Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

il leoncino in rome {onion, sausage + bean pizza}

2012-01-26T07:51:00.001+01:00

How did I not know about Pizzeria Leoncino? I must have walked down this centrally located street at least a hundred times (if not more) in my life. I’m always on the lookout for a decent place to eat in that neighborhood - only a few blocks away from the only cinema in Rome that shows English language films. Yet there you have it. A pizza place whose speciality was a “Onion, Bean and Sausage Pizza” and it was totally off my radar.

Yes. You heard me right. A pizza with three of my favorite food groups: onion, bean and sausage. I mean really, who dreams up these things?
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risotto with artichokes

2012-01-24T10:26:00.000+01:00

The only good thing about time flying by faster and faster each year, is that artichokes season is here before I know it. Yes. It’s that wonderful time of the year again, when the markets in Rome are stacked high with big, fat green/grey globes of petaled blossoms.

The first ones to make it into town from the fields of Lazio are the cimaroli. These are the larger-than-life orbs that are from the ‘cima’ or top, of the artichoke plant. In other words, this is where all the pent up nutrients and energy of the plant end up, making these first artichokes not only humongous, but incredibly tender, flavorful and with barely any choke at all.
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radicchio, pear + walnut {salad}

2012-01-23T08:11:00.001+01:00

As an American food blogger, I guess I guess I’m supposed to weigh in (pun intended) on the whole Paula Deen thing. If you’ve missed it, here is a great piece by Frank Bruni and another by Marion Nestle. Both - especially Frank - look at the issue from different perspectives, and try not to go over board with the Paula-bashing.

But I've decided to stay out of the fray, letting you read these two articles - and a million more online. Instead, I'll just post this rather ordinary recipe which sums up how I eat and cook most of the time. Which is about as far away from Paula on the Deen spectrum as you can get.

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tavola azzurra 2 {eating fish in santa marinella}

2012-01-19T10:17:00.001+01:00

Ok. Bear with me.

I know you’ve become used to seeing gorgeous photographs of food, landscape and other pieces of Italy on my blog. And I realize that the above photo looks kind of like the type of dive you’d not only pass up, but probably not even notice. Rusty sign out front, cars almost driving through the dining room, and architecture that is reminiscent of an illegally built addition to an illegally built strip mall.

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borscht {via melissa clark}

2012-01-17T10:03:00.001+01:00

We usually go to NYC at the holidays. It’s a chance to see my family, eat, visit editors and publishers, eat, shop, eat, go to museums, eat and do all the things Italian tourists do when they are in the city.

The problem is that I never have time to see as many friends as I hope. That is why I usually throw one biggish dinner to celebrate my birthday. It’s not only a chance to catch up. Since it’s my birthday, it’s also an excuse for me to receive some really nice presents.
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cooking with fire {pork in connecticut}

2012-01-16T07:45:00.001+01:00

Going to the States for the holidays means going out to eat a lot in New York. Trying to cram in all the exotic (i.e. Asian, American, etc.) foods we can’t get back home in Rome.

But it also means eating meals with family. I’m lucky in this respect, since both of my sisters are pretty good cooks. And their husbands aren’t bad either.

In fact, my brother-in-law Kevin (Jodi's husband) is somewhat of a grilling genius. When I grill, I never attempt anything beyond things like steak, fish or - if I get real fancy - anything on a skewer. But Kevin is one of those people who won’t flinch at grilling a turkey. He can actually figure out how to keep the fire going, how many coals to use, how to move them around....all that kind of stuff.

Luckily Sophie and I were invited over to Jodi and Kevin's during Chanukah for a family meal. As is typical in my multi- denominational family, the menorah was set under the sparkling lights of the Christmas tree and we had a pork roast for dinner.
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a couple of articles {about rome}

2012-01-13T07:44:00.001+01:00

Just in case you missed it, I had a feature in the New York Times last week: here's the link. It was about the sale of one of the most magnificent homes in Rome, located in the Palazzo Orsini, which is itself located within the Teatro Marcello.
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bye bye angeli caffe {hello evan}

2012-01-12T08:35:00.000+01:00

A lot of people ask me how I started writing about food. I’ve always been a writer, but at the beginning of my career I focused mostly on design, architecture and art. Even though food had always played a huge role in my life, somehow I wasn’t writing about it.

All that changed when I met Evan Kleiman. From the first moment that Evan and I began the conversation that would turn into a life long friendship, it was mostly about food. If I can in any way call myself a food writer today, it is thanks to Evan who encouraged me not only to write about food, but to become engaged in a meaningful way that continues to define my life.
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jing fong {dim sum in nyc}

2012-01-10T10:00:00.000+01:00

Yes, New York again. I know the blog is called Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome, but since I seem to be the resident New Yorker for a lot of my Roman friends, I’m taking the opportunity to post about some of our favorite places we visit every time we’re in town.

