but not hot, otherwise you will cook the salmon. The pizza oven has no thermometer, but I'd say we're talking somewhere around 150 F to 200 F. When the oven's ready John closes it until the flame goes out. The salmon is then placed in the oven where it will stay for 15 to 20 minutes. Once during the smoking process the salmon is very quickly turned to achieve a nice, even smoking process.

The flavor John achieves is amazing. There's nothing like smoked salmon and when it's freshly smoked it's unsurpassable. Why haven't I been doing any smoking in our pizza oven? I really don't know, but I will be doing a lot of smoking henceforth.

 

Aromaticus

 Newly opened Aromaticus in the Monti area, Via Urbana 134, has set out to be quite a few things to its clientele and it remains to be seen if the owners Luca and Francesca can pull it all off: purveyor of specialty fresh herbs & greens, sales of garden supplies ranging from organic fertilizer to seeds to gardening tools, Monti area rooftop and garden consultants and last but not least restaurant service for light lunches showcasing the greens and herbal product line.

We visited Aromaticus Monday morning when alas the store is technically closed. Therefore we were able to explore Aromaticus and have a chat but were unable to try out the lunch. Next time....

We met with the affable and enthusiastic, albeit overwhelmed, co-owner Luca. Luca readily admits that Aromaticus is still in its start-up phase and that a lot of tweaking still needs to be done to the venue, product line and website. It's a charming concept and if the owners manage to juggle everything they've set out to accomplish it should be a very successful enterprise.

Check it out; it's well worth it. Here's a heads up on what you can expect to find at Aromaticus....

Lunch offerings will include salads, carpaccio (baccala' or anatra) and tartare fassone piemontese (a Piedmont beef tartare). Lunches are served at a bar decorated with a mini herb garden.

Lots of gardening tools and toys....

 

 Fresh greens and herbs....

Specialty salts and peppers, spices, and other types of condimenti. One that appealed to me was a tube of aromatic soy and wasabi paste.

Aromaticus is sparsely but harmoniously decorated with plants and herbs....

Maira Kalman & Cake at the American Academy in Rome

Maira Kalman and American Academy pastry chef Mirella Misenti were co-conspirators in the creation of a delightful afternoon of pleasure to the palate and the eye. Maira briefly shared her reflections on Rome, her life, her career and what inspires her....cakes do. Illustrated edible cakes, and edible illustrations of cakes.

Our cakes were delectable: a three layer pan di spagna with two different fillings between each layer: lemon cream filling and whipped cream. We were also served bite-sized ginger snaps and tea.

There is no rhyme or reason as to what Maira illustrate; these days, she says, it's simply what appeals to her at that moment. She's illustrated an eclectic assortment of  publications over the years including the New Yorker magazine, The Elements of Style (a book originally published in 1918 by William Strunk Jr focusing on the rules of usage in literature), and most recently Michael Pollans' Food Rules. Maira has also published a number of her own adult and children's books.
Food Rules is a simple handbook of intuitive, numbered rules on how to eat sustainably, that can be just as easily understood by an elementary school student as an adult. Michael Pollan is a journalist turned culinary sustainability expert and spokesperson. Food Rules is his seventh book. I use Food Rules as a bible in my intro culinary sustainability classes. When the revised addition with illustrations by Maira Kalman was published last month I was no less than ecstatic. It's delightful! Make sure you pick up a copy; you won't be disappointed!

Via dell'Oca and Via della Penna in Rome

Yesterday I was in the Piazza del Popolo area for meetings so I decided to head over to one of my favorite streets in between appointments. This short two block street has a different name for each block:  Via dell'Oca (Goose street) and  Via della Penna (Feather street), so I guess you could simply call the street goose feathers!

I love this street because it's a peaceful oasis in the midst of the bustling, overcrowded Via del Corso shopping area. The street is home among other things to four restaurants, a number of subdued, elegant clothing stores, tailors that have been there for years, a few other boutiques, an art gallery and the Hotel Locarno. Bomba is one of the nicer shops, offering both a designer clothing line and tailor service.

 Most of the merchants have been in the area for a long time and are getting on in years. They're quite colorful local characters, like this clothing store merchant and the gentleman who owns the art gallery.

The Hotel Locarno, which has been on Via della Penna since 1925, is my favorite spot to meet up with friends for drinks. It has an old world feel to it, including the outdoor garden area where cocktails are served in the evening, weather permitting.

 

The hotel has sixty-six rooms, each one unique. Hotel Locarno offers a huge buffet breakfast every morning and light lunches are also available.
The historic center is best explored on foot or by bicycle: the Locarno is the only hotel in the area that makes bikes available for its clients.... a nice extra touch.

Bed And Breakfast Piazza Dante - Napoli

Last week before going to Naples the first thing I did was to check with the blogger community for suggestions on a place to stay. I have to thank Walks of Italy for the two fabulous accommodation suggestions made as both were fabulous. We ended up staying at the Dante B&B, so named due to its spectacular location overlooking the beautiful Piazza Dante.

