August 2019 Newsletter from Elizabeth Minchilli
Elizabeth Minchilli
EATING MY WAY THOUGH ITALY
August 2019 Newsletter
August always feels like summer is finally here to me. Even though I've been to the beach a few times in June and July, for me summer means spending the entire month (or more if I'm lucky) at our house in Umbria. I'm especially enjoying this summer here since this is the first August in quite a while that I haven't had a book deadline looming over my head. While I love writing books, and realize that I am lucky to be able to do this kind of work, it is - in the end - work. And until the last day when the manuscript is handed in, it's kind of like this cloud that follows me around no matter what I'm doing.
This summer, since my sky is free of any sort of book cloud, I've been leading a completely structureless, very vacationy, kind of summer life. Sleeping late, spending mornings reading with a cup of coffee, taking a few days to respond to emails. The most fun is being able to cook from cookbooks written by other peole for a change instead of testing (and re-testing) my own recipes. Lots of trips to the local markets. And of course spending time with family and friends and feeling very lucky to have both daughters with us the entire month!
I am also trying my best to eat a bit more on the healthy side. A lot of people ask me how Sophie and I do it, leading people around eating all the time. The way I do it is when I'm 'off duty' I try to avoid certain things, or at the very least cut back. My plan this month is to cut out bread, pasta and cheese. It's actually not been that much of a challenge for me. I make up with lots of vegetables, legumes and meat and fish. And laps. I do lots of laps. And if you follow me on Instgram you'll see that I am in no way going hungry and that my regime definitely includes at least one daily dose of cocktail.
Sophie on the other hand (being a bit of a drama queen) is currently suffering from a severe case of pasta withdrawal and says that she can actually feel the life slipping out of her. I'll keep you updated on her survival.
What's New
Even though I'm not working on a book, I am of course working a bit. Sophie and I have been visiting a few new places around Umbria, changing our Week in Umbria trip around a bit. Although it's hard to call visiting wineries, cheese makers and goat farms actual work. For instance, one of our favorite local cheese makers has recently built an entire tasting and workshop room and we are excited to try to work him into our week-long itinerary. The only problem with working on our itineraries is that we always have way too many things to include than there are days in the week. Also? We always run the risk of stuffing our guests until they explode. Death by truffle anyone?
I've also been working on the Week in Sicily. I've booked the hotel (yay!) and have settled on dates. I'll be heading down at the end of the month to finalize a few details so I should have it all ready to announce by the next newsletter.
Our Creative Workshop with Elizabeth Gilbert last month was amazing! It was such a different kind of trip for Sophie and me. Doing the day long workshop with Liz was definitely intense (and very much outside of our comfort zone) , but I'm very glad I did it, and it set the tone for the rest of the trip. I think opening up and sharing encouraged our guests to bond in a truly special way. I'm not sure if we'll be repeating this specific week, with Liz (her schedule is a bit busy!) but we are planning on using some version of this same itinerary in the future. We loved dividing our week between Masseria Potenti in Puglia and Sextantio in Matera. I've been chatting with a few different friends and colleagues about being our 'guest speaker' for some sort of workshop, so stay tuned for more.
All of our Week in Italy tours are fast filling up for 2020 (it always amazes me how far people can plan ahead!) We are only doing one Week in Rome next year, in March, and only have 2 spots left. Our October Week in Puglia is almost full, but we still have space for the April trip. And Umbria, as always fills quickly, but we still have 4 spaces left in each of our weeks in May and October.
Here is the schedule for 2020:
March 15-21 Rome
April 19-25, Puglia
May 10-15,, Umbria
October 4010, Puglia
October 18-24, Umbria
For fuller descriptions click here, and for more details send me an email. And if you have your own group of friends I'm always happy to plan a private week if you'd like.
If you're just in Rome for the day, then Sophie is happy to take you around her favorite neighborhoods. She's also blocked out certain times of the year when she'll be leading tours in Puglia. You can visit her website, or send her an email to find out more.
What I'm Reading
Here's yet another list of summer reads I'm diving into. Since the last time I checked in I've read and enjoyed Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner. I tried my best to read Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner but just couldn't get into it at all. I just started The Last Book Party by Karen Dukess and so far love the literary/summer vibe. But I think after I finish this one, I'm going in the mystery direction. Any suggestions?
Are you as confused what the words 'natural wine' mean as most people? You are not alone. Don't worry, my friend Alice Feiring has come to the rescue with her newest book Natural Wine for the People. Buy it. Read it. Then have a drink. (not necessarily in that order).
What a wonderful tale about Amatriciana and the people who make it. Also? I've always said that buccatini has no place in this dish, so glad to see someone else (the people of Amatrice!) echoing my opinion.
I'm a strict 'carry-on-only' convert. As someone who leads tours, I see so many of my guests arrive weighed down with way too much luggage. Take the leap and stick to one small piece. This article covers this topic and much more. (I'm also super into packing cubes). Do you have a packing tip you'd like to share?
Where I've Been
One of the hardest things to advise people on is where to go to the beach in Italy. Sophie and I get this question a LOT! There are just so many variables. Since Italy is one big coast line there is usually something for everyone. But still, specific advice is just hard to give. Maybe because there is so much to choose from? With this in mind I thought I'd share a beach weekend that Sophie, Domenico and I recently took before our Week in Italy trip in Puglia last month. It's nothing special, but we did find a couple of cute places to stay, a restaurant or two, plus, (of course) beach.
And speaking of beaches, I've finally added EAT AMALFI to my suite of EAT ITALY apps. It was difficult to decide what to name this app, since in fact, there is actually nothing in the city of Amalfi. But I wanted to group all of the beach related advice I've collected over the years under one umbrella app. Most of it is on, or surrounding, or nearby, the Amalfi Coast. So a lot of Positano. Some other towns, as well as Ponza of course. I'll keep adding to it as I continue to explore. If you have the app already, it should already have downloaded magically to your phone, since it's free. If not, you can download it for free here for Apple and here for Android.
It was nice to actually be back in Rome for a week, even though it was dreadfully hot. But at least in the evening things cool down and we enjoyed one breezy dinner on my neighbor Monica's terrace with the wine maker Bibi Graetz. One of his vineyard sites is located on the hilly slopes of the Island of Giglio and I'm hoping to get there to see his completely unique vineyard.
Domenico and I had a short, but intense, 24 hour break in Tuscany that involved a helicopter ride to one of the top Super Tuscan vineyards in Italy. While I'm not a huge fan of their wines, it was an amazing experience, and I learned a tremendous amount while at the same time appearing totally glamorous hopping on and off that helicopter (which is kind of the point, right?) The highlight of the break was getting to spend time with one of my oldest and best friends (who has her own vineyard in Napa) at this fabulous place atop an isolated hill in the most beautiful part of Tuscany. The wheels are turning and I'm already trying to figure out what kind of cooking retreat to plan there next year.
And finally.....
It's nice when your friends and colleagues take inspiration from your recipes. Melissa Clark made her own version of my crostata recipe from The Italian Table in the New York Times last week. And Samin Nosrat took a spin on my cacio e pepe technique, coating luscious farro with the cheesy sauce, also in the Times.
It's monday morning as I finally hit send on this letter and I'm off to the Todi farmer's market, where there are only 3 stands but they are all run directly by the people who grow the produce. I'm hoping to get some eggplant to make this, some green beans to make this and as many melons as can fit in my bag to eat with prosciutto. I'll also be stopping by the cheese store to stock up for tonight, when we light the pizza oven. How's your summer cooking going? Do you have a garden? A farmer's market? I hope you've diving into tomatoes like we are!
x,e
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