Simple Italy

Celebrating Your Inner Italian

Sofia Coppola è Sposata

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Speak softly, love, but carry a big stick.

As an admirer of Academy-Award nominated director Sofia Coppola, I wish her tanti auguri on her marriage to Phoenix front man Thomas Mars. The fairy tale ceremony was held on Saturday at the Coppola family estate in Bernalda, in the arch of the Italian heel, in the region of Basilicata.

The New York Daily News reports, “Coppola’s famous father, director Francis Ford Coppola walked his 40-year-old daughter–clad in a custom-made lavender Azzadine Alaia gown–down the aisle.”

Good thing art (in the form of Papa Coppola’s original Godfather film) isn’t imitating life (21st Century style) on this nuptial.

Imagine if Don Vito Corleone’s only daughter Connie were finally to marry boyfriend Carlo Rizzi after being with him for six years and bearing two daughters, as the real-life Sofia has done. Forget the over-the-top wedding scene opening the film. More likely, Connie’s Mom, clad all in black, would be weeping, begging Don Vito to quit saying, “Connie’s dead to me now.”

And what about son Michael’s sun-kissed Sicilian nuptials with the luscious Apollonia?

It was a nice diversion from the blood and gore but we all know how badly that ended. All we have left from that union is the saccharine “Speak Softly Love” theme. Composer Nino Rota may be a musical genius but we all know he phoned in that one for the money.

So, Sofia. We applaud your independent spirit.

Perhaps this is sweet payback for Dad casting you in The Godfather III?

Sizzling Melon Salad

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Sweet garden cantaloupes ready for the picking.

Lovely Lisa, the neighborhood queen of zucchini and tomato cultivation, has diversified this season. She’s growing cantaloupes and I think she’s on to something. One plant is bearing enough sweet, juicy orbs to supply an entire block of freeloading friends.

I picked two cantaloupes and let them to ripen for several days in a cardboard box filled with tomatoes, peaches, and other fruit sitting on the kitchen counter. The rind beneath the webbing actually turned a lovely yellow, something I’ve never seen with store-bought melons. I could actually detect the scent of cantaloupe!

Lovely Lisa and her husband Dr. Bill host an annual pool party so the time seemed ripe to showcase her home-grown cantaloupe in my pot-luck dish. I wanted something more exciting than the classic prosciutto and melon (not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

I remembered a Southeast Asian mixed melon salad recipe from Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken of Border Grill fame. It’s a vivid mélange of lime juice, sugar, hot chiles, and mint.

Hmmm, how to Italianize it? [Read more…]

Pranzo di Ferragosto

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This is one lunch you won't want to miss.

August 15, the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven, is a national holiday in Italy. Like many other Christian celebrations, it is built upon the crumbled foundation of ancient traditions.

In modern times, Ferragosto is the jumping off day for Italians to escape stifling apartments and head for holiday al mare or in montagna—the sea or the mountains.

August is the worst time for foreigners to explore Italian cities because mostly they’ll encounter overheated, testy tourists like themselves. The living spirit of the cities has been drained out like the color from a faded photograph. [Read more…]

Bellezza Gelato Caffe

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News of great gelato spreads faster than a melting cone.

I heeded the journalistic “rule of three.” My instincts said, “If you’ve heard about Chicago’s Bellezza Gelato Caffe from three sources, you should check it out.”

• As I devoured a recent Wall Street Journal article on the finest gelati in Sicily, I noticed a “Local Scoops” sidebar that cited Bellezza Gelato Caffe  as one of the four best in the U.S.

• A few days later, on my Facebook news feed, my Chi-town buddy Bill “fun is my middle name” Linden announced he was taking his nieces and nephews to Bellezza.

• My husband’s baby brother Michael, no slouch on the insider foodie circuit, mentioned that Bellezza was the real deal.

Fate played a winning hand in my research because a visit to Windy City relatives was already on the calendar.

Walter, Tess, and I snuck out on a searing Friday afternoon to Harlem Avenue on the city’s far west side. Bellezza, tucked into a tiny shopping strip, looked modest as we pulled into the parking lot.