Our room (like all the rooms) was spacious and comfortable. The building is old so ceilings are high and the windows are the fabulous thick wood (about six inches thick) that it's hard to come by nowadays.

The rooms are simply furnished with a comfortable bed & fold out couch and immaculately clean. All rooms have their own bath, each well lit with good showers and plenty of hot water.

Owners Simona and Marco are delightful. Marco works full time and when he's free his passion is fishing. He took his boat out a few times while we were there and managed to catch a few calamari. The next time we're in Naples we hope to go fishing with him. The idea is so enticing we may just go down for a day of fishing. Marco helps out with the B&B, but it's Simona who dedicates herself full time to its operation.
Simona and Marco live in another location, but Simona arrives first thing in the morning arms full of freshly baked pastries & breads for breakfast. The breakfast area is cozy and bright. During the day when Simona is not around you can still make yourself a tea or coffee or help yourself to juice and water. Wifi is available on the premises so I used the breakfast room to work in when I wasn't in my room.

 My favorite breakfast item by far was this casatiello, a thick bread stuffed with salami, prosciutto and eggs. The morning Simona served it it was so warm, soft on the inside and with a crunchy crust. It's considered ann Easter bread but is available year round.

The best thing about this B&B is its unbeatable location: right smack in the center of Naples centro storico overlooking the lovely and expansive Piazza Dante: my favorite piazza in Naples. Beautiful view, great restaurants and pasticcerie wherever you turn; one of the streets leading off the piazza is the hub of Naples bookstores....both current and antique. In the afternoon and evening the piazza becomes a playing area for kids and there are always a half dozen or so impromptu soccer games going on. Recently the piazza has become a pedestrian only area keeping it quiet and beautiful.
Simona has arrangements with local parking garages for those arriving by car. The term garage is perhaps a stretch, but it's an economical and ideal place to leave your car. A tad sketchy, but adequate.
And the price? Shockingly affordable for such a perfect spot. The Dante B&B is now my home away from home in Naples.

Leon d'Oro Restaurant - Piazza Dante, Naples

We arrived at our bed and breakfast a bit too late for lunch, but Simona, the delightful owner of the Dante B&B, suggested that we stop down at the Leon d'Oro restaurant & pizzeria to make our dinner reservation as it books up quickly for the evening. Even though it was almost 4 pm there were still a few people finishing lunch and both owners, Antonio (Tonino) and Salvatore, were at the restaurant. As Tonino saw that I was curious to have a look around the restaurant  he invited us to come in. When I peeked into the kitchen from afar he grabbed my hand and took me into the kitchen. There, the very shy Salvatore and his kitchen help, were at work preparing for the evening service. Salvatore was making eggplant parmesan and I made a mental note to order it for dinner.
Tonino, who works the sala, is the kind of Neapolitan restaurant owner I love: so welcoming you feel like you've been friends for years, anxious to show you every corner of the restaurant and share every detail of the manicaretti (tasty delicacies) they are preparing.

The interior of the half century old Leon d'Oro is simple and brightly lit, with checked table cloths and. Inside the pizza oven flanks the kitchen and one of the dining areas. We didn't try the pizza only because we had already decided on other dishes. When a soccer game is on the waiters have half an eye on the game, but still manage to take good care of the customers. And if Naples is playing, well.....

Seafood abounds in Naples and we'd seen some scrumptious looking fresh clams at the market earlier in the day so that was an easy and obvious first choice.

We ordered the eggplant parmesan after our pasta. The eggplant was cooked to perfection with just the right amount of fresh buffalo mozzarella & provolone cheese and a delicate tomato sauce.

A typical Neapolitan dish is the frittata: spaghetti, eggs, tomato sauce and parmesan or pecorino cheese pan fried in a large, deep frying pan and served sliced. Tonino brought it out just as we were finishing our eggplant and served us a slice to try: such a simple dish but wonderfully flavorful.

Based on our experience the first night we decided to have our final lunch at Leon d'Oro and Tonino was clearly pleased to see us again. We had a chard and bean soup and pasta genovese. Genovese is a slow cooked ragu' made from the muscolo cut of meat, frequently pork. It's cooked for hours with olive oil, tomatoes and lots of onions and then served with a short cut bucatini. Often the meat is broken up into pieces or, as in this case, served as one piece.

We finished with mandarini and freshly made graffette, a sugar-coated donut-like dessert made with almost equal parts potatoes and flour, served by our affable waiter Giuseppe.

We left Naples with a freshly baked loaf of bread in hand to take back to Rome and an invitation to come back to cook with Salvatore. In Naples these are not just pleasantries but solid invitations.Although Naples can be crazy and disorderly, Neapolitans are some of the warmest and genuine people I've come across in my travels.