A View Worth a Thousand Words

“There is a secret place in Rome” one traveler said to the other quietly. “We have to go! It is the most spectacular and unexpected sight. It is amazing! And the four legged traveler can come as well!” “Sure, sounds great” the second traveler responded.

They set off on a Sunday morning in October from the Forum heading in the direction of Circus Maximus, a large expanse of green that was once used for chariot racing and as a venue for various forms of entertainment for Etruscan Kings. “We need to go up that hill” the first traveler said while pointing towards Aventine Hill, one of Rome’s seven hills. “It’s not as large as it looks. No, really, it isn’t!”

The road climbed up past beautiful Roman homes and a blooming Rose garden. The three travelers stopped just past the rose garden to enjoy sweeping views of Rome. “It is beautiful” they said to each other; the four legged traveler sniffing nearby grass. The road continued passing Chiesa di Santa Sabina and finally arriving at the crest of the hill and the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, home of the crusading order of the Knights of Malta.

“Here it is” the first traveler said to the second. “We are finally here. Right over there, that’s what we have been waiting to see. We need to look through the keyhole in the yellow gate.”

A few seconds later…..“Wow!” the second traveler said. “It is amazing!”

The above picture is from the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta Web site.

The dome of the Vatican perfectly framed by the hedges…Go see it for yourself next time you are in Roma!

A Sicilian Adventure: Messina to Siracusa

In which the three travelers encounter their first taste of Sicily……….

The three travelers sprinted into Messina Centrale; they needed one-way tickets to Siracusa and they needed them in a hurry. They had fewer than five minutes to purchase the tickets, find the train, and board the train.

They heaved their heavy bags onto the train waiting at binario 1 with minutes to spare. The four legged traveler struggled to climb the steps while carrying his Outward Hound backpack stocked with food. Within minutes the train was on its way towards Catania, a volcanic city at the base of Mt. Etna. The train rumbled along, passing steep cliffs covered in cactus to the right and the expansive ocean to the left. As the train carrying the three intrepid travelers approached Catania, Mt. Etna, capped with snow, loomed on the horizon.

The temperature was noticeably warmer as the three travelers stepped off the train. Catania Centrale was on the edge of the bright blue ocean, with only six binarios (train platforms) separating the station from the sea which was dotted with fishing boats. The travelers were hungry; they had only had time for a quick pasta (pastry) and espresso hours earlier back in Messina. “You stay here. I’ll go find us something to eat” the brave traveler said. Within minutes he was off, crossing the main intersection that was congested with cars. “It was like being in a game of frogger” the traveler exclaimed while handing over two pieces of greasy Sicilian street food.

There was less than an hour before the travelers’ train for Siracusa left. They headed out away from the congestion, pollution, and leering Sicilians, to the binario to await the train. “I’m going to take the four legged traveler for a walk” the brave traveler said. “I’ll only be gone for a few minutes.”

The other traveler sat down on a bench to read the guidebook. Minutes later the sound of dogs barking echoed throughout the station. The traveler looked up to see a pack of stray dogs surrounding the two other travelers. Then the travelers were gone! Minutes later they reappeared at the train station and make a mad dash into station.

The travelers could not reunite just yet. You see the pack of stray dogs were very smart. They spread out; each guarding one of the staircases. But the travelers were still smarter……

The travelers breathed a large sigh of relief as the train destined for Siracusa pulled into Catania Centrale. They quickly boarded the train at the first open door. But wait, what is the train attendant saying? It is difficult to understand his Sicilian dialect over the noisy commotion. The travelers don’t quite understand everything but they understand that they can’t ride this train. The train attendant is saying that this is the wrong train. How is this possible? They have their tickets!

Dumbfounded they step away from the train as it pulls out of Catania Centrale. “This is horrible” the one traveler says. “There is not another train for hours. What are we going to do?” The travelers meander towards the ticket counter. Sure enough, the worst case scenario is confirmed: they need to wait for the next train to Siracusa.

A few hours pass and the travelers board the train. This time it is the right train! As the train pulls out of Catania Centrale they glance out of the dirty train window to see a few of the stray dogs sunning themselves in the late afternoon sun. “What a close encounter with the Catania Centrale Dog Gang” the travelers exclaimed to each other. Meanwhile, the four legged traveler sighed and fell asleep.

