Roman, Tuscan, and Venetian Holiday (with a stopover in Milan)

A few weeks ago, we took a much-anticipated vacation to Italy, and I haven’t been able to get back on track since returning. I’ve let my blogs go into complete abandonment, and that’s okay. Life is meant for living, and I never wanted to be one of those bloggers that tweets about. Every. Darn. Thing.

Anyway, this entry is more for me. I really like looking back on my entry about Paris that I did last year, and so I decided to do the same for Italy. So here goes…my trip log

The first day was a LOT of travel. We went from San Diego to New York to Milan, finally riding the train to Rome. I actually felt okay because I slept for a good deal of the flights as well as some on the train. I was rested, and ready to explore! We found our hotel pretty easily, which was conveniently located close to a Metro station. We settled in, then found food! After all of that travel and plane food, we were ready for a real dinner. But first, happy hour! Yes, happy hour. It exists in Rome. After some great house wine and bruschetta, we went to another place and had pasta Bolognese and pasta carbonara, along with salad caprese and the most delicious house wine that I’ve ever tasted (red, of course). Dessert was chocolate gelato!

Yep, we ate well on this trip. A little too well, as I’m working to lose 10 pounds before the holidays. Italy is certainly good for padding!

The next day was the Coliseum, Palantine, and Forum. A great tip is to see all of these on the same day, as one ticket gets you into each place. Positively breathtaking. More great food to be found on this day, such as pizza, Panini, and of course, lots of yummy cappuccinos throughout the day!

Day Three was Monday, and our day to head to the Vatican City. My advice: Go EARLY! The museum as well as St. Peter’s Cathedral are crowded very early, particularly on Mondays, as other museums are closed, and the Vatican is mostly closed on Sunday. Even if you are not particularly religious, these sites are worth seeing. St. Peter’s is the largest, most grand place that I have ever seen. It could take hours of exploration to simply see everything, let alone drink it all in.

The Vatican museum contains the Sistine Chapel, which is truly something to see, but the rest of the art within the museum is equally awe-inspiring. It is exhausting mentally, absorbing all of the beautiful Renaissance (and earlier) pieces. I really wish that we had broken up our Vatican visit a bit more.

The next day was Tuesday, and it was our last day in Rome. We used this day for all of our last “I Wannas” and visited the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. We ate lots more gelato (melon gelato is my new favorite!) and had grilled squid for dinner and linguine with clams! So good! This last day was a bit more relaxing, and we posed with the Centaurions outside of the Coliseum. I know it’s cheesy, but I thought it was funny. Much better than a living statue!

The next day, we were on the train to Florence (not a long ride – maybe 90 minutes). I will just say up front that I LOVED Florence. It’s like a mini-Paris. There is so much beautiful art, and wonderful food! Florence is also small enough that walking is no problem. The city is only 1.5 miles around, so nothing is very far. We went to the Uffizi museum, and saw the beautiful Botticelli room. I love Botticelli. It was my favorite exhibit in the Louvre, and I was not disappointed with the presentation in Florence. No pictures were allowed, but sometimes I like that better. It made me appreciate the time that I had to enjoy the paintings.

We ate sooo well in Florence. If you eat steak, be sure to eat steak in Florence. We had one of the best steaks at Il Latini (made famous by constant praise from Rachael Ray). Believe the hype. Another great place was Trattoria la Burrasca, where we had more steak (!) and veal!!!! I’d never had veal in my life, and it’s doubtful that I will ever eat it again, but it sure was good in Italy. Another great place was Vivoli Gelato, which was hands down the best gelato that we had on our trip (and that’s saying something, since it was all amazing!).

Other sites in Florence were the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore or Duomo, a beautiful, ornate church that serves as the center of town. We did not get to go inside, but the outside was breathtaking. Also, seeing the statue of David by Michelangelo was a dream come true.

A wine and olive oil tasting made our time in Florence pretty much perfect. There is no dump bucket at an Italian wine tasting – it is not necessary. The wines were all so good, but they are sure generous with our pours. We shared a tasting, and still had a little too much for two in the afternoon. ;) We brought home a ton of wine and olive oil from Italy. In fact, that was probably the only souvenirs that we bought!

After two amazing days, we jumped back onto the train for our final destination, Venice. We loved Florence so much that we were tempted to skip Venice, but I’m really glad that we went. Venice is a beautiful town, and is best seen from the waters of the Grand Canal. In fact, the water bus ride to our hotel was one of the highlights of the trip! The winding streets were simply enchanting, and made it very easy to get lost! The walkways are almost hidden until you are in front of them. The streets are also very, very narrow.

Venice is really a shoppers’ haven. Other than touring St. Marks and doing a canal tour or gondola ride (very, very expensive), there is not much to do in Venice. So I’m glad that we only had one day there. I was glad to see it and buy a Carnival mask, but I don’t know that I would return unless it was for a business trip or for Carnival.

