The Secret...to happiness

In September my Grandma insisted on giving me her book of "The Secret". I started reading it as soon as I got back to Italy and for about a month I couldn't stop smiling. When I started reading it the first time I was in a bad place, relatively speaking, with where I was living, I felt powerless in a lot of situations of my life and reading this magical book changed my life. Granted I haven't quite got the hang of it, not 100% at least, but I have seen some amazing changes-moved into a house with my boyfriend of 5 years, positive progress in my job and waiting for more good news! Anyway, today I am just seeing all over the push to be happy-appreciate what you have and be happy for it-and my heart is just overwhelmed with feelings of happiness and gratitude and I just wanted to share that with all of you and remind you to be appreciative, thankful and happy for all that you have.

Share the love you have inside of you with the world!

58(corrected-62 or so!!)...where does that put me on the foodie scale??

I found this fun fun quiz on The Gourmet Girl Magazine's blog. Copy and paste the following list putting anything you've tried in bold. It's supposed to tell you where you are between foodie and gourmet foodie...I didn't think I'd have tried so many, but I must say there are also churros and french fries on the list! I added a few comments and asterisks on the ones I haven't tried but would like to... comment me and let me know where YOU fall.
1. Natto
2. Green Smoothie* I don't know what this is, but I bet it's good
3. Tofu
4. Haggis*
5. Mangosteen*
6. Creme brulee - maybe my favorite dessert ever
7. Fondue - my mom has a fantastic recipe for shrimp fondue...yum, I'll have to post it in winter time
8. Marmite/Vegemite -not good
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Nachos
12. Authentic soba noodles
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (this was an update, I've eaten it, but didn't know what it was called, now that's adventurous!
15. Taco from a street cart (This was so added by Anthony Bourdain)
16. Boba Tea (a.k.a. Bubble Tea)-Thanks to my very chic SD roommate, love you Nattie, muah!
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine (Elderberry, etc)
19. Gyoza (this is an add too, potstickers people!)
20. Vanilla ice cream - homemade no less
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Ceviche
24. Rice and beans
25. Knish*
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper*
27. Dulce de leche
28. Caviar
29. Baklava
30. Pate
31. Wasabi peas
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl -a Central Coast staple!
33. Mango lassi *
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float - wow, I haven't had one of these in a long time
36. Mulled cider
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Fast food french fries
41. Lasagna - my mother-in-law's is the best
42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans
43. Dahl
44. Caviar -It's a repeat I know, but I didn't write the quiz...
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Stroopwaffle *
47. Samosas - the veggei ones are the best
48. Sushi - every chance I get
49. Glazed doughnut
50. Seaweed/Wakame
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Crepes
54. Squid or Octopus
55. Cotton candy
56. Gnocchi
57. Piña colada
58. Birch beer
59. Scrapple or Spam
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Lo Mein
63. Bangers & Mash
64. Curry
65. Sea Urchin-fresh out of the shell, fresh, salty, delicious
66. Homemade Sausages
67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake -seriously?
68. Adzuki beans
69. Fried plantain*
70. Mochi
71. Gazpacho
72. Warm chocolate chip cookies
73. Absinthe *
74. Corn on the cob
75. Whipped cream, straight from the can -again...seriously?
76. Pomegranate
77. Potato Knishes*
78. Mashed potatoes with gravy - classic comfort food
79. Jerky
80. Croissants
81. French onion soup*
82. Something made with squid ink
83. Tings
84. Frogs Legs
85. Moussaka
86. Sprouted grains or seeds
87. Macaroni and “cheese”
88. Flowers
89. Matzoh ball soup - the first time I tasted this I was very sorry I was not born with a Jewish grandmother...warm goodness, mmmm.
90. White chocolate
91. Seitan
92. Kimchi *
93. Butterscotch chips
94. Yellow watermelon
95. Chili with chocolate
96. Bagel and Tofutti
97. Wild Game, such as Ostrich, Venison, Elk
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain
100. Raw cookie dough

Foodies and buzzes and...kamikazes? Oh my!

Okay, so I have recently come to realize that there is a world of food blogs, websites, forums and recipes out there that I had NO idea existed! How do you all do it? I mean, keeping up with all these websites and discovering new ones every day. I would honestly have to cook around the clock for the rest of my life to try all the fantastic and yummy looking recipes I've come across just in the past few days.

