To Celebrate the Holidays:
GOLDEN TASTES OF ITALY BOOK GIVEAWAY!
FIVE BOOKS ABOUT ITALY AND
AN ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION TO THE DREAM OF ITALY NEWSLETTER WITH TWO BONUS DVDS
Will be given away to commenters selected in a RANDOM DRAWING
It’s NOT a CONTEST, anyone who comments can win!
TO PLAY: Complete This Sentence In The Comment Section Below:
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was ________________________
Write the first thing that comes to your mind, for example…
That cannoli stuffed with the freshest ricotta I savored in Sicily
OR
The taralli (flavored with anise) I made for Thanksgiving apertivo, that always reminds me of my nana
************************
One of These Can Be Yours…
100 Places In Italy Every Woman Should Go, by Susan Van Allen
Dream of Italy, Online Newsletter Subscription for 2012, with two Bonus Travel DVDs,
edited by Kathy McCabe, (Golden Day 31: Umbria)
a cookbook by Pamela Sheldon Johns, award-winning author and leader of cooking classes in Italy
by Chiara Lima, from The Mamma Agata Amalfi Coast Cooking School, (Golden Day 62, Ravello)
They all make lovely gifts
DEADLINE: MIDNIGHT, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3
Winner Announcements: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4
You may win a book to give to an Italophile in your life
Or it may be your first present of the season!
the incredibly luscious Limoncello gelato, imported from Italy, that we used to sell in our store. I remember a customer used to drive 20 miles to buy several individual servings and then race home 20 miles to get them into the freezer so he could relish them until he would have time to come back and get more! I will never forget that wonderful flavor OR that loyal customer!
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was roaming the streets of Firenze with a big cup of Buontalenti gelato in hand, a flavour that makes all the cares in the world melt away.
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was my random trip to Sicily, when I was living and studying Italian in Sorrento, 2007! Where I had one of the most amazing steak dishes, Pepper Verde Creamed Filet! Perfection in the combined balance, flavor & texture to go with my wonderful wine! I will never forget that steak!!!!!!!!!!!
Pumpkin gnocchi. Heavenly!
Another One Golden Taste of Italy for me was when my Chef Mentor Biagio Longo taught me the Philosophy “TUTI-TUTI, WASTE NOTHING” Sounds better in a deep Italian accent. Everything is usable! I have that engrained into my work ethic when I prep & create cuisine!
…The risotto with strawberries served at a top restaurant of Cremona
But, truly, there have been far too many to list here! Including those of my great-aunt’s own kitchen…
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was discovering the panini with cereali that the local baker bakes every second day. I gravitate to the bakers now to buy them.
One golden taste of Italy for me has been incorporating Cucina Povera recipes different bloggers have shared into our weekly menu. Grazie, we have been eating very well…
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was walking along the winding streets of Ortigia with my husband. We had decided to visit on a whim, and drove down to Siracusa that very afternoon. Best date ever 🙂
One golden taste in Italy for me was the seafood risotto I had on my first trip to Venice,it was as amazing as the city itself and I still dream of having it again
My golden taste of Italy was enjoying a delicious pranzo made with the beyond amazing truffles “we” (the dogs) discovered in Aqualagna, Le Marche. One of the most mouth watering meals I’ve EVER eaten!!!
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was the home made pasta and sauce that my Nona made every Sunday for dinner.
…A Parmesan Crisp with whipped ricotta & pancetta, drizzled with balsamic vinegar at Cipolla Rossa
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was the first time I had Panzanella in Firenze last May. It was magnificent! I’ve since made it several times here in Texas, and of course made authentic Tuscan bread to use so it could be as close as possible to the “real deal”!
…the chocolate ricotta crostata I learned to make at a cooking class led by Letizia Mattiacci of Alla Madonna del Piatto. Loved it so much I made it at my friend’s Thanksgiving dinner!
One golden taste in Italy for me was the tiramisu served at Dardano’s in Cortona, and yes I had seconds
The entire meal at Osteria dei Sapori Perduti in Modica!
