andiamotrips - campania, italy with karen phillips

I went to visit an old friend the other evening.  Franco Pepe – yes, THE Franco Pepe of one of the hottest pizzerias on the planet – Pepe in Grani in Caiazzo – a small town in the Caserta province.  I went, as one usually does when one visits an amico , to catch up on things, relax, have a beer or two.  That has always been the case with Franco. Except that sometimes Franco likes to add something to the mix It was around 9 pm, I was hanging out in the kitchen when Pepe called me over.   Come here a minute – Ok.  Why not? I met Pepe at one of his two pizza ovens.  He had an egg in his hands and as about to crack it open.  Wait! I pulled out my camera because I knew that something special was about to happen. I was right.  At that moment, Franco was about to serve up a pizza that he had never served to anyone outside of his staff before.  He cracked open an egg onto pizza dough previously topped and quickly cooked with creamy Grana Padano cheese that had been aged for 1

A day or two before my Ischia adventure, I wrote my travelling buddies – Pizza maker Ivano Veccia and Chef Crescenzo Scotti   – informing them about my travel plans.  Guys, I’ll be arriving probably around 1040.  And I’ll probably be hungry! 😃 Flash-forward, Saturday morning around 1100 am.  Spectacular sunshine and clear blue sky in contrast with the inter temperatures and slighting biting wind greeted me as my ferry pulled into Ischia Porto.  There I caught up with my greeting party, Scotti and his son Domenico alongside Veccia.  Veccia Scotti, and Domenico Right away I as whisked off to Ischia Ponte, near Castello Aragonese and most importantly, our first stop – Panificio Boccia. Panificio Boccia, a bakery that has been around since 1938 and popular with the locals since….since forever! I soon found out why. From the street, Panificio Boccia looks like any other minimarket in Italy.  Veccia knocked at the small unmarked door and opened.  We st

Ivano Veccia and the gang! I’m not sure how many guidebooks would suggest a visit to Ischia during the month of January.  Considering that the lidos are closed as well as a majority of restaurants including   three Michelin starred restaurants (like Nino Di Costanzo’s Dani Maison, recently awarded 2 Michelin stars after being opened for only one short summer season) So why would a food blogger hop on a ferry during a sunny, yet windy rocky wavy day? I asked myself that question as well. However, the answer is easy.  This may be the perfect opportunity to see an Island usually jam-packed with international tourist slimmed down to just the locals.  A chance to rediscover the island con calma , in the company of those who know it best.  In the company of Ischitani like pizza maker Ivano Veccia and chef Crescenzo Scotti who took me on a journey through the traditions and flavors of Ischia- focusing on Forio.  Forio, one of six counties on the large island of Ischia with recipe

Gino Sorbillo (center) I can’t tell you for sure how long I’ve known Gino Sorbillo , but I definitely know that my first visit to his pizzeria at Via Dei Tribunali in the heart of Naples was back in 2011. That was the year that I, as a blogger, started getting interested in the pizza world.  The year that I stepped out of my neighborhood and started to open my eyes and see what was going around in the top wood burning pizza ovens in Campania.  An early afternoon in August of 2011 I stepped into one of the hottest pizzerias in Naples.  In one of the hottest – verac e/real- neighborhoods of the city.  It was there that I enjoyed a pizza or five or six prepared by Sorbillo and his team.  A real full immersion! Take a look at then ... The years passed, and for reasons that I still can’t explain, I never made it back to Via de Tribunali.  Sure, Sorbillo and I have seen each other on many occasions.  But back to his pizzeria, unfortunately no. Until…un