A Yummy Treat for World Nutella Day

I know; my entry is early.  But I just couldn't wait!  It's a momentous occasion, an annual decadent event.  A chance to gorge on chocolate-hazelnut goodness for an entire day, and look through inspiring recipes and read emotional or funny tributes to the simple spread that brings smiles and soothes the soul.  As I've said before, it's the little things in life...

Anyway.  I'm posting early for a few reasons.  One, it's been cold here and there's not much else to do but sit inside and think about ways to stay warm.  Which starts with hot chocolate made with Nutella, which naturally turns thoughts to other ways to use the yummy stuff.  I kind of a have a Nutella dossier compiled now, with scribbles of possible combos and concoctions for future reference.

Second, as a contientious blogger I feel I should participate in good will efforts such as this, and so I offer a reminder to those of you who may have forgotten about World Nutella Day on February 5.  (Says she who forgot last year.)  Join up with Michelle of Bleeding Espresso and Sara of Ms. Adventures in Italy to participate.

Then there's the Mom factor.  My mother's birthday is February 6 and, being a good mother, she deserves the best darn Nutella-infused treat possible for her special day.  But I'm not there to make it so the chocolatey task falls to my sister.  Who is (she freely admits) the "non-cook" in the family.  She used to refer to the kitchen as "the room you walk through to get to the back door."  While she's come a long way in the cooking department, she still utterly refuses to bake.  Anything. 

So.  I devised a cake-like treat that even my sister can make easily, without fuss, and without turning on the oven.  And I'm getting the recipe to her well in advance so she can prepare herself.  I'm pretty sure that the first jar of Nutella is going to go down with a spoon before she starts the recipe.  In any case, I know that Mom will be happy with the results of our collaborative efforts, and I think you'll enjoy the orangey-chocolatey combo, too.  It was a bit hit with my taste-testers.

Orange-Nutella Tiramisu

1 container mascarpone cheese

2 4-oz. cups vanilla yogurt
2 TBSP sugar
zest of 1 orange
Blend everything together until smooth.

1 cup orange juice
1/3 cup rum
Combine and set aside.

3 to 4 oranges, peeled and sliced crosswise

1 cup Nutella, warmed to soften

Savoiardi (ladyfingers)

Assembly:

Soak the savoiardi in the orange juice/rum and layer in a pan.  Spread on half the mascarpone mixture to cover the cookies.  Arrange orange slices on top.  Drizzle generously with Nutella.  Repeat the layers.  Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.  Tiramisu is always tastier the day after it's made when the ladyfingers have softened to a cake-like texture and the flavors have melded together nicely.

Happy Nutella Day!

Farewell 2011 Meme

It seems the older I get the more the years takes a roller coaster approach.  There seem to be more ups and downs than I remember in previous periods of my life, and sometimes those rocky patches of road can take an emotional toll.  I sometimes get wrapped up in the worries and wranglings to make things work out and forget to relax and enjoy the small, good things of each day.  It may be the economy and the overall changes in the world, along with personal losses and setbacks over the past few years, but it seems that previous periods were more steady, more even.  When I'm starting to stress myself out I need to remind myself that I like riding roller coasters!

2011 had more ups than the past two years, and some wonderful experiences in our new home.  We're so happy with our house, our village, and the new friends we've made.  We closed the year celebrating Christmas and ringing in the New Year with family back in Ohio. 

It's always good to take a look back before putting your face and feet forward to march into the new year, so here's my meme to recap 2011 and jump full-on into 2012.  Felice anno nuovo to you!

FAREWELL 2011 MEME
(If you want to play along and post the meme let me know and I'll link to you.)

Best new experience of 2011:  I'd have to say getting in front of the camera and learning a bit of "movie magic" while filming with House Hunters International was a great new experience.  I was in Drama Club in high school so I enjoyed getting ham it up to film our story for HGTV.  (By the way, the episode is airing again on January 10 and February 3, in case you missed it the first time!)

Worst experience:  Looking into the bank account and calculating the dollar-to-euro exchange rate.  A rather horrifying experience.  A close second was flipping through the channels while I was in the US and landing on Fox News by accident.  {shudder}

Most fun moment of the year:  Attending our first southern Italian wedding.  We sat down to the reception lunch at 2:00 pm and didn't finish eating until 9:00 pm.  There was dancing and more food after that, and we shimmied to folk tunes, bopped to the pop beats, and even did the limbo until about 2:00 am.  And we were among the first wave of guests to leave!

Saddest moment:  Receiving the news that my grandfather had passed away and realizing that I wouldn't be able to make it to the funeral.

Biggest regret:  Not flying like an angel on the Volo dell'Angelo zipline.  Next summer for sure!

I'm really glad I.... :  Put in that condizionatore heating unit.  It's really nice to not have to build fires every single night.

