Good Things Italian

Tamsen Salvador Reviews Bacco Ristorante on Check, Please! Bay Area

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:40:00 +0000

Note: Bacco is featured in the second segment, so if you're short on time, advance the video player.

I'm very excited to share one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco with you. Of course, it's an Italian restaurant; what else would you expect from me?

I've been going to Bacco Ristorante for about 12 years. It's my go-to restaurant when I want to take a mini-vacation to Italy, if only for a couple of hours. You can watch my review featured on the Emmy® Award-winning, PBS (KQED, San Francisco) show, Check, Please! Bay Area.

If you'd like to read detailed reviews of all three restaurants featured in the show, please visit the Check,Please! Bay Area website. If you visit Bacco, order the risotto of the day or a pasta dish, that's where Bacco really shines. Be sure to tell owner Paolo Dominici that I say, "Ciao!"

Buon Appetito!

Vino & Cucina - Italian Food & Wine Event in New York City

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 07:15:00 +0000

Join Gruppo Ristoratori Italiani (GRI) for Vino e Cucina at Cipriani in New York City on Tuesday, 11/13/07, 6:30-9:30 p.m. The event promises to be an elegant evening out featuring two delicious foods from Italy's northern province of Trentino Alto-Adige: Speck Alto Adige I.G.P. and Asiago D.O.P. More than 20 acclaimed Italian restaurants from across the U.S. will create dishes showcasing these products in a strolling-tasting format. A selection of Italian wines specially paired to enhance the tasting will round out the dining experience. Plus, you'll be able to bid on some fantastic Italian-themed auction items.

In case you're not familiar with Speck, Alto Adige I.G.P., it's a mild and delicate smoked ham that's made in the Alto Adige region.

Asiago D.O.P. is made in both the Trentino Alto-Adige region and in and around the city of Asiago in the Veneto region. Asiago cheese comes in a variety of forms both smooth and crumbly depending on how long the cheese is aged. Its flavor tends to be sharp and similar to Parmigiano (Parmesan) cheese.

Tickets cost $95; proceeds from the event support the GRI-Giacomo Bologna Scholarship Fund which sends promising culinary students to Italy to study Italian cuisine.

Learn more about Speck, Alto Adige
Learn more about Asiago, D.O.P

To purchase tickets, visit www.gruppo.com or call 646-624-2885 x4

See DaVinci's "The Last Supper" as Never Before - The World's Largest Digital Image

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:49:00 +0000

Leonardo DaVinci's, The Last Supper, has been reproduced in just about every imaginable way as posters, greeting cards, velvet paintings, coffee mugs, t-shirts, etc. but until last week, only art historians with special permission were able to get close enough to actually see the fine details painted by the master's hand. Now using the latest in digital imaging techniques, a 16-billion pixel image of this masterpiece is available online for anyone to view.

Even if you have been to Milan, Italy and seen The Last Supper in person, you'll want to take a closer look online. The detail is incredible, right down to a single square millimeter. I was fascinated by the details that I never noticed before such as the folds in the tablecloth. You can pan and zoom in/out of any section of the painting that interests you. There's even a handy tool for taking measurements.

The painting is considered so important a cultural treasure that
UNESCO named it a World Heritage Site in 1980. And, by the way, it is a wall painting rather than a fresco as most people mistakenly think. Leonardo DaVinci painted directly on the wall surface, not on a wet base typical of fresco technique.

While nothing can replace the experience of attending mass at Santa Maria delle Grazie and then visiting the Bramante refectory where The Last Supper is located, being able to view the painting in this new way is amazing.

See the 16-billion pixel digital image of Leonardo DaVinci's, The Last Supper
(High-speed Internet access or better recommended.)

iPupi Figurines - Made by Hand in Pesaro, Italy

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:05:00 +0000

I Pupi literally means "the puppets". Inspired by Italy's centuries-old tradition of puppet theater, iPupi Italian porcelain figurines are unusual because they are jointed like marionettes and move. Handcrafted in Italy's Le Marche region, each is one-of-a-kind, handmade according to traditions passed down from mother to daughter.

Watch Melina & Tiziana handcraft i Pupi figurines.

