Tiny Teaspoons Homemade Ravioli

The debut of our holiday gifts to everyone! Drew and I made assorted homemade ravioli and a recipe card for butter sage sauce. The assortment included sweet potato ravioli (with onion, sage, garlic, cinnamon and ricotta), mushroom ravioli (with purple onion, thyme and ricotta) and asparagus ravioli (with pine nuts, garlic, white wine and ricotta). We hope all who received them enjoys them (recipes will be in my cookbook)!

Christmas Eve Traditions

One of our favorite things to participate in during the holidays is the Casey Family 7 Fishes Christmas Eve dinner extravaganza! This year Drew's mother hosted the event and we were all put to work (fun work of course). There is never a dull moment during the holidays especially when Wayne gets a new toy (hem hem). The wine flows like water and the laughter continues on to wee hours of Christmas morning. As for the food, nothing less than the best!  My tasks were relatively simple. I made baked clams oreganata, and a white wine broth for Denny's steamed clams. Drew grilled mahi mahi and salmon and battered coconut shrimp. Denny held down the fort with steaming crabs and clams. Mandy covered us on all the side dishes -from asparagus to potatoes and was 2nd in charge in the kitchen. Both Mandy and Josie took charge of the deep fryers for the calamari (mom's buttermilk did the trick), flounder and shrimp. Drew's mother made a fabulous marinara sauce to dip the calamari in, shrimp cocktail, bacon wrapped scallops, salad and ran the kitchen like a professional. Everything was delicious and both Drew and I were thrilled to share the holidays with the people we love. It was great speaking to our snow buried friends - I hope you are all staying warm and well fed. And another special congratulations to Ashley and Roberson for their engagement - we love you guys!

The Kitchen Captains!

Chopping endless amounts of garlic

 Denny's Grandma is going to eat the raw potatoes while Dana is eating the main course as an appetizer

Fran is engineering the layout of his plate

Happy Holidays to all!

Where in the world is Tiny Teaspoons?

Hi everyone!

If you are wondering why it is taking me soooo long to post - it is because of our transition back to the United States. Follow tiny_teaspoons on twitter daily to see what we are up to and insight on what the next blog post will be!

New recipes, new culinary experiences and great restaurants coming soon!

Happy Holidays!

HASIR - KREUZBERG, BERLIN

Our days are numbered here in Berlin, so we are heading to one of our favorite restaurants - HASIR! If you ever decide to travel to Berlin or even just pass through, I highly recommend exploring the Turkish neighborhood of Kreuzberg. Stop in Hasir (inventor of the Doner Kebab sandwich) and have a delicous kebab plate along with the mutebbel appetizer. It is the best I have ever had. There are a few locations around the city and it is still all locally owned (not a big franchise or anything like that), but the one with the most affordable prices is located on Adalbertstr.10 - 12 Berlin, Germany 10999. I will be jealous of all that are able to continue to enjoy this place as much as I had. HASIR you will be missed!

Grill Boats!!! How cool is this?!?!?!

A few days ago, early afternoon, Drew and I embarked on a long bicycle journey to Treptower Park here in Berlin. We were on the quest of exploring the abandoned amusement park (through the fence of course) to snap a couple of photos of overturned dinosaurs. And although, plastic dinosaurs are funny to see in the middle of the woods, I became much more excited to see this http://www.artthink.de/ BBQ-DONUTS!!!!! For those of you who are not familiar with a BBQ DONUT, let me be the first to introduce this German invention. By the way, if you have seen these in the United States please tell me where! So apparently you can rent out a bbq-donut to stroll down the river and party with your friends and family. The website even shows them being used on the snow - what better way is there to have a bbq?  I cannot get enough of this idea! For any of you who are searching for that perfect holiday gift to splurge on, let it be this! This is especially great for all of you in Florida surrounded by water, after all Ft. Lauderdale is America's Venice. 

ATTENTION RESTAURATEURS: You can even advertise and sponsor these boats (picture these on the Intracoastal)!

Oktoberfest 2010 - Munich

The 200th Anniversary of Munich’s famed Oktoberfest celebration wound down to a successful close last night. Before it ended, I had the chance to take part in three days of good food and great beer. My biggest surprise upon arriving at the Oktoberfest site was the massive size of the event. I expected a couple of tents set up and knew that there would be a section with rides. However, the gigantic festival rivaled the size of some small amusement parks. Despite the number of tents (13 beer ones plus one wine tent), only six brands of beer are served. This year boasted one extra beer, jointly brewed by all six brewers to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the festival’s inception.

