February, 2011

• There is Something about Italy… Something…

  Sunday, February 27th, 201111 Comments

  An old path paved with cobblestone climbing up the hill… Everything is old around it, the stones of the wall, the smell of the flowers, the gentle noise coming from the valley… Antique.
  I always start with the intention to write about a given subject, but then my mind goes off on a tangent and [...]

• From Our family to Yours… Experience Italy with the Eyes of the Local

  Saturday, February 26th, 2011No Comments

  I have lived in the US for over 18 years now and there isn’t a day that I don’t think about my family, the smells of food being cooked, the loud discussions and the unpredictable laughs. I miss all of that indefinitely with the good and the bad.
  This is why I like to go visit [...]

• Brasato Al Vino Rosso

  Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011No Comments

  A cold and rainy night in San Diego makes me think of comfort food. We don’t really have all that many occasions to make believe that we’re in the throes of winter with a storm raging outside. Wind and rain will have to do and so I took the opportunity to prepare a dish that [...]

• At 7 P.M.

  Sunday, February 20th, 2011No Comments

  What does an Italian mother do at 7 P.M…? The thought awakens a Spanish tune in my mind… “Alle sette della sera, scende il toro nell’arena… Alle sette della sera scende in campo il matador.” Humming, whistling and mumbling the few words that got stuck in my head, I know I need to get [...]

• 100 Worlds Project Exhibition

  Thursday, February 17th, 20111 Comment

  The 100 Worlds Project exhibition is being hung in JETT Gallery now. Joey Vaiasuso, his assistant Chris and I will probably be there until 11:00 hanging prints and arranging the 50 globe sculptures.
  At the opening this Friday night, we’ll fill JETT gallery with a variety of different communities. Some that rarely mix together. [...]

• Pizza Fritta

  Tuesday, February 15th, 20112 Comments

  One of my favorite food memories from growing up with an Italian nonna (grandmother) is pizza. Her pizza was very simple-the only toppings were a basic tomato sauce, a sprinkling of dried oregano and mozzarella cheese. She baked them in rectangular sheet pans and sliced them into squares-similar to what you see in Rome. As [...]

• Dante & Beatrice, a True Love Story.

  Monday, February 14th, 201110 Comments

  Dante, a nine year old child, saw Beatrice Portinari for the first time on a sunny Florentine afternoon. She was eight. Dante’s father took his son to a May Day party at the Portinari house. The two children didn’t get the chance to speak a single word to each other, but she was [...]

• Pappalecco Travel is Traveling out of the ordinary!

  Saturday, February 12th, 2011No Comments

  What do we mean by that? What do we do?
  We feed people’s soul by leaving them with memories in their heart so that they have stories to tell.
  We do this by taking them on a journey through Italy’s unknown parts even in the most known cities.

• 100 Worlds Project. Sculpures by Ron Miriello

  Thursday, February 10th, 20111 Comment

  Pappalecco has been my fuel (espresso lungo ma non troppo) and my Italian clubhouse for my 100 Worlds Project sculpture exhibit. I’ve been meeting there with Fabrizio Scippa (doing the website), my mamma (support and kisses), Francesco (encouragement and critique) and all my other Italian friends who’ve helped get the show together. 100WP was just [...]

• Erbazzone

  Tuesday, February 8th, 2011No Comments

  Upon our return from Italy last May I immediately  sat down and scribbled a list of dishes that we had eaten on our travels. These were dishes that I hoped to recreate in my own kitchen, dishes that I wanted to share with friends. I am happy to say that yesterday I crossed off another [...]