andiamotrips - campania, italy with karen phillips

Off season. Amalfi Coast.   I love this time of year.   Beautiful weather, zero traffic, stunning sunsets.   I was enjoying a beautiful sunset as I pulled up to a fork in the road in Vietri Sul Mare one Friday evening.   To my left, Vietri’s centro storico .   To my right, the road to Raito.   Hotel Raito in a small town overlooking this spectacular coast.   Hotel Raito , a five star hotel, part of a small chain of exclusive Ragosta Hotels .   As I maneuvered each curve on the road, I was wondering what would await me in Il Golfo Restaurant .   Which dishes their Executive Chef Francesco Russo would prepare.   Would I enjoy creative dishes using products from this spectacular territory or be served generic internationalized ‘Italian’ dishes to please their guests from all over the world? Smiles from the staff as I rushed into the lobby a little late ish… oops .   No problem, no worries.   On the coast, relax is their mantra.   A seat at a corner table with a view of the port of Sale

Pasta and potatoes with a twist by Chef Giuseppe Daddio of Ristorante Locando delle Trame  . Ingredients for 6 For the egg pasta Maltagliati: type ‘00’ flour 250 g, remilled durum wheat 100 g, whole eggs 150 g, a pinch of salt, extra virgin olive oil as required. Procedure: mix all the ingredients in the order given to make a smooth, uniform dough. Cover the pasta dough and leave to rest for at least 2 hours before use. Roll the pasta out very thinly, cut into diamonds (Maltagliati) and leave to dry on a wooden board dusted with remilled durum wheat. For the potato condiment base: large fresh potatoes 300 g, spiced mountain pork lard 50 g, extra virgin olive oil 60 g, 1 garlic clove in its paper jacket, peeled celery 30 g, peeled carrots 30 g, white onion 30 g, fresh chilli pepper 1 g, vegetable broth as required, pecorino Romano in flakes 30 g, grated parmesan 40 g, freshly milled white pepper to taste, fine salt to taste, concasse of vine-ripened tomatoes 30 g,finely chopped pa

The pouring rain outside my window is a message.   Karen, your Indian summer is over .   I knew this day would come.   Leave the house with a jacket.  An umbrella.  Break out your favorite high heel brown boots .   But I was prepared.   I had already said  goodbye to summer in the same location a said hello … Il Bikini in Vico Equense.   On a hot Sunday afternoon in October.   A week before Giorgio Scarselli was to close his restaurant for the season.   My last meal until March 2012 at a table on a terrace overlooking the beach.   Overlooking the sea.     And I think I chose well-z uppa di pesce .    Fish soup.    All the colors and aromas of the sea in a dish.   The flavors of the ocean…shrimp, clams, mussels, octopus and squid.   Il sapore del mare splashed with fresh tomatoes and a sprinkle of parsley. A glass of white wine…zuppa di pesce…the perfect meal, Scarselli told me.   The ideal way to say goodbye to my Indian Summer… Ciao Summer…Ciao Bikini … Il Bikini Str

I needed an idea and I was stuck.  I wanted to use Villa Matilde's sweet flavored Gelatina in a dish with ingredients that would be a total contrast.  I needed a boost. A kick start. So I sought out a friend who could surely give me a hand... Chef Tony . Make a soup...then pair it with homemade pecorino ice cream , he suggested.   Facile ... Ok, easy...I thought, but there are dozens of different cheeses to choose from. I needed more advice.  A chat with my Maestro at my favorite Enoteca/Salumeria for some more advice.  I walked away with a flavorful slice of aged pecorino from Filiano (Pz). Ingredients for 2:   200 g of Gelatina extra di Falanghina, 50g of aged pecorino cheese, 50 g of parmeggiano reggiano cheese, 4 tbsp of milk. Directions :  Grate the two cheeses and put in a small saucepan.  Add the milk and heat until the cheese is absorbed, stirring continuously.  Let cool, then pour into a freezer proof container.  Place in the freezer for about 90 minutes, stirrin