My beer tourism began with my good friend in the Schottenhamel tent. We quickly realized that we were the oldest people in a sea of Bavarian teenagers who will have better childhood memories than most. The Spaten beer served there was delicious. It took a while for us to find a bench to sit or stand on, but we managed. For round two, we headed over to the Hacker-Festzelt, where I wasn’t as impressed with the Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfest brew. Nonetheless, I had already learned at the Berlin Oktoberfest that two “mass” was plenty for one night.

Over the course of the three days, I ate three delicious rotisserie half-chickens, of which the Hippodrom’s was the best. I tried more beer from Spaten and Paulaner and visited about half of the 13 beer tents in total. However, my favorite, by far, was the anniversary ale. Unlike the other beers which were light in body, the anniversary ale was dark and foamy. I must admit I loved them all – just not equally.

Throughout the event, most people, including my Munich-based friends, wore traditional dirndls and lederhosen. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, I was not one of them. Regardless, I was still welcomed into nonstop random prosting, overly friendly conversations, and lots of arm-in-arm swaying to classic Oktoberfest songs and favorite American classics, such as Summer of ’69.

Oktoberfest definitely lives up to all of its hype. However, it’s not worth flying across the Atlantic solely for a couple of days of drinking delicious beer amongst festive people. Instead, I recommend it as a worthy detour for those already heading to Europe, especially Germany. -Drew Bagley

It's Bar-B-Q Season in the South

Ah yes, now that it’s no longer hotter outside than two rabbits in a wool sock, it’s time to dust off the smokers and get ready for Bar-b-q season. This past weekend, with our team having an away game, necessitated permeating the neighborhood with the sweet aroma of Hickory and Apple woods. The main part of the meal? Ribs.
I love ribs. Real ribs. Don’t bring anything like baby backs or other wanna be ribs. I am talking big spare ribs. So I bought 2 slabs of pork spare ribs and 1 slab of beef spare ribs for this occasion. I lathered them up with a good rub and let them sit in the fridge for around 24 hours before smoking. Then came Saturday morning. Everyone else still asleep from the previous nights festivities (and me still feeling the effects a little), I walked outside with my coffee and was greeted with that familiar fall crisp in the air. It wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t blazing hot either. I labored in front of the smoker for a few hours before everyone else “came to,” and people started arriving for the game. Here’s the result and how to get there:

 

Bar-b-q Spare Ribs
 

by: Ryan Burroughs

 

First make your rub. This can be any mixture, but it needs to at least have sugar (or something sugary), and spices. I don’t always (Read: I never) measure, but these are approximates.

 

Ryan’s Rib Rub

1/3 cup yellow mustard

½ cup brown sugar

2 tbs. Garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground Cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon Cumin

1 teaspoon Sweet Hungarian Paprika

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon Black pepper 

 

Mix the above together and brush liberally onto ribs. Wrap ribs in shrink wrap (or vacuum sealer bags if you have them) and seal them. Place in fridge overnight.

The next morning get up and make a nice hot pot of good coffee. Then get ready to make fire. I just use the old fashioned ECB Smoker. This is “El Cheapo Brinkman” to the lay person. They cost $40 at any hardware store and no man that enjoys preparing his meat outdoors like God and Bobby Flay intended should be without one. I won’t go into the details of smoker use, since this is an assumed instinct that all men (and, to be fair, many women) are blessed with. For ribs, I prefer a 50/50 mixture of apple wood and hickory wood chips, over lump charcoal. I find this a nice mild smoky flavor that doesn’t overpower the rib meat, and the lump coal burns very evenly with regards to temperature.

For ribs, rather than the internal temperature rules that apply to most smoking meats, I prefer the 3-2-1 method. I start coals and wood and smoke the ribs at 235 degrees. You will need a nice digital thermometer to read this temp. Make sure it doesn’t touch the meat or the grate to prevent misreads. You can cut the slabs in half to make them more manageable if you need to. I also have a rib rack that stands them vertically so I can fit 4-5 slabs of ribs (enough for around 10-12 people) in the smoker at once. I leave them in for three hours. Then I take them off and wrap them in foil. At this point you can either smoke or bake them (doesn’t matter since they’re wrapped and won’t absorb smoke) at 235 degrees for another 2 hours.