An excerpt from the travelogue/photo album that we are currently writing about our experience living, traveling, and studying in Italy….stay tuned.

Related Posts:

From Boot to Toe:  The Drive from Matera to Messina

From Boot to Toe: The Drive from Matera to Sicily

The last time I wrote, we were in the enchanting city of Matera in Basilicata, visiting the spectacular sassi. We were now on our way to Sicily to visit the mythical city of Siracusa and the bustling city of Palermo. But first, we had to get there!!!

Before leaving Matera, we headed back to the fabulous bakery we had gone to the day before. Today we bought some traditional bread which was great and some foccacia. We tried two types: a roasted tomato foccacia and a potato rosemary. The potato rosemary bread was FABULOUS! One of my favorite things that I have eaten! If you are ever in Matera, head to the bakery in Piazza Vittorio Veneto. The bakery is across from the fountains. You won’t be disappointed.

We were not in a particular rush, we only knew that we needed to get to Villa San Giovanni, the town that the ferry departed from by 5ish to catch the train/ferry to Messina. We opted to take our time and take a slightly scenic drive through the countryside of Basilicata.

Along the way, we passed a herd of cows grazing right by the highway.

Nothing is out of the question in Southern Italy! Including snatching a few clementines right off the tree…

Shortly after crossing into Calabria, we decided we needed a rest. We pulled off the road at an overlook near the Golfo di Taranto. We saw a man selling clementines out of his car. We had long finished the stash that we had snatched earlier, so we decided to buy some. He was selling one kilo for 1 Euro. We only had a 20 Euro bill, which he did not want so we went back to the car to search for change. We came up with 33 Euro cents. In our remedial Italian we tried to ask for whatever quantity of clementines 33 Euro cents would buy. He piled the clementines in the bag and handed them to us. As we walked away he shouted at us when he realized we had only give him 1/3 of the money. We went back, tried to explain, but he sent us on our way with our 1 kilo of clementines saying that 33 Euro cents was better than 0 Euro cents! What a deal!

Before heading on our way, we went down to the rocky beach to let Ollie play a little!

The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful except for one section in Southern Calabria. I was really glad that Reed was driving. We were 100s of feet above the ocean along a cliff….it was an optical illusion…it appeared as if the road was just continuing into the sky. It makes the PCH in Cali look like nothing!

We pulled into Villa San Giovanni and were confronted with numerous signs for ferries to Sicily. It was kind of confusing and we were not quite sure exactly which company to use. We pulled into one and I went into the office to ask. Three men were smoking and drinking vino. They told me the next ferry left in 10 minutes. I went back to the car, got some money, and paid for the ticket. It was only when we got onto the ferry that we realized we had paid for an old ticket from December. It worked for us, but obviously these men had some scheme where people paid for tickets that had already been purchased and then pocketed what ever money they received from the re-sale of the tickets. Ahhh, our first taste of Sicily and what was yet to come!

The ride over was kind of interesting. We rode a train/car ferry. Cars and the train are loaded onto a ferry to cross the straights of Messina to Messina, the main port in Sicily. Neither of us had ever been on a ferry that also had a train on it!

Ciao, mainland Italy!

Taking some time to play…..

Into the sunset and on to Sicily!

The straits of Messina are like a highway! Boats criss-cross the straits, which cover a major fault line responsible for the 1908 earthquake, one of the worst natural disasters on the island. The straits are clashing currents that the Greeks mythologised as the twin monsters, Charbydis and Scylla.

We enjoyed a nice apertivo of wine and assorted olives and snacks at a street side enoteca:

We found a great pizza place and enjoyed pizza and gelato.

Tomorrow we head to Siracusa!

Related Posts:

Matera:  The Magical City of the Sassi

A Sicilian Adventure:  From Messina to Siracusa

Food and Supermarkets: Italy and the U.S.

In Siena, there is a small supermarket, Conad, which we frequented when we were in Italy. It was on the bottom floor and you rode the escalator down. They had a pretty good selection of food, including tortillas and even sour cream, both of which came in quite handy when we were craving Mexican food!! There was a frozen food area which has a variety of food, including frozen pizzas. This particular pizza caught Reed’s eye one day:

Not sure if this is an indication of anything, but there were only two of these left in the case.