I’ll never forget the “special” my husband was nudged into ordering at a small restaurant in venice. The large bowl of freshly cooked seafood was overwhelmingly gorgeous and he still talks about how amazing it tasted 10 years later.
Discovering Barolo wine! The wine of kings, the king of wine. Love it.
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was meeting Anna, the sixty-something owner of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese farm factory outside Parma, for a tour and tasting of her family’s loving production.
My most golden taste moment was in my ancestral village deep in Basilicata, where the flavors on the table were so close to those of my grandmother’s kitchen that it brought my heritage to life. I realized her cooking wasn’t generic “Italian” but was specifically Lucanian.
One golden taste for me is the first cup of coffee in Italy after disembarking from the airplane. So very good. And the joy of being in Italy again.
Bistecca alla Fiorentina in Cortona!!
One golden taste for me was the tiny fresh tortellini in delicious broth at Pietro’s in Bologna.
My golden taste was a simple grilled radiccio at a small hotel in the Dolomites!
the taste of chicken and polenta, the dish my Italian grandmother prepared. Hens stuffed with ground salami, ham, rosemary, parmesan and baked with rosemary and bacon on top. Served with a good helping of polenta and red wine! Ahhh, heaven! and I am the only one in my family who learned how to prepare it so guess who gets to do all the work???
Prosecco…. simply the best!
Apricots, albicocce. bought on the roadside high in the Italian Alps near Switzerland, one July. We ate an entire basket of them and washed them down with a bottle of apricot nector. I’ve never tasted apricots like those before or since.
…hearing the organ playing in San Petronio, Bologna. The ethereal sounds of one of the world’s oldest instruments (built in 1470) brought a stream of people in from the square and we all stood in hushed silence as the gentle notes filled the wonderful space.
It is difficult to sort out one golden taste for you, Susan, as there are hundreds. One of my favorites is the porcetta truck at the many local italian markets. They will slice off tantalizing slivers of pork from a roast pig. It is moist and delicious, and goes well in a baguette for pranzo on the go, while you browse the mercado.
On my honeymoon, wild boar braised in red wine with polenta at the restaurant in Hotel La Cisterna in San Gimignano, Tuscany. http://www.hotelcisterna.it/img/rist09.jpg
one golden taste of italy for me is the dream i keep having with me at a cooking class in tuscany with a great glass of wine in my hand………..
…my first taste of Panforte di Siena. I bought it at Zabar’s in New York in a fit of dreamy nostalgia for my junior year abroad, then ate it, savoring bit by bit, like Charlie Bucket with his birthday chocolate bar in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I still have the wrapper in a binder, filled with special images from that time, my first year working after college graduation.
One Golden taste of Italy for me was
In a wonderful Cafe in Rome, THE best
Lemon custard cake I have ever had in
My life!!
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was when I spent a week “living” in Castellina in Chianti. My most favorite meals were those I prepared from simple ingredients from the local market….a simple tomato sauce over torellini with fresh basil, a glass of Chianti, and the company of the resident cat made for a magical memory! Oh, and the freshly picked cherries rounded out my meal as a wonderful dessert. 🙂
My golden taste of Italy occurred 59 years ago when I lived in Messina for a year. I will never forget the Cremolata di Fragole from Bar Irrera. It has lingered with me all these many years.
the delicious lasagna that I ate along the shores of beautiful Lake Como – we dined al fresco, with the wonderful view in front of us.
… the first time I had Pasta alla Norma on the Amalfi Coast!
the taste of 90 year old balsamic vinegar that i had in rome!
The arugula and truffle cheese sandwich at I Fratellini in Florence. It’s near the Piazza Signoria, on a little side street. It’s basically a window on the street. You go up and order your sandwich and a little glass of wine, and eat on the curb with the locals. It’s a lot of fun, and the sandwiches are amazing!
The ‘Involtini di Agnello’ sounded great a parcel of lamb – perhaps not a golden taste after all all that glitters is not gold! My parcels arrived wrapped in paper and inside Lambs liver wrapped with intestine!! The golden taste – the adventure of eating in a foreign land – I could have asked what it was but it sounded harmless enough – I managed to eat it all but I won’t be ordering it again in a hurry!!
lifechanging! The people, the food and wine, and the country are magnificient.
the daily hazelnut gelato that I had on the way back to my hotel after a day of doing mosaic art in Ravenna.