Now here comes the kicker and a slight variation of the ‘1’ part of the 3-2-1 Rule. Unwrap the ribs from the foil. What some people do at this point is put them back on the coals at 235 degrees for another hour. But what I do is put them on my grill and grill on medium-high (about 400 degrees) for about 10 minutes a side to firm the meat up a bit. The key? Brush them with some honey before hand. Sure, this doesn’t sound good. But it gets that nice bark that people love to see, and it cooks off so you can’t really taste it anyways. The result: No leftovers.

Ribs can also be paired with home made bar-b-q sauce for people that want to smother the flavor of all your hard work. While I hate the concept of bar-b-q sauce (because I really like the flavor of smoke and meat), I make a nice mild sauce that even I use on ribs. Just use it conservatively or you will just taste the sauce and none of the 6 hours of labor you just spent.

Fresh off the smoker...

Homemade Bar-b-q Sauce

½ cup Ketchup

2 Tablespoons yellow or spicy mustard

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons of Worchestershire (or Worsishishishisher sauce to most)

1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

½ Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

 

This can be mixed over low-medium heat. Another nice touch I have been experimenting with is to actually put it in the smoker (use a safe container that’s open) and smoke it too.

Enjoy!

Wine Review - Josmeyer Riesling (2005)

Josmeyer Riesling -  Grand Cru Hengst (2005)

Notes from http://www.josmeyer.com
Production Area: Vosges, France. 
"The soil of the 360 meter high slope which dominates this vineyard is essentially a mixture of limestone from the Vosges, chalky marl and layers of red, brown, green and beige sediment hundreds of meters thick. The mother rock is of an orange - yellow hue. Dating as far back as the Jurassic period, the elements vary in density from very fine to very course. The combined calcareous and marl soils tend to produce rich full bodied wines.
Taste: There's good richness in this dry white, but it seems slimmer, thanks to the racy structure. Peach, tangerine and mineral notes are in harmony, aligned with the body and the acidity as this glides to a long finish."





 
This past year I have had the pleasure of touring a few wineries, expanding my pallet and learning about the TLC that goes into the art of producing wine. Each experience was more delightful than the next and over the course of the year I have found a few labels that I would like to share with you. Currently my favorite wine is the Josmeyer Alsace Riesling Grand Cru Hengst (2005), which I was first introduced to in February at a dinner party in Leipzig, Germany. This Riesling is dry yet mildly sweet which is the perfect compliment to dinner. We enjoyed carrot ginger soup along with roasted chicken, mushrooms and rosemary potatoes. The wine also tastes wonderful with fish, sushi, roasted vegetables, pasta primavera with a buttery lemon broth and other lighter dishes. I highly recommend trying it if you are a Riesling fan. This wine is smooth and isn't overbearing. I am by means no expert whatsoever but I absolutely love this wine. This wine is a great gift for a special occasion. The bottle ranges around 22 Euros and in the US for around 50 USD (not our typical 4 euro wines we have been buying all year). For information on distribution follow the link to josmeyer's website http://www.josmeyer.com/distributeurs.php?langue=en

Oktoberfest Kick Off!

Guess what time of year it is in Germany!!!!!

Check out our video trailer!

Culinary Destination: Mallorca, Spain

This past week Drew and I went on a hiking excursion in Mallorca, Spain for a few days. The views were breathtaking and the contrast of the terrain makes this destination the perfect place to unwind, eat healthy and stay active. The timing couldn't be better! Our visit was the best remedy for the colds we caught right before the autumn weather change in Berlin. The island offers an abundance of native olives, almonds, tomatoes and goats! Overall we weren't impressed with the cuisine, once we found out that much of the seafood is frozen and imported - so no Paella for me. However, we did enjoy the coques de verdures (a pastry with vegetables) and Drew loved the Gató, which is a sweet almond based pastry. The olives were fabulous, the goat cheese was right on target and the wine was aromatic and delightful. We spent our nights in a rented apartment amongst great friends, which was comfortable and enabled us to have most of our meals at home with local ingredients. The days were spent exploring the mountainous coast, hiking, swimming and trekking through old towns and olive groves. We covered the western region of the island - Port de Sóller, Deià and Sa Calobra. It felt like we were on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean with a few altered scenes including donkeys and olive trees. We wandered along many overgrown hiking paths and detoured a few times into local backyards which were made up of olive groves, desert vegetation a few friendly territorial goats. The waters were crystal clear and the glimmering sparkle in the waves was so inviting. OH BTW - Although privado means private we learned that is is just a suggestion (mostly for the goats) while hiking through the mountains...

