Elizabeth Minchilli's December 2018 Newsletter from Rome

Elizabeth Minchilli
EATING MY WAY THOUGH ITALY

December 2018 Newsletter

Although the holiday season doesn’t really start here in Rome until December 8 (The feast of the Immaculate Conception) the city has definitely gotten a head start on things. It’s actually getting to be more and more like the States where the shop keepers have even adopted Black Friday. The weird thing is that there were Black Friday signs EVERYWHERE on the Friday after Thanksgiving. But Thanksgiving doesn’t even exist here!! I”m not quite sure what they are thinking, beyond having sales.

But this year many of the streets are already decked out, with sparkling white lights above. Our neighborhood of Mont is particularly festive. I’m not sure if Via del Corso will get lights this year (I’m still pining after this installation from a few years back) but rumor has it that Netflix has taken over center stage and will sponsor the city's main tree this year in Piazza Venezia. You may remember last year’s total disaster: Spelacchio the balding tree? I’m hoping that Netflix will figure out something a bit more festive.

Me? I just put up our own little tree and both Pico and I are very happy with it. I also made a run to the farmers market and bought three wreaths!! There are also rumors that the Christmas Festival in Piazza Navona will be back in full swing. If so, then I’m heading over there to buy a few more foodie inspired items for our non-religious creche (it’s mostly a market scene with a camel and a few sheep). I also managed to find the menorah and put that just to the right of the manger scene.

What are your plans for the holidays? Have you already started planning your menus? Any fun parties planned? We’ll be doing fish for sure, in Bari, on the 24th. I’m also planning a holiday cocktail party next week and our friend Amanda will be cooking up goodies from Vietnam (mini bahn mi anyone?).And since it's also Chaunkah, her fried eggrolls will fit in perfectly. And in case you're looking for some holiday cocktail inspiration (and who's not?) here is a post I did a few years ago, which has some of my favorites. While most of those cocktails are festive, bubbly and frothy and light, (perfect for a party) what I'm really craving is this decadent Bourbon Milk Punch. It's this drink that you'll find Domenico me sipping as we watch the lights on the tree twinkle.

What's New

We had a really great time with our Week in Rome group last month. I can’t believe how lucky we were with the weather! We had a week full of blue skies. Then, Saturday morning, as our tour ended, the heavens opened and it poured for the next four days. It’s always fun, rain or shine, but very shiny weather is always appreciated!

Sophie and I take a break from leading our Week in Italy tours during the winter. It gives us time to rest, of course, but also to explore and plan. Sophie just spent the weekend up north, visiting Bergamo and Bologna (where she fell in love with a bowl of cream covered tortellini). I take this ‘down’ time to travel too, but also love just hanging out in my cozy office, writing up past experiences and planning new ones.

I can't believe that our Weeks for 2019 are almost full. But we still have 2 spots left for our Nose-to-Tail cooking in Rome Week with Melissa Clark (March 3-9), send me an email if you’d like to hear more. We’ve also had so many requests for our Umbria Weeks that we added an extra week in September next year (send an email for details).

Travels

We made a quick trip down to Bari last month, to visit Domenico’s mom. While we usually drive, this time we decided to take the train, which was so much more relaxing. While there we did the usual: visited the fish market, walked through Bari Vecchia, picked up focaccia and went out for Sunday lunch here. I even managed to score Christmas Day tickets for La Traviata!!

It’s easy to travel to Florence from Rome for the day for lunch. A few months ago I did just that, to join my friend Rolando at his favorite haunt, Cammillo.

It’s always hard planning a trip. This collection of Maps of Italy for Travel Planning should help you a bit.

Yes, there is Uber in Italy. But if you want to go more local, you can also prebook a taxi. Find out how here.

What I'm Reading

If you’re like me then you you’ll appreciate this list of 10 Favorite Cheese Shops in Rome from my friend Eleonora.

Did you know that the mafia has infiltrated Italy’s food chain?

If you are in Florence in December here’s a good list of things to do to get in the Christmas spirit.

Some fun gifts for Italian food lovers.

If you're chilled and dreaming of warmer times, then you'll enjoy this tale of making wine on the small island of Ponza, which is a labor of love.

Gift ideas

For the Italy lover in your life, make sure they have both Eating Rome and Eating My Way Through Italy

If your Italy-lover is actually headed to Italy, a great gift is a gift certificate for a spot on one of Sophie’s small group food tours. Email her for details.

Here is the list of new cookbooks that I want (so assuming other people would too):

Cook Like a Pro by Ina Garten
Simple by Ottolenghi
Now and Again, by Julia Turshen
Everyday Dorie, by Dorie Greenspan

And if you're like me, and you like to make your gifts, then this recipe for hazelnut biscotti will come in handy.

Even though I got an instant pot (and am loving it) I still use my Le Creuset pots the most. This braiser and this dutch oven were the favorite gifts Domenico got me last year.

And finally.....

I’ll be in New York at the end of January for the New York Time’s Travel Show (January 25-27). I’ll be participating in various ways during this 3-day event. Although the time still might change, on Sunday January 27 I’ll be chatting about sustainable culinary tourism with the New York Time’s Melissa Clark. We'll also be signing books! I hope you can stop by and say hi. I’ll include more details in my next newsletter, and will update the events page on my website with specifics. To find out more about the show, and prebook your tickets, go here. It’s one of the biggest travel shows in the world, and is a great resource for trip planning. Hope to see you there!

x,Elizabeth