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was GELATO ! I became an instant addict. Still trying to find a reasonable facsimile in the States.
Grazie mille to you wonderful commenters! You have made me so hungry, sharing these delicious flavors and memories!
deep fried soft shell spider crabs in a fritto misto di mare served to me on the island of burrano
Our golden taste of Italy was frosty limoncello served after pasta carbonara late at night at an outdoor table in the shadows of Porta Octavia in Rome.
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was the most delicate, melt-in-your-mouth pumpkin ravioli I savoured on a beautiful summer evening at a secret family restaurant in the hills outside of Reggio-Emilia.
My golden taste of Italy was shaved truffles over a bowl of simple pasta at an outdoor cafe in Montefalco during the wine festival. My first and only taste of truffles. Unforgettable !
My Golden Taste of Italy was, is and always will be Stresa, the HOtel la Palma, Isola Pescatore and the cozy wine bar Al Buscion run by Massimo. The Food, wine and people make you feel like you are home, it is an indulgence I cannot get enough of. Can’t wait to return end of April 2012.
my golden taste of Italy was the 8 month we lived in Tuscany and the food we cooked in our 200 year old stone oven.
One Golden Taste of Italy for me is there are so many… I can only say one?? well one of the simplest things there is… their “au gratin” vegetables. Zucchinis, Eggplants, Tomatoes, Mushrooms and others stuffed with bread crumbs, parsley, garlic and a pinch of salt and baked in the oven until tender! YUMMY!
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was a “tagliata alle fragole” in Milan, exquisite combination of tender meat with a beautiful strawberry/aceto balsamico sauce……a great joy for the taste buds
My golden taste is pistachio pesto at the restaurant on the step in Caltigirone, Sicily.
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was freshly caught calamari and prawns served fritto misto style in a tiny house/restaurant on a little island off Trapani – with a perfectly chilled glass of Grecanico – heaven on a plate and in a glass!!
My golden taste of Italy was the “uovo raviolo” at San Domenico in Imola, Emilia-Romagna. The golden yolk and shaved truffles were pure heaven.
At the same meal, at a restaurant near the Pantheon, we had Rome’s fried artichokes and tiny wild strawberries with vanilla gelato. It cannot get more golden than that!
…..Salty sea in your mouth tasting Baccala next to a small canal in Venice.
…..pumpkin ravioli with pear and walnuts in a cosy trattoria in Florence.
I just returned from Apuglia and can’t stop thinking about Burrata, a stuffed mozzarella specialty of the area along with the “white” (as in no red sauce, it was white) eggplant parmesan. Both beyond YUMMY!!
the delicious ice-cream my husband used to buy me for dinner when I was expecting my first child !
The freshest Limoncello we ever had, offered to us from a shop owner who didn’t speak English but was obviously excited to share his product. We took him up on his glasses and sat, sipping this refreshing drink overlooking the Amalfi coast from the island of Capri. It was all we could do to tear ourselves out of our chairs to catch the ferry back to Sorrento!
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was after an amazing osteria meal, so full and content, being blown away by a simple cookie and an amazing vin santo.
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was the first fat warm sweet fig lovingly picked by my husband fresh from our tree in Positano, for my breakfast . And also the one after that and after that… I polished off a platter full.
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was the homemade fettucine mimoso at Le Cinghiale Bianco on the Otrarno in Fierenze. I can still taste the subtle hints of orange blossoms almost fifteen years later.
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was sitting on the steps of the fountain outside the Pantheon with my Nutella gelato from Giolitti.
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was risotto ai mare at Peruca, in San Gimignano.Risotto, Peruca restaurant and San Gimigniano are pure GOLD! Mi manca tanto, bellissima Italia!!!!!
even today was a golden day…lunch on the terrace ..what, its already December ?!
a simple fettucini with funghi porcini and sausage, hearty but ok with a glass or two of white, local wine…now where are those cuneesi al rhum I bought at the supermercato?…what about a sip of that limoncello our neighbors made ….
