andiamotrips - campania, italy with karen phillips

Our appointment was on a Wednesday morning at 10 am.  And at 10 am sharp, Pierpaolo Sirch, agronomist and administrative delegate,  Feudi di San Gregorio ,   opened the door to the waiting room where I was... waiting. He shook my hand, led me to his car in the parking lot and we were on our way.  We were headed towards Taurasi , as I had a grande desire to  visit their Aglianico vineyards for a possible photo exhibit in the future.  Sirch shared with me quite a bit about Aglianico, Irpinia, and the problems and challenges that the winery has faced this year thanks to the unusually cool and wet July. And though the focus of the day was Aglianico, somehow the conversation led to Fiano. Sirch, originally from Friuli in Northern Italy, has a deep love and respect for Irpinia.  He has been with Feudi di San Gregorio for around 10 years, and he shared with me a story which peaked my attention as well as my admiration for my tour guide . W...

I'm a big fan of long pasta, my favorite being spaghetti.  But at times, a dish calls for something a little thicker to support the sauce and compliment the overall pasta experience . Like vermicellone chosen by Chef Luciano Villani for his pasta with shrimp - cotto e crudo that I enjoyed during my visit to La Locanda del Borgo . Cotto in Italian means cooked.  So this pasta nido /nest was swaddled in a savory sauce that the chef prepared using fresh shrimp. Crudo means raw.  Villani decided to place his pasta nest on a bed of shrimp carpaccio. Cotto... Crudo... Fantastic First

I can't resist a plate of pasta, especially one done right.  Like this one placed in front of me last week during a relaxing lunch in the peaceful oasis known as Aquapetra Resort and Spa .  Three little packages arrived at my table prepared by Chef Luciano Villani of La Locanda del Borgo Ristorante.   The pasta dough was  prepared  the old fashioned way using 30 egg yolks.. Wow.  And inside?  A filling made with Marchagiana beef (Sannio) and onions from Alifie.  A filling that practically melted in your mouth.  Drizzled around my little presents was a sauce made with pecorino di Laticauda Sannita cheese. Il Sannio in a package. ..

A cool summer evening in Vico Equense (Na).  Michelin star restaurant L'Accanto located in  5 star Grand Hotel Angiolieri.  My host?   Chef Vincenzo Guarino who     invited pizza maker Gianfranco Iervolino to  present several of his gourmet pizzas and serve them to an intimate crowd on the terrace and in the  garden with a breathtaking view of the coast.  Iervolino, recognized this year with Gambero Rosso' s prestigious Tre Spicchi as well as one of his specialties voted Pizza of the Year , shared three specialties for an intimate pizza loving crowd.  His margherita, his pizza napoletano, and one that blew me away - his pizza with a velvety zucchini sauce, provola cheese from Agerola, shrimp, and Sfusato lemons from Amalfi. I took my time with this slice, enjoying the blend of ingredients as well as the beer selected to go with it, Syrentum, Birrificio Sorrento . Iervolino left the pizza oven and got out his chittara. ...

Ciro, I don't know alot about wines form the Sannio, quindi sono nelle tue mani..I'm in your hands. These are the words that I spoke to  Ciro Sannino,  Maitre D and Sommelier of  Aquapetra Resort and Spa .  I was there to enjoy a long end of of summer lunch at  La Locanda del Borgo , the spa's ristorante located in Telese Terme (Bn).  The heart of  Il Sannio . So I watched silenty as Sannino opened a bottle of  Talento  Sannio Aglianico DOC 2007   from  Az. Agricola Capolino Perlingieri. Aglianico, I thought as I watched him  avvinare,  season the glasses, as he placed it to his nose, then tasted. Then poured me a glass. I decided to wait a bit, due to the variety-due to the vintage.  It needed time to relax, breathe, get comfortable. I waited quite awhile over conversation as this red wine from an underrated  territory began to express itself.  The strong legs that clung to the side of the ...

It was time for dessert at J Kitchen and he brought it to my table. He , Chef Eduardo Estatico ,  came out of the kitchen to see how I was doing and  gently placed down a colorful  narrow rectangular dish in front of me.  L'Oro di Napoli , he said.  The Gold of Naples. The Italian film from the 1950s of the same name instantly came to mind.  A classic which starred some of the top Neapolitan actors of the era such as   Toto', Sophia Loren, Eduardo De Fillipo , and Vittorio De Sica .  This dish in front of me had some  Neapolitan stars as well. Three to be exact and I took awhile to decide where I wanted to begin as Estatico and I made some small talk. Decided. I reached for my fork and dove in. Ah, you chose the baba' to begin with , Estatico noticed. I smiled and  nodded, my mouth full of tiny fragoline strawberries.. Next up, I went for the small sweet zeppola di San Giuseppe or Saint Joseph fritter. Sur...

