August 2015 Newsletter from Elizabeth Minchilli
august 2015 newsletter
I don’t really feel as if the summer’s officially started until we head to our house in Umbria. When the girls were little we used to head up there the minute school let out in June, and didn’t come back until mid September when classes started again. Summer seemed a lot longer then. These days the girls are off doing their own thing, Domenico's got a several projects going and my work schedule is at it’s highest in June and July. Between tours and traveling for work, a solid month in August is the most we can manage.
But it's been about 25 years that we’ve had our home in Umbria. Which means 25 years worth of meals. While I’d say I’ve made the majority of those meals in my own kitchen, we go out to eat almost as much. Over the years I’ve blogged about many of those meals and am now happy to publish that list in my newest app: EAT UMBRIA.
I’m launching this app a bit differently from my previous ones. Rather than wait until I’ve completely finished researching and writing all the entries, I’ve decided to offer a lite version of EAT UMBRIA for the entire month of August. In it you’ll find my top 20 spots in Umbria. For now the app costs just 99 cents. During August I’ll be eating and writing my way around Umbria, to expand the app to double its size (not to mention my waist). But if you buy the app now, you’ll automatically receive updates without paying any more when I raise the price to $1.99. I hope this makes sense! In the meantime, if you haven’t downloaded EAT ITALY yet, I hope you do. It’s free. And once you’ve downloaded it you can purchase whichever cities you’d like. I’ve already got ROME, FLORENCE, VENICE, MILAN and now UMBRIA. Coming soon: PUGLIA and NAPLES. You can read more about it here.
what's new
I know a lot of my colleagues continue to lead food tours in August, but I take the Italian route and hang up my CHIUSO sign for the entire month. Yes, tourists continue to come to Rome, but you want to know the truth? I can’t imagine walking around, much less eating in this heat. Since I’ve been leading food tours I’ve been able to observe first hand how appetites respond to temperatures. When the air is crisp and the breeze is blowing, there is no limit to the amount of porchetta, pizza and mozzerella people can consume. And there is a joy to eating with a good appetite that just doesn’t happen when the thermometer is inching towards 99.
Which is why I love taking people around Rome off season. And by off season I mean the months between October and March. Not only do cooler temps mean bigger appetites, but there are just less crowds to deal with, which is always a plus.
This is why Sophie and I have started leading Week Long tours in Rome during the low season. During the six-day tour we not only explore Rome, but head out into Umbria as well. You can read more about the details here. The dates this year are October 18, November 15 and March 13. I’ve still got spaces left on all three tours, and the deadline for the October tour is September 1. I hope you can make it. Just drop me a email if you’d like me to send you the details.
travels
I’ve caught up on the blog with some of my reports from my trip to Venice last month. I finally made it to Dalla Marisa, a completely unpretentious and off-the-beaten-track trattoria in the Cannaregio neighborhood as well as La Zucca, a Venetian favorite that I had never been to. I also spent time out on the lagoon, which was one of my main goals this trip. I visited the magical island of Torcello to learn how to make a Bellini. And I spent a completely fabulous evening aboard the Eolo, a wooden sail boat, anchored far out in the wilds of the lagoon.
I can’t stress how much I love getting out of ‘downtown’ Venice. During this past trip, which took place at the very height of high season, I was almost constantly fighting against a flow of tourists. I’m not a fan of huge crowds in the best of times, but in Venice, with its narrow streets, it can be especially claustrophobic. My solution to this problem is easy: book a hotel far from the madding crowds.
This time around I spent two completely blissful nights on the island of Mazzorbo, at Venissa. If you’ve never heard of Mazzorbo, you’re not alone. It’s a very rural island that is connected to Burano by a wooden bridge. The island didn’t really have much on it that would attract tourists until the Bisol family, (makers of prosecco) won the competition to take over an existing estate and revive an ancient vineyard as well as opening a completely charming locanda and gourmet restaurant. While you might not want to spend your entire week on Mazzorbo, I would definitely suggest spending at least two or three nights there.It’s the perfect base from which to explore the lagoon (Torcello and Burano are a stone’s throw) and the vaporetto to the downtown Venice stops right in front of the hotel and is a pleasant 30 minute boat ride. Of course one of the main reasons that people stay at the Locanda is the chance to dine in their Michelin starred restaurant, which puts an elegant and creative twist on the seasonal and local bounty, some of which comes from right out the kitchen door in the communal vegetable garden. They also have a new casual Osteria that is open at lunch.
During the last part of July I was almost constantly on the road. I headed south, to Salerno, to learn how anchovies are fished, processed and eaten. And I also spent 5 days in Abruzzo, where I ate more pasta than I ever thought possible. More coming on that in the next month.
videos
One of the things I love about the videos I make when traveling is that they are rarely planned out . When I make cooking videos at home, I have a whole series of shots in mind, as well as a sort of rough story board. But when I’m on the road, I just blindly shoot, hoping that somehow, someway, some story will tell itself.
This past month I stopped by to get the recipe for a Bellini from Bonifacio Brass who owns the Locanda Cipriani on Torcello. While I entered only hoping for a recipe, I left with this cute little video.
Even though I knew I wanted to film while I was sailing on the Eolo, I had no idea what the story would be. Since dinner - and the cooking that went on below decks - is as much a part of the experience as the drop dead gorgeous views and completely indulgent setting, I knew I wanted to capture that. Despite the hazards of filming below decks (sea sick much?) I managed to balance all the elements, providing a delicious recipe (lemon onion crostini) as well as the entire experience (prosecco cures sea sickness, in case you were wondering).
what I'm reading
Yay! My colleagues at Tavole Romane have done it again. They have called all our favorite restaurants in Rome and found out what’s open and what’s not for month of August. The list is here.
If you’re going to Florence in September there is still time to sign up for two of the pop up dinners located in ancient church cloisters.
Here’s what my friend Ann has been cooking lately (which includes a recipe from Eating Rome)
Looking for a beach this month? My friend Gillian advises a stay on the Cilento coast.
And now on to the slightly more serious stuff: the New York Times published this article on the state of things in Rome. It’s unfortunately very accurate and has created a huge stir in the Italian press. So much so that two days following the publication of the article the mayor of Rome actually replaced half of his cabinet.
Is Greece becoming the modern day equivalent of the 19th century’s debtor’s prison?
More tourists everywhere lead to more tourists acting badly
and finally....
In case you missed it, here is my round up for the zucchini overload I know you are currently experiencing.
And since no one wants to be cooking at the last minute this time of year, here are a few room temp dishes for your summer dinners:
Insalata di riso
Caponata Bread Salad
Bean and Tuna Salad
Faro and Mint Salad
Lemony Farro Salad
Panzanella
Purslane and Tomatoes pasta
Mozzarella and Anchovies
Have a great rest of the summer!!
x,Elizabeth