One of our regular contributors was unusually silent last week, but we didn't mind because she was in Venice studying Italian and seeing the sights.
Here is Brenda Ware Jones' report:
"I had truly a great week with three great friends from my Monday-night Italian class.
Our hostess was Daniela, a former art-history professor who now teaches Italian language/cooking/culture classes, and lets her students come live in her house on the Lido island. The four of us had a wonderful time, learned more than we'll ever remember, and drank gallons of prosecco (the light sparkling wine made in Venice.)" 
Daniela taught us many drop-dead-delicious Venetian recipes, hauled us around and gave us detailed insights on the artwork at the Correr, Accademia, and Palazzo Ducale, and...point of the whole trip...made us speak Italian for hours! A highlight was seeing the opera Il Barbiere di Seviglia at the grandly-restored Teatro La Fenice.
Thanks for that contribution, Brenda; take us with you next time!
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Brenda's big adventure
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9 comments:
Post one of those fabulous Venetian recipes when you have time, Brenda. But it has to be easy; no Moliere Pie recipes for me now when I'm working so much.
I put the same comment twice due to zealous over-clicking so had to delete one.
The funny thing is, there are no recipes---Daniela cooks like I do, throwing in whatever seems good, amount-wise. Here was a favorite that is super-easy and unbelievably delicious:
Creamy Tomato Cheese Sauce over Fettucine
Some tomatoes (need to be good ripe juicy ones, otherwise use good-quality canned ones, drained)
garlic
chopped yellow onion
olive oil
Sautee the onion and garlic in the oil, and add tomatoes. Simmer very low until the tomatoes aren't quite so runny and have kind of fallen apart.
Turn off heat and add:
Mascarpone or ricotta (we used the former and the sweetness is nice)
Smoked provolone, cubed
Stir well---the mascarpone will blend, but the provolone cubes will sort of stay whole and just melt a bit.
Serve over fettucine.
The important thing is that the provolone be SMOKED---it provides the main flavor. Interestingly, other than salt and pepper to taste, Daniela didn't add any spices or herbs. Some chopped Italian parsley for color would be good, though.
Sounds good but provolone is hard to get in Reading supermarkets. I used to have it on my pizzas when we lived in St Louis and tried to do that here but the cheese isn't readily available; same with Monterey Jack.
Same prob here, although I have bought the pre-sliced smoked provo for LE's lunch sandwiches (it isn't real Eyetal provo, just some Sara Lee stuff.) There are many food websites from which you can order fancy cheeses, but I never do that...I mean, at the end of the day, it's just foodstuff, gone as soon as you eat it,so...
Interestingly, one can often find really good imported cheeses at Sam's Club.
Naw, you have provolone at Kroger's -- that's where I used to see it. Do they still have Sunflower grocery stores over there? I have such nostalgia for them.
I think Sunflower Stos are &%^$#---sold out to some other chain. The heir to the Sunflower fortune was that effeminate guy from whom we bought a house---remember, he was showing us around, and exclaimed, "When [wife] and Ah saw this house, Ah just said, 'Heah is a STAR waitin' to be BORN!'" They're the couple who had that dawg named something like Rebel (pronounced "Rubble") or some such.
I loved me them Sunflower groceries, too. Me and Truman Capote used to cruise the aisles selecting ingredients for them lunches he hosted. And LE's grandfather died in one! He was buying a nice ribeye steak, and just fell out right there in the meat department.
Cute Sunflower story. I worked on their advertising account when I worked in Jackson in the early '80s and the owner just loved Paul Ott Caruth and wanted him in his commercials. He insisted his wife have a starring role too. I think she had a little trouble with her lines like, "And the prices are good too." Is he still active in his career?
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