The process of making iPupi begins with a mixture of the highest quality clay, kaolin, feldspar and flint. This mixture is formed by hand to create the unique facial expressions and bodies characteristic of iPupi. Each piece is then hand painted using a colorful variety of glazes. After glazing, the pieces are fired at extremely high temperatures (2,245 degrees Fahrenheit/1,230 degrees Celsius). The various pieces that make up each figurine are then strung together to create the finished figurine. There are over 200 figurines in the iPupi family.

Mr. Peanut is an Italian-American!

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 06:15:00 +0000

Mr. Peanut, one of the best known advertising icons in the world, is Italian-American. His "father" was 13-year-old Antonio Gentile, the son of Italian immigrants. In 1916, Antonio entered his drawing of a peanut with arms and legs in a logo contest sponsored by Planters Peanuts. He won the top prize of $5.00 for his Mr. Peanut character. The original rough sketch was refined by a professional artist who dressed up Mr. Peanut in a dapper top hat, monocle, cane and spats.

Mr. Peanut made his 1916 debut in a Saturday Evening Post advertisement and then grew in popularity and fame along with Planters Peanuts. Today, Mr. Peanut memorabilia is highly collectible and beloved by enthusiasts around the world, even in Italy.

Peanut Pals - Mr. Peanut Collectors Club Official Website

Songs from Today's Thriving Italian Folk Music Revival Scene

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:01:00 +0000

Italy's folk music has been overlooked, even by many Italians. Italian record companies ignore native music, focusing on homogenized pop. Don't get me wrong, I love driving fast down the autostrada singing along to the lastest Italian top-ten songs. But, if you really want to hear the soul of Italy and its regions, listen to Italian Musical Odyssey.

The diverse music is by turns fun, haunting, magical, enlightening and always beautiful. Just as their ancestors borrowed from the multitude of cultures that passed through their lands, these contemporary artists incorporate the sounds of yesterday and today to create music that is uniquely Italian and universally appealing.

Click on the song titles to hear 30-second samples from across Italy:

Spunta Lu Suli, Agricantus (Sicilia/Sicily)
La Torinese, La Ciapa Rusa (Piemonte/Piedmont)
Quante Stelle Nel Cielo Con La Luna, Lucilla Galeazzi (Umbria)
Il Battagliero, Riccardo Tesi (Toscana/Tuscany)
Adriana, Rua Port'Alba (Napoli/Naples)
Accussi Va La Barca Al Mari, Fratelli Mancuso (Sicilia/Sicily)
Attinde, Calic (Sardegna/Sardinia)
Bealaguna, Calicanto (Veneto)
Franziska, Taken (Piemonte/Piedmont)
Canti & Briganti, Novalia (Lazio)
Senza Parla, Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare (Napoli/Naples)

Jeopardy! Answer: Amedeo Obici and Mario Peruzzi founded this company in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1906.

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:36:00 +0000

And the winning Jeopardy! question: What is the Planters Peanut Company?

Planters Peanuts are Italian, at least in spirit. In 1889, at the age of twelve, Amedeo Obici emigrated from Oderzo, Italy (Treviso province) to Wilkes-Barre, PA . He traveled alone and was supposed to meet his uncle in Scranton, PA. Instead, a frightened little boy got off at the Wilkes-Barre train station. Legend has it that unable to explain himself in English, little Amedeo began to cry. To calm him down, a policeman gave him a handful of peanuts just like the ones he knew from the annual festival in Oderzo. Who could have guessed that this little boy would grow up to be the founder of Planters Peanuts headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Amedeo did make it to his uncle's home in Scranton, but returned to study English in Wilkes-Barre. There he worked for the Musante family in their fruit store and roasted peanuts in their roaster. Influenced by this experience, he soon built his own roaster from spare parts and operated a pushcart business selling roasted peanuts.

He had a natural gift for promotion; every bag of roasted peanuts he sold contained a letter from his surname, O-B-I-C-I. Customers who found the "O" placed in every 50th bag won a watch. Eventually, over 20,000 watches were given away and Amedeo could afford to bring his family to the United States and open his own fruit and peanut stand.

