Life...Italian Style

Why Didn't McCain Pick Me???

I don't get it - I'm just as qualified as Sarah Palin, if not more so...lets look at the facts:

1. I am a 30-something woman (more appeal to that 10-18 year old demographic)
2. I have been a resident of 2 major American cities - Philadelphia (pop 1.5 million), and Seattle (pop 600,000 - small town values), representing the East and West coasts of our fair nation.
3. I am not registered Democrat or Republican, so I can attract those swing voters.
4. I was an entrepeneur and successful small business owner - and I repeat, a woman.
5. When I lived in Seattle, I was very active in my community to stop the addition of more parking meters in my neighborhood that would have taken away valueable parking spaces from the residents - this was a big win!
6.  I like polar bears - Sarah just wants them out of the way so she can put in her pipelines that will bring oil to the lower 48 for about 48 days.
7. I am a proud mother of 2 cats, whom I rescued from the dangerous Mean Streets of Foligno.
8. I live in a foreign country, therefore my foreign policy experience is much greater than that of Palin.
9. I am a Taurus - the best sign - characterized by determination, stability, drive for success, and stubborness -its my way or the highway -that's how we should be running this country.
10. I am a good cook, so we can cut need for the White House chef out of the budget, saving the taxpayers thousands...
11. And, most importantly...I am a woman (see points 1 and 4)

See the Huffington Post for more information about why McCain thinks that American women are really stupid.

From the Jet Set ... to the Donkey Set

Il Siciliano
Originally uploaded by jennifer mcilvaine

We just got back from almost a month of travelling NYC, Seattle, and Sicily. Its like going to 3 different planets...different time zones, different types of people, different lifestyles, very different ways of thinking.

In New York we were hosted by our good friends and sellers of Federico's oil, the Di Palo's in Little Italy/Chinatown. We kept things pretty low key - we were just there for 3 days, and I was getting over the flu...plus, as always, August in New York can be pretty unbearable. We went to Central Park, Times Square, the Village, saw a broadway show...the usual stuff. We ate at Bacaro and Il Buco , plus the usual assortment of asian food and hot dogs.  And, of course, we remained mesmerized by all of the crazy sh*t one witnesses in NY.

From the Big Apple we took a leisurely 6 hour flight to the Emerald City,  Seattle - land of contradictions (also my home for 5 years).  Home to corporate giants Microsoft, Boeing and Starbucks, it also houses some of the largest "green" anti-"the man" active groups around.

This trip turned into a game of "How many 10 course meals can one eat in a week?"  A lot.
We feasted at Boat Street Cafe,  The Corson Building,  Kurtwood Farms,  Maneki,  La Carta de Oaxaca, and a  Ritrovo hosted evening at  Tulio.  Just throw that wedding diet right out the window...... We were exhausted after this marathon, not only eating about 10 times more than usual, but also 2-3 hours earlier that usual - something I really like about living in Italy is the fact that no one eats before 8:00, and in the summer, even later.  This July at Baskilkó, our first tables rarely came in before 9:30 - no wasting daylight!!!

Going Green:  a trip to Seattle is just not complete if you don't get out of the city and into the beautiful surrounding islands and mountains.  Before dinner at Kurtwood, we spent the day scavenging the beaches of Vashon Island.   Then, I had the bright idea to go to  Rainier - Fede's never been.  Always check the weather and the status of the mountain before going.  I had visions of laying in meadows of wildflowers...but this was not too be.  Summer did not come to Rainier this year.  There was snow in Paradise!

A quick 26 hour trip, and we were back in Foligno, ready to depart for La Bella Sicilia....

When planning a 4th of July party...

...or any other American holiday, it helps to remember the items that don't exist in Italy - or at least, are really hard to find...

• brown sugar
• vanilla extract
• celery seeds
• american beer other than Bud
• and the good ziplocs

Can't wait for the "great american cranberry hunt" this november!

But will there be a Turkey???

ahhhh...the burning question these days.....

I am planning to have a 4th of July party at Basilikó this year just for fun, and because lots of our customers are curious to try "real American food."  However, 90% of Italians that I have spoken with seem to think that no American holiday is complete without that mythical "Thanksgiving Day Turkey" - its the stuff dreams are made of  - and they all want to try it.

Now that I have a pretty good grasp on the language here, once people discover that I am american, they love to shower me with every possible stereotype that they know of, to show just how much they know about american culture and history.  Just to be clear, these are people who have never set foot in the United States, let alone have left Umbria.  Some of the most popluar, and my favorites:

1. the streets really are paved with gold!  they think all americans are rich - I constantly have to explain that most American tourists who visit Italy represent a very small part of the population, and are, in fact, a little better off than everbody else.
2. stickin' with that gold theme - the golden arches of McDonalds - my customers can't even imagine how I learned how to cook so well having only been in Italy for 1 1/2 years, and having grown up only eating "fast food" my whole life.  When I say that I have been cooking in restaurants for 10 years, and that the food in america can be really good, I get a confused look...
3. we have a great healthcare system in america just like in italy.  I don't have time here to comment
4. America is roughly the same size as Italy - they can't fathom that their country is about the same size as California, one of 50 other states - look at a map!!!
5. this one is great - over heard by my partner Cristiana in a pizzeria:  instead of water faucets, Americans now have Strawberry Coca-Cola faucets in their homes...cherry coke, maybe...but strawberry - does it even exist??? ;-)
6. America is a place of constant change for the good of everyone - a true democracy.  I'm not going to argue that things happen in America a lot faster than they happen in Italy, but we have had a monkey accompanied by the devil reincarnate in office for the past 8 years, and have managed to create another war without end or sense...seems like we are moving backwards.  Here in italy, the government wasn't working, so they just ended it and changed - no endless waiting like us (whether its good or not is subjective, of course, but its at least change).
7. and the giant turkey its on everybodys table, every holiday.  If I have Thanksgiving dinner at the restaurant, there is sure to be a line out the door.  And there are going to be a lot of disappointed faces this turkey-less 4th of July...