Favorite new food or drink:  I like to make liqueuers and have to say that the best one I made this year is a rum cream inspired from a sampling we had in Jamaica last year during the New Year's family cruise.  My experiment gone awry was the strawberry liqueur - it ended up tasting like cough syrup.

Something I wish I hadn't eaten or drank:  Airline food.  When will I learn to say no and pack snacks?

Goal for 2012:  Plunge forward with a few professional projects I want to do.  I need to get over the fears and the worries of not being qualified and just get started.

In keeping with my annual tradition to choose a soundtrack for the year, I've selected the song This is Your Gift by John Tesh, to help me remember that every day really is a gift and to make what I can of each new day.  Enjoy the scenery of Positano while you watch the video.  What about you?  What is your soundtrack or resolution for 2012? 




Related Links:

Bryan's video of the wedding party

Previous New Year's Soundtracks:

2011:  Back to Life by Giovanni Allevi

2010:  Go With the Flow (also by Giovanni Allevi)

Auguri!

I've been running around like my hair is on fire - and unfortunately with the humidity and million things to do it sort of *looks* like it is, too.  I'm heading out too bright and early to catch a bus to Roma and the airport.  We'll be spending the holidays in the US with la famiglia.  Judging from the photo my sister sent, it looks like it might be a white Christmas in Ohio this year. 

Wishing you a beautiful holiday and a new year filled with blessings and joy.

Buone Feste!  Happy Hanukkah!  Merry Christmas! Buon Anno!

Gifts of the Heart

I don't know about you but I've been enjoying the monthly posts by the great gals of the Italy Blogging Roundtable.  It's interesting to see how each writer explores the monthly theme.  I know some of them and admire all of them.  So when they opened up the topic for anyone to participate this time around I couldn't resist.  The theme is gifts (or presents).

I like presents.  I mean, really...who doesn't?  It means someone is thinking of you, right?  And as much as I like to rip open the wrapping paper, it's just as much a pleasure (if not more so) to make or choose a gift, tie it up with a bow and present it to someone I care about. 

I was thinking about gifts I've received through the years.  Sure there were some great surprises - the hand-woven wool coat from Chimayo, New Mexico that Bryan gave me one year, a gorgeous and warm wrap that was made in the centuries-old Spanish tradition.  Beautiful, because he had seen me admire it and went back to get it for me without ever letting the secret slip.  I was speechless when I opened it (and if you know me, you know I'm rarely without words!)  The downpayment on our first house from Bryan's parents; the airline tickets for our first trip to Italy from mine - generous and indelibly memorable presents.

But the ones I think are most imprinted are the simple ones.  Every year my grandmother gave us fresh grapefruit from Florida, for instance.  Not a major expense, but when you live in frigid northern Ohio, the taste of fresh citrus imported from the sunny south is fabulous.  I remember one year she wrapped three grapefruit in white tissue paper and formed a snowman, complete with cut-out paper hat, little pieces of charcoal glued on for eyes and a pipe-cleaner smile. 

Simple pleasures, simple gestures...to me they mean a lot.  And the past year in this village we've received many amazing gifts.  There have been warm invitations for coffee or a meal.  There was the asparagus hunting lesson (with cooking tips thrown in for good measure).  We've been gifted with countless bottles of homemade wine, so many fresh vegetables and orchard fruit that I didn't have to go to the fruttivendolo for weeks, farm fresh eggs, local honey, hand-made pasta, and home-cured salami and pancetta, and enough caffe' to keep us caffeinated for months.  Our neighbors made a lovely fireplace broom - which sits proudly next to our caminetto but is much to pretty to dirty.  And of course there was the wonderful furry surprise that has become part of the family.  (Lucano is on my lap with his head resting on my arm as I type this.  He doesn't seem to mind the rhymic tapping.) 

People have opened their larders wide and shared the bounty of their lands and their skills, which has deeply touched us.  But as much as we enjoy being invited to partake, we have also been invited to participate, giving us the gift of community and feeling like we've become a part of it. 

I wasn't here long when the local community center asked if I'd organize English classes; some of those students have become true friends.  We've lent a helping hand in local festas, and have given free translation when asked as a way of giving back.  We like being involved.  I love the local word for that - "inserire".  Several people commented that we've "inserito" into the village.  Literally it means "inserted" but they're really saying we've joined in and become a part of it.  Without their knowing it, those little words were a gift, too, making us realize we're accepted. 

People here have given from their gardens, but many given from the heart in the form of friendship and a sense of belonging.  And who could ask for more than that? 

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Be sure to check out the wonderful writings of the cool chicks who make up Italy Blogging Roundtable :

Jessica of Italylogue

Alexandra of ArtTrav

Gloria of At Home in Tuscany

Rebecca of Brigolante

Melanie of Italofile

Comfort Food

It's something that was already on my mind, but it seems everywhere I look this week it's all about comfort food.  The grand dames of the blogging roundtable have been posting about it.  The Food Network site has a page devoted to it.  And someone reminded me of a post I'd penned some time back talking about my grandmother's kitchen.  It's been one of those seasons, that I crave comfort. 