In 1897, Obici teamed up with another Italian-American immigrant Mario Peruzzi, a wholesale grocer. In 1906 they started the Planters Peanut Company, and in 1908 they incorporated as the Planters Nut and Chocolate Company. During this time Obici invented a way to roast whole peanuts in oil and then blanch them to remove the hulls and skin. Noticing his success, Obici's landlords raised his rent. In response, the Italian-American entrepreneur went into real estate and became his own landlord. When he needed more paper for packaging, he bought tracts of timber and processed his own paper. He even grew his own peanuts and produced his own tin for the early Planters Peanuts can. The company grew and was eventually acquired by Standard Brands. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, Planters is now owned by Kraft Foods.

And, yes, I did get this Jeopardy! question right. If you keep on reading the Good Things Italian blog, you'll be a winner too!

How to Live La Dolce Vita - Lesson One

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 20:38:00 +0000

An excerpt from my travel journal:
Tuesday, Belluno, Veneto
“Where did you take Tamsen for un’ombretta?” “To Enoteca Mazzini.” Knowing smiles crossed their faces, leaving me to wonder for a moment, but then I understood. Time spent together with a friend enjoying a glass of wine is something special, especially in Italy.

At the enoteca, I saw several dozen people enjoying the pleasure of each other’s company before heading home to prepare dinner, etc. It surprised me that my cousin’s wife wanted to go to the enoteca. She had a particularly hard day and you could tell from her demeanor that she was “cotta” – cooked. If I were she, I would probably have gone home and shut the door on the world. Instead we engaged in the time-honored tradition of unwinding with a glass of wine while discussing the troubles of the day. As we sipped our wine and ate pesto crostini (no greasy chips or peanuts here), I could tell that we were both feeling better. After a walk back home, we joined the rest of the family and enjoyed a lovely, conversation-filled dinner.

Living La Dolce Vita - Lesson One: Don’t forget to take time to be with friends, even when you're not really feeling up to it. Locking yourself away only makes your troubles seem worse.

Enoteca Mazzini English website

Gastronomy in Modern Art - Parma, Italy

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:47:00 +0000

If you are traveling to Italy any time between now and January 8, 2008 be sure to make a stop in Parma to attend Gastronomia nell'Arte Moderna (Gastronomy in Modern Art, GNAM). This wide-ranging arts festival, in the city that is arguably Italy's food capitol, promises to make you think differently about food and the act of eating.
The festival includes a thought-provoking series of photographs taken by California photojournalist Peter Menzel & Faith d'Aluisio entitled, The Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. The photographs feature families from around the world posed with all the food and beverages the family consumes in one week (the Manzo family from Sicily pictured above). You can't help but compare the photos and notice the compelling cultural and economic differences.

GNAM venues in and around Parma feature a variety of exhibitions, gatherings, performances and installations. Walk through Parma's Piazzale della Pace and ponder Dennis Oppenheim's over-sized pots. Stop in at Ex-Cinema Trento to see the contemporary art exhibit, Foodscapes: Art & Gastronomy. When you get hungry, visit any local trattoria for a plate of Tortellini d'Erbetta alla Parmigiana, the city's gastronomic masterpiece.

GNAM English website
NPR - The Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

The World Factbook - Italy According to the CIA

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:53:00 +0000

It never occurred to me but it makes perfect sense; the CIA keeps dossiers not only on people, but countries as well. The World Factbook 2007 is chock full of information about countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and, of course, Italy.

Did you know that:

all of Italy (including Sardinia and Sicily) is only slightly larger than the U.S. state of Arizona?
Italy's estimated birth rate for 2007 is 8.54 births/1,000 population? The estimated death rate is 10.5 deaths/1,000 population which means that Italians are a dying breed.
90% of Italians are Roman Catholics but only about one-third regularly go to church?

Obviously, none of the information is classified but it's still interesting.

The World Factbook - Italy
The World Factbook by The CIA home page

Trevi Fountain Vandalized - Water Dyed Red

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 15:51:00 +0000

Yesterday, an unidentified man threw red dye or red paint into Rome's Trevi Fountain. According to Associated Press and ANSA coverage of the incident, the vandal struck in broad daylight in front of a throng of tourists. Pamphlets left behind explained that the act was a protest against expenses incurred by the Rome Film Festival. The red color was chosen as a reference to the red carpet associated with the event. Fortunately, no permanent damage was done to the Baroque fountain beloved by tourists and locals alike.

