My Favorite Meal In Tuscany

We spent 10 days in Northern Italy and Tuscany for our honeymoon.  It was AMAZING.  We had a great time and ate so many wonderful meals.  My favorite meal of our trip was in a small hill town in the Chianti region of Tuscany.  We stopped in Montefioralle on our first day in Tuscany, arriving on a wind-y Tuscan road to the top of a hill where we parked near a vineyard and walked in to the town.  It is a small, sleepy town (we didn't really see any locals when we were walking around) with narrow stone streets with colorful doors and shutters.  So cute!  We walked around the town and noticed an open doorway with a menu displayed.  The menu looked simple and rustic so we decided to try it out.  It didn't open for another year so we walked around a bit more, took lots of photos of the amazing views and then walked back to eat.  

The restaurant was a typical enoteca in Italy.  We saw nonna (grandma) in the kitchen cooking while the rest of the family waited and served the customers.  The minute I walked down the hallway to the restaurant, I had such a warm and homey feeling from this place.  I knew it was going to be a good experience.  And our view was amazing! The open air restaurant overlooked a vineyard and the Tuscan hills were in the backdrop.  

OK- now to the food... we started with a bottle of Chianti Classico (we were in the Chianti region) and it was a great start and one of my favorite wines (and believe me, we drank ALOT of wine).  For antipasti we shared the special of the day, fresh figs from their garden and prosciutto.  The figs were juicy and sweet and worked so well with the saltiness of the prosciutto.  

For the first course I had a panzanella salad and Ryan had picci pasta with a traditional tomato sauce.  Panzanella has many different variations, but the common factor is day old bread.  My salad has bread, tomatoes, cucumber, sliced red onion and fresh basil.  They gave me olive oil and red wine vinegar to dress my salad how I wanted.  The panzanella was so fresh and light. The tomatoes were so ripe and gorgeous and the bite of the red wine vinegar brightened up the whole dish.  Ryan's picci pasta was so rustic and simple.  Picci pasta is similar to regular spaghetti, it is just a little "fatter" and I believe it is made with semolina instead of eggs, so it is a little heavier than regular spaghetti.  We had picci pasta several times in Italy and it was always cooked to perfection.   The tomato sauce that topped the picci pasta was simple and tasted amazing.  

We both chose very hearty dishes for our main course.  I chose Italian sausage with a side of Tuscan white beans and spinach and Ryan chose short ribs and a side of the beans and spinach.  My Italian sausage was amazing.   It is hard to describe but it was juicy and a little spicy.  The presentation was so rustic and authentically Italian.  The Tuscan white beans and spinach were also a lesson in simplicity.  Both perfectly cooked, they were seasoned with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and a little lemon.  

The meal was absolutely perfect, the view, the tastes, the wine, the family serving us.  Montefioralle was my favorite Tuscan town and I think this restaurant is a main reason why it holds a special place in my heart. 

We're Back!!

Hello faithful readers, I hope you didn't forget about us.  We're back...and married....with lots and lots of stories to tell!  We got married September 6 (an absolutely perfect day) and the next day headed to Italy!!  We had an amazing time and took photos of everything we ate.  Stay tuned for photos and stories because they are coming soon. 

Ciao!

Erin and Ryan

Blueberry Crumb Cake

I've been finding really great deals on fruit lately. Last night I was at the grocery store and blueberries were only $5 for 2 lbs. Great deal! I knew I could not eat 2 lbs. by myself but I couldn't pass it up. I thought about making more jam, but I didn't have enough jars so I scratched that idea. Before I went to the store I was reading my food blogs and Smitten Kitchen had a recent post about her blueberry crumb bars. Smitten Kitchen has the most gorgeous photos of her food and cooking process, you can even buy prints of her photos on their web site. I definitely recommend her site.
So anyway, I decided to run with the crumb bar idea and even though I had to go back to the grocery to buy eggs and more butter, it was really easy to make. I'm not much of a baker so I think next time I try this I will make the dough more crumbly. Mine was definitely not the same as her pictures and it still tastes good, they are just little dry.
I just used her recipe that she got from www.allrecipes.com. She modified it a bit so I just followed her lead.