Upon our return to Berlin, I was inspired to make my own coques de verdures but it pretty much came out like a vegetable tart - either way, it was tasty!

Mallorcan Vegetable Tart:

Dough (by hand):

2.5 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
2/3 cup unsalted butter - room temperature
1/2 cup chilled water

Vegetables:
6 Cherry Tomatoes
½ Red Onion
1 clove of garlic
1 jarred red sweet pepper
2 jarred artichoke hearts
2 black olives - I threw in a green one too for color
1 tsp. Parsley
½ tsp. black pepper
1 tbs. olive oil (Spanish for the theme & to support their economy)

Tart Dough

Step 1: Dough Preparation
To create the dough (by hand) mix flour, salt and paprika together in a bowl. Add in the soft butter and knead it into the flour mixture. Once the dough begins to flake add the ½ cup of chilled water. Mix through kneading the dough into a ball.
 
Step 2: Chill
Form the dough into a ball and wrap it around with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a half hour.
 
Step 3: Roll
Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll out as 2 flat discs.

Vegetable Preparation

Step 1: Chopping
Chop up the cherry tomatoes draining them of their juice and seeds. I sliced mine. Chop up the artichoke hearts and jarred red pepper and drain them of excess juice. Chop up the olive and mince the red onion and garlic.

Step 2: Assemble
Take the flat disc of dough and lay it on a pizza stone or glass baking dish. Place vegetables in the center giving them a good mix together to spread the flavor. Fold over the perimeter creating a crust that overlaps the edge of the vegetable center. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle parsley and black pepper on top.

Step 3: Bake
Bake the vegetable tart at preheated 375 degrees for approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown. I usually keep my eye on the oven until the crust is a nice golden color so I think it was around 12 minutes...but keep your eye on the oven...my landlord rung the doorbell so I lost track of time :)

Step 4: Serve
Plate and serve with some fresh olives and Spanish wine.

Two Tablespoons: Beer Review - Trappistes Rochefort 10

For my first post here, I decided to go with a beer review.  I realize they always say it’s better to work your way to the best, from the worst.  This way, apparently, you will enjoy the lesser quality experiences more.  Take, for example, the 16 year old who is gifted with a Porsche as his first car.  Once out from under the fiscal wing of his parents, he purchases a Honda.  Honda’s are great cars, but might not be so exciting after one has owned a Porsche.  So he is disappointed with his purchase.  But, despite this clichéd piece of advice, I am giving you the Porsche first, and I will let you decide if you want to stay with the Porsches, or try something else.  But I warn you, whatever else you try will seldom be as delightful as this Porsche of Beers.
    My!  What suspense!  What beer is he speaking of, this Porsche of beers?  I am, of course, referring to Trappistes Rochefort 10, possibly the best example of the Belgian Quadruple I have ever come across.  I have kept a spreadsheet of beers for years, and for 4 years I never rated a beer a “10.”  This rating was reserved for a beer for which I would give up all other beers.  One that truly knocked my socks off.  After trying my first Trappistes Rochefort 10, I marked a “10” in the rating column and was instantly depressed.  For I had found perfection.  And perfection cost $7.00 a bottle.  So I could not afford to give up all other beers and guzzle the “10” like there was no tomorrow.  Why couldn’t Busch Light be the “10?”  Or any other beer that costs 1/12 as much as this one for that matter.  But I digress.
   Belgian Quadruples have been brewed by the Belgian Monks for ages.  They are typically a dark brown beer with a high alcohol content.  Their flavors are extremely complex, and they only improve and intensify as they warm throughout the drinking experience.  A person can notice many more of the complexities and subtleties of this beer when above the 50 degree mark.  One interesting quality of the Belgian Ales (Dubbels, Tripels, and Quads), is that they can be cellar aged, in the same manner as wine.  With most beers, the flavors start to diminish within 6 months of being bottled, rendering aging a non-desirable activity. This particular sample is brewed by Brasserie de Rochefort (Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy), by actual Monks.  In order for a beer to be called “Trappist Ale,” it must be brewed by monks at a monetary.  It pours dark with a thick foamy head and a great aroma.  The taste is malty and sweet with a mild bitterness.  At 11.3% ABV, it is a strong ale, and you will feel the alcohol.  I strongly recommend serving this in a tulip glass or a goblet, and between 45 and 50 degrees.  If served too cold, you will not taste some of the more subtle complexities.  Some people pair Quads with meats, however, I much prefer to pair it with a nice, mild cheese.  Brie and Havarti are possibly my favorite cheeses to have with such a nice ale, as they will not overpower it.
   So, grab a Trappistes Rochefort 10 for your next special occasion. Drink it slowly and enjoy perfection at $7.00 a bottle.