Legend has it that if you toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain, you will return to Rome. What happens if you toss red paint into the fountain? A trip to Dante's fifth circle of Hell sounds right.

Full AP Report- Man Throws Red Paint into Trevi Fountain
10/22/07 ANSA Follow-up Report - Red Trevi Fountain Gets Clean Up
History of the Trevi Fountain

Rome Reborn - Tour Imperial Rome Digitally

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:40:00 +0000

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was Rome Reborn, a three dimensional digital recreation of ancient Rome at the peak of its power in A.D. 320. The ambitious project was unveiled after ten years of work by scholars, architects and computer wizards from UCLA, the University of Virginia, the Politecnico di Milano and research institutes from Britain and Germany. Intended as a research and teaching tool, Rome Reborn will be used by scientists and students to see the marvels of Rome in ways the ancient Romans could not — imagine soaring over the Colosseum to get a closer look at its architecture.

The simulation includes about 7,000 buildings that existed when Emperor Constantine ruled a populace of about one million people. The interiors of 30 of the most important and better known buildings, like the Senate and the Basilica of Maxentius complete with frescoes, can be seen in fully rendered 3-D.

Currently, the Rome Reborn website offers limited views from the digital recreation. In April 2008, a new visitor orientation center will open in Rome near the Colosseum. It will feature Rewind Rome, an educational entertainment program based on the Rome Reborn simulation. This program will help to unravel the often confusing ruins found in and around the Colosseum and Roman Forum, making them come to life for the casual tourist.

If you’re traveling to Rome before the Rewind Rome program opens, be sure to see the model of ancient Rome (il plastico di Roma antica) at the Museo della Civiltà Romana. This model, started in 1933 and finished in 1974, was used as the foundation for the Rome Reborn project.

What Time is it in Italy?

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 20:23:00 +0000

If you’re like me, you often wonder what time it is in Italy, and what your Italian friends, business associates and family are doing right this second. Here’s a clock to help you keep track.

Venezia, Milano, Firenze, Roma, Napoli, Cagliari, Palermo

You’ll find a time conversion calculator and other time-related tools at World Time Server. I just discovered this website and frittered away a bunch of time playing with the meeting planner and world time database. The whole concept of time is fascinating, don’t you think?

Ancient Roman Villas in Reno, Nevada

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:35:00 +0000

Well, not exactly but there is a very interesting exhibit at the Reno Museum of Art entitled, In Stabiano, Exploring the Ancient Seaside Villas of the Roman Elite.

Most people come to Reno to gamble, I came here to visit friends and to see the exhibit. Reno doesn’t seem to atttract a lot of culture vultures which meant that the museum was crowd-free on this lovely autumn day. The perfect place to let my imagination carry me to the Bay of Naples and the ancient seaside resort town of Stabiae, located in modern-day Castellammare di Stabia, where the rugged Amalfi coast begins. During the first centuries B.C. and A.D., Stabiae was the summer home for Rome’s wealthiest and most powerful citizens. People like Julius Caesar and Emperors Augustus and Tiberius built huge, luxurious seaside villas there.

These villas were the backdrop for business and political wheeling and dealing. They included large public spaces for entertaining and were sumptuaously decorated with frescoes. The villas’ location on a bluff above a beach ensured majestic views of the Bay of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius. In 79 A.D., Stabiae, like the better known cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, was destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius. Buried for almost 2,000 years, the artifacts in the exhibit are remarkably preserved. I found them to be especially haunting, perhaps because I know that they were part of someone’s home.

The exhibit is small but includes 29 lovely frescoes (the colors are vibrant and gorgeous), stucco relief panels, carved marble vessels, a lovely marble sculpture of a shepherd, as well as everyday objects. It was interesting to learn that many of the frescoes are reproductions of earlier Greek and Roman masterpieces, many of which had been lost over time.

I turned a corner into an alcove and found myself in an ancient Roman triclinium, a 3-couch dining room. (Yes, they really did lounge on couches while eating.) When I learned that among the more progressive elite, woman dined with men, I imagined myself leaning back while eating a fig and gazing out to the bay. Things haven’t changed much over the centuries, today we hang reproductions of famous paintings on the walls of our homes. We invite business associates and "the boss" into our home to be wined and dined. Who knows? Maybe dining couches will make a comeback!