Italy is all about the food.  You know that.  Here you find fabulously fresh foods, prepared simply but with great end results.  When not cooking or consuming food, they talk about food.  Seriously.  Very few conversations don't take a culinary turn at some point.  And many of the foods in this region are familiar, family recipes.  I just didn't know it growing up.  I assumed the dishes I ate as a child were generic "Italian" as passed down from my paternal grandmother.  I didn't know that they were specifically "Lucani" as passed down to her from her mother, who came from a village less than 25 kilometers from where I live.  That knowledge itself is comforting, it makes me feel even more connected here.

As for specific foods that I crave when feeling moody or needing a soul surge, I return to recipes of the various periods and places of my life.  Sometimes it's the aromas of my grandma's house.  Sense of smell quickly takes me there.  In fact, today I made applesauce, just like Grams used to make it.  The apple-cinnamon scent filled the air and lifted my spirits.  Sometimes it's my nana's kitchen, in the form of meatballs and sausage simmering in sauce.  When I'm not feeling so hot, I turn to pastina with butter and parmigiano, the classic comfort food in our house when we had the flu or a trembly tummy.  And sometimes it's a breakfast burrito smothered in green chile sauce, one of my preferred plates in New Mexico.  Yesterday I made good ol' mac and cheese, which is sort of a melding of my American and Italian palates (pasta, cheesey, saucey...good!)  Tomorrow I'm thinking chicken pot pie.

I tend to have more comfort cravings in the late fall, when winter is on its way, when the days are shortening, when there's a chill in the air and a lowness of heart at the encroaching coldness and darkness of winter.  Even though inverno really isn't severe here, it's just the loss of summer and the diminishing sunshine that lays me a little low.  But a whiff of applesauce, the scent of sauce, and a bite of burrito help.  A lot.
 

My Bella Basilicata

Well, did you see it?  How was it?  The big episode of House Hunters International featuring our home search in Trivigno aired last night, but it's not transmitted over here to the bel paese.  I hope it showed our beautiful region in a positive light.  To see more about Basilicata, check out our website!

My Bella Basilicata

A friend sent a screen shot from the TV

Did you see House Hunters International and think you might want to find a house in Trivigno, too?  We have listed homes for sale on our web site to help you start your search! 

News and Tidbits

So lest you think I'd given up blogging, I'm back with a hint of red on my cheeks - a bit of embarrassment that I've been too busy to blog, along with a flush of rosso from rushing back across the ocean, then careening down the length of the boot to get back home.  I'm a tad tired.

We were back in the New World to revisit la famiglia and celebrate our wedding anniversary.  We went back to the beginning, so to speak, to my hometown in Ohio where we were wed 25 years ago.  Yes, boys and girls, we feel officially old now that we're talking silver anniversary, but we take consolation in the fact that we were mere babes when we got married. 

We enjoyed a romantic little getaway to Amish country, and had a fabulous organic farm-fresh meal at Malabar Farm, the lovely spot where Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Becall were married.  We also spent several days eating nothing but ethnic cuisine.  (In our house, Italian doesn't count as ethnic.)  Turkish, Indian, Chinese...it all went down well.  There are few ethnic eaties around Italia, even fewer down here in the south.

It was a quick trip filled with lots of running around to see family.  Unfortunately, we didn't have the beautiful autumnal weather we enjoyed 25 years ago.  It rained 9 days out of 10, not a good weather ratio, but so goes the luck of the draw in northern Ohio.

In other news...

*Remember the film crew that came to follow us around in May?  We received news on our anniversary that we have an air date!  Tune in to HGTV on November 4 (10:00 pm eastern time) to see Basilicata (and yours truly) in living color.  For the record, we're not too thrilled with the episode title.  A life of leisure?  Magari!  (We wish.)  You'll have to let me know how it turns out.  We can't watch it over here; we have to wait until they send us a DVD.  Here's hoping we don't embarrass ourselves in front of 50 million people!
House Hunters International in Trivigno, Italy

*Have you heard about the Pizza Pilgrims?  They're a pair of young Brits who are crossing Italy from toe to top in a Piaggio Ape', a 3-wheeled utility truck, in search of the perfect pizza.  They're a hoot!  You can follow their journey and their culinary adventures as they chug along at about 35 miles per hour.
Pizza Pilgrims

*Speaking of pizza, I won a cute little pizza charm, thanks to Cibando, a fabulous foodie site (in italiano) that includes my bubbly blogging buddy, Eleanora Baldwin.  I rarely win anything, so it was kind of thrilling to get the honor of a trinket in the shape of Italy's favorite food.  It was here waiting for me when I got home.  Well, it was at the bar, because the postina leaves my mail there for me to collect when I get my morning cappuccino.  Not a bad system, really.

So that's the news from here.  How has your Fall been?