Flashback to the DDR (GDR) Kitchen

The other night Drew and I decided to participate in Berlin's Lange Nacht der Museen event. We were able to wander freely into more than 80 participating museums until 2 am. Realistically, we were able to squeeze in 5, and I want to share one of our experiences with you - the DDR museum. Normally, we would never pay to go into the DDR museum, mostly because we were told there wasn't anything all to interesting in their presentation. Still, after attending, I recommend exploring the DDR section at the German history museum in Berlin instead. Either way, one display seemed relevant for a blog post - the kitchen of an East German apartment. For those of you who need a brief refresher class in history, the DDR is the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, a socialist state that was formed out of the occupied Russian zone of Germany after World War II. The DDR constructed the Berlin Wall which was intended to be an "anti-fascist" protection wall for East Germany that surrounded and cut off West Berlin from the rest of West Germany. West Berlin remained as a small island within the Soviet partition causing it to be a vulnerable place and the on the front line during the Cold War. During the DDR's 40 years of existence many tried to flee from the eastern block, however here is a glimpse into the life of those who stayed. Women were considered equal in the workforce in East Germany and were encouraged to take on qualified jobs as teachers, nurses and other care management roles. Women were able to further their education through night classes and children 11 weeks and older were automatically able to be enrolled in day care for free (by the government). This made daily life more manageable for a mother's dueling role as professional woman and housewife. Although this seemed rather progressive, men still had the decision making roles within society as well as leading positions in the workforce. Lives were constantly under the microscope by informants of the the Stasi. Neighbors, coworkers, spouses and children were all spying on each other to identify the non conformists of their society.

Many lived in fear by order and would live life simply by the rule to stay off the radar. East Germany was quite poor due to the war reparations therefore, products were often made from the cheapest, most uniform materials available. The picture below shows some of the kitchen tools in a typical DDR kitchen. It doesn't look too far off from what was available in the west, but there was only 1 - 2 choices rather than the variety of consumer products in a market based economy. To this day a few East German products have survived unification. One of my favorite items is the East German Mustard which is only 45 cents in the supermarket. Bautz’ner Senf is quite the treat for any bratwurst or pretzel and what was once state owned, is now in the hands of the a private company as one of the market leaders in mustard brands. The same original recipe is still used and you cannot beat the price. If you would like a further glimpse into East German life, I recommend watching The Lives of Others and Goodbye Lenin (both great movies). Fun fact: Angela Merkel, the current Chancellor is East German and has a degree in Physics. This October 3rd is the 20th anniversary of German Reunification.

Introducing guest bloggers, Two Tablespoons

Meet Ryan & Jennifer, Tiny Teaspoons' contributing guest bloggers. Ryan has a bachelor of science degree in nutrition and is currently finishing up his MBA before heading to law school and Jennifer is on the cusp of becoming a veterinarian (you are almost there Jenn!). This foodie power couple will contribute all sorts of nutritional, tasty, epicurean knowledge, including everything about every beer known to mankind (trust me Ryan has hundreds of beer tastings documented - no I am not kidding). I look forward to seeing what they have cooking up for us!