This exhibit really struck a chord with me and you can bet that the first opportunity I get, I’ll visit the archaeological park now in development in Castellammare di Stabia.

Learn more about Stabiae and the Restoring Ancient Stabiae Foundation www.stabiae.org . It’s a Flash website which means you’ll need a fast Internet connection to access it without frustration.

In Stabiano Exhibit Schedule
Toledo, OH - Toledo Museum of Art, 11/20/06 - 2/12/07
Madison, WI - Elvehjem Muesum of Art, University of Wisconsin; 3/17/07 - 6/3/07
Dallas, TX - Dallas Museum of Art, 7/9/07 - 10/11/07
Jacksonville, FL - Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, 11/7/07 - 2/3/08

Nonni’s Mezzaluna Knife

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 21:33:00 +0000

I can tell when I’ve gotten a good night’s sleep; I wake up thinking about all sorts of things. This morning I woke up thinking about my grandmother’s mezzaluna, an Italian chopping knife whose name, literally means, "half moon". I remembered my Nonni (that’s what we grandchildren called her) standing in the kitchen, rocking that knife over yellow onions destined to be sautéed in olive oil and butter, and made into my favorite, Risotto alla Milanese.

Then I panicked. Where was that knife? Did I sell it in a fit of purging at our recent garage sale, or did I give it to Goodwill? I couldn’t possibly have done either, that knife is a family heirloom loaded with wonderful memories. I scrambled to the kitchen, opening drawer after drawer until I found the mezzaluna.

Taking it out, I noticed that the blade was still incredibly sharp, the scratches from the sharpening stone extending halfway up the blade’s width. This could only be the work of my grandfather, Nonno. I remembered him hand cranking his sharpening stone and running Nonni’s mezzaluna across its grinding roughness until he deemed it properly sharpened. It was his job to maintain the knife ensuring the onions could be properly chopped. I wonder how I’ll be able to keep that sharp edge without my Nonno’s practiced hand.

Tonight I think I’ll make risotto for dinner. It’s my comfort food, reminding me of delicious Sunday dinners at my grandparents’ house. I’ll chop my onions with Nonni’s mezzaluna and follow her recipe. She never wrote it down but taught it to me over the course of many Sundays spent carefully stirring the risotto under her watchful eye. When I shed a tear, it won’t be because of the onions.

A Howling Good Time with Cecilia Bartoli

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 08:01:00 +0000

Okay, I know that it’s not exactly typical but sometimes I vacuum my house to the glorious music of Roman, mezzo-soprano, Cecilia Bartoli. Maybe it’s because the roar of the vacuum masks my feeble attempts at hitting the high notes. But, I’m not the only one who likes to sing along…

Learn more about Cecilia Bartoli and her music.

Feast of the Seven Fishes - The New Math

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 21:18:00 +0000

My motto for the 2006 holiday season is "Start early and simplify!" and that includes our Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes. Earlier I told you about an elaborate, Italian-style Chirstmas Eve meal from a couple of years back. Here’s how the math, I mean menu, works out for this year:

Antipasto
Sogliole in Saor (Sole in Venetian sweet & sour sauce) = 1 fish

Main Course
Cioppino (San Francisco-style fish stew) = 5 fishes

Salad
Caesar Salad (Yes, anchovies count.) = 1 fish

Dessert
Chocolate Marquis (Made by our friend, Susanne) = 0 fish

So it will be The Feast of the (5 in 1) + 1 +1 = 7 Fishes!

It’s a much simpler meal than in years past, but it will still be the delicious centerpiece for our Christmas Eve celebration with friends and family. Who knows, I may even get all of my gift wrapping done today and be able to get to bed at a reasonable hour on Christmas Eve. Right now I’m off to make the Sogliole in Saor, it’s best if it sits a day in the refrigerator before serving.

How are you celebrating?

Feast of the Seven Fishes - Christmas Eve Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 21:00:00 +0000

Christmas Eve in Italy is often celebrated with a special dinner called, The Feast of the Seven Fishes. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense since most of Italy’s regions border the sea, and seafood dishes abound throughout Italian cuisine. But, why seven fishes? The number seven is an important number in the Catholic religion, for example, there are seven sacraments and according to the bible, creation took seven days. In some families, it’s the Feast of the 10 or 13 Fishes; there are 10 stations of the cross, and 12 apostles plus Jesus total 13. No matter how you count, it adds up to a delicious, fun-filled holiday experience.