Mini meatballs make an amazing appetizer.  I made some recently with gelatina extra di Aglianico from Villa Matild e that gave mine an extra kick. . Ingredients for 25 mini meatballs : 1 lb ground beef, 1 egg, ¼ cup freshly ground breadcrumbs, 1 tbsp Carmasciano cheese, salt, pepper to taste Ingredients for the mini meatball sauce:   100 g gelatin extra di aglianico, ½ onion from Montoro, 4 tbsp tomato sauce, Italian parsley, extra virgin olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes Directions: To make the mini meatball sauce,  dice the onion and brown in a tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.  Add the gelatin and the tomato sauce.  Simmer slowly uncovered for about 10 minutes.  Stir continuously to ensure that the sauce does not burn.  Add a pinch of salt, red pepper flakes,  and a sprinkle of finely chopped Italian parsley.  Set aside. In the meantime, mix  (by hand) together all the ingredients for the meatballs  in a bowl.  Shape into small mini meatballs and place on a baking sheet.  Broil i

I was looking for something…something different from the usual winery visits…So I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I called up Marcello Famiglietti one afternoon.  Marcello…I’ll be in Paternopoli on Friday…Could I stop by and visit your cantina? We decided on a time..coincidently around l’ora di pranzo …lunch.   After parking my car in Paternopoli’s centro storico , I walked the stairs that led to a church that sat next to a large iron gate.   Stone walls covered in lush green ivory.   This is it? I thought. Curiosity led me to ring the buzzer.   And subito Marcello came to greet me with a smile.   A smile that said… Welcome to our home, lunch is ready ! A get to know each other lunch with Marcello’s sister, Anna Maria , as well as his parents.   A get to know our family, our cantina, our history.   A lunch of fusilli with tomato sauce and their Aglianico.. Temprato Irpinia Campi Taurasini 2007 .   Their wine. Their one wine. Their first harvest. Over the course of that lu

Villa Matilde threw out a challenge and   I accepted,.  I along with other food and wine bloggers will use their gelatina extra Falanghina and Aglianico in new and exciting recipes.  The jelly arrived in the mail today...creations on the blog very soon ish...

Salvatore Salvo It was hard to say no when Salvatore Salvo invited me over for a pizza.  Or should I say, a pizzata .  Lunch in his family's pizzeria in San Giorgio a Cremano, just outside of Naples.  It was hard to say no.  So I said yes. Yes , along with 50 other amici , friends for an afternoon  laughter, and discussions at our at a very long tavolata ...  Yes to a glass or two of  artisan beer and Gragnano.... Yes to Salvo's frittatina di maccheroni, arancini, z eppole pansarotti,  and  scagliozz i... And yes to pizza, pizza, pizza, and... pizza ... margherita margherita pizza with alici (marinated sardines) pizza with alici with fresh tomatoes with eggplant with eggplant pizza fritta Pizzata ...hard to say no...

There are plenty of wine and food events in Campania.     And it seems that one occasion naturally…casually rolls into another.   So it was   refreshing   when Tommaso Esposito invited me to a little get together last week.   His idea was simple…simple and intriguing.   He wanted to talk about pasta.   Talk about pasta with fellow food and wine journalists, bloggers, and photographers.   Try different pasta shapes, sizes, textures.   Compare, contrast, analyze. Discuss, explore, discover. Have fun. The scene…a familiar place, Dolce & Salato in Maddaloni (Ce).   Chef Giuseppe Daddio and his team was ready.   The water was boiling.   The tomato sauce simmering on the stove.   Bring it on...   A delicious sugo al pomodoro made with San Marzano tomatoes paired with 6 different pastas from 3 different pasta companies, Pastificio Leonessa (Cercola, Na),   Dei Campi (Gragnano, Na) and Le Gemme del Vesuvio (Castello di Cisterna, Na).   Our ‘job’ was figure out which pasta worked