I'm going to try and stop copying off fellow food bloggers because what's the point of that!? It's not fun to have the same post on 2 different food blogs. But these just looked so good.
And they are! A photo is to come, I only took one of the finished product.

Jam Session: It's all about timing

One of my favorite food blogs is Amateur Gourmet. You may have seen the link on our blog and I definitely recommend checking it out. Adam Roberts is the blogger and he documents his cooking adventures and most recently his new gig on the Food Network.  He had a great post a few weeks ago about making jam and he made it seem so easy.  Easy enough for me to want to attempt it! 

So when I was at Findlay Market in Cincinnati a few weekends ago and there were beautiful cherries at the market for very cheap - like 2 lbs. for $5 cheap - I had to buy them and instantly thought of using them to make jam.  So the next day my friend Mo came over and helped me make cherry jam.  To make this quicker and easier I decided to buy a cherry pitter.  What a great idea!  Who knew for like $11 you could have such a fun kitchen tool!   The pitter stabs into the cherry pit and shoots it out the bottom...and also creates a kind of gory splash of cherry juice that resembles a blood bath.  So Mo was in charge of pitting the cherry's while I sterilized the jars.  I decided to do what Adam did when he made jam and I cleaned the jars with soap and water and then put them in a large pot filled with water and brought the water to a boil to sterilize. 

When Mo was done pitting all of the cherries I roughly chopped them and put them in a large pot and cooked them on medium to high heat with the zest of one lemon and the juice of one lemon.  This is one of the instances in jam making when it's all about timing.  We cooked the cherries until they released their juices and became sloshy.   The smell was amazing!  An intensely sweet cherry aroma filled my tiny kitchen and we were getting excited.  Once the cherries are sloshy, it's time to measure how much cherry slosh we had because that is how you know how much sugar you need.  

I'm not much of a mathematician but this is pretty easy. If I can figure it out..you can. You measure the cherry slosh and you multiply that by 3/4.  We had about 2 1/2 cups of cherry slosh and after we dumped the slosh back in to the pot (sounds appetizing right..sorry for my choice of words) we added about 1 1/2 cups of sugar.  We cooked the cherry slosh and sugar over medium heat and this part is where timing is crucial.  As the cherries and sugar cook it will begin to bubble up and foam and you have to stir often so it doesn't burn on the bottom.  

I was nervous about overcooking it so we tested the jam way to early, but I'm glad we did because you can always put jam back on the heat to cook if it needs more time, but you can't save burnt, overcooked jam. To test, it's really simple. At the beginning of the jam-making process put a small plate in to the freezer and when you are ready to test, put a drizzle of jam on to the cold plate.  Wait for it to set and then push the circle of jam and if it wrinkles when you push it, it is ready.  If it's slippery and gooey still, put it back on the heat and keep stirring. 

Since we cooked it on medium heat, we cooked the jam for about 15-20 minutes before it was ready.  Once the jam was ready we ladled it in to the jars and let them cool to room temperature before putting them in the fridge.  

The jam turned out really tasty!! Next time I am going to chop the cherries a little smaller but other than that the flavors are great.  I've gotten some raised eyebrows and giggles when I told friends and family I made jam.  My sister had the best comment though..she called while I was making the jam and when I told her what I was doing she said "God Erin what else you are doing, churning butter?"  haha..we are so different it's funny. :)   Making jam was so easy I definitely want to make it again and with other fruits.   It's definitely better than my Smucker's jam I've bought before and they also make great gifts!

Read book and blog ASAP

Hello everyone, just a quick post to inform you that I've added a new link to the food blogs. Anthony Bourdain has a blog through the Travel Channel and it is fantastic. It is all things food and travel related. No one puts words together like Bourdain and I'll leave it at that. Just check it out.

I'm currently reading his book Kitchen Confidential and it is fantastic. It definitely shows a different side of the restaurant and food industry. I'll do a book review when I'm finished but I'd recommend it to anyone.

That's all for now. :)

A Study Break with Bobby Flay

Debates on the merits and legitimacy of Bobby Flay's career have run rampant recently between Craig, Ryan and me.   Being the wonderfully optimistic person (who always looks for the good in people) that I am, I always give Flay a break.  Yes,  he's over-exposed.. sure he frequently loses Iron Chef America and Throwdowns... of course he sounds like he's always reading off cue cards.. but gosh darnit, he seems like a nice guy who and he actually went to cooking school!  

