The bathroom project is finally back on track!

Matt is working on the bathroom! I am so excited that there is progress... I made him a little bruschetta snack to show my gratitude!

LAZY SUNDAY WITH A POT OF SAUCE BUBBLING...nothing better.

<p>You would never know it from the heat we have been having but the calendar says it is officially fall now. So I got up and made a Vat of sauce with some nice meatballs plopped in for good measure. My kitchen smells amazing!  I am going to freeze half for this weekend. It's my dear friend Silvias birthday and she would like me to bring some eggplant parmigiana.
I love making double batches of things so that you have 1 mess but extra meals that will be easy to throw together.
Happy Sunday everyone...

The Great Eggplant Throwdown

Finally here's the video from our eggplant parm throwdown party...

 

So much fun- can't wait for the next one!

 

 

 

Fresh fruit tart with almond crust

 

I love this tart because it is super easy to make and I prefer the thinner cheese layer than a traditional cheesecake. I make this with berries as well but everyone raves about the fresh peaches. I mix white and yellow peaches whenever available but you can use whichever you prefer. Also you can increase the sugar by a small amount if you like things a bit sweeter.

*Please note video demo quantities are based on a 12" tart pan. Recipe below based on 9"

2 cups Nilla wafers (5 ounces)

½ cup toasted almonds

¼ cup plus 3 Tbs. sugar

4 Tbs. butter, melted

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

¼ cup sour cream

1 egg

3 firm ripe peaches, peeled and sliced into wedges

Preheat oven to 350. In a food processor, combine the Nilla wafers with the almonds and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and process until fine. Add the melted butter and pulse till moistened. Press the crumbs into a 9 inch springform or tart pan going about 1 inch up the sides. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, wipe out the food processor bowl. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, egg and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and process until smooth. Pour the custard into the crust and bake for 15 minutes until set. Cool on the counter for a few minutes and then place in the freezer to chill for about 15 minutes.

In a bowl toss the peaches with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Arrange the peaches over the custard. Remove the ring, slice and serve.

Ordering Bistecca Alla Fiorentina...

Ordering Bistecca Alla Fiorentina.  First, the cook brings out a side of beef for your approval...

Pizza Margerita...possibly the worlds most perfect food.

Leaving Sorrento

VENEZIA

July 12, 1965 Weymouth, Massachusetts

Happy summer everyone!
It has been a little crazy the last few months and have had precious little time to post anything at all. I just celebrated a birthday and as usual my family and friends made me feel special and loved. I was reminded of my very first birthday celebrated in America...

July 12, 1965 Weymouth, Massachusetts

My fifth birthday! We had been living with my Aunt Tina and her family since arriving from Italy. The adults had been preoccupied with things like finding us a house to rent, jobs, and putting me in school etc. My aunt was starting to get a little crabby at having houseguests for so long and my mother was getting uncomfortable with the whole thing. She was anxious to get out of there as quickly as possible.

 

For me it had been all fun and games. I was treated like a minor celebrity by the neighbors and kids on the block. I guess we were a bit of a novelty and a distraction from the heat and boredom that summer. I had been befriended by two girls my age, Stacey and Shelley. Shelly showed me how there were handprints in the driveway cement of her and her siblings which I found fascinating. They taught me important things like how to run through the sprinklers, eat popsicles, and they introduced me to the magical world of Barbie! They also taught me to speak English. My parents were amazed that after only two months I could converse with these girls without any problems or accent.

 

The trade off was that they wanted to know Italian. They would point to stuff all day long and ask things like “How do you say Turtle?” Tartaruga, I would reply. And so it went. They would try to repeat the word in Italian and then dissolve into fits of giggles. I was happy to keep them so entertained. So when Shelly’s mom heard it was my birthday she insisted that she was going to bake me a cake. I remember sitting on a bar stool at their kitchen counter and watching in awe as she deftly frosted a 4 layer chocolate cake letting us have the extra icing and a couple of spoons. This was heaven and a very foreign concept to me. The only cakes I had ever eaten had come from a bakery. My mother was an awesome cook but didn’t know the first thing about baking. And here this woman was turning out this delicious thing right here in her own kitchen! I was mesmerized.

These lovely people were my first exposure to Americans, their foods, language and customs.I was hooked! Shelly decided that she was going to call me Patti because Patrizia was too hard to say and anyway “you’re an American girl now”…Twenty two years later as a new mom, I asked the men doing the cement walkways at our new house to wait just a minute. I held Christina’s little hand and made an impression in the still wet cement with her name and the date.When she was older, she thought it was pretty cool too. I guess some things stay with you whether you realize it or not

.

