Saturday, June 27, 2009

Sorting

Yesterday I finished reading the most wonderful book. If you like Venice, glass works, history, a little bit of mystery, and a little bit of romance, then I can't recommend anything more highly than The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato.

Other than that beautiful book, not much has been going on lately. I've been helping Flavio with part of his thesis project, and I've been working, and I've been cooking a little bit. Tonight I'm making spaghetti pomodoro again, and I picked up a bottle of Arbor Mist sangria zinfandel to go with it (I don't know if this is a good pairing or not--I really don't know anything about wine--but I like Arbor Mist, even if it is a bit too sweet to drink with dinner).

I'm going to spend the afternoon going through some of the stuff I have packed away in the garage. Even though I'm not moving out until November-ish, helping my grandparents move a couple weeks ago taught me that it's never too early to start packing. Especially since I have a lot of stuff, most of which I probably don't even need/want for my apartment. Also, this will be a good opportunity to take inventory of what we have, so we can start figuring out what we still need (before we register for wedding gifts).

P.S. Sorry for my lack of photos lately. My computer is basically out of memory, and I need to do something about that before my trip (2 and a half weeks!!!), or else y'all won't get any photos of that either.

P.P.S. So I really want to go to Èze. Like now. Well, not now, but in the off-season, when it's empty and cheap.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Bad Week Gone Good

Well, it's been an interesting week. I spent Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday helping my grandparents pack, move, and settle into their new home. Although there was a lot more work to do than I had anticipated, and I learned way too many weird things about my grandparents, it felt good to do something nice for them.

Although the work wasn't completely done, my mom and I took today off to see a movie, eat at our favorite café, and do a little shopping. We saw My Life in Ruins, the new Nia Vardalos movie, which was absolutely wonderful. Sweet and funny with lovely scenery, exactly what we needed after a few hot & stressful days of moving. I had an amazing sandwich at Caffe Moderne ("The Roman": roast beef, provolone, parmesan, arugula, and a black pepper & rosemary mayo on multigrain bread), followed by an espresso and a dish of pistachio gelato (I also sampled the lemon-basil sorbetto). Before leaving the square, we stopped in at Lucinda's, where I bought a 16"x16" print of this lovely Kelly Rae Roberts piece.

And finally: today I booked my flight for next month's trip. Although I ended up spending $300+ more than I would've if I'd booked 2 weeks ago, and I have to leave Italy a day earlier than I'd planned, it feels good for this trip to actually be official now! Also today: Flavio booked our hotel room in Venice. We were originally planning to stay at 3749 Ponte Chiodo, the charming little B&B we stayed in last time. Unfortunately, it was only available for one night, and we wanted to stay for two. Then he found Hotel Priuli, a 4-star hotel close to Piazza San Marco!! We've booked the "Venice in Love 2009" package, which includes a free bottle of sparkling wine, free room service, a private motorboat to Murano, and lots of discounts at various shops & restaurants. Seriously?? I could die.

Oh! I almost forgot! I tried two new recipes today: Easy Cheese Danishes (for breakfast) and Roasted Shrimp Cocktail (for dinner), both from Ina Garten. Both recipes turned out perfectly, although I overfilled the danishes and the cocktail sauce was a bit spicy for me. I'll definitely be adding these recipes to my repetoire, and I want to play around with different fillings for the danishes. Sorry I can't share pictures...the lighting in the kitchen was bad when the danishes were done, and I was too impatient to grab my camera before tucking into the shrimp cocktail.

Now my hard-earned, heavenly day is coming to an end. I think I'll sleep well tonight. :)

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Spaghetti Pomodoro

Get your twirl on!

If you've ever ordered from an inexpensive tourist menu at a restaurant in Italy, you've probably had spaghetti pomodoro, spaghetti in a light tomato sauce. It's a common primo piatto, or first course. The first time I had it was in Venice, last November. I've never liked spaghetti sauce, so I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed this dish. I asked Flavio how to make it, and this was the recipe he gave me. Of course this is just a basic method; there are endless variations. Flavio likes to add mozzarella, black olives, and cherry tomatoes. I think I would really enjoy it with sautéed mushrooms.

Spaghetti Pomodoro - serves 4
  • olive oil
  • 1/4 onion, chopped
  • 28-oz. can peeled crushed tomatoes
  • basil (fresh is preffered, but dried is fine)
  • salt
  • spaghetti
Sautée onion in a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove onion, if desired. (The onion imparts a nice flavor to the olive oil. When I've had this dish in restaurants, the sauce has never had onion in it. I hate onion, so I remove it. Flavio would prefer to leave it in.) Add the crushed tomatoes and stir in basil and salt; cover. Stir occasionally (keeping the lid on the skillet between stirs). Let simmer for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook and drain spaghetti. Stir pasta into sauce and serve. Buon appetito!