andiamotrips - campania, italy with karen phillips

My first visit to Palazzo Petrucci in the heart of Naples was full of fabulous flavors and surprises.  A pasta dish  like this one by by Michelin star chef Lino Scarallo is just one of the reasons why.   Scarallo chose fidelini pasta- a long  pasta whose diamater is smaller than spaghetti.  A wise choice for the sauce which embraced it.  Caffe' - Neapolitan caffe' - whose strong personality melded with fresh ginger and scampi making it subtle...elegant. A fusion which is imaginative, creative, friendly, impressive and fantastic. Like the city of Napoli itself.

Chef Luigi Salomone A visit to the seaside town of Castellammare Di Stabia was the perfect choice that unusually warm November afternoon.  My destination was Piazzetta Milu' to check out the new menu by Chef Luigi Salomone .  One of the dishes that caught my eye - and taste buds! - was his guinea fowl alla diavola.  The chef served this game bird in three ways spicy alla diavola versions.   The breast with its skin crunchy and croccante .   A boneless thigh spicy and piccante .   And what's this?  Ravioli shaped like a crest stuffed with flavorful fowl.  Maitre Sommelier Emanuele Izzo chose to pair this   marvelous main course with  Helletto Rosso Veneto IGP 2009.

Maesto Alfonso Pepe So there I was, one Saturday morning in St Egidio Del Monte Albino having a coffee while googling the pastries at Pepe Pasticceria . Several months have passed since I met Maestro Pastry Chef Alfonso Pepe for the first time during a charity  dinner  at pizzeria ,. That evening I had the chance to speak with the chef as he awaited his turn to present his delicious highly sought after desserts.  It was back then, over a slice of pizza, that I asked Pepe if I could swing by his place if I was ever in his neck of the words.   Certo! Of course , was his reply. So to assume I was patiently awaiting to be escorted to Pepe who was in his laboratory preparing panettone wouldn't be exactly true.  Goosebumps and butterflies in my stomach would pretty much describe the scene.  Plus, the Maestro was preparing panettone!!   The traditional Christmas cake that has put his on the podium as being the best in Italy back in 2014. Quite a bit going on as I reached

November has arrived.  And though the calendar says we are well into the Autumn season, the weather in Campania has been unusually warm.  One way to tell the change in seasons is by checking out the new menus in some of the regions favorite restaurants. Like some of the items that I had a chance to try recently by Chef Lorenzo Montoro of O steria Al Paese in Nocera Inferiore (Sa),  This chef is known for taking simple seasonal ingredients from the territory and focusing on their fantastic flavors. In fact, he spends his days between his family's farm Masseria Piglioucco/ Montoroerbe  and the restaurant. Chef Lorenzo Montoro To get things started, an egg yolk cuddled in broccoli leaves  on top of cauliflower and   caciocavallo cheese. Truffle shavings on top added a boost of down to earthiness . Next, a couple of appetizers, once again, highlighting the simplicity of country cooking, with a slight gourmet flair.  Chick peas; creamy soup and crunchy chips.