Happy Birthday with my beautiful daughter, family and dear friends

Happy 4th of July

May 1965, Dawn, New York Harbor 

I was sound asleep in our stateroom when my mother shook me awake.  Groggy and a bit cranky I noticed it was still dark outside through the portholes and that my mother was already fully dressed.  With great urgency she tells me to get my sweater on and hurry up and follow her.  I could tell it was something important for my mother to let me out of the room still in my pajamas so I quickly did as I was told.  She scooped up my still sleeping baby sister and we made our way upstairs to one of the main public lounges with the big picture windows.  She told me to stand on one of the banquettes under the windows so I could see better.  

I still wasn’t sure what it was she wanted me to see but I hopped up and looked out. I saw twinkling lights and knew we were almost there! And then I saw it…  It was so beautiful! Lady Liberty all lit up with green glowing lights. I was awestruck at seeing something I had only heard about or seen in pictures or movies. Here it was right here in front of my eyes!  Our ship had slowed way down and was silently gliding past our official welcoming committee of one.  Somehow the significance and beauty of that moment was not lost on me and I remember it as vividly as if it happened yesterday.  I looked over at my mom.  She was silently hugging my sister and her eyes were filled with tears. I am forever grateful to her for dragging me out of bed that morning. It is a memory that will never leave me and one that I cherish to this day. 

Even before I ever went to school, or learned about our history, the flag, or the constitution my parents instilled in me a love for this country and gratitude for everything it has done for us.  On its worst day this country is still the best in the world. We need to take care of it, give back to it, be proud of it, and NEVER, take it for granted.  God Bless America.

Happy 4^th of July everyone…

Summer Salads

A riot of colors!

My hydrangeas are in full bloom. Happy. Happy!

Spanish Paella

Paella sounded good for dinner tonight so I picked up a few missing ingredients today at lunch time. Our friend Robert and his son Alex popped in to join us as did my niece Claudia. We sat outside, drank a little wine, talked about Aliens, politics, and the Loch Ness Monster. The conversation is always "interesting" when Robert is involved. Anyhow it was a really nice evening and a good kick off for the weekend. Plus the Angels won tonight.  

Spanish Paella

This is a recipe that I adapted from a book my friend Patty gave me. I am known to continuously adjust recipes every time I make a dish. This however came out so good the first time that I was asked to just “leave it alone”! If you can find Paella rice fine, if not I used Arborio and it worked very well. For the stock I used a combination of lobster and chicken base dissolved into 5 cups of hot water

2 cups Arborio rice, rinsed

6-7 links Spanish chorizo or hot Italian sausage

24 shrimp shelled and deveined

1 can baby clams, drained

2 medium onions, chopped

6 cloves chopped garlic

6 Tbs. olive oil

1 cup frozen peas

½ lb. fresh green beans chopped

5 cups fish or chicken stock

Made from 1tsp lobster and 2 tsp chicken base dissolved in the 5 cups of water

1 red bell pepper seeded & sliced

½ tsp saffron threads

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 Tbs. fresh chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

 

     Put the sausage links in a shallow dish and cook in a 375 oven for about 20 minutes. Cut into ¼ inch slices and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet or Paella pan. Add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring frequently. Add the garlic and paprika and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the rice, green beans, peas, stock and saffron. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and let simmer uncovered and without stirring for about 15 minutes cook until rice is almost tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add sausage, shrimp, clams and red bell pepper to the top of the dish without stirring. Cover and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add the parsley and stir very gently. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.

My Family came to America in the month of May (see previous) so I thought I would post a few memories of that journey...

As for May 2012, we celebrated Mother's Day last Sunday with a nice brunch at Balboa Pavilion.

It's going to be a beautiful warm weekend so I think I will hose down the patio furniture, warm up the spa and throw something good on the grill. Haven't decided what yet.  So Cal weather is pretty great most of the time but I love the warm days and cool nights and no bugs to speak of. We are so spoiled here...  

So next month we are hosting our first ever "Throw Down Party" (Bobby Flay Style) The subject of the first ever throw down will be "Eggplant Parmigiana" and I can't wait. The responses have been hilarious.  At least four people are planning to enter a dish as they are pretty sure theirs is the best. Several have volunteered to judge, and one (my sister-in-law Jamie) declared she will come ONLY if she does NOT have to eat eggplant. No problem! we'll fire up the pizza oven too.  No one has ever starved at our house. We are going to film the throw down for the blog so stay tuned!