Once inside,  the voices of Italian crooners filled the air as we were drawn like magnets to the sleek display cases.

Italian-style case--sleek as a Ferrari.

One silken spoonful is all it takes to feel as if you're in Florence, Rome, or Palermo.

We were greeted by Maria Di Nunzio and Tim Ashorian, corporate dropouts turned gelateria proprietors. They glow with the joy of sharing one of life’s simple pleasures.

They explained that their gelato is prepared from all natural ingredients with no artificial colors, emulsifiers, or additives. The pistachio, for instance is pale compared to the typical dyed neon green version, but the flavor is pistachioissimo.

Gelato tastes so vibrant for several reasons. The fat content is lower than ice cream. Because fat coats the palate and dulls the perception of flavor, gelato tastes more intense. It also has less air whipped into it (the technical term is “over run”) and is stored and eaten at a slightly warmer temperature which also lets the flavors pop.

“Would you like to sample any flavors?” Maria asked. Si, si, si. Lemon sorbetto, classic cannoli, Capri coconut . . . all delightful.

The adorable Tess ordered a combo shake of flavors Dutch Chocolate Delight and Strawberry. Walter asked for a bowl with half vanilla and half coffee. As a coffee fiend, I had no choice but to select the Affogato, touted on a countertop chalkboard.

Tim and Maria, aka l'angeli del gelato!

Affogato means “drowned” in Italian and in this specialty, a scoop of gelato (I chose vanilla) sits on a squirt of syrup (I chose caramel) and then gets “drowned” with a shot of freshly-brewed espresso followed by whipped cream and some chocolate shavings.

Maria told us that she and Tim researched specialty gelato dishes and Affogato appealed to them. Their clients have agreed. She believes it’s from Tuscany. I couldn’t find any background information on gelato l’affogato al caffè in any of my Italian culinary reference books, yet a search on Google.it produced 110,000 hits. I’m thinking the Affogato may be a recent–and brilliant–invention.

This recipe on the illy site is classic and would be easy to do at home (although I cannot guarantee it will be as divine as Bellezza’s). It calls for 2 small scoops of vanilla gelato (chocolate or fiordilatte are mentioned as acceptable alternates) drowned with an espresso lungo (brewed with slightly more water than a regular espresso) topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

If you should find yourself in Chicago, or more likely stuck at O’Hare Airport which is a mere 8-mile taxi ride from Bellezza Gelato Café, please have an Affogato for me.

Is Affogato a gelato dish or a drink. . .or both?

 

Have you savored gelato l’affogato al caffè?

Do you know where it originated?

 

 

Peaches in Wine

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Pesche in vino are an essential accessory for an Italian summer.

As sweet as a child’s hug and as cool as a spray from the sea, peaches in chilled wine is the Italian cure-all for a sweltering summer.

Choose fruit–yellow or white–that’s locally grown and lusciously ripe. Peel the peaches by submerging them in boiling water for 30 seconds before soaking in ice water for one or two minutes. The skin will practically shed itself.

Slice the peaches into a bowl and pour on enough dry white wine, sparkling wine, or fruity red wine to cover. Sprinkle on a little sugar if you like. Refrigerate for several hours—long enough so you can’t tell where the peaches end and the wine begins.

If you can wait for evening dessert, spoon the pesche in vino into a frosted wine glass. On heat advisory days, you may have to spear a slice or two every time you pass the frig.

 

Villa del Balbianello

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Just knowing that a place like Villa del Balbianello exists makes me happy.

But visiting Villa del Balbianello makes me even happier.

Courtesy of Province of Como Tourism

Perched on a cliff on the western shore of the southwest leg of Lake Como, Villa del Balbianello can be accessed by boat—an approach that sets the mood of romance right from the start.

Villa del Balbianello's private marina.

My group of travel agents and journalists, on a fam trip sponsored by New Jersey-based Central Holidays, disembarked at the private marina and entered the gates to paradise. Climbing up the steep gravel path, my memory flashed back to the exquisite Villa Cimbrone in Ravello. (Note to Como Tourist Board: Don’t be offended by the comparison. If I had been to Balbianello first, the evaