April 2020 Newsletter from Elizabeth Minchilli

Elizabeth Minchilli
EATING MY WAY THROUGH ITALY

April 2020 Newsletter

Well, that was a weird month.

As I usually do, before writing this monthly letter, I go over what I wrote the month before (I don't want to repeat myself, which I have a tendancy to do). Has it only been a month? It seems like a year ago. Yet at the same time, it’s gone very quickly.

Are you having trouble keeping track of time too?

Here’s an update on what’s going on with us. On March 10 the president of Italy declared the entire country locked down. While this seemed drastic at the time (was this only 23 days ago?!) now, with the rest of the world following suit, it seems like the new normal. We were lucky enough to find ourselves up in Umbria, at our home there, when the order came through. While many of my friends are in Rome, confined to their apartments, we are completely blessed (and I don’t use that word in normal times!) to be in the countryside. This means that not only do we have more room in the house, we are also able to go outside and take long walks while remaining completely and responsibly isolated.

I am here with Sophie and Domenico, and our days are actually very full. Domenico’s architecture firm is closed, so he doesn’t have a lot of work to do from home. Instead he spends the entire day in the garden and it’s never looked better. (The current big project involves building a fence to stop the wild boar from digging up our lawn). And as you can imagine, Sophie and I have been busy in the kitchen.

Since Italy was hit harder and faster and earlier than other many countries (the USA for instance) a lot of people have been looking to us for how to handle the situation, especially from a food point of view. One of the things we realized early on was that having a meal plan helped a lot. In these endless days, with little structure, having a fixed schedule or plan to stick to provides comfort and a framework. I’m not saying you have to stick to it all the time. I’m realistic. But at least having one is a starting point.

And let me add that our meal plans most definitely include desserts. We even have an entire baking section that get’s updated regularly. I’m not usually one for baking, but I’ve made these brownies and cookies are on repeat and one day even made gelato topped with bananas flambe!!

We also all meet up in the afternoon for our coffee and something sweet. Even though we can’t make it to our local bar we try to include a daily coffee ritual even if it means standing at the counter in the kitchen.

Also, I think it goes without saying that the most important meal of the day is cocktail hour.

And since this is me, you can be sure that the table is set with my favorite ceramics, candles and fresh linen for every single meal. Because that’s just how I am, quarantine or not.

What's New

It’s April 2 and today Sophie and I were supposed to be on a small train, winding our way around Etna, on our way to vineyard, lunch and a granita making lesson. We would have been mid way through out Week in Sicily trip, but that’s obviously not happening. Nor did our last Week in Rome tour. We are of course sad about this, but rather than dwell on what isn’t, or couldn’t or wasn’t, we are looking forward. Yes, we wish we were currently traveling with you, not just because it’s our business and not just because we find it fun, but also because we are part of a larger community that is also suffering. And so we are doing our best to try to do our part to make sure our colleagues, who we depend upon, and depend on tourism, survive as well.

As UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili said last week,
“Tourism is uniquely placed to lead future recovery. Our sector will provide the jobs people need to bounce back and will drive economic growth that will help whole communities and countries recover. But for now, we must be patient and stand ready. By staying home today, we can travel tomorrow.”

We are all staying at home, so we can travel tomorrow. And with this in mind Sophie and I are using this time to plan. I’m in the middle of finalizing the dates, but there will be more trips to both Umbria and Puglia (a special summer edition!) as well as Abruzzo (two times in 2021, and one of them will be with Evan Kleiman). I’m also chatting with Melissa Clark and we’re trying to decide on where we’d like to hang out with you (hopefully with some pasta grannies!) I should have the details for all of these trips up and running by next month. For our ever expanding schedule of tours for 2021, see this page. Or else send me an email and I'll send you the brochures

And even though you can’t hop on a plane right now, you can certainly travel virtually. For this I humbly recommend any of my three books:
Eating Rome
Eating My Way Through Italy
The Italian Table
Have them already? Then send them to a friend you think might enjoy them. I’ve been sending care packages like crazy these days. You have no idea how happy it makes someone who is isolating alone to receive a gift.

What I'm Watching

If you would like to both travel back in time as well as travel to Italy, make sure you check out Sophie’s list of her favorite old Italian films. She is posting them to her Instagram stories, but also saving them in her highlights.

And my friend Georgette Jupe has pulled together a fun list of Italian tv shows and movies here.

No, we haven’t watched the Tiger movie yet. I also started watching Unorthodox on Netflix (which is fantastic) but decided I needed something lighter and so am catching up on One Day at a Time.

And then there are of course the short videos that have been making the rounds and that I'm sure you've seen by now. But just in case you haven't, these are my favorites:
Ina Garten making gallons of Cosmos
Two cute Italian Boys and their violins
Flight Attendant Works from Home

What I'm Reading

Is anyone else having a hard time concentrating on reading long books? I know it’s supposedly a great time to read, and there have been so many recommendations for lists of books, but....

I thought it would be a great time to dive into the final installment in the Wolf Hall trilogy, but it just kind of made my brain cramp up. I’m putting that on the virtual shelf, and instead am enjoying another (lighter and easier!) take on historical fiction, Edward Rutherford’s New York. I love reading about the trials that New York has gone through in the past, knowing it’s made it through. Also? It’s kind of soap opera-ish, which I need now.

I'm also reading my neighbor Patrizia Chen's book, about her husband's Chinese family seen through her Italian eyes

Livia Hengel wrote this piece about how Italians are inspiring the world by coming together through culture.

Afar magazine talked to Sophie about how Italians are dealing with quarantine.

I love Melissa Clark’s new Pantry Series (here is her biscuit recipe) and am definitely taking notes from Alison Roman’s ideas for Passover.

Are you trying to make your favorite pasta recipes taste like the ones you eat in restaurants? Here are a few tips.

Are you having trouble finding yeast? Here are some tips from Food52 about dealing with that.

What I'm Eating

Ok, I totally failed at the whole sourdough starter thing. I think my heart wasn’t in it, and the starter could sense that. Less than 24 hours into it and mine had pink mold (a big no no). So I’m back to using regular yeast (which is luckily easy to get at our supermarket) as well as flat breads and fast cooking breads like biscuits and things. And if I do decide I absolutely need to have some sourdough starter my neighbors have offered to gift me some, so I'm all set.

For those of you who follow along on Instagram you know we’ve been cooking up a storm these days. All three of us sit down to both lunch and dinner, and we plan the entire week out, usually dividing the cooking between Sophie and me. I’ve been sharing the menus and links on social media, but since that is kind of hard to keep track of I’ve also included them on the blog. Here is Week 1 and Week 2, and I’ll continue doing this. You'll find links to the recipes for all the bread that I made that actually turned out, as well as most other dishes.

Stay tuned for the next two weeks which will feature our menus for both Passover AND Easter (now seems a great time to have all our bases covered.)

And finally.....

Although no one knows what the immediate future will bring, I have a feeling that we’ll be here in Umbria at least for another 2 months. Even when things are opened up in Italy, it will most likely be in small steps, and the countryside seems a good place to be based for now. While I certainly miss my work and leading tours, I’m also thankful to be here. It’s spring, and I don’t think I’ve ever had the time to spend just watching the trees bloom. I know that we are extremely lucky to be where we are. I hope that you are someplace safe and that you get through this period with love and good cheer. There’s not much I can do for you from afar, but I’m always available to answer any kind of cooking questions if you have them. (Let’s just agree to avoid the whole sourdough discussion, ok?) I’m happy to talk beans, pasta, or even setting the table!!

And of course if you have ANY questions about martinis, you know where to find me.

x,Elizabeth

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