September 2016 Newsletter from Elizabeth

september 2016 newsletter

We've spent the last month at our house in Umbria. It's been an extremely tranquil, restful time filled with long dinners at long tables with my family. Both of my sisters, Robin and Jodi, visited this year, at the same time, with their families. That hasn't happened for at least 12 years!

It was a very special time which we appreciated all the more when we were woken from sleep at 3:30 in the morning on Wednesday the 24th. We are located outside of Todi, in central Umbria, and felt the first tremor, which lasted for over 20 seconds, quite strongly. But while the most we suffered was being shaken around in bed and loosing a few hours of sleep, the area about 120 kilometers to the south fared much worse. I'm sure you all have been reading about it in the newspapers and watching on TV. The towns around Amatrice, in northern Lazio, have been devastated.

There are many ways you can help.

You can donate to the Italian Red Cross here.
You can donate to the Italian American Relief Fund here.

Many restaurants in Italy and throughout the world are offering the namesake dish of Amatrice, Amatriciana on their menus with the proceeds being donated to the relief fund. Check out your local Italian restaurants to see if they are participating. If not, suggest they do.

Another initiative is one that is taking place in people's homes, suggested by Mike Madio: "This weekend would've been the 50th(!) Amatriciana Festival in Amatrice, which obviously now will not happen. So here's my idea: I'm going to cook up a big pot of Amatriciana on Sat or Sun, pop a bottle of red from Central Italy, and, most importantly, donate to earthquake relief."

All of this is very easy to do without getting anywhere near Italy. But you want to know what is also important? Coming to Italy. Please don't cancel your trip here. I can't tell you how many emails and messages I've received in the last few days asking me if it was safe to come. YES!!!

The area affected, while horribly hit, is a relatively small one centering mostly on northern Lazio. But the rest of Italy, including Umbria, is totally safe. One of the worst things that can happen is for tourism to drop. These regions depend on tourism for a large part of their income. On Thursday, we visited Assisi which was oddly empty. Please don't let this continue. Do your part. Book your trip now.

what's new

In keeping with the theme of doing your part by booking a trip to Italy, we've still got a few spaces left for our Week in Rome tour for the week of March 12. Since eating Amatriciana will certainly be part of our itinerary I've decided to donate a portion (3%) of the proceeds of this week to the Italian Red Cross. To find out more send an email.

So popular are our week long tours that we have decided to add another, special, week to the spring calendar. Sophie and I will be joined by our friend (she's actually more family than friend ) radio host, chef and cookbook writer Evan Kleiman.

We’ve developed a special Week in Rome with Evan Kleiman, beginning March 5, where Evan, Sophie and I will be leading a group not only around Rome, but into the countryside as well. We’ll be visiting the markets and restaurants in town, but also taking advantage of Evan’s special talents. We’ll not only be cooking with her in the kitchen, but will also get the chance to watch Evan interview one of Rome’s foremost food personalities. There will many meals in the restaurants and enoteche, lots of gelato and aperitivi, and perhaps way to much fun. Want to join us? Send me an email.

travels

We spent the entire month of August in Umbria, but did manage to take some fantastic day trips. I went to Assisi for the first time in about 15 years. After visiting the entire town - from the church of Santa Chiara at one end to San Francesco at the other, we headed down to Santa Maria degli Angeli for a truly amazing porchetta panino. And yes, I will be adding this place to Eat Italy.

We also made it to Deruta to buy plates, visit the museum and eat here.

I took a quick trip one morning to Bevagna to visit with Salvatore and get some tomatoes from his garden.

We had several outstanding meals at Osteria Novecento, in Ilci, near Todi.

I'm very sad I'm not traveling to Boston in the next few months to see this fabulous show on Della Robbia at the Museum of Fine Art.

I've finally posted all of my tips for visiting Lake Como.

I'm heading to Paris for a extremely fun sounding party. All of my foodie friends there (David Lebovitz, Alec Lobrano, Ann Mah, Lindsey Tramuta-Morel, etc) are throwing a fund raiser with a silent auction to raise money for Hillary's campaign. If you are in Paris on Sunday September 18, you can buy a ticket and rsvp here.

I'm actually in Sicily at the moment, learning how to make tomato paste. Yes, you read that right. I am so excited! I'm at the Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School where I'm participating in the workshop 'Preserving August.' I you want to come sometime too, and have the time, I highly recommend the 10 week program Cook the Farm. And if you want to see what I'm doing, make sure you are following me on Snapchat and Instagram (eminchilli)

I'll also be heading to Torino for Slowfood's Salone del Gusto. Are you coming too? Let me know and we can organize a get together. And if you're wondering where to eat while you're there? I've just updated my Eat Italy app to include my favorite picks for Torino.

what I'm reading

Things are being shaken up at one of Italy's oldest museums.

You think you've got week ankles? Turns out David does too. (yes, that David)

Am I the only one who goes insane when people are late?

Only in Italy would the police end up making pasta for an older couple because they were lonely.

and finally....

I couldn't leave you without a recipe for Amatriciana.

Bucatini all'Amatriciana
Serves 4-5

1 liter of crushed tomatoes
250 grams of pancetta
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup red wine
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
grated pecorino romano
1 pound bucatini
Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add pancetta and let cook until it starts to brown. Add onions and garlic and continue to cook until they are softened (but not brown) about 5 to 7 minutes.

Add a 1/4 cup of red wine, and simmer for several minutes. Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt and half cup of water. Let simmer, over low heat, covered, for about a half hour to 40 minutes. Taste for salt. Let the sauce rest in the fridge over night if possible.

Reheat sauce in pot.

Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Boil pasta until done, and drain.

Place about four tablespoons of sauce in each person’s plate. Top with a serving of pasta. Place another 2 tablespoon of sauce on top of the pasta and top with grated pecorino romano cheese.

Enjoy it with friends around your table and thank your blessings.

x,Elizabeth