Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome

sgombro con pomodori {mackerel}

2012-02-21T07:20:00.000+01:00

You might have noticed that there is not a lot of fish cooking going on, on this blog. That’s not because I don’t like fish. I do. Very much. As you can see here and here. And the few fish recipes I have shared have been when I am cooking in cities other than Rome, like Bari and Santa Marinella. But Rome is kind of an odd place to buy fish. It’s not nearly as easy as you'd think, and it’s usually very expensive.

And even though we have one of the best fish stores in town in Monti, I somehow never get my act together to walk up there before they close at 1pm. Actually, if I really want to have my choice of fish, I have to get there much earlier, at least by 10am. My problem is that once I hit my desk in the morning, it’s hard for me to start thinking of grocery shopping before 5 or so, and by that time all the fish stores have long since closed.
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spaghetti al nero di seppia {pasta + squid ink}

2012-02-20T08:27:00.000+01:00

A while back we went to what turned out to be a rather fancy dinner party. Our friends Randy and Lauren were in town, visiting from Australia. They were staying at a friend's house, and the friends - Metaxia and Kostas - very kindly offered to have us over for dinner so that we could see Randy and Lauren before they headed back down under.

So it was really just old friends getting together. But the table was set with a gorgeous starched white table cloth, silver and flowers. You know: fancy dinner party style.

But once we sat down, and Metaxia brought out the main dish, things took a decidedly un-fancy turn. As she served up inky black strands of unwieldy spaghetti al nero di seppia, I had two thoughts:

Thank god I’d decided to wear my black cashmere sweater rather than my new ivory one.
How in the world was I going to stop the slippery, inky pasta from whipping itself off my fork and onto the pristine table cloth?

risotto {cheese + vermouth}

2012-02-16T08:11:00.000+01:00

You know when you just need a little bit of wine to see you through a recipe? Just a cup, or even less. This used to be no problem. Domenico and I would start a bottle of wine with dinner, drink another couple of glasses the next night, and then have a bit left over that I would save for cooking. I’d usually have at least three or four of these opened bottles on the counter at any given time, waiting to be poured into stews, braises or soups.

But one of the side effects of switching over to drinking cocktails in the evening (and you know I’m not going into the other side effects) is that I no longer have those open bottles of wine laying around. And the thought of cracking open a bottle just for cooking seems just plain wasteful.
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metamorfosi {restaurant in rome}

2012-02-14T12:21:00.001+01:00

I’ve been wanting to go to Metamorfosi since it opened last October. But there was something about it that made me hesitate. Not because I doubted it was going to be fantastic (I’d heard from Katie, Maurizio and Andrea that is was great) but....I was kind of intimidated.

Not intimidated in a bad way. But I suspected the experience was going to be so extraordinary, that I wanted to choose an extraordinary occasion to go there.

I’d say a 22nd wedding anniversary qualifies, don’t you?
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roasted cauliflower {for a snowy day in rome}

2012-02-13T08:02:00.001+01:00

It’s been a crazy weekend. Snow once again. This kind of thing just doesn’t happen here. But there you have it. Last weekend we were snowed in. And this weekend too.

I used to live on the East Coast: Connecticut, Boston and New York. So you’d think I'd be one of the few in Rome that had the skill set to deal with an amount of snow that (if truth be told) wouldn't even make a North Carolinan blink. But I’ve grown out of the habit. Turns out snow skills are not like riding a bike. I’m not prepared from a clothes point of view (no snow boots, and I don’t think I’ve owned a hat in about ten years).

And I also forgot about the whole food hoarding thing. You know, run out and buy way more food than you really need just in case you get snowed in. So there I was, on Friday night, with not much food in the house. We had been invited out to dinner, but were actually snowed in. In Rome. Go figure.
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dagnino {sicilian pastries in rome}

2012-02-09T08:57:00.003+01:00

February always presents a problem. In theory I’m still in the post holiday “eat-less” mode. But at the same time it’s really cold outside, and my body is begging more for calories (even if it knows full well it doesn’t need them).

So while my mind is telling me to eat a nice piece of fruit, my legs are walking me in another direction. Often towards one of my favorite pastry shops in Rome, Dagnino.
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gabriele bonci cooks {campania felix}

2012-02-07T10:11:00.001+01:00

Between Facebook and Twitter, I hear about a lot of 'special' meals around town. And by 'special', I mean events that have been organized on a Monday or Tuesday night to fill up an otherwise empty restaurant or enoteca. Sometimes these events are just silly (Natural wines from the Easter Ukraine paired with cave-aged ewe cheese from Uzbekistan) (Ok, I made that up, but you get the idea).

