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This was taken at my favorite panini bar in L’Aquila. These are the best panini and well worth the trip! Simple and delicious: proscuitto, fresh creamy mozzarella, and perfectly ripe tomatoes. My friends agreed that these were the best they had! Simplicity at its best ! Try it….you’ll like it! maria
It’s amazing when you put passion, dreams and love into action: voila, the birth of Breaking Bread in L’Aquila! As I told some of friends, I am now dealing with the “book weight” – and working it off with my daily visits to the gym! Here’s a little snippet (panini) of my talk for Saturday night: I would also like to acknowledge both Luciano e Andrea De Carlofelice, the owners of Trattoria San Biagio, a place that Paul and I enjoyed visiting in L’Aquila—our home away from home. It was during my visit in October 2004 that I was inspired to fulfill my lifelong dream to write a book. At the time, I wondered if the cookbook was simply my way of dealing with my grief. But I also knew that there was magic in the idea. The brothers inspired me to recreate tastes in my own versions and words. I believe that things in life happen for a reason. Will take lots of pictures and share with you! maria Hi Everybody, Just finished packing and leaving for Italy in a few hours. I am heading to Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Abruzzo to help celebrate food, wine, music and my book: Breaking Bread in L’Aquila. Special thanks to Daniele Elow Kihlgren, owner of Albergo Diffuso Santo Stefano di Sessanio for hosting this special event. Also a special thank you to Giovanni Pacificio, General Manager for organizing the event. We look forward to breaking bread with him on Friday afternoon! Here’s the link to beautiful Sextantio Albergo Diffuso http://sextantio.it. Here’s some information about Santo Stefano di Sessanio: Preservationists, historians, sybarites rejoice. The boutique Albergo Diffuso Santo Stefano di Sessanio is Italian living at its finest, in an absolutely stunning setting. An abandoned medieval hill town and castle in Italy’s Abruzzi region, a former ghost village, has been restored and guests can book a stay at the magnificent hotel. The entire town’s renovation project– a $5.1 million price tag– has been sponsored by the Italian-Swedish philosopher-preservationist Daniele Elow Kihlgren. During the restoration, the attention to detail was staggering: the exclusive use of material found in the surrounding area, interiors furnished in the Arte Povera tradition (folk arts and crafts from the Abruzzo mountains), imperceptible modern amenities (like heating beneath the floors). The press has gone wild. Gourmet magazine described it as “pretty enough to be in the movies.” Enjoy the fairy-tale of this Italian Renaissance. I promise to take lots of photos and share this Cinderella experience! Why Santo Stefano? On February 3rd, during the final copyediting phase of my book, at approximately 1:30am, I was very tired and ready to go to sleep. I stopped for a moment while I reading the “pasta and lentil” recipe page. I began to reminisce about the time that Paul and I visited Santo Stefano. I felt his presence as I remembered the day that we walked to the Medici Tower and the church of the Madonna del Lago. We ended that beautiful day with a hearty bowl of lentil soup with sausage, bread, and a few glasses of wine. It was an experience that I would treasure for a lifetime—not to mention the incredible food and wine! In a moment, it was 2:30am. I began to make more changes to my book. I wanted to include the variation on the recipe that we enjoyed eating in Santo Stefano, and to share more about Santo Stefano di Sessanio with my readers. These are experiences you can’t make up ! ! ciao, maria Hi Everybody, I wanted to share a beautiful review of Breaking Bread in L’Aquila by Eleonora Baldwin’s blog. I was very moved and so true how my life changed from my marriage to the unfortunate tragedy of Paul’s passing. Working on the book helped me put closure and now beginning a new chapter in life! How exciting! Starting to work on other book projects …and…….another dream to run in a half marathon in 2011. I’ll keep you posted while I am straining the pasta ! ! It may be my “red hot chili pepper” debut….. Exerpt from Eleonora’s the blog: ……is inspired in part by those memorable meals, but even more so by a deep love for the joviality and warmth of shared hospitality. But above all, the book is inspired by the enduring love for Paul, the man who transformed Maria’s life. Breaking Bread in L’Aquila is, essentially, a delicious love letter…… read more at: http://agliooliopeperoncino.blogspot.com/2010/05/breaking-bread-in-laquila.html maria
Here’s how a little of this and that works in action! I was putting some chicken breasts in the freezer (they were on sale) but realized oops…..the freezer is loaded with a lot of other stuff (mainly biscotti for upcoming book signings). Yesterday, I had roasted some artichokes (canned) and stuffed the hearts with fresh chopped garlic and basil, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and roasted for fifteen minutes. Perfect. While I was trying to make space in the freezer, I noticed a one pound container of fresh lasagne noodles. I then looked in the refrigerator and had some fresh mozzarella. In the vegetable drawer, a bag of fresh spinich from last week (it was in the state of use it or lose it). Now we have something: lasagne with roasted artichokes and spinach. Ok….sauce?? For sauce, I had two cups of tomoatoe sauce in the refrigerator and added a little cream and vodka = voila, vodka sauce for the lasagne. Let’s begin: Pre-heat over at 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13 baking dish with a tsp. of butter. Spread the bottom of the pan with a little of vodka sauce and add one layer of lasagne noodles. Layer the roasted artichokes and fresh spinach. Add fresh mozzarella, vodka sauce and fresh parmigiano. Add another layer of noodles and add fresh parmigiano, fresh mozzarella. Place foil paper on top of the dish and place the dish in the over for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for additional five minutes. Remove the lasagne and let sit for fifteen minutes while it settles. a new tasty dish! maria ! |
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