One golden taste for me was Amaro Montenegro.
A golden taste of Italy for me took place on my first trip to Rome, sitting on the wall behind the Pantheon eating my first porchetta panino!
What a delicious list of memories! Good luck to all of you, and hurry back for more Golden Tastes!
Ohhh Prosecco! Love the stuff. Will be sad if I can’t find it back in the states!
My golden taste of Italy is sitting on the Spanish steps, ignoring all tourists and just enjoying life
Greg Robson
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was coniglio con olive e pinoli, at Ristorante Da Delfina, in Artimino,
One golden taste of Italy for me was a visit to a lemon plantation on the slopes of Mt Etna for a surpurb Pasta dinner with wine and lemoncello…
Loving all these delicious comments! Good luck to you all! Susan
definitely gelato!! I am addicted to it!!
My very first Golden taste of Italy was in 2007 in VENICE (yeay) at la Taverna San Trovaso.
It was the most unbelievable Zuppa de Pesce I had ever had!!
A Golden Taste for me was eating Chef Paolo Monti’s pesto at the Grand Hotel Portovenere after his cooking lesson in Portovenere years ago. The best, most full of flavour, freshest linguine with pesto, green beans and boiled potatoes I’ve ever had!
Another Golden Taste is slowing drinking the divine Passito from Pantelleria, in any place in Italy.
…the incredible fried zucchini flowers in Rome and any gelato anywhere in Italy!
Thats where I had my amazing seafood risotto that I still dream about-Great restaurant and nice to tourists
Those bright green round olives they have on the Amalfi coast. I couldn’t get enough of them.
One Golden Taste of Italy for me was enjoying Panzerotti cooked in an out door forno while waiting for the fireworks to start in Locorotondo Puglia during ferragosto last summer! Squisiti!
One Golden Taste of Italy was eating lunch, alone, on a rainy November day in Bologna. The meal was “tortollini con brodo.” The tortollini was stuffed with pumpkin squash. The broth was clear and delicious. Simplicity and elegance guided the meal. Bravo!
last month I was in Italy, in Bologna.
I was having lunch with the tour guide who showed me around the city. Yes sometimes you can rent a friend.
She took me to her favorite restaurant and had the chef make me 3 typical foods from Bologna.
I took the first bite, and wow,
the second and oh wow.
by the 3rd bite i was in heaven.
she told me that it takes 3 bites to savor and appreciate the burst of flavor. cant wait to return
Before my son & I entered Pompei we were hungry and saw a litlle elderly man pushing a cart with Pizza inside, warm cheesy Pizza. How bad can this be we thought. While we ate we sat in the train station, sitting on warn brown benches rich in history, savoring the best pizza we ever ate, thinking when we exit Pompei we will get some more for the train ride back to Sorrento. Unfortunately the man was not there upon our exit. We have been back 5 times looking for this little man. A great surprise from a street vendor.
… the family run restaurant in Ravenna who thankfully just TOLD us what they were serving and brought out pan after pan of beautiful antipasta and pasta dishes. Honestly I didn’t even think about what I was eating, or try to analyze it, I just let the senses take over for pure enjoyment…
Congrats Greg! You’ve been selected in the Random Drawing to win Flavors of Rome. Please e-mail 100placesintaily@gmail.com with your address.
Congratulations Louise! You’ve been selected in the Random Drawing to win a copy of 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go. Please e-mail 100placesinitaly@gmail.com with your address. Grazie!
Congratulations Nancy! You’ve been selected in the random drawing to receive a copy of Cucina Povera. Please e-mail 100placesinitaly@gmail.com with your address. Grazie!
Congratulations Karen! You’ve been selected in a Random Drawing to receive Simple and Genuine, by Chiara Lima. Please e-mail 100placesinitaly@gmail.com with your address. Grazie!
Congratulations Sally! You’ve been selected in a Random Drawing to win a subscription to Dream of Italy Newsletter and 2 Bonus DVDs!
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