Several Christmases ago, Steve and I decided to make a traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes. What an extravaganza. It took so many hours to prepare and eat that we had to take a break half-way through. The dinner, which started at 7:00 p.m., was still going strong at 1 a.m. Here’s the menu from that 10-course feast:

Antipasto
Baccalà mantecato con "stelle cadente" di polenta
(Whipped codfish with polenta in the shape of falling stars)

Minestra
Brodo di pesce con gnochettini di salmone
(Fish consomme with salmon dumplings)

Primi
Vongole origanate
(Clams steamed with oregano)

Spaghettini ai gamberi con salsa Tommasina
(Spaghettini with shrimp & tomato cream sauce)

Sformato di astice e formaggio di capra
(Lobster & goat cheese souffle)

Secondi
Tortine di granchie
(Crab cakes)

Sogliole in saor
(Sole in Venetian sweet & sour sauce)

Contorni
Asparagi arrostiti (Roasted asparagus)
Spinaci al forno (Baked spinach)

Insalata
Mixed greens with olive oil vinaigrette

Formaggi e Frutta
Selection of cheeses and fresh fruit

Dolce
Fantasia natalizia della Dogaressa
(Dogaressa’s Christmas fantasy including homemade cakes & cookies

The Best Pizza Pie in San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 06:40:00 +0000

I think pizza is pretty much the perfect food, but so often in American pizzerias, the pizza is much less than perfect. That’s because most American-style pizza makers completely ignore the basic tenent of quality pizza: Less is more.That’s why I love Pizzeria Delfina in San Francisco’s Mission District (3611 18th Street), they understand the principles of fine pizza making. It’s all about the proper ratio of crust to sauce to topppings as well as the quality of this gastronomic holy trinity. No cutting corners on freshness.

Last night I shared a Pizza Amatriciana at Delfina with Tracy, Good Things Italian blog designer. The crust was thin and crispy, the sauce (wonderfully lumpy with tomatoes) did not drench the pizza; the flavorful bits of guanciale (cured beef cheeks) were complemented by just the right amount of heat from red peppers, and the slightly pungent flavor of freshly ground pecorino cheese cut through and unified the whole delightful flavor combination. Did I mention the house-stretched mozzarella? Not too much and not a rubbery, stringy mess like at most pizzerias.

We could have been in Naples except for the fact that our waitress looked like a good, solid mid-westerner and the decor was California modern. Plus, at Delfina they do something I’ve never seen in Italy or in the U.S. for that matter, each pizza is accompanied by a small plate with freshly grated pecorino cheese, red pepper flakes and several small branches of dried oregano. No shaker bottles filled with old, greaty pseudo-cheese and oregano that’s lost all of its flavor.And the price? $30 for two (we shared a pizza) including two glasses of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and a tangy roasted beet salad in citrus dressing. When the moon hits your eye and you crave pizza pie, head to Delfina’s. That’s amore!

Holiday Commercial for Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese -- Good & Cheesey

noreply@blogger.com (Tamsen Salvador) — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 21:21:00 +0000

I’ve been giggling over these commercials for the past few minutes, and it will be days before I can get the jingle out of my head. I love the dancing eggplants and flying farfalla pasta, but the grated Parmigiano as snow is a stroke of kitsch genius. The disconnected hand grating the cheese is "molto" surrealistic. How do the Italians come up with this stuff? Does it really help to sell cheese? I know that I’m rethinking my Christmas dinner menu — perhaps I’ll make some tortellini in brodo sprinkled with "Pa, pa, pa, pa, Parmigiano; Re, re, re, re , re, Reggiano".

If you don’t know how to properly pronounce Parmigiano Reggiano, after watching this, you’ll never say, "Parmesan cheese" again.

Fellini must be doing flip flops in his tomb.

Here’s a fascinating look behind the scenes at the making of this "only-in-Italy" commercial. What a production!

Grazie to Matt Platania from Modern Sicilian Network for telling me about this fun commercial.