When it rains...it pours...

yay! its raining!
Originally uploaded by jennifer mcilvaine

Literally...I think its been raining almost every day here since March - we had about a week of sun in May, and then the rain came back...and there is no end in sight. Its what Seattlites call a "July 4th summer". This time last year, I had already been to the beach half a dozen times, and had a tan. This year...well, we were planning on going to the beach tomorrow, finally, but, guess what? I think its going to rain!!!

Figuratively...there is so much going on in Umbria right now - May and June are definitely the best months to come here (without all of the rain, of course). In the past few weeks, we've had Cantine Aperte, the Infiorate in Cannara and Spello, Pic-Nic in Trevi (which occurred simultaneously with 3 other events in the area), and now the Quintana has started in Foligno. And at the end of the month is the Gaita in Bevagna. What next? Hopefully only sun, so that I can go to the beach!

2 Sundays...2 Big Dinners...2 Much Wine...

  Officina della Bistecca 
  Originally uploaded by jennifer mcilvaine

Two weeks ago I made my way up to Verona for the annual VinItaly fair to do some wine tasting for the restaurant.  Last year I went for 3 days, and ate 3 crappy to mediocre dinners.  This year, I went just for 1 day, and had 1 excellent dinner.  We went to Trattoria Giovanni Rana , a historic restaurant in the center of Verona, famous for its pasta.  The antipasti were great:  fried baccalá with sweet marinated anchovies, and beef carpaccio with a hop shoot cream.  But, its the pasta that's amazing -we ordered only 2 pastas, but I could have easily skipped the entrees in exchange for more pasts.  Federico had the classic tortellini with butter and sage made with a whole egg pasta.  I had the cappelletti which were made just with egg yolks, and it was the thinnest pasta I have ever seen - it was like yellow cellophane, but still with texture, and held the filling (white asparagus cream).  All this was accompanied by Dal Forno Romano 2001 Valpolicella Superiore, which was more than superior...  and to put the cherry on top, one of the best grappas ever:  Grappa di Dolcetto, distilled in 1976, bottled in 2001.  The grappa of grappas....

Last Sunday I managed to drag Federico up into the forbidden land known as Tuscany.  Joel had been working with the famous butcher Dario Cecchini, and invited us to one of his all-steak luncheons.  More than anything it was an amazing lesson in business and marketing - half the people there were there only to make contacts.   The  unfortunate aspect of the lunch is that Dario is no longer using the Italian Chianina beef that made him so famous - he now uses imported Spanish meat.  In fact, Salvatore was furious when I told him that we were going to eat there, and told me not to go because of the fact that Dario is no longer using the Chianina.  But the lunch was pretty incredible - a giant communal table (remarkably rare in Italy) filled with pinzimonio (raw veggies), bread, pizze, Dario's olive oil, Dario's salt, and Dario's bottomless fiasco's of Chianti.  Then comes the meat  - a tartare-like ball seared on the outside, followed by 3 different kinds of steak:  Costata della Fiorentina, Bistecca Panzanese, and Bistecca alla Fiorentina.   Also, cannellini beans, roasted potatoes and onions, fresh lard (the "butter" of Chianti)...and I think there was some dessert, and amari too... 3 solid hours of eating...  If you ever go to one of these lunches, don't even think about eating dinner afterwards, or lunch the next day.  It took 2 days to digest all of that meat.  The diet before the wedding officially starts now!!!

Is Nothing Sacred?

This article from the New York Times talks about the chemical contamination of the mozzarella di bufalo here in Italy - they didn't even touch on the fact that much of it is made from milk powder from Argentinian cows...boo to the moo....

Note to Self (and others....)

Except for restaurants, just about everything in Rome is closed on Easter Monday. ;-(

Le Terme di Viterbo

  Terme di Viterbo 
  Originally uploaded by jennifer mcilvaine

What to do when winter's got you down, you feel overworked, and summer is just too far away... (though I've heard they've already started swimming in the sea in Sicily, damn them!) ?
Head to the spa! or in my case, the hot springs - they are free!  You smell like rotten eggs for 2 days (sulfur), but its definitely the best way to relax and rejuvenate for spring here in Italy...without spending una barca di soldi!!!

My favorite people at the springs:  the guy on his cellphone - there is always a cellphone .... the director - I know he's there everyday telling every single person not to put the mud on their faces (the minerals are only present in the water - not the mud - and he doesn't want to here that the mud helps to clean your pours!)... and all of the winter clad onlookers who make you feel like you are in the zoo...

Best Line Ever!!!

true story...
One friend said to an acquaintance "Wow, you are so tan!  Have you been on vacation?"
The acquaintance responded "No, no....I think my after shave cream is turning my skin this dark color..."

Here in Foligno, there is practically a tanning booth on every corner.  And some cold January days, it just seems as if everyone has a mid-August, just off the yacht, sunkissed glow (except me, of course).  The Folignati are absolutely addicted to tanning booths, but no one wants to admit to actually going to one... and I never seen anyone in them...  I don't know -  its an after shave mystery....