Foodie Faux Pas: Speck Candy

Hello! This post is for all of you out there who find foods that are never supposed to be mixed together and wonder what were they thinking?!? Perhaps you will sneer at me for some of my opinions, but I still must create this category of posts for the Tiny Teaspoons blog. Today's "Foodie Faux Pas" is Bacon Candy! We all know that Germans love their pork products but this is just a little strange for me. Maybe Americans can equate it to cigarette gum that kids buy - so we promote faux lung cancer candy, they promote faux artery clogging candy. The funniest part to me is that the candy's logo even has picture of a piglet to show everyone that "yes" this is indeed bacon candy. I know all of you want to run to the store to pick up a bag of this delicious speck, but before doing so I must tell you it isn't bacon flavored - it is sugary marshmallow. If you are curious, the direct translation of "ein sack voll speck" is "a sac full of bacon."

Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant

After living in Berlin for a year, I finally went to the Maybachufer Wochenmarkt (aka the outdoor Turkish Market) in Kreuzberg. All I can say is WOW. I cannot believe I didn’t take advantage of this resource Mecca sooner! Drew and I met up with a few friends, grabbed lunch, then sat and listened to music while we gorged in olives, schafskäse and lamb schawarma. There were endless amounts of goodies at our fingertips and our eyes were in sensory overload from the vibrant colors of fresh produce, spices and colorful locals. It was the perfect way to spend a Friday afternoon. After coming to my senses, I think I made a few wise purchases. I purchased light as well as dark purple eggplants, white peppers, and a pale colored green zucchini – only because these vegetables stood out of the norm for me (ok fine - not the dark purple eggplant).  I was so excited to see what I could make out of these market prizes. I stared at my ingredients for awhile until I came to the conclusion that I would make Mediterranean stuffed eggplant. Taaadaaaah!

Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant

(serves 2)
Ingredients 
1 eggplant
¼ cup of diced up zucchini
1 small white bell pepper (or red bell pepper if white isn’t available)
1 small yellow onion diced
3 cloves garlic
Olive oil
Flavored bread crumbs (Germany only offers plain so I season them myself)
1 whitecap mushroom
1 tsp of pinenuts
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 small vine tomato
¼ cup of crumbled Feta cheese
½ tsp salt
Lemon juice

Step 1: Veggie Prep
Always rinse your veggies before handling. Dice up the zucchini, garlic, onion, mushroom, tomato and pepper. Cut the eggplant lengthwise and scoop out the middle leaving approximately .125 inch  buffer to the edge of the skin. (wow I prep my eggplant like I design an ad).  Set the insides of the eggplant aside. Lightly salt the inside of the eggplant and place face down in a glass oven dish until later use. Chop up the eggplant insides into smaller pieces and sprinkle garlic powder and a ½ tsp of salt over the top.


Step 2: Sauté Veggies
In a large skillet coat bottom of pan with olive oil. Add in onion, ½ of your minced garlic, diced zucchini and diced eggplant. Sauté vegetables on a medium heat. Add in pine nuts, chopped pepper, chopped tomato and cinnamon. Mix in the tomato paste and stir thoroughly.


Step 3: Prep the Breadcrumb Paste
In a medium sized bowl add the remaining garlic, flavored bread crumbs and olive oil. Mix together until it becomes a paste-like texture (adding more olive oil until you are happy with the texture).


Step 4: Mixing
Add the diced mushroom, the sautéed vegetables and the feta cheese into the pasty-breadcrumb bowl. Mix everything together so the breadcrumbs coat the entire mixture.


Step 5: Stuffing
Stuff the breadcrumb – vegetable mixture into the shells of the eggplant. Sprinkle lemon juice on top and place them in the middle of the oven on 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) for 40 minutes.


Step 6: Serve
Remove from the oven and sprinkle more lemon juice over the top the eggplant, plate and serve.

Quick peek of the Maybachufer Wochenmarkt

 

