andiamotrips - campania, italy with karen phillips

It has become one of my traditions.  A couple of times a month, when my schedule allows, I have a late lunch at 50 Kalo' in Naples. I arrive around 3:15 pm, when I'm able to find 'my parking spot', when the lunch crowd has died down but the oven is still hot.  The oven is hot and Ciro Salvo and his staff is far from done for the day.  This, for me, is the perfect time to wind down from a busy work week that is almost over, and prepare for the weekend. Usually I order my favs, my standbys - like a white calzone or a margherita with nduja di spilinga.  But  today?  Today was different. As I stared at the menu, Salvo pointed to an item and said, " Perche' non provi questa?"  Why don't you try this one? I said yes subito , right away trusting Salvo who knows my tastes, my preferences. It arrived - the 50 Kalo' with a twist .  A margherita pizzza with escarole, dozens of sliced cherry tomatoes, tons of tiny pitted black olives, and an endless a...

Wine maker Luigi Sarno, Cantina del Barone, asked me if I wished to join him for a quick lunch before heading back home.  It was around lunchtime, his mom had just prepared a risotto with porcini mushrooms, and so I thought -why not?   Lunch with the wine maker is a perfect opportunity to try their wines where they  perform at their best; At the table, paired with local specialties.  And this would be a perfect opportunity to see how Sarno's Fiano di Avellino Particella 928 would stand up at lunch.  But Sarno had other ideas.  Sure, he opened a bottle of his wine, but at the table, there were two other bottles from two other wineries as well.  You see, two years ago,  Cantina del Barone along with Cantine Dell'Angelo and Il Cancelliere decided to come together under one umbrella and form a small coalition... an alliance.  A union that would stand strong during the various wine fairs and wine tastings that can take a toll on small wineri...

  "I didn't eat a lot of fish as a kid ," I shared with Giorgio Scarselli . " Unless you count fish sticks," I smiled.  That statement was more like a confession given to Scarselli, whose family owns the popular beach complex Il Bikini in Vico Equense, a short drive from Sorrento (Na). I smiled as I reflected on an appetizer that I had just finished.  An appetizer with fresh simple ingredients prepared by Chef Domenico De Simone .  Sauteed red mullet with a sprinkle of sea salt to accompany, not cover. Red mullet sharing the show with seasonal locally grown asparagus and creamy ricotta cheese.   That's all it needed. That's all I needed. Amazing.

This tribute to spring deserves a look from all angles.  Chef Nino Di Costanzo (2 Michelin Stars) prepared this appetizer last Monday at a fund raising event at Pepe in Grani in Caiazzo (Ce). A plateful of ambiance, of atmosphere, of character.  From a distance, bold simple colors.  Up close, delicate but at the same time it was all about flavor. Red shrimp Ricotta with lemon Spring peas/sprouts Bread with squid ink Spring

Taverna del Capitano 's spring menu is packed with not only new and colorful dishes, but the  creativity and the passion of Michelin star Chef Alfonso Caputo as well. Here's a look at the appetizers that I tried last weekend. A taste of spring - times three. Antipasto number one - Fresh red shrimp served with seabream eggs and a splash of 25 year old balsamic vinegar.  A shot glass full of the flavors of the sea. Here's a plate where the chef enjoyed himself not only in the preparation, but in the presentation as well.  A tasty fried mozzarella disguised as an unidentified sea creature on a bed of creamy potatoes, asparagus, and red bell peppers. And since good things come in threes, I received the honor of being one of the first to taste Caputo's latest creation.  Something, he told me later, that has been knocking around in his head for quite sometime.  Totano squid served with dark chocolate. A dish that made me wal...

A beautiful spring weekend called for a drive to Marina del Cantone, a spot that has become a favorite of mine since I first visited in 2013.  Marina del Cantone, a small fishing village in the Sorrento Peninsula which hosts the Michelin star Restaurant Taverna del Capitano .  I stopped in the kitchen to say hello to Chef Alfonso Caputo and try to get a sneak peek on what would be in store for lunch.  Yes, I was curious what was on the new spring menu, but also interested in what Caputo had in mind for my benvenuto .  The Benvenuto is an off menu item that is served at the beginning of the meal.  A bite, morsel, mini appetizer if you will, that  changes daily. A fusion of fresh seasonal products and the chef's creativity.  A glance around the kitchen with stainless steel countertops, I noticed a tray of brightly colored freshly washed zucchini flowers. My mind went immediately to memories Spaghetti with Zucchini alla Nerano , but Caputo told me tha...

Fresh peas have become one of my favorite Spring vegetables.  Pasta with peas has become one of my favorite Spring dishes.  The colors and flavors of this dish by Chef Peppe Guida of Antica Osteria Nonna Rosa in Vico Equense (Na)is one of the reasons why.

Karen, I want to show you something... Those were the words wine maker  Luigi Sarno ,  Cantina del Barone , spoke to me the other day as we were walking down the narrow road that leads from his small wine cellar to his vineyards in Cesinali (Av). A new wine ? I thought.  Vinitaly was just the previous week.  It had been several months since I had seen Sarno, and a couple of years since I'd visited the vineyards.  We chatted a bit, stop a couple of times on the small path that divides his Fiano vineyards into two separate sections. I'll be right back , Sarno said. He left me alone for a minute or two, so I decided to wander over to one of my favorite spots on the property.  A majestic century old grapevine that seems to stretch its arms out wild as if to say welcome... But something was different.  To get to my vine, I had to walk around a freshly painted casa.  Walk across a freshly cut lawn. Sarno joined me. This is what I wanted to...

The bottle sat there on the coffee table. Piero Mastroberardino 's coffee table in his private office in Atripalda.  A lone unopened bottle waiting alongside  three place settings - three empty wine glasses.  I was about to begin a wine tasting featuring some of Mastroberardino Winery 's latest white wines in the company of Piero Mastroberadino and enologist Massimo Di Renzo . And I was ready. The bottle sat there while we tasted and chatted about the latest crus, I took notes, in silent anticipation of the newest member of the Mastroberardino family;  Neroameta' Campania Bianco IGT 2013 .  A wine presented at Vinitaly last week and tasted by few. (The winery only took 15 bottles to Verona, so you could imagine how quickly that went) Neroameta' - a white wine made with Irpinia's most popular red grape - Aglianico. A white wine, made with red grapes, but not a rose'. Maybe I should have known what that meant, surely I've read about that vinifi...