Hey you out there... I need your input on something.
Do you like PictoBrowser (those little photo-viewers on the last two posts)?
It's hard for me to decide whether to keep using them, because I put notes and descriptions on some of the images which PictoBrowser doesn't support (for example, did you know that one of the photos from Cortona is of the cell where St. Francis of Assisi spent his final days?)
On the other hand, I don't want to keep sending you all off to Flickr to look, because maybe you're not interested, and prefer a quick little glance through the sets as PictoBrowser presents them?
Thing is, I know most of you aren't going over to Flickr, so you're definitely missing out on some details. I'm kind of torn here...
Drop me an email, and/or leave notes in the comments. Grazie!
On a sweet little side street, just steps away from our hotel on our first leg in Rome, we found a modern, funky, and very special wine bar/restaurant/jazz lounge. We stumbled across it first on our way back from hours of walking on our first day, and swore we'd have to return.
But we forgot the name, and thus found ourselves giddy with excitement when we bumped into it again whilst looking for a place to have lunch before catching our train to Florence.
Aò's owner is a charming gentleman who doted on us like absolute regulars, bringing us little nibbles and tastes of wine, such that we made a reservation for our dinner the following week, on our last night in Rome.
We started with a few delicious suppli (aka, arancini) -- deep fried balls of tomatoey risotto with a dab of fresh cheese in the center. These took the edge off our hunger so that when our pizza and lasagne arrived, we didn't fall upon them like the (slightly hungover) ravenous heathens we really were.
That pizza was the best we had the whole trip. Thin (but not Roman-style thin), cheesy, tomatoey, and with a crust that was subtly sweet. Oh, and it was something like €4.
That lasagne, though? I've never tasted anything like that, though Karen said that it was very similar to a dish her Roman friend's mother had made for her once. The noodles were very eggy and rich yellow; the sauce was obviously cream-based, but there was also a hint of tomato and some other kind of "warm brown spice" -- maybe nutmeg? The whole deal was topped with several melty slices of fresh mozzarella. We both couldn't get enough of this, and ended up fighting over the last bite (see? it's not just Colin who endures my foodie wrath). If you have a recipe for a lasagne which sounds similar, please do share it in the comments!
With our lunch, we drank a bottle of 2005 Antinoo Vini Bianco(€14) from the Lazio region. This Chardonnay/Viognier blend was absolutely perfect for the dishes, and for a warm Fall afternoon in Rome. With no oak, the acidity and character of the chardonnay came through nicely, and was "lifted" and made richer by the floral notes of the viognier.
We grabbed a slice of spinach pizza for the train, and dashed off to grab our bags at the hotel and make for Firenze. Now, enjoy some photos of our first day in Rome while you wait for the next installment.
Aò Restaurant Via Belsiana, 57 00187 ROMA Phone: 39 06 69200415
Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting photos and reminiscences of my trip to Italy. While I was definitely ready to be back home, and sleeping in my own bed, I had an incredible time -- I met some amazing people, saw things that awed me like nothing I've seen before, and ate food that I suspect I'll be able to "taste" for years.
The first set of photos I wanted to share are of Cortona, a beautiful little hillside town in Tuscany that we called "home base" for five of our days in Italy. Cortona may be most well-known as the setting for that gagalicious chick-flick "Under the Tuscan Sun", but it's so much more than that. It's the seat of Etruscan civilization in Italy, and the place St. Francis of Assisi chose to spend his final days.
It's vineyards and olive groves, umber-colored buildings set against verdant hillsides and slate gray roads -- all leading to Rome. I'll post some photos of the villa we stayed at soon, but to start, I wanted you to see the town as we saw it when we drove around with our friend Coky, a native of Cortona.
Food here is simple... and wonderful. Wild boar (cinghiale) dominates, from ragu to salumi. And beef here -- it's Chianina as it is in most parts of Tuscany -- is the most amazing beef I've ever eaten. Kobe is for pussies -- real men eat beef that's so rich it tastes like organ meat. (I'm salivating as I write this).
Most often, we paired our meals with local wines. As you might expect, they do a lovely job with Sangiovese, but we discovered that Cortona also grows a mean Syrah. Gamy and spicy and a little bit barny, these Syrahs were perfect with the traditional dishes of Cortona.
My two greatest culinary discoveries in Cortona, though, have to be Amaro di Miele, a liqueur made from wildflower/orange blossom honey, and the perfect simplicity of crostini al olio. More on each of these on Wednesday!
So, I've had this damn passport for what, two years now?
And I haven't put it to very good use yet. But lucky for me that I have an excellent friend who is also a total Europhile. And This friend of mine wouldn't let me off the hook when she called to tell me about an available room in a villa she was going to be staying in in October.
Now, find myself in Italy falling in love with everything that Italy is supposed to be.
I have so mich to share with you, my friends. From Roman Pizza to a meal in Florence that we thought might never end... this place is truly magnificent. It took me so long to get here, but now that I have, you can bet your "bravura" that I will come back often.
Miss Olive did absolutely GREAT last night - slept from 11pm til about 6am, at which time we were awakened by a screeching not unlike that of a starving banshee.
She went to work with Colin today, and was a total champ. Whether he got any work done is up for discussion. She's heading in to work with me tomorrow (yes, my new boss IS a rockstar), and we have a hot lunch date.
She is exhausting Bo, about which I have no complaints. He's still not quite sure about her, but as you can see, he obviously has no qualms about turning the living room into a racetrack:
Stella, on the other hand, is so perturbed that she declined to have her photo taken for this post:
Twenty-four hours down. Endless (hopefully) hours of joy to go.
Hi, you there! Do you love puppies? Well of course you do, because everybody loves puppies. Even cat people love puppies. And snake people too, I suppose.
Anyway, we have a new puppy. For those of you keeping count, yes this DOES make three dogs in the Gastronomie household. And yes, we do live in an apartment. So if you're keeping track, that makes us a little bit insane. Meh. Everyone has their vices.
So, without further ado, here she is -- a little brindle French Bulldog. Born July 11th, making her 12 weeks old, and weighing in at a whopping 6.5 pounds.
We're still batting around names, so if you want to weigh in, go for it!
So, today is the first day of my new job. After several years of working for companies remotely, from my home office, I'm admittedly a bit nervous about having to come face-to-face with people daily, and not spending the first hour of the day responding to emails, in my sweats with a steaming cup of tea.
On the other hand, the group I'm working with are an awesome bunch -- smart, wickedly funny, creative as hell. And the job itself couldn't be described as anything less than "perfect" for me. It maximizes every single position I've ever held, every accomplishment on my resume.
So, I'm off to catch the 8:31 train to Montgomery station. Wish me luck, and see you at Specialty's!
