Happy 2017! January Newsletter from Elizabeth Minchilli

january 2017 newsletter

First of all Happy New Year! Here in Italy, the land of perpetual holidays, everyone is still pretty much on vacation. Friday, January 6, was the Epiphany, and the entire country decided to just go ahead and call last week one long weekend. If I sound a bit testy, it’s because we were supposed to start work on our apartment here in Rome (painting mostly, but also a bathroom redo and tearing down a couple of walls). I had a schedule. (I always have a schedule) that involved getting right to work last Monday. Hah!

Whatever.

I’m actually very excited, despite the mess that will ensue until the work is over, about starting fresh. That’s what a new year is about, right? And while I know that lot of people (including me) found 2016 a bit bumpy in terms of politics, I am trying my best to focus on the positive and figure out how to move forward with grace, goodwill and generosity. The three 'g’s'. I think that if you face any and all situations with that sort of attitude you’ll already begin to lower your blood pressure.

So when the workers finally arrive, tomorrow (they promised) and begin to tear down two walls with big sledge hammers as I try to write upstairs? You know I'll be channeling all that inner grace and good will. Because while I am a 100% sure there will be noise, dust and delays I"m focussing on the positive. Which in my case is a new dining room and shower!!! What are your big plans for 2017?

what's new

Can I still use the word huge? It used to be one of my go to adjectives. But now, somehow, the shine has been taken off. So…I’ve got really really big news. I’ve added another tour to our line up for the fall. In my last newsletter I announced our Week in Umbria (October 22-28 2017) and now I’m happy to tell you about a new and completely different kind of tour we are organizing in Rome.

A Week in Rome: Sketching and Eating! During the week of October 1-7, 2017, I will team up with my friend Kelly Medford to offer a week that pairs food and art. I’ve known Kelly for years and she is an incredibly talented artist, based here in Rome. Her speciality is plein air painting. She actually goes out all over Rome, daily, with her easel and paints, and sets up shop on the street, capturing the light, the views and the architecture. She is also a talented and enthusiastic teacher and so we decided to plan a week together that is as full of pencils and paper as it is with food and wine. We are keeping the group small (maximum 8 guests) so that each person can get the most out of the time spent sketching with Kelly. And don’t worry if you have absolutely no artistic experience: the week is aimed to accommodate all levels of skill, from complete beginners onwards. (FYI: I’m at the complete beginner end of the spectrum).

More news: Sophie’s got a new website! Thanks to the magic of our friend Nicolee, Sophie’s site is beautifully designed, and lists all of her day tours and cooking classes. Also, a nifty new tweak puts Sophie’s Instagram feed on the home page. If you’re not following Sophie already (sminchilli) you should. As you can see Sophie has a thing for men and women of a certain age. Her portraits of Romans and others she meets on her travels are a beautiful document of the Italy that she loves.

travel

We never spend Christmas in Rome, since we either go to New York to visit my family or else go to Bari to visit Domenico’s family. This year we completely broke with tradition and headed to London. My daughter Emma only had three days off of work, not really enough time to come to Rome. So we travelled to her. And I have to say, I could get pretty used to spending the holidays in a fancy hotel. No cooking? No problem. It was the most luxuriously relaxing Christmas I’ve ever had.

London pretty much shuts down for the holidays, so we punctuated great meals with long walks. For Christmas eve we stuck to fish (being good Italians) and overdid ourselves with oysters at Bentley’s, an extremely old fashioned, but delicious, fish-centric restaurant. Christmas day we played at being tourists and took a long and aimless walk, past Buckingham palace, Downing Street and the Tower of London. We even took a selfie in front of one of those red phone booths. But then we threw tradition out the window and had Indian food for lunch. The restaurant, The Cinnamon Club, is located in an ex-Library and so the wooden shelves were filled with books, which was just magical. On Boxing Day we had an excellent and elegant Afternoon Tea at the Connaught. It was just as you’d imagine: lots of tender finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and trays of delicate pastries. The other thing we did that I loved was go to the London zoo. Like everything else in London it was incredibly expensive, but very well organized.

We stayed at One Aldwych, which was pure luxury. Not an old fashioned traditional hotel, the modern space is located right in the heart of the theater district. We loved hanging out in the lobby, idling over cocktails (which they are deservedly well known for). And although I brought my swimming suit and firmly intended to enjoy their indoor pool, I decided I’d just end up sinking after all that eating.

videos

I couldn't decide if I loved this or hated this I put it on FB as a sort of joke, but everyone seemed to love it. Unless they were joking too.

One of my favorite Debbie Reynolds scenes. Also? I miss when shoes matched dresses.

And one of my favorite Carrie Fisher moments.

I’m a sucker for anything featuring George Clooney.

In case you missed Patti Smith totally breaking our hearts in two. And then read this.

what I'm reading

In London we had one day when store were open, and so headed straight to my favorite book store, Daunts. I came away with Sabrina Ghayour's fabulously delicious Persiana . In theory I bought it for Sophie, but in reality she’s going to have a hard time prying it out of my hands. And in case anyone is looking for something to give me, her newest book Scirocco,is on my list.

I was always more of a 'Carrie Fisher the author' fan, rather than 'Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia fan'.

I'm proud to have friends that start great businesses. Here is Lani and Paul’s story on starting Context Travel and Ari’s on Zingerman’s. Both stories are in Forbes, and both stories are inspirational because the businesses are based not just on making money, but about creating hope and changing beliefs while leading a successful business.

Where to get the best Cacio e Pepe in Rome. Because you need to know that.

Even though you may be in diet mode, here’s a list of this year’s best baking books for when you’ve lost all that weight. Or now. Whichever.

and finally....

It seems like I’m always writing about cabbage and/or cauliflower. And this past month was no exception. In case you missed them, here is a recipe for soup and pasta.

But what I really crave this time of year is citrus. Mostly I’m eating them in salad. Here are some of my favorites:

Fennel and Grapefruit
Radicchio and Blood Orange
Kale & Clementne
Beet & Orange
Meyer Lemon& Fennel

And finally I just want to say: Thank you thank you thank you! Although having a birthday that falls between Christmas and New Year’s can be a bit anticlimactic, celebrating with all my virtual and/or real friends on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat more than made up for it. Thank you for the avalanche of love.


x,e

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