Birthday

Cooking for eleven can be a challenge, especially in our miniscule kitchen. But somehow I pulled it off for my birthday a few weeks ago. I was too distracted to really take any photos, but did manage to catch the apple-plum pie before it went in the oven and the delicious lemon meringue pie that a friend brought. (Two of five desserts, mind you)

The Birthday Menu - 27 April 2008

Prosecco, Cava and various red wines including a Carménère from Chile and some Rioja

Fennel, beet and potato salad

Fennel, celery, shrimp and calamari salad

Frittata with zucchini, pecorino romano and pecorino sardo

Chicken with olives

Roast chicken with sage, parsley, rosemary, garlic and pancetta

Torta della Nonna (sweet pastry crust filled with lemon, ricotta and pine nut mixture)

Apple - Plum pie

Fruit salad*

Lemon meringue pie*

Marisol's apple tart with custard*

Moscato di Pantelleria (my dad's)

Needless to say, we only got through about four of the five desserts. A success all around with a bit of swing dancing at the end. A * denotes it was kindly made by a friend!

When in Rome

Continuing from a previous post about artichokes, I wanted to share a few more anecdotes from my all too short visit to Rome in mid-April. The last day of our stay, before heading to the airport, my mom and I spent a few hours running around the historic centre of Rome. Our first stop was Campo de' Fiori, which has a posh fruit and veg market in the first half of the day. Come here to buy whatever is in season and locally grown. The produce is gorgeous and so fresh. There is also a cheese and cured meat stall that sells the cheapest parmigiano reggiano I've found - 12.50 Euro/kilo. There is also the guy who sells dozens of different spice mixes! My favorite was seeing two cute elderly nuns picking out some goodies.


Nuns pick out produce in Campo de' Fiori, Rome

For lunch we headed to Da Tonino, Via del Governo Vecchio, 18 (very close to Piazza Navona), my preferred dining spot in Rome when I want something cheap, homestyle, informal and packed with Romans. The food is delicious. It hasn't got a sign on the outside. We had pasta e fagioli (pasta and borlotti beans), a heavy, but thoroughly filling dish. I also indulged in yet another delicious plate of carciofi alla romana. It's a place you can just sit down and [if you know how to speak Italian] just ask them to rattle of the specialties of the day - no menu (though you can ask for one. If you look like a tourist they'll just hand you one automatically). I've seen people come in and do custom orders and the waiters don't bat an eye. The place gets packed by about 2.30 p.m. on a weekday and people share tables and can barely move around. Romans talk and gesticulate loudly and everyone just seems to have a good time.



Da Tonino and carciofi alla romana

They specially trim the artichokes in Rome (see my photo below) with very sharp little knives. I attempted this back in London, but couldn't get the knives sharp enough to do the trimming on the edges. These are rubbed with lemon and soaked in lemon water until you are done trimming them. A mixture of mint, parsley, garlic, olive oil and salt is rubbed into the leaves and then they are cooked in water and olive oil until tender (25-40 minutes). I tried to do this, but the ones I ate in Rome were so much more tender!

Rabbit food

Courtesy of the Times, Letters to the editor (5 May 2008)
Sir, A diet of rabbit can lead to starvation (letter, April 26). Perhaps this may point to a middle path between the increasing costs of a healthy diet and obesity resulting from the consumption of junk food. There is no shortage of rabbits in our countryside, so maybe McDonald's should launch a new "bunny burger" promotion. - Brian Hall, Salisbury.

Merp?

The rising cost of food

The BBC is looking at the latest food crisis in depth.
The cost of food: facts and figures - BBC News
Have your say: Families' shopping lists - BBC News
Global rice supply: Video snapshots - BBC News
Liberians drop rice for spaghetti - BBC News
Is India facing a food crisis? - BBC News
Food price crisis bites in Egypt - BBC News

Carciofi!

Apologies to those who don't like artichokes, but the next few posts are devoted to this huge, edible flower.

My cousin who lives in the countryside just outside Rome got married a couple of weeks ago and my mom and I went, extending the trip by a couple of days on either end to allow time for Roman indulgences. Little did I know (until my cousin made a passing remark about it), that we were in the midst of artichoke fever. The farmland to the north of Rome is famous for it's roman globe artichokes and we just happened to be in town for the famous Sagra del Carciofo Romanesco (Roman Artichoke Festival) in nearby Ladispoli. The artichoke season runs from late January/early February until late May. Taking advantage of their freshness, I ate artichokes every day I was there.

It's a great long street fair and market that leads from the train station all the way down the main drag through town and to the beach at the other end. Many of the side streets are lined with vendors as well. Besides fairly good deals on artichokes (15 for 5 euros) you can buy a Fiat, any household item under the sun, clothes, porchetta (roast pork with fennel - a specialty of Rome and Viterbo), numerous Sardinian stalls selling pecorino sardo and salami... in fact, there were stalls from many regions, selling off their regional specialties.

My favourite part was the artichoke sculptures - the best are below:


Castle on a hill.


Baby cradle.


Artichokes ahoy.


Butterchoke.