As you’d imagine, when in NYC, we steer clear of pizza, pasta and anything else even vaguely Italian. Instead it’s either 100% American (like Peels) or else from a far away continent - preferably Asia.

One of our traditional stops is at Jing Fong, for dim sum. I’m sure there are probably quainter, or even better, dim sum places in Chinatown, (and you can check out this app for everything you’ve ever wanted to know about that neighborhood) but we love Jing Fong, in all it’s glorious, tacky, Hong-Kongish, over-the-stop splendor.
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brunch at peels {nyc}

2012-01-09T07:25:00.000+01:00

When we’re in New York one of our favorite things to do is go out for brunch. And by brunch, I mean eating breakfast a little later than usual. And by breakfast I mean things like eggs, pancakes, porridge and other breakfasty things.
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bottarga & butter {john dory oyster bar nyc}

2012-01-05T09:21:00.000+01:00

I spent the last two weeks in New York, with Domenico, Sophie and Emma. Most of the time was spent with my sisters and their families, but I did manage one girls’s night out. Melissa, Alice and I ended up at the John Dory Oyster Bar, where I’d never been. Arriving with a slightly horse voice (I’d been talking too much I guess) I immediately ordered a hot toddie, which I guess soothed me enough to continue nattering away for the next two hours with friends. It’s quite a scene there, and I think I nattered louder than I should have, since buy the time I left I had completely lost my voice.

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evolution {shopping in nyc}

2012-01-03T11:44:00.000+01:00

Like all good Europeans, one of the reasons we go to New York is to shop. Yes. We are one of those Italian families wandering around Broadway, making our way from Nike to Levi. But besides hitting the big brands to stock up on jeans, underwear and sneakers, there are tons of smaller, quirky boutiques I love to visit each time we are in town.
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maurizio cattelan at the guggenheim {nyc}

2011-12-29T14:02:00.000+01:00

We’re in NYC this week and between eating, shopping and running around to museums, there hasn’t been much time to blog. Since I’m sure you’re not interested in my shopping (American essentials such as new bras, jeans and vitamins), and I haven’t had time to get together my act about where and what I’ve eaten, I thought I’d share one of the amazing exhibitions we’ve been to.

These photos were taken at the current show at the Guggenheim: Maurizio Cattelan. The retrospective pulls together almost everything created by the Italian artist since 1989. Hung - en masse - from the center of the circular museum atrium.
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bonci at open baladin {rome}

2011-12-27T13:47:00.001+01:00

I’ve had burgers on my mind lately. What with the burger contest I was asked to help judge and cooking burgers at home, you’d think I’d had enough.

Well, you thought wrong.
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orecchiette con le cime di rapa

2011-12-26T12:31:00.000+01:00

It’s not always easy being married to an Italian. There are a lot of expectations. As you probably know by now, I’m not a bad cook. My range is wide, and I’m comfortable cooking everything from pizzas to crostatas. And pasta? I make it at least once a day.

But reproducing Mama’s dishes? That's another story. Making orecchiette con le cime di rapa just like Domenico’s pugliese mother makes. That one threw me for a loop for the longest time.
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auguri!

2011-12-23T11:27:00.000+01:00

merry christmas, happy chanukah, and a wonderful new year.
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paolo parisi cooks me an egg

2011-12-21T11:58:00.001+01:00

Sometimes an egg is just and egg. But if you’re lucky, sometimes that egg comes from the uber egg meister Paolo Parisi.

Parisi’s egg-like head is well known in Italy, where it appears on the cartons that contain his magnificent white orbs. They are some of the most sought after - and expensive - eggs around. Are they worth paying a euro and a half per egg for?
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christmas in sicily {1972}

2011-12-20T12:26:00.000+01:00

All families have their own personal histories. And even if the main outlines of major events are etched in stone, the details always change from family member to family member. My family is no different. We all have our own spin on the milestones of growing up. But there is one historic Christmas meal we all remember in sync: The time we went to Sicily.

And if you think this is going in some sort of Italian Catholic celebration direction, think again. The Christmas in question was 1972. And my family - unobservant Jews from Missouri - had just moved to Rome. Rather than spend the holiday break in the shadow of St. Peters (which would have actually been kind of nice) my father decided to take us on a road trip: to Sicily.
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making mozzarella in puglia {video}

2011-12-19T11:58:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago I was invited down to Puglia by the Identita Golose folks, along with Oscar Farinetti of Eataly fame. I - and the other journalists on the trip - somehow thought the trip was supposed to be all about tasting Coratina olive oil. As it turned out it we were invited mostly to help ‘judge’ some dishes that are going to be served in Eataly’s round the world.

It was all a bit odd, with quick visits to local sites which included a somewhat industrial olive mill and a very ‘cheesy’ mozzarella showroom set up by Caseificio Olanda.

