andiamotrips - campania, italy with karen phillips

C hef Antonino Maresca and Chef Giulio Coppola I decided to accept Chef Giulio Coppola' s invitation to attend a cena a quattro mani that he would be hosting at his restaurant in Gragnano.   Ok, chef, I'll  accept,  but under one condition.  I asked the chef if it would be possible for me to sit in the corner of the kitchen instead of at a table in the dining room,  I mean, the kitchen would be the best place to be to see and feel the excitement of the evening.  I really wanted to witness the sparks and chemistry between  Chef Coppola and his guest for the evening, top pastry Chef Antonino Maresca. And so there I sat, and stood, and watched, and tasted, and quietly asked questions, and tasted again as the evening went from the aperitif to the final dessert. Here's what went down.... Aperitif: Potato croquettes, fried puffed packages of ricotta and cigoli , rice sartu' with pumpkin squash, and cream of tompimabur and gorgonzola with dark chocolate shavings

The 15th of October.  I remember it well.  It had been raining pretty hard the night before, actually, it was still raining as I dropped my son off at school.  I silently cursed the large puddles in the parking lot at work as I hopped, skipped and jumped around them.  I didn't know that at the time, about an hour away in  Sannio (Benevento province) thousands were experiencing a tragedy  greater than a little traffic on the highway or a few large puddles in the parking lot.  They were experiencing mudslides, river banks overflowing, vineyards and livelihoods destroyed  if not seriously damaged.  Among those affected was the large cooperative Cantina di Solapaca .  Mud entered into their warehouse covering up to 80,000 bottles of their Falanghina del Sannio, Barbera, Greco, Aglianico, and Fiano wines.  80,000 bottles covered in mud. But the south has a special spirit.  A spirit that with hard work and innovation, a situation as negative as this can bring a community togeth

A visit to Don Alfonso 1890 towards the end of the season has become a new tradition that I have come to look forward to in the short period that I have known the Iaccarino family.  A study of the elaborate menu is an opportunity take a look back/try again/revisit dishes you know, ones you'd like to try again from the current season or maybe a favorite from seasons past. But last Saturday, my eyes caught a menu item that I was unfamiliar with. One listed as a Ricetta Classica - one that has been on the menu for ages due to its popularity for being fantastically tasty.   Calamaretti, gamberetti, ed ortaggi in leggera frittura con maionese di barbabietole or slightly fried baby squid, shrimp, and vegetables with beet  mayonnaise.  That I had to try!  So when it was just about time for this dish to arrive, I peeked through the side window of the restaurant's kitchen  It was there that I saw Chef Ernesto Iaccarino carefully choosing one by one which fried goodies we

As you may have noticed by reading the last couple of blog posts, I was in Milan last week.  And although I was there for just under 24 hours, I made sure I got a chance to try some Campania cuisine even though I was far from home.  Lunch at Aromatica , located inside Expo 2015 gave me just that chance.  Chef Marco Rispo is originally from Naples area and his roots showed as he presented his take on a classic Neapolitan dish - Pasta alla Genovese. The chef's choice of pasta was paccheri.  He served the pasta with a genovese sauce made with sweet Coppery Montoro Onions. He could have stopped there, but he added a foamy flavorful sauce made with salt cod (morro), spinach, and a sprinkling of dried raspberries. And that's what made this first fantastic .

Pizza Maestro Enzo Coccia A few months back, I received news that pizza maestro  Enzo Coccia was about to present his new book.  A book which would explain the production process of Neapolitan pizza - step by step - scientifically- like it had never been presented before.  This book took two years to complete alongside with Paolo Masi and Annalisa Romano of the University of Naples Federico II. When I contacted Coccia about where I could pick up the book, he suggested I wait a bit.  The Coccia team was working on an English translation.  Ok.  This made sense to me since Coccia's Pizza Consulting firm, which has been training pizza makers  and opening pizzerias worldwide for about 15 years. I waited, and one day in late September I received a phone call.  A phone call from Coccia letting me know that the book was ready and he had plans to present it to an international audience during Expo 2015 in Milan.   Why don't you come along? he asked. He didn't need to ask

A quick trip to Milan earlier this week gave me an opportunity to meet Executive Chef Andrea Aprea at the Michelin star Vun Restaurant located in the Park Hyatt Hotel.  Chef Aprea - who's from Naples - made me feel right at home with a selection of delicious dishes from his Travelling Between North and South tasting menu .  Like this fantastic first -   tortelli pasta cacio e pepe . The dish arrived served on a set of spoons resting on a bed of black peppercorns. Homemade pasta topped with aromatic caramelized onions.   Eat it in one bite, I was told.  Ok...so I did.  A mouthful of comfort and warmth.  A flavorful broth with pecorino cheese and onions. Perfect for that cool rainy autumn evening... Perfect? No... Fantastic...

Master Pizza Maker Enzo Coccia ( Pizzeria La Notizia / Pizza Consulting ) has opened up yet another chapter on Neapolitan pizza.   La Pizza Napoletana , a book published in Italian and released this past summer has been translated into English.  Coccia worked for 2 years alongside Paolo Masi and Annalisa Romano of The University of Naples Federico II to produce the first scientific guide to the artisanal process of pizza making-Naples style.  The book, The Neapolitan Pizza, published by Doppiavoce, will be presented  in Milan at Expo 2015 in the theater of the Slowfood Pavillion on the 13th of October at 6 pm .  I have been asked to participate during the presentation presented by Slow Food and Ferrarelle .  See you at Expo 2015!

Love for children, for sport and  cuisine  is the Neapolitan golden trio that is the backdrop of a very special event, "The Game of the Stars" , which will be held on October 11 at 17:30 at the Collona Stadium in Naples. Two teams will hit the field for one great cause- to raise money for the patients and families of Santobono Pausilipon Children's hospital in Naples and the Golden Dreams Project. A project designed to improve conditions in the hospital and make the environment more suitable for children. Chefs versus sports journalists. Chef Lino Scarallo will lead a 'brigade' of big names such as Edoardo Trotta, Gennaro Esposito, Michele Deleo, Mario and Francesco Sposito, Andre a Migliaccio, Tonino Mellino, Alfonso and Ernesto Iaccarino, Puccio and Nicola Fischietti, Paolo Barrale, Renato Martino, Salvatore Elefante, Pasquale Palamaro, Alfonso Caputo, Salvatore Bianco, Peppe Aversa, Peppe Guida, Luigi Tramontano, Paolo Gramaglia, Vincenzo Guarino, Mimmo