Not only did this pizza have corn as a topping, but also hot dog. Hot dog, you say, we actually saw a number of pizzas, particularly in Parma and Lucca but also at Pizza Land in Siena that had hot dogs and/or french fries with a drizzle of ketchup as a toppings. Yum!

Any thoughts?

We have been back for awhile but almost every day that I go to the supermarket I think back to our supermarket experiences in Italy. One thing that always sticks out in my head is the problem with shopping carts. I hate that people always leave stray carts in the middle of the parking lot or better yet, against someone’s car! In Italy, you had to insert a coin (1 Euro or 2 Euros; so $1.50 or $3) into the cart in order to unlock it and use it. Once you were done, IF you returned the cart you were able to take the coin out and go on your way. I think of our whole time in Italy, we only saw a cart in the parking lot once. You better believe we returned it and pocketed that Euro! I really wish that grocery stores here implemented that type of policy.

Another habit that we developed there was bringing our own bags with us. In Italy, depending on the store, you were charged 5 to 10 Euro Cents per bag that you used. Here I cringe as people walk away with 10 or 20 bags, sometimes each bag with only one ingredient. Money just might motivate people to be a little more conscious.

Pizza with Gorgonzola, Rocket, Ham, and Pear

My last creation for my wine get together (others were Clafouti and Artichoke and Feta Dip) was Pizza with Gorgonzola, Rocket (Arugula), Ham, and Pear.  I’ve seen lots of recipes for salads with gorgonzola and pears and thought that it would make a pretty tasty pizza.  The flavor combinations work really well:  the spicy rocket, salty ham, sweet pear, and sharp gorgonzola.  A little gorgonzola goes a long way, especially the sharper the cheese is.  I used a pizza stone which I love because it makes the crust very crisp and cooks the pizza in no time (Bed & Bath carries a number of pizza stones, some even as cheap as $14.99).

Pizza with Gorgonzola, Rocket, Ham, and Pear

1 lb pizza dough, divided into 4 pieces

1 ripe pear

1/4 cup gorgonzola

4 slices ham

1/2 cup arugula

parmesan cheese, grated

olive oil

1. Preheat pizza stone in oven at 500 degrees for 20 minutes.

2.  Spread out dough on a surface coated with corn meal.  (I use a pizza peal)

3. Brush crust with olive oil.  Sprinkle with gorgonzola, ham, and pears.

4. Transfer to heated stone and bake for 10 minutes or until crust is golden and crisp and the cheese in bubbling.

5. Transfer to serving platter and top with arugula and parmesan.

Clafouti

I was having a few friends over on Saturday night for wine and appetizers and I was searching for a dessert that was easy to make, that was yummy, and that I had never made before. Since it is rather hot here now, I wanted something that also was not too heavy and used fruit. Thats when I found Clafouti. Clafouti is a traditional French dessert that has two main components: fruit and a batter. What sealed the deal for me, is that traditional Clafouti uses cherries, and I love cherries. In traditional clafouti recipes, fresh cherries that have not been pitted are used. I opted to use some frozen cherries that I had on hand. It is a yummy dessert that is easy that I am definitely going to try again!

Clafouti

1 cup milk (I used low fat because I had it)

1 cup half-half

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 bag (10-16 oz frozen cherries)

1. Spray a 10 inch pie dish/baking dish with cooking spray. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine milk, half and half, eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Once blended, add the flour and beat well.

3. Arrange cherries in baking dish.

4. Pour batter over cherries. Bake 35 to 45 minutes until puffed and golden.

Artichoke and Feta Dip

Artichokes at the Ballaro Market in Palermo

For my wine and appetizer get-together I opted to make one of my all time favorite dips.  I’ve made this for a few years and it always comes out great!  It is easy, fast, and can be made ahead of time.  All the amounts are approximate and can be manipulated according to your taste.

Artichoke and Feta dip

2 cans artichokes in water, drained and diced

8 oz feta cheese

2 cups mayo (I use light)

1 small jar pimentos

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

dried oregano/Italian seasoning to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Spray a 8 inch baking dish or an 8 inch pie plate with cooking spray.

3. Combine all ingredients in bowl.  Mix well.

4. Bake 30 minutes at 350 until bubbling and golden.

5. Serve with chips, bread, or vegetables.  I  have been serving it with Blue Corn Chips and it tastes great!

Reed and Twenty/20 in the News

The local news channel 8 here in San Diego featured Twenty/20 Grill in a segment

Watch the video featuring Reed here

“Hotel Serves Up Local Treats”

With a view of some of Carlsbad’s more inviting locales, 20-20, the restaurant at Sheraton Carlsbad Resort, is something to be seen and sampled.