When I first saw ‘visit to caseificio’ on the itinerary I imagined a visit to a farm-based cheese making workshop, to watch the entire process of buratta being made. Instead, we were all seated in a sort of small - very artificial - auditorium, where a master cheese maker stretched, braided, pushed and shoved fresh curd into various mozzarella shapes.

Not quite the authentic experience I was hoping for.

But.....actually kind of fascinating to watch.
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zeb {florence}

2011-12-15T08:33:00.000+01:00

I’d been reading and hearing about Zeb for a while. A grocery store that reinvented itself as a lunch and dinner place. Great soups. You eat at counters, not tables. Friendly service.

And the food was supposed to be fantastic.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but certainly not the elegantly stylish, modern and sleek diner that I walked into a few weeks ago.
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rome burger contest {results}

2011-12-13T17:22:00.002+01:00

Contests and games. I’m really not very good at them. Just ask my sisters (Robin and Jodi). While they were busy playing Monopoly, Go Fish or Scrabble, I was - according to them - off in some museum. I was equally uninterested in playing competitive sports. There’s just something about losing I guess I don’t like. I’d just rather not compete. But I also don’t like seeing other people lose. It’s just no fun.

Which is also why I’ve never really considered myself a reviewer. When I first started out my writing career, I wrote about art exhibitions. But rather than review them, I just described and analyzed them. I thought it went without saying that if I was writing about them, that was positive enough. And the bad shows? They got no ink.

Same goes for restaurants. I HATE saying anything bad about a place. I’d much rather stay silent about a restaurant I don’t like, rather than say anything negative. If a place is in Eat Rome, Eat Florence or on my blog, that means I like it. If not, well.....I either haven’t been there. Or I have, and am going to keep my mouth shut.

Which now leads me a position I rarely find myself in: judging food. As you know I was asked to be one of the ‘experts’ in a hamburger contest that has just finished in Rome. Four restaurants participated: Urbana 47, Tricolore, Pastificcio San Lorenzo and Roscioli. Along with the public, I went and tried all four.

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campo de' fiori market {vegetables + video}

2011-12-12T07:38:00.000+01:00

In the States, when talking about trying to get people to eat more vegetables, the debate often turns to the fact that vegetables are hard to prepare. That when faced with something like an artichoke, asparagus or even a head of lettuce, many Americans can’t be bothered to clean, trim and cook.

The processed alternative is to buy a bag of pre-washed lettuce, ‘mini’ carrots or frozen spinach. But these ‘vegetables’, which have been prepped in huge factories, long after they have been picked, have about as much flavor as a shoe insert. It’s no wonder that many say they don’t like them.

Which is why I’m so happy/lucky to live in Italy. Yes. I’m as lazy as the next person. Come meal time, it’s not as if I always have the time/energy/patience to pod 3 kilos of peas, trim a dozen artichokes or - I admit it - even peel a carrot.

The great thing is that I don’t have to.
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pisco mary {cocktail}

2011-12-08T09:19:00.000+01:00

As you know, when it comes to cocktails I have my quirks. I go through phases (there was the Martini phase of 2011, and the very long Negroni phase of 2009). But I’m also very much influenced by how a drink looks: the color, the glass, the garnish.

Lately, as the work day ends, I’ve been picturing red cocktails. I know it has something to do with the holidays. Yes. I’ve been reading the myriad ‘festive cocktail’ features popping up everywhere from the New York Times to Cigar Affciando.

So the other night I opened the liquor cabinet, and decided to play around with Campari, Gin and Lingon Berry syrup. Was kind of thinking of this look.

But by the time I had lugged my bottles into the kitchen from the living room (ok, my apartment isn’t that big, but there were three bottles to wrangle) I realized that what I really had in mind was something more savory, rather than sweet or bitter.

So back went the bottles and I started over. It took me a minute, but I finally settled on this equation: Red + Savory = Bloody Mary.
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broccoli salad {via 101 cookbooks}

2011-12-06T10:04:00.000+01:00

I love planting my garden in Todi. I love it so much that I often get carried away. Why plant six cabbages when you can (almost) as easily plant 12? And why just one variety when six will be so much better? You can see where I’m going here.

Yes. It’s that time of the year when we play “what can I do with my cruciferous vegetables tonight?” At the beginning, when the first harvest of broccoli, cabbage, cavolo nero and other crunchy winter veggies come in, I’m more than happy to just steam or saute them, basking in their just picked freshness.

But by cabbage number 8, I’m thinking, really?
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{lazy} cabbage & potato soup

2011-12-05T11:05:00.001+01:00

I was going to call this recipe "Easy Cabbage and Potato Soup." But then decided that it was more honest to admit to the motivation, rather than rely on the description.

Yes. There are times when I am very lazy. Or tired. Take your pick. But when it’s 7:30, and my mind and stomach finally turn to dinner, but my brain and body are not up for anything fancy, I work with what I have.
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