Now that we’re at the tail end of 2011, most of us are looking back over the last 12 months to point out the highs, the lows (and the in betweens), as well as planning our goals for the coming year. Since no one is really interested in my “personal” favorite moments (like “Winning!” with the tiger-blooded Charlie Sheen) and least favorite moments (four words: Casey Anthony, Not Guilty) of the year, I have decided to pinpoint my favorite Italian highlights of 2011. Here we go:
Favorite Italian appetizer: Pappa Al Pomodoro: Tuscan tomato bread soup, fresh bail and extra virgin olive oil made by Chef Matteo Boglione from White & Church (281 Church Street in the Tribeca section of NYC). The ingredients are so basic, so simple and yet it was one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted in my life. Like I had said during dinner, I could eat an entire vat of this soup on my couch while watching TV in my pajamas. Okay, maybe not the most attractive visual…next…
Favorite Italian dish: Gemelli with pesto sauce from The Leopard at de Artistes (1 West 67th Street at Central Park West in NYC). I had mentioned this dish in a previous blog. To quote myself, “If throwing yourself in a bowl of pasta would have been possible—and considered sophisticated—I would have dove right in, jewelry and all.” Yet another unappealing visual…next…
Favorite Italian dessert: Sfogliatelle with cannoli cream, served at A Mano (24 Franklin Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ). And I didn’t have to cross over a bridge, pay a toll or fight traffic to enjoy it.
Favorite Italian wine: Cococciola (Cococciola Terre di Chieti IGT 2010), a light white wine we had sipped at our EatItalian “After Hours’ dinner at The Leopard. Once again, I am not a wine expert, I just know what I like—and I really loved this one. To offer a more professional point of view, here are a few words taken from the blog of wine writer and EatItalian member Charles Scicolone (http://charlesscicolone.wordpress.com ): “It is a grape with good acidity and good yields…The grapes are soft pressed and fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperatures. Malolatic fermentation does not take place…There is a slight herbal and mineral character to the wine, good body with aromas and flavors of apple and citrus fruit.”
Favorite Italian combo: NYC Sicilian pizza (no idea from where but it was the one and only time I’ve had Sicilian-style pizza all year), red sparkling wine (no idea who makes it and it was the first time I had tasted a sparkling red) and six hours of laughter.
Favorite Italian chef: Does this category really hold any suspense? Just click back a few blogs and you’ll see why Rocco DiSpirito is now one of my faves. Another Italian restaurateur who is tops on my list is Joe Bastianich, one of the creative forces behind a number of places, including Becco (which I had written about earlier this year), Del Posto (which I have been to over the years) and Eataly (the largest artisanal food and wine marketplace in the world, located at 200 Fifth Avenue in NYC). I had met and worked with Joe at a Grana Padano (Italy’s most popular and versatile cheese) event at Eataly, and along with being a winemaker, author and TV judge, he’s also a super-nice guy.
Favorite Italian celebrity: The one and only Mr. Ideas of March and Mr. Descendants George Clooney. Yes, I know, he’s not really Italian, but he does own a home in Lake Como and loves Italy, so that has to count for something. Don’t agree? As one of my other favorite famous George’s had said, the late George Carlin: “These are my rules and I make ‘em up!” (Plus, anyone who knows me is painfully aware that I cannot have a favorites list without mentioning him.)
Favorite piece of advice…Italian-style: “Be normal—don’t act paz!” (meaning crazy) Words I now live by, thanks to EatItalian and Men Who Dine member, Gennaro Pecchia.
And now for my “Italian” goals. As of this minute, I have only two that come to mind:
1. To have dinner at Scarpetta in NYC. Why? Because I’ve heard about it for years and have never been. And it also rhymes with my last name.
2. To have the margherita pizza at Keste Pizza & Vino in NYC. I’ve tasted a couple of the pizzas at Keste, just not my favorite, the margherita. (And right now I need to quote the late Rodney Dangerfield from the movie “Easy Money,” as he reluctantly walked his daughter down the aisle while glaring at her husband-to-be in the purple tux: “You don’t ask for much, do you?”)
Oh yes, and there’s one more favorite on my list:
Favorite Italian photo: While this picture was not taken this year, there’s no more appropriate forum to post it than on my EatItalian blog. What can I say, people…I’m a Jersey Girl. The real caption is below but my other name for it is, “Eat your heart out, Adrianna!”