Other times the events sound truly wonderful and delicious But it’s gonna have to be beyond wonderful and delicious to get me out on a Monday or Tuesday in the middle of winter. Plus, when I attend a meal that’s not on the ordinary menu, then there’s not a lot I can do with it. It can’t go in the app. And I feel badly writing about it here, since the restaurants rarely play a repeat performance.

But I broke two of my rules last week. I went out on a Monday. And I’m going to make you crazy by telling you about a meal you’ll mostly likely never get a chance to taste.

Sorry.
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best indian restaurant in rome {sitar}

2012-02-06T08:20:00.002+01:00

Ok, my readers outside of Italy, this post probably is going to be a bit perplexing to you. No, it’s not about pizza or pasta or gelato. It’s about Indian food. In Rome.

I know, I know. If you are in Rome, why on Earth would you ever want to eat Indian food, right? Well, if you actually live in Rome, it’s kinda nice to go out for something other than the same old same old (even if that same old is pretty darn good.)

So, it's no suprise that one of the most frequent questions I get from my fellow ex-pats in Rome is “Where to you go for Indian.” With this in mind, I answer you: Sitar.
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snow day {rome}

2012-02-04T11:04:00.001+01:00

I don’t usually post on Saturdays, unless there is an extraordinary reason.
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orange + coconut cocktail

2012-02-02T09:57:00.001+01:00

When the weather starts getting cold in the fall, my cocktail cravings turn from summer favorites like The Basilito and Pimm’s Cup, to classics like an Old Fashioned or a Martini. For some reason, as I hunker down, all I really want is the alcohol, with not much else.

But come February, my body starts to crave something brighter and - slightly - lighter. It’s citrus time, and working blood oranges, mandarines and lemons into anything and everything seems right to me.

That said, the thought of a Screwdriver or Greyhound just seems insipid, especially while the weather outside is still frightful. What I want is citrus, but citrus with a bit of body.
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eat florence + eat rome out in android

2012-02-01T13:29:00.001+01:00

You asked for it. You got it! Eat Rome and Eat Florence are finally out in Android.

Whatever that means.

Even though I write apps and blogs and all that stuff, my understanding of the technical side of things is limited. But I do know that a lot of you have been clamoring for the non-iTunes version of my apps Eat Rome and Eat Florence. Since I am a iPhone/iPad/iMac-toting kind of girl, I only had a vague understanding of what you wanted. But thankfully, the geniuses behind my publishing platform, Sutro Media, are better equipped to give you what you need. And they have.

So visit the Android shop (or where ever it is you Android people have your secret meetings) and download Eat Rome and Eat Florence right away.

You don’t have any excuses anymore.

puntarelle {cleaning, eating + video}

2012-01-31T08:30:00.000+01:00

I love winter vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower and fennel are all friends. But my favorite time of the year is when puntarelle start showing up in the markets.

If you’ve had puntarelle then you are probably swooning by now (it’s a love kind of thing). If you haven’t, then let me introduce you. Puntarelle is a type of chicory. Examining a head of puntarelle, it looks green and leafy - at least at first glance. But start to pry apart the outer leaves and you’ll soon find the pale green, crunchy center that sets this vegetable apart. The core of the vegetable grows into multiple pointy spears, that are almost asparagus like at the tips.

The taste is slightly bitter, with loads of crunch. In the winter, when it comes into season and is dressed with a lemony/garlic vinaigrette it's what your sluggish body has been asking for, but didn't realize . When I've tired of roasted root vegetables and every kind of boiled green, puntarelle is the fresh, crunch I crave.
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bartolozzi e maioli {bottega in florence}

2012-01-30T09:08:00.000+01:00

A lot of you know me as a food writer. But I’ve also been writing about design, architecture and all manner of the handmade for most of my career. (I’ve even written six books on the subject, and a seventh is on the way).

So my interests are never narrow, and even if I’m traveling to cover the newest restaurant openings in town, my eyes are ever open to what’s beautiful.

For instance, last November, when I was in Florence to update Eat Florence, I went to visit Bartolozzi e Maioli. I didn’t just stumble upon it, while walking around the Oltrarno. I had actually been there over two decades previously. But my memory of the place was vague and dreamlike. I remembered piles and piles of beautiful objects, some hand-carved, others molded out of stucco. When I thought back on it over the years, I kept thinking that it couldn’t have been as magical as my memory lead me to believe.

Turns out my memory was actually pretty good.
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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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