Julia? Nah, Giada!
Recipes for a new year!
Coming back to Italy was a hard transition for me this year. I can almost hear Justin saying it is because I wasn't running away from anything anymore. I thought I disagreed, yet wasn't sure, and after three weeks back, it was still hard to pin point the exact source of my unease.
I think I have always been someone who has enjoyed the certainties of life, even if they have proved to be false idols to worship. But, starting my third year of a three year contract at ASM has seemed tremendously intense, with an uncertain future looming in front of me, I feel my heart start to race.
But I suppose, if you let it, Italy is very good at wrapping you up and making you smile. If you just breath deep and take time to listen, the sounds and smells come in through the courtyard and its open screenless doors and windows, will fill your soul with a joy that is not easy to describe. And if you are brave, you can contribute to the sounds and smells too.
Amy and I returned to Giada De Laurentiis' expertise and experimented with food, right at our apartment, doors and windows wide open. And before I knew it, I was back "home".
The recipes we tried:
Recipe #1: Curried Chicken
1 Roasted Chicken
1/2 cup mayonaisse
1 tbs. curry powder
1 tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. honey
1 1/2 tsp minced ginger
(served on a bed of Arugula, or with shredded radicchio on a roll as a sandwich)
Recipe #2: Fresh Tomato and Goat Cheese Strata with Herb Oil
Goat Cheese Filling
8 ounces of goat cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt
toasted walnuts
Herb oil topping
3/4 cup fresh mint leaves
3/4 cup fresh basill
1 cup olive oil
Recipe #3: Fregola Salad with Fresh Citrus and Red Onion
Fregola pasta- type of small pasta balls that is popular in Sardinia
1 orange
1 grapefruit
1 small red onion sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh mint
1/2 tbs. fennel seeds toasted
salt
pepper
8 cups chicken broth
Orange oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1 orange zested
Cook the fregola in the chicken broth (10 minutes). Cool the Fregola. Peel and pith the orange and grapefruit. Slice onions. Combine orange, grapefruit, orange, fennel, basil, mint with orange oil, toss and serve at room temperature... YUMMY! We didn't have a red onion, and we accidently bought two kinds of grapefruit, and did not use fennel... overall, these 'mishaps' just hurt the aesthetic and really nothing else, it tasted fantastic.
Taking time to notice the lights turn on out our balcony as the sun set. Watching people head to their balconies to hang laundry, smoke cigarettes or just eavesdrop on their neighbors gives me a strange comfort. Telling Amy she needed to stop cooking so that she could get a picture.
We welcomed Zach to the neighborhood, as he said good bye to Opera and headed to the city.
Coming back to Italy was a hard transition for me this year. I can almost hear Justin saying it is because I wasn't running away from anything anymore. I thought I disagreed, yet wasn't sure, and after three weeks back, it was still hard to pin point the exact source of my unease.
I think I have always been someone who has enjoyed the certainties of life, even if they have proved to be false idols to worship. But, starting my third year of a three year contract at ASM has seemed tremendously intense, with an uncertain future looming in front of me, I feel my heart start to race.
But I suppose, if you let it, Italy is very good at wrapping you up and making you smile. If you just breath deep and take time to listen, the sounds and smells come in through the courtyard and its open screenless doors and windows, will fill your soul with a joy that is not easy to describe. And if you are brave, you can contribute to the sounds and smells too.
Amy and I returned to Giada De Laurentiis' expertise and experimented with food, right at our apartment, doors and windows wide open. And before I knew it, I was back "home".
The recipes we tried:
Recipe #1: Curried Chicken
1 Roasted Chicken
1/2 cup mayonaisse
1 tbs. curry powder
1 tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. honey
1 1/2 tsp minced ginger
(served on a bed of Arugula, or with shredded radicchio on a roll as a sandwich)
Recipe #2: Fresh Tomato and Goat Cheese Strata with Herb Oil
Goat Cheese Filling
8 ounces of goat cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt
toasted walnuts
Herb oil topping
3/4 cup fresh mint leaves
3/4 cup fresh basill
1 cup olive oil
Recipe #3: Fregola Salad with Fresh Citrus and Red Onion
Fregola pasta- type of small pasta balls that is popular in Sardinia
1 orange
1 grapefruit
1 small red onion sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh mint
1/2 tbs. fennel seeds toasted
salt
pepper
8 cups chicken broth
Orange oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1 orange zested
Cook the fregola in the chicken broth (10 minutes). Cool the Fregola. Peel and pith the orange and grapefruit. Slice onions. Combine orange, grapefruit, orange, fennel, basil, mint with orange oil, toss and serve at room temperature... YUMMY! We didn't have a red onion, and we accidently bought two kinds of grapefruit, and did not use fennel... overall, these 'mishaps' just hurt the aesthetic and really nothing else, it tasted fantastic.
Taking time to notice the lights turn on out our balcony as the sun set. Watching people head to their balconies to hang laundry, smoke cigarettes or just eavesdrop on their neighbors gives me a strange comfort. Telling Amy she needed to stop cooking so that she could get a picture.
We welcomed Zach to the neighborhood, as he said good bye to Opera and headed to the city.
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