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Aug
15
Posted by James Lupori
I love to go grocery shopping. I also like to look at other people’s shopping carts to see what they are buying. Call it a strange personality disorder if you want. Nevertheless, I know some of you aren’t well-travelled and might be curious about the way Italians live their regular lives (when they’re not dealing with tourists). So here are a few pictures (taken discreetly) at a local Supermercato:
In these pictures you’re going to see a lot of things that look familiar. The Italian stores have the same basic set up as those in the US.
One surprise is that Italian grocery stores don’t offer fresh fish on Mondays. If you were looking for a fish fillet or clams today……….
Americans love yogurt, but Italians REALLY love yogurt. This whole section is a shrine to every kind of yogurt imaginable.
SCONTO is sale in Italian. By the way, my cousin cooked up these chickens and they were absolutely wonderful.
Oh, Italians hate standing in line, just like us.
But the clerks are very nice. Probably because they get to sit down on thejob.
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Aug
09
Posted by James Lupori
Everything you’ve ever heard about Italian food is correct! The very word Italy invokes visions of pasta, fresh fish, pizza, salumi, cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables….not to mention the wines. I’m truly fortunate to have family who cook some of the most wonderful food. Torino is located in the Piedmont region of Northwest Italy. It was here that the Slow Food Movement was created. Slow Food, in a phrase, is dedicated to the idea that one should eat locally produced foods and maintain traditional preparation and cooking methods. In the Piedmont, you won’t find the rich tomato sauces found in Southern Italy. Piedmont flavors are characterized by richer butter/cream sauces, light tomato sauces with meat and a huge variety of meat preparations. Well, here are some pictures of some home cooked meals:
Above are pictures of my cousin, Anna, preparing lightly breaded sage leaves. Oh, my these were wonderful. These sage leaves are huge and delicious!
Fried zucchini and sauteed beans, yummy
Here is a version of Italian mac and cheese. It’s tagliatelle with a combination of fontina, parmigiano and other cheeses.
This savory torta was absolutely wonderful. It has a thin light bread crust, pancetta, zucchini, onions and various greens. I sincerely hope you all have an opportunity to visit Italy and enjoy the food here.
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May
20
Posted by James Lupori
Look at all this lemony goodness! In March my wife and I took a quick trip to New Jersey to celebrate my brother-in-law’s 60th birthday. One evening he treated us to some of his homemade limoncello and I was JEALOUS. So when we returned, I went to work and whipped up some of what I hoped would be the delicious Italian nectar! I made my first batch of homemade Limoncello. For those of you who enjoy a nice after dinner liquor, this wonderful Italian elixir wasn’t too difficult to make. Here’s how I did it:
The recipe includes the following:
10-15 lemons, rinsed
5 cups of 100 proof Vodka
3 cups sugar
4 cups water
1. Peel the lemons using a knife or potato peeler. Just make sure you don’t peel too deeply. The white pith beneath the yellow skin is bitter. Place the peels into a large glass bottle or jar. Pour in vodka. Cover loosely and let infuse for four to six weeks at room temperature.
2. After the limoncello infuses for four to six weeks, Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. DO NOT STIR. Boil for 15 minutes. Allow syrup to cool to room temperature.
3. Strain the lemon skins out of the infusion into a large container for mixing. Add the simple syrup to taste. I used 2/3 of the total syrup as I didn’t want the limoncello to be overly sweet (as many of the commercial brands are). Place the finished limoncello into glass containers and seal. You can let the mixture age for 2 weeks at room temperature but, fortunately, you can enjoy your limoncello right away!
The limoncello on the left is my homemade blend and the decanter on the right contains a commercial product. By the way, my limoncello isn’t half-bad!