Some of my favorites have been from http://www.epicurious.com/, including the Carnitas Tacos, New England Clam Chowder and Crab Cakes from there 80 recipes series. Another is a fantastic looking recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits from The Hungry Mouse (there is also a great recipe for french fries being featured on her site that I can't wait to try for my honey!).

In any case, I am very excited and sorry I have to "waste" all this time working and am not able to jump right into these great recipes. For now I'll have to consider it eye candy...

Sorry!!! Scusate!!!

I accidentally refused a comment...managgia a me! (trans: darn me!) Paula, please post your comment again if you see this. I don't even have your e-mail to say sorry personally. How could I do that! Never refuse "love" :)

Taking on Family Traditions

Me and the chef!

When I went home for Christmas this year my grandpa passed on a great family recipe for Bagna Cauda, which is a traditional garlic dip from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy, eaten with fresh cut veggies. I got the idea to post some pictures from this special event from Erbe in Cucina who has another version of this recipe on her blog.

There are several versions of this recipe due to large scale immigration in the late 1800s and, like most Italian recipes, to simple location variations. For example, Erbe's version uses butter, my grandpa told me the original recipe from his grandparents included cream which was then left out from the recipe we use because they just couldn't afford cream at that time.

Unfortunately I don't feel I have the right to post the full recipe. I might change my mind later, but at this point it would feel like a violation of a family secret. Let me say this though, the key to good Bagna Cauda is cooking the garlic for a long time, over very low heat. I guess this breaks down the acidity which causes a bad after taste and helps to avoid upset tummies-also my great grandmother told us always, never drink water because water and oil don't mix and will lead to upset tummies, that goes for drinking milk too, because it will curdle due to the hot temperature of the Bagna....so, the only option is to drink wine! Isn't that convenient! We usually drink a bottle of my grandpa's Zinfandel or Syrrah. Yum.

Look at all that yummy garlic

The top picture on the right is my grandma being the supervisor...she took over the role when my grandma Lucy died, I think I'll take over when it's time.

In the picture directly to the right I think I am already getting in the groove, telling grandma she can't use her bread as a dish, just as an oil drip catcher (one of the fundamental grandma Lucy rules) -ha!

In other people's eyes

When we see each other through other people's eyes sometimes it's difficult to see. Our behavior isn't always understood as we intend it to be understood, or according to our feelings at a particular moment. Is it important for us to know what other people think of us, or see in us? Maybe if we can take these views and learn what we like or don't like about ourselves, not so much what others don't like about us, then maybe it's useful. There's a book by a famous Italian author, Luigi Pirandello, where he asks, are we the person we see ourselves as or what other people see us as, and is it important to see this difference to understand our true identity. I think it's a combination of both and the observation of ourselves and others determines the person we eventually become.

Ricetta Riuscita!! (Recipe Success, more or less)

Italian biscotti-which are actually called Cantucci (kantuchi)- is one of those things I always loved, but NEVER thought I could make. They are actually so easy to make, if a little messy. And I'm happy to say that I was a little worried at first because the original dough was pretty sticky, but with the encouragement of my roommate (whose fantastically talented mother gave me the recipe) Success! Here's the recipe-all measurements are metric, one of the challenges of Italian cooking...

Almond Cantucci-
500 g Flour
350 g White Sugar
250 g Almonds
5 eggs
1 package yeast ( I used a solid yeast for bread, pizza and desserts, but I'm sure the powder would be fine)

Pre-heat oven to about 350°-375°. In a large bowl mix all ingredients together, it's better if you use your hands to get the egg and yeast mixed into the flour as well as possible. The dough will be very sticky, add small amounts of flour until the dough holds together enough to roll, it will be a bit like sugar cookie dough consistency.
Lightly flour a cookie sheet and flour a flat surface to roll on. You can roll the cantucci to whatever size you want, I like them bite sized. Once you've separated the dough and rolled them into long strips set them on the cookie sheet and press down very slightly. Put the dough in the oven until it begins to get firm. Remove the cookie sheet and cut diagonally into thumb width pieces and return to the oven until they are completely cooked (they will be golden brown on the under side. Cool the Cantucci on a piece of foil until they are completely cool (this will give them the crunchy texture, if you put them in containers before they are cool they will be a bit chewy.

This is the process I followed, as I only recieved written ingredient amounts and verbal instructions!! Good luck :)