It's a Roman Holiday! The iconic Academy Award winning movie, Roman Holiday, helped to position post-war Italy as a mecca for film, fashion and modern culture. A story of a nymph-like princess, played by Audrey Hepburn, it recounts her one glorious day on the lam in Rome in the 1950s. But you can't talk of Rome without celebrating its food. Because it lies in the center of the country, the cuisine of Rome draws from the distinctive cuisines of the north and the south, while still retaining a character of its own. Our menu this week highlights some of Rome's most beloved and popular dishes - dishes that you will find in most every Roman Trattoria today. Will you join...
Renaissance Masters and Food
Italy boasts some of the longest living citizens in the world. A crucial reason is the Italian diet with its roots in the past. Much like today, food was the cultural center of life in Renaissance Italy. It played an important role in religious holidays and family celebrations and relied heavily on the use of seasonal ingredients. The Italians had some of the best chefs and cooks in Europe at the time.
This week’s menu is an interpretation using ingredients that Italians most certainly enjoyed in the early 16th century, including many fresh aromatics.
Lombardia: Where it All Began Italy and, most specifically, the region of Lombardia, was the first Western nation to be devastated by COVID. Despite all this, Italians have a truly unique take on life – maybe because they have suffered so many hardships through time, they have mastered a fundamental understanding of what really matters. It is because of the value Italians place on family and their traditions that it is easy to understand why the art of cooking and then congregating around the table has been fundamental to their survival in this unprecedented difficult time – especially in the hardest hit region of Lombardia. Their comfort food will most certainly be prepared with recipes past down from generations utilizing products...
Waking Up – Springtime in Florence Isn’t it amazing how just a few notes of an old song can bring you back to a place you haven’t been in years? When thinking about this week’s menu, highlighting the first new vegetables of spring, I kept hearing the lyrics of an old popular Florentine tune – recounting the spectacular beauty of Spring’s awakening in Le Cascine, Florence’s Central Park. This week’s menu highlights Florentine Spring rituals and ingredients Italian cooks are beginning to find in their local markets and that most likely will be included on their Spring tables. Menu Insalata di Faro Primaverile Spring faro salad with radish, fava beans, Castelvetrano olives and pecorino Gigli agli Asparagi e Rucola Artisanal...
Happy Florentine New Year, Dante
“Buon Capodanno / Happy New Year” could be heard again in the streets of Florence last week. The traditional Florentine New Year always has been celebrated on March 25, the feast day of the Annunciation.
To add to these festivities, last year, the Italian government announced the establishment of a National Dante Day or “DanteDi” to be observed annually on March 25. Dante Alighieri is considered the father of modern literature and perhaps the greatest poet of all time. He was born in Florence (Tuscany) in 1265 and died in Ravenna (Emilia Romagna) in 1321, making this year the 702th anniversary of his death. This week’s menu takes inspiration from both regions that were home to Dante.
