Cioccolato Italiano!

Cari amici,

A warning before I begin! All recovering sugar addicts might not want to continue reading. This post may cause a relapse in cravings so intense that they could rival in destruction to the flames of the Great Fire of Rome in July of 64 AD.

Since 1993, the Eurochocolate festival happens at the end of every October in Perugia, the capital of Umbria, in central Italy drawing almost a million visitors. The city is an hour and forty minutes on a fast train from Rome, and a welcome change – calmer and with greater accent on its medieval past. The festival is held within the walls of the city’s fortress on top of quite a steep hill, and takes up seven piazzas (squares) and numerous side streets.  

Besides being filled with numerous booths selling heavenly sweets, the event planners also organize panel discussions, cultural events, chocolate sculpting competitions, and tours of the local chocolate factory. The city offers free transportation up to the festival by local buses, the minimetro which looks somewhat like the London eye, or a cute street train. (I took the street train, and since I was the only one waiting to go to the festival at the time, the conductor let me sit in front with him.)

But it doesn’t stop there! Festival employees hand out free chocolate samples from Italy’s most well known chocolate company: Perugina. One is able to get a sweet fix in any form imaginable – from the traditional candies and liquids, to the more unusual inventions such as chocolate kebabs, salami with fruit or nuts, and chocolate wine. And, I assure all of you, these are carefully scrutinized sellers; there are no expired Walgreens chocolate-chalk eggs here. From the big brands to little booth selling nonna’s recipes, the ingredients are as fresh and organic as possible. And if nonna is at the booth and likes you, she might even give you an extra piece of her homemade tartufo dolce balls coated in spicy dark chocolate.

Now, I’m trying to reign in my own sweet tooth, so I didn’t get too crazy. But I did have to try some things, for you all. First, I had a chocolate kebab! It was made by a girl shaving pieces off of what looked like the traditional lamb gyros cone, but was actually a milk and white chocolate rotating leg of chocolate. Then shavings were then put in a pita, topped with either warm vanilla, strawberry cream or fresh pane (like whip cream in the US but with little or no sugar). I also found it necessary to try the fresh chocolate covered strawberries, a rarity in Italy.

For my enjoyment later, I purchased chocolate covered hazelnuts, dark chocolate covered oranges, dark chocolate covered almonds, two hand dipped chocolate apples, four tartufo dolce balls (one dark, one milk, one spicy, one junky nugget), four biscotti with pistachio filling, four biscotti with fruit filling and a bag of biscotti covered in dark chocolate with almonds and fruit paste. In reality, it’s impressive I didn’t go into diabetic shock. But, I did have fun!

Until next time!

Ersilia

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Roman Pizza verses American Pizza

We have another blog post from our daughter Ersilia living in Rome.

Ciao Tutti 

 

A few weeks ago, my lovely cousin Lara and I went out to dinner with a few of her friends to celebrate my birthday. We tried a place called Sforno – Pizza e Vino, located in the San Giovanni neighborhood.  Lara was particularly eager as the many good reviews – people boasting it’s the best pizza place in Rome – made her hopeful she wouldn't have to drive all the way to Ostia for quality pizza. Lara’s – as well as my own – family come from the south of Italy, a small village close to Naples. Close enough to adapt the Neapolitan attitude of the dish – pizza is to be respected as the art form it is.  My grandmother Clara would agree I'm sure!

Here’s a good point to explain some of the notions we in the US have about pizza that do not hold up here in Italy. First off, we do not make pizza – what we make is similar to pizza but it is not the Italian dish pizza. Hai capito? The only way to get away with deep-dish style and all the brand names is to clarify that it is the US take on the Italian pizza. It is not pizza. Second, personal pizzas are not four slices of a smaller pie. Every pizza, in Italy, is a personal pizza. That being said, the Italians do not use jumbo or XXL to describe their food – so. Third, pizza is not served pre-sliced. The proper way to eat pizza in Italy is with fork and knife – though many do use their hands. If sliced pizza is what you are going for – you go to a specific pizzeria that sells pizza by the slice, taglia. And an extra fact, just to show we are all still one people on this earth – pizza is always drank with beer in Italy. (Peroni!)

 

We had a good meal at Sforno – though it did not live up to the hype of being the best pizza place in Rome. Still, in my naïve opinion, pizza in Rome – in Italy – is always better than pizza anywhere else. EXCEPT CLARA’s – did you know Elmer is really from Naples? Ask him about it.

Lara’s friend Elisa Pede took the great pictures attached to this post. I hope you enjoy.  Ciao, Ciao!

Visit Us: ClarasRestaurant.com 

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Roman Farmers Markets

Hello Family-

This week will be checking in with our foreign correspondent: our daughter Ersilia.  She will be spending the school year in Rome as a student of Loyola University.   From time to time, Ersilia will provide everyone a taste of life in Roma!  Enjoy!!


"Last Sunday, September 14^th, I did a really hard thing. I woke up at seven in the morning to venture from one side of Rome to the other with a crowd of people to join larger crowds of people at three of the cities neatest markets. The first stop was at Porta Portese – Rome’s largest and most renown. Every Sunday over a thousand merchants set up their stalls, selling anything from antiques to bottle openers. It’s loud, with little space, and has the special smell of a flea market. For me the best part was walking through the ancient Roman gates to enter the flea market, something I did a few times because I love to play the fool.

Next, we walked along the Tiber to the Mercato di Campagna Amica, a farmers market near the Circo Massimo. A smaller affair, only twenty to thirty merchants come together every Sunday to sell their produce. It is quite the diverse selections, with the traditional fruits and vegetables to a variety of prosciutto's, bread, cheeses, and mozzarella (because in Italy – Mozzarella has its own category separate from cheese), to regional wines, specialty jams, candies and gelatos. The prices are more than fair and the food is awesome. Also awesome is the food plate one can buy for five euros – a sampling of the different vendors produce with a cup of red or white wine. There is a seating area outside where one can go off on his/her own or buddy up and make a new friend if that’s preferred. I bought a prosciutto panino and a cup of red wine and had a great time being awkward with a cute, old Italian couple. Before leaving, I bought ten ripe and juicy peaches for two euros, a jar of pumpkin and ginger jam for my cousin Lara (pumpkin anything is a rarity in Italy), and sampled some homemade gelato.

Our last stop was at the Monti Market, near the Coliseum. Monti is the Wicker Park of Rome and this weekly Sunday market is appropriately full of artisan work. It’s Etsy offline. Everything is handmade, unique, beautiful, a must-have, and pricy. That kind of sucks, but haggling with artists is something I can’t do. Fortunately and unfortunately I did not leave empty handed – a pair of earrings and some postcards got me. By now it was around five o’clock – and most of the group was beat. We hopped on the metro and took a bus back. Victorious with my spoils, I enjoyed my dinner of peaches that night."

Visit our Facebook page to see  more of Ersilia's pictures.