By the time we left Venice, we were exhausted!!! Those cobblestone streets can really wear on the feet, and I was missing Mr. Darwin. I would definitely return to Italy. Perhaps a tour of the Amalfi coast and a couple more days in Florence? Or a Paris/Florence trip? We will see.

The full pictures are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gwenniepenny/sets/72157627895686174/

Pasta Carbonara!

Pasta Carbonara is my husband's favorite meal that I make. It's really something that we only make and eat at home, since I find most restaurant versions too heavy and creamy. It's simple ingredients; in fact, you probably have almost every ingredient in your kitchen right now. It comes together lightning fast -- probably the longest step is waiting for the water to boil to cook the pasta! It's simple, and could easily be made vegetarian by the omission of the pancetta (replaced with mushrooms, perhaps?).

Makes 4 generous helpings.

Ingredients:

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti pasta (cuz whole wheat makes it healthy ;))

1/4 pound chopped pancetta (I got mine at Trader Joe's)

2 T extra virgin olive oil

2 t crushed red pepper

1/4 cup white wine

6 cloves peeled and crushed garlic (about 4 tsp)

salt and pepper

3 large eggs

1/2 cup shaved parmesean cheese, or more to taste

Boil the water and add the pasta. Next, crush up the garlic if it is not already crushed. Place a deep frying pan on the stove, and pour in the olive oil, allowing it to heat for a minute or two. Next, throw in the chopped pancetta, cooking for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic to the mixture, stirring to keep the garlic from scorching. Pour in the wine, stirring any drippings fromt the bottom of the pan. Add the red pepper.

Crack the eggs into a bowl, beating with a fork. Add a small ladle of water from the pasta -- this will keep the eggs from overcooking.

Drain the pasta, and transfer to the frying pan, mixing up the oil-pancetta sauce. Throw on the egg mixture, making sure to coat the pasta well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on big plates with bread, sprinkle on parmesean to taste. Enjoy!

Garlic Bread

Making your own fresh garlic bread is very easy and so much tastier than those frozen bags from the grocery store. Making garlic bread at home is another way of using bread that might otherwise go to waste. Fresh garlic is recommended, but the jarred chopped garlic will work as well.

Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread (I used leftovers from the French bread recipe)
1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick)
3 cloves garlic (about 2 teaspoons)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
pinch pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Slice up the bread if not pre-sliced.

Melt the butter in a saucepan using low heat. While the butter is melting, add the garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Turn the burner to simmer, and allow the flavors to meld for a few minutes.

Spread a large piece of aluminum foil out on the counter. Dip both sides of each piece of bread in the butter mixture, and place into the foil. Repeat this step until all pieces have been dipped.

Wrap up the bread in the foil, and place into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven, and serve hot.

* Alternatively, for crispy bread, lay the dipped slices flat onto a baking sheet, bake for 15 minutes, flipping once halfway.

Easy Pizza Dough

Pizza is one of my favorite foods -- it's inexpensive, easy, and incredibly versatile. It's a great party food: you can load it up with any assortment of toppings to please anyone's preferences. While I love delivery and adore chomping on big slices from a pizza parlor, there is just something extra-special about the homemade variety. You can customize it with toppings without breaking the bank (it's incredible to me how much the shops charge to do half pepperoni and half mushroom!), and you can control the ingredients to keep it as healthy or not (!) as you'd like.

The biggest challenge to making homemade pizza is the crust. I know that supermarkets sell many choices for pre-made pizza crusts, but these can be costly and can contain a lot of preservatives and oils that are not so healthy. Another great thing about making your own crust is that you can truly make it your own. You can substitute wheat flour for white, add herbs, garlic, cheese, whatever your taste. This crust is flavorful, versatile, and most importantly, insanely easy. This crust is also awesome for making strombolis, calzones, and breadsticks at home!

Makes 1 15-inch crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup warm water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp yeast
2 tbsp granulated garlic (optional, but recommended)

**OPTIONAL**
Substitute 2 cups of wheat flour for the AP flour for a hardier, healthier crust
Substitute 2 cups of bread flour for the AP flour for an even puffier crust
Add 1 tsp oregano, basil, or Italian seasoning to the mix for a little extra flavor
Add 2 tbsp of grated parmesean cheese to the mix for more salty, cheesy flavor
Press 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella into the crust when shaping it for more gooey cheese and the "stuffed crust" effect

Combine the yeast and warm water in a small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes to wake up. Mix the remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl. When the yeast mixture has sat for the allotted time, use a spoon to mix with the dry ingredients and olive oil until the dough is well mixed and pulls from the sides of the bowl. Shape it into a ball, spray a clean bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough into the bowl, flip once. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise for 30 minutes.

While the dough is rising, heat the oven to 425 degrees.

When dough has risen, spray a pizza sheet or stone with cooking spray, then work the dough into a flat circle (or square, if you prefer). Bake for 5 minutes.

Pull out the dough and top with desired toppings, placing the toppings first, then cheese. Return to the oven. When cheese is melted and beginning to brown, it is ready!