“The terrace is wonderful. It’s sun-shiny, which is nice. They’ve got umbrellas so you don’t burn up. As long as there’s no haze, you have a slice of ocean,” San Diego magazine restaurant critic David Nelson said.

“Very impressive burgers here, which I think is a good lunch dish that everybody enjoys. They’ve got some other nice sandwiches, like El Horno, which is an Argentine skirt steak.

“If you want a more formal entrée, they have a Waikato chicken, which is flavored in the island way, served with spinach and tomatoes and a little lime. And then there’s a very, very nice pasta, which is served with crab and just a little olive oil and white wine,” Nelson said.

Twenty-twenty’s dinner menu also offers some solid choices.

“Among the specialties are charbroiled lamb loin, which is served with a roasted red grape juice and croutons made from warm potatoes, and there’s even a wild berry salad on the side, so this is different. There are day scallops that are pan-roasted and served with an oven-fried tomato risotto.

“A third choice for an entrée would be the global ocean sea bass, which is served with house-cut pasta, which means that it’s freshly made pasta and oven-dried tomato,” Nelson said.

With a locally flavored menu and great views too, there’s more than meets the eye at 20-20.

Related Posts:

Food and Wine/Gourmet Magazine Tasting Menu

San Diego vs. Siena

Pesto: A Yummy Pasta and a little Italian Grammar on the side

Our basil plants have been growing out of control lately and I thought what better way to utilize the basil than to make pesto. I definitely prefer homemade pesto to store bought pesto, mainly because the store brands always end up being too oily and I prefer a thicker creamier pesto. Pesto is easy enough to make and the ingredients are fairly cheap, especially if you have basil in your garden!

Pesto is a traditional Ligurian pasta sauce made with basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, and cheese. The sauce originates in the city of Genoa (or Genova in Italian), a port city that is reportedly the home of Christopher Columbus. Liguria is a beautiful region, that incorporates steep cliffs that plunge down to the ocean, beautiful remote fishing villages, and touristy port side towns.

I have eaten a lot of pesto, especially in Cinque Terre and Santa Margherita, but one of the best pesto dishes I ever had was in a small agriturismo near Doris’ house in Tofori (near Lucca). The owner of the agriturismo, Lido, made home-made rough cut pasta made from semolina flour (so it was thicker than regular pasta) and home-made pesto. It was fabulous. A few years back when visiting Santa Margherita, a seaside resort on the Italian Riviera (north of Cinque Terre and south of Genoa), I was introduced to another twist on the classic pesto; the pasta had pieces of potato and green beans mixed in.

Other variations include Pesto alla Siciliana which is similar to the basic Genoese pesto recipe with the addition of tomato and much less basil.

The word “pesto” is the first person present form of the verb pestare, which means to step on or mash. This is a reference to the ingredients being mashed to form the sauce. The actual term “pesto” can be applied to a number of different sauces in addition to the common basil pesto.

In searching for a recipe to follow, I visited one of my favorite websites for traditional Italian pasta dishes, Mestolando. I’ve made a few of the recipes on this site, my favorite being Pasta with Orange Bell Pepper Cream Sauce.

Pesto alla Genovese

I modified the recipe slightly from Mestolando:

2 cups fresh basil leaves

1 or 2 table spoons of pine nuts

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cloves of garlic

extra virgin olive oil

sea salt

1. Combine half of the basil, pine-nuts and cheeses together in a bowl. Using a food processor (I used a hand-held one), pulse the ingredients together until you form a rough paste. Add a small amount of salt (1/2 tsp) and olive oil (about 1 T).

2. Once you have formed a paste, add in the rest of the basil, pine-nuts, cheese and one clove of garlic.

3. Grind everything down until you have a thick green paste, this might take a couple minutes.

4. Scoop out the pesto into a bowl and add about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil. Mix the olive oil in well, and add some more if needed to achieve a thick silky texture.

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

When you mix the pesto and pasta together add a teaspoon or two of the water from the cooked pasta to the pesto before mixing it into the pasta.

Related posts:

Our Trip to Cinque Terre

Prosecco with Basil