Culinary Destination: Rome

It is time to do as the Romans would and take you down the culinary roads of the eternal city. My stay in Rome this summer was quite a treat. Our neighborhood, Trastevere, was the prime place to escape from the tourist sites and enable us to live like a local. Drew and I loved cooking in our kitchen and shopping in the fresh market, Campo de' Fiori. On days dedicated to exploring, we hunted for affordable trattorias and found some great gems! We encountered that every menu had basic specialty dishes such as bucatini all'amatriciana, cacio e pepe, spaghetti alla carbonara and gnocchi alla Romana. It turns out that we made a better amatriciana sauce at home, with some tips given to us by the local butcher (the key is spicy guanciale). In my opinion, it is best to only have carbonara when they serve it with homemade pasta and gnocchi is best eaten on Thursdays when it is made fresh. Pizza is always the perfect, never disappointing meal, after a long day of walking. And although, I love the traditional dishes, my favorite meal was the Zucca di Risotto (pumpkin risotto) from a Calabrian trattoria. Drew and I stumbled upon La Zucca Gialla, just behind Piazza Navona, on Via del Governo Vecchio. We were hooked on the melanzane (eggplant) croquettes and the pumpkin dishes. The risotto
was creamy, flavorful and al dente - simple yet out of this world! The portion was just enough and the flavors melted in your mouth so much, that we craved it every few days. All jokes aside, we wound up eating here 3 more times! We never could seem to get away from ordering the same dish, but we did cheat and bring guests to try their meals. All in all, we had the melanzane croquette, the pumpkin risotto, the pumpkin ravioli (the risotto was better), the spaghetti alla vongole, maccheroncelli pasta served with spicy black olive and cuttlefish sauce, the rice croquette and the gnocchi. Everything was delightful and after stuffing ourselves, we wandered over to Piazza Navona to watch the street performers finish off the evening. Rome has so much to offer both historically and culinary and no matter how long one stays it is impossible to see it all.

My Best of Rome List:

Da Luigi
Location: Piazza Sforza Cesarini 25, 00186 Roma
(main road is Corso Vittorio Emmauel Due on the left side if heading toward the Vatican)
Recommendation: Prosciutto Crudo with Melon, Mussels, Clams, Risotto stuffed Pomodoro, Penne alla Vodka and my favorite Paglia e Fieno alla Papalina (fresh yellow and green pasta with a mushroom and pea cream sauce)

La Zucca Gialla
Location: Vicolo della Cancelleria 4, 00186 Roma
(near Piazza Navona)
Recommendation: Zucca di Risotto (pumpkin risotto)

Filetti di Bacala
Location: Santa Barbara Largo dei Librari 88, 00186 Roma (066 864018) (Campo de' Fiori)
Recommendation: Don't sit and eat - walk to the back where the kitchen is and order the fried bacala to go. They will wrap it in paper and send you off with a hot filet.

Panini Stand by Campo de' Fiori
Location: I think it is on Via dei Baullari just off of Campo de' Fiori (Melissa is standing in front of it)
Recommendation: Hot Pressed Panini with Prosciutto Crudo and Fresh Mozzarella

Pizzeria ai Marmi
Location: Viale di Trastevere 53, 00153 Roma (06 5800919)
Recommendation: Pizza with topped with Arugula

Pizzeria da Ivo
Location: Via di San Francesco a Ripa 158, 00153 Roma
(06 5817082) (Trastevere)
Recommendation: Pizza Margherita

Pizzeria Dar Poeta
Location: Vicolo del Bologna 45, 00153 Roma (06 5880516) (Trastevere)
Recommendation: Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella

La Casa Del Caffe' Tazza D'Oro
Location: Via degli Orfani 84, 00186 Roma  (Pantheon)
Recommendation: Granita di Caffe con Panna

Others:

Bir and Fud 

Location: Via Benedetta 23 00153 Roma (06 5894016) (Trastevere)

Recommendation: Escape Italian cuisine and order a micro brewed beer and homemade potato chips

La Taverna de' Mercanti

Location: Piazza de' Mercanti' 3a. 06/5880449 (Trastevere)
Recommendation: Splurge for expensive authentic Roman Cuisine with rustic ambiance

Gelato Wars (Drew vs Marni)

Drew and I have had the biggest debate over gelaterias in Rome. In fact, Drew is so loyal to his gelateria that we had to go there, every night we were in Rome, in 2006. The ONE time I wanted to try a different place (earlier in the day) he told his gelateria that I wasn't loyal and cheated on them!

Drew's favorite:

Fragola e Limone owned by Alessandro and his mother
Location: Via Giustiniari Next to the Supermarket Desparo near the Pantheon
Flavors: Coffee and Pistachio
(I must admit, the limone is delicious and Alessandro and his mom make you feel like you are part of the family)



Marni's favorite:

Portofino Cafe
Location: Via Cola di Rienzo (Shopping Street not too far from Vatican)
Favorite Flavors: Chocolate & Frutti di Bosco (has seeds)

You can never really go wrong with Giolitti - but it is a tourist trap.