Ryan and Craig on the other hand, are not in the Bobby Flay fan club.  Ryan displays a distaste and disgust for Bobby that is surprising and makes me want to ask "where is this coming from?Was Bobby Flay someone who bullied you in middle school? did he steal your girlfriend?"  I think Craig just grows tired of the Flay overexposure on the Food Network and gets fed up.  

So our conflicting views on Mr. Flay has let to many debates and even an outburst from me last night where I basically said "will you both relax! Yes, he's constantly on the Food Network but he's a legitimate chef who is obviously successful and knows how to cook!"

Well, today at work I decided to Wikipedia Bobby Flay just so I could back up my rants with some facts.   After learning quite a bit I wrote an email to Craig and Ryan including some fun facts.  Here are a few facts I bet you didn't know about Iron Chef Bobby Flay:

1. He has been married and divorced twice and is currently married to an actress  on Law and Order: SVU

2. For a long time, Flay was known to hate lentils. As The New York Times reports, "An early draft of Bar Americain's menu had a beet and goat cheese salad with lentils, but Mr. Flay rejected it before the restaurant opened. "When I go on vacation, they run specials on lentils, " he said. In 2007, Flay stated that he had "made peace" with lentils.  (phew)

3. He dropped out of high school at age 17 after he was expelled. (what a rebel)

4. Flay received a degree in culinary arts at the French Culinary Institute and was a member of the schools first graduating class in 1984. 

5. In addition to his restaurants and cooking shows, Flay has been a master instructor and visiting chef at the French Culinary Institute.

6. In 2000, when the original Iron Chef America show traveled to New York for a special battle, he challenged Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto to battle rock crab. After the hour battle ended, Flay stood on top of his cutting board and raised his arms in premature victory. Not realizing that cutting boards and knives are sacred in Japan, he offended Morimoto who criticized his professionalism, saying Flay was "not a chef". Flay went on to lose the battle.

7. Flay challenged Morimoto to a rematch in Morimoto's native Japan. In this battle, at the end of the hour, Flay threw his cutting board on the floor and stood on the counter yet again to raise the roof with the audience.  this time, Flay won.

8. Jeopardy featured a special "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" category during the March 12, 2008 episode, in which each of the clues featured Bobby Flay. 

Hopefully we've all learned some important tidbits about Bobby Flay.  These are kind of random, but you already know he has 8 million shows on the Food Network. You already know he is the "grill guy" and you already know he has a line of cookware at Kohls. 

Are you ready for a Throwdown?

love youuuu Bobby

Subscribe: it's the right thing to do...

Hello readers.  I'd like to call your attention to a new item on our blog.  If you scan all the way to the bottom there is a new link to subscribe to our feed so when we have a new blog post, you will be notified! No more worrying about checking the blog for new posts, no more sleepless nights...no more stress.   So really, it's the right thing to do.   For you, for me, for all mankind. :)

Ok, it's not really that deep.  But it will be a good way to keep on top of the Foody in Training excitement!  

I bought a new cookbook yesterday and I'm exciting to look through it and pick out some new recipes to try.  It is called The Organic Seasonal Cookbook by Liz Franklin.  It is all about cooking and eating locally and it also talks about the importance of sustainable farming.  The book is split up in to 4 sections (seasons) and goes through what foods are in season in the fall, winter, spring and summer and then provides recipes for the seasonal ingredients.  

I paged through it a bit this weekend and I think it's going to be a nice addition to my ever-growing cookbook collection. I'm trying my best to eat locally and utilize farmers markets for my groceries instead of the supermarkets and over-processed foods.  I also just finished a book "French Women Don't Get Fat" which was a fun read and the author talked a lot about the European way of cooking and eating seasonal foods.  It reminded me how I want to try and adopt that mind set when grocery shopping and planning meals.  It takes a little extra effort to eat locally and seasonally in Cincinnati, but it's definitely doable.  Cincinnati has a great local market Findlay Market and summer time is a great time to visit all of the area farmers markets. 

Happy Summer eating!