This summer I decided to dedicate my time to reading something different than a math textbook.  I just recently finished reading La Cucina del Cuore by Chef Alfonso Iaccarino of Don Alfonso 1890 .  Reading this book was like stepping into Iaccarino's world over and over and over again.  A world where he leads you by hand along with his wife Livia and sons Ernesto and Mario through the struggles, challenges, and successes that make Don Alfonso 1890 one of the best places on earth. I loved reading the book and thinking back to my various  opportunities to visit the family in their restaurant as well as their agriturismo in Punta Campanella. One particular excerpt on page, 118, caught my eye.  Here Chef Alfonso Iaccarino writes about when he put his son Ernesto's dishes on the menu for the first time...and more importantly, the numerous letters received regarding Chef Ernesto Iaccarino's appetizer: "Tra queste c'era quella di un giapponese che diceva di...

Today I decided to stop  by and visit  Raffaele Moccia , Azienda Agricola Agnanum located in Agnano - in the heart of Campi Flegrei.  A visit with Moccia is always a learning experience,  whether we go up to the vineyards, dabble around in the cantina, or just hang out and chat about Falanghina, Piedirosso, or anything under the sun.  We hadn't seen each other in awhile, so I was curious about how this harvest year was going.   Sure it's been rainy, but thevolcanic terrain dries quickly. Yeah,  the hailstorm back in June did some serious damage.  We'll have to wait and see what the next month or two has in store temperature wise , he shared.  The conversation continued, eventually leading to an impromptu wine tasting of the latest vintage that he has just bottled but hasn't released yet.  His Falanghina dei Campi Flegrei DOC 2013 as well as his P iedirosso (Per' e Pallum) DOC 2013 . I opened a bottle while Moccia went...

Whe n Piero Mastroberardino handed me his latest book back in June during a wine tasting, I was honored and honestly a little intimidated.  I don't have a lot of time to read for pleasure, and this being a book of poems, in Italian,  well... But with school being out, I found the time to concentrate on what Mastroberardino, the poet, and not the wine producer, had to say.  After a month or so, my copy of the book is bent, with folded pages, full of notes in pencil taken when I came a cross a word or three that I didn't understand.  I have my favorites: page 20 - Come Nebbile Sottile , Like Thin Fog...or page 36 - Notte , Night.  One simple line:   Come tu solo sai donare luce.   I like to think at the book  as an invitation, to see a side of an anima nad soul not only of the poet..but maybe a little of  ourselves as well.   Come tu solo sai donare luce...

Pesce bandiera grattinata al forno  con provola affumicata.   That's what   Mimmo De Gregorio told me as he set the plate in front of me and poured me another glass of wine. Silver scabbard fish  'au gratin ' stuffed with smoked provola cheese.  This was surely going to be a treat, I thought.  It sure looked delicious. From my table, I could hear the voices of the kitchen staff, including Mimmo's dad, Chef Paolo De Gregorio , and his wife Mamma Filomena .  Voices that reminded me of home. As I took my first bite, I thought about what into creating this simple dish. I thought about how much time and dedication it took to carefully clean the fish removing the large quantity of tiny bones. Then stuffed with just the right amount cheese, sprinkled with bread crumbs, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil  (Massa Lubrense  has some of the best I've tasted ). This is what makes a simple dish so special. ...

I had been in historical vineyards throughout Campania in the past.  Pre phylloxera  vineyards 100. 200, some even 300 plus years old.  Very few, however, gave me goose bumps like the one I visited today.  The 100 ish year old Aglianico vineyard belonging to Feudi Di San Gregorio .  Vigna Storica Del Re   Taurasi, Avellino. Goose bumps...and butterflies .

The island of Capri has inspired many.  From writers, to poets, song writers and artists.  Recently it inspired   Chef Eduardo Estatico of JKitchen  to create this dish, La Scogliera .  Scogliera means, cliff or reef.  The 29 year old executive chef was inspired by the his view from the restaurant's terrace so he  included all types of sea food and summer vegetables in this dish.  Items such as shrimp, mussels, clams, and squid.  Zucchini, celery, sea asparagus, parsley pesto with anchovy sauce.  He even made a 'mussel shell' using squid ink.  Inspirational.