Genoa to New York May 1965

We had been sailing for a few days already and the seas were fairly smooth.  My father was quite proud of the fact that his family did not get seasick.  Unfortunately others aboard did not have the same Moscovio family sea legs. On one particular morning we went to the dining room for breakfast where only about half of the tables were occupied.  I was really awed by the fancy place settings, silver coffee pots and starched linens.  Also the floor was made of some kind of material that absorbed sound, so when I dropped my fork, there was no clanking sound! I remember our waiter was a very tall black man with a booming voice who at first seemed a bit intimidating to me.  His warm laugh and huge smile soon put me at ease.  He was very nice and called me missy.  I remember he went out of his way to make us feel comfortable and well cared for. Somehow we communicated despite the fact that he spoke no Italian and my parents only knew a few words of English. 

On that particular morning my mother was ready to try something other than our usual “Italian” breakfast of Cappuccino, brioche or croissants with jam etc.

She had noticed some flat round things on other diner’s plates which smelled wonderful.  After some pointing and gesturing he understood and my mom was served a beautiful tall stack of pancakes with warm syrup. They were delicious.  So many new tastes and smells and we weren’t even in America yet!

 As we sailed closer to our new country we found ways to occupy ourselves.  Cruise liners back then did not have all the glitz and non stop activities like now.  You played cards, read a book or just chatted with other passengers during the day.  One afternoon my father spotted a piano in one of the lounges and began to pick out some tunes.  They were mostly old Neapolitan love songs and pretty soon people had gathered around for a little sing along. Santa Lucia, Anema e core, Torna Surriento. Some of them were crying as they sang.  I realize now that they were not only shedding tears for the home and loved ones they had just left behind, but perhaps for the fear and uncertainty of what lay ahead.       

Zuppa di scarola

(Escarole and Bean soup)

This soup is pure comfort food!  It is very satisfying just as it is, served with some crusty bread for dipping. If you want it to be even heartier, you can brown some Italian Sausage, pancetta or chicken before adding the garlic. Note: I buy whole wedges of parmesan cheese and grate it as needed.  For this recipe I cut a piece of the outer rind into small cubes and sprinkle them on top of each bowl of soup just before serving.  When we were kids, my sister and I swiped up the little cheese morsels as fast as my mother could cut them up.    

1/3 cup olive oil

6    cloves chopped garlic

2    heads of escarole, well washed and cut into 2 inch pieces

8    cups chicken broth

2    15 oz cans cannellini, or great northern beans, drained and rinsed

1    cup grated parmesan plus cubed rind for garnish

1    tsp kosher salt

Lots of freshly ground black pepper

   

Chop and wash the escarole and place in a colander. There is no need to fully dry the greens. Heat the oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant and lightly colored. Add all the greens at once. Add salt and pepper, stir and cover with a tight fitting lid. After a few, minutes give the greens another stir.

They should have wilted and cooked down considerably.  Add the chicken broth and stir to combine. Reduce heat, cover and cook till it comes up to a boil.  Add the beans and cook for 5-10 minutes longer. Ladle into soup bowls. Sprinkle liberally with grated and cubed parmesan cheese.      

Leaving Italy

Port of Naples, Italy May 1965

The big day had arrived.  We boarded the S.S. Constitution that day along with a contingent of assorted uncles, aunts, cousins and friends who had come to see us off.  In those days they let you do that.  A few of those uncles had spent the better part of the last few months trying to talk my parents out of leaving.  My Zio Mario was the most vocal. “What’s in America that you don’t have here?” he would ask over and over.  “You live well, you have a nice business, I just don’t understand.”  But my parents were just as adamant that they wanted to start a new life in the States.  Ever since they got the letter from the consulate a few months earlier stating that it was “their turn” they never hesitated for a moment.

 

They said they wanted a better life for my sister and I and they know that the opportunities we would have in America were just not possible in Italy.  My father soon made all the arrangements and booked passage to New York.  He had wanted to fly but my mother was a bit apprehensive about it plus we had too much stuff. He chose the Constitution because it was an American ship.    He said that if we were going to become Americans then we should start by arriving on what was then a modern American vessel.

Pretty soon the ship sounded a few blasts of it’s’ horn to signal that all visitors needed to go ashore.  I remember everyone was crying and hugging even my dad.

I didn’t cry, probably because at the age of not quite five, I couldn’t possibly comprehend how our lives would never be the same, and that I probably wouldn’t see any of these people again for a long, long time.  It was just a big exciting adventure to me and I didn’t get what all the tears were about.  

        

Linguini and fresh clams at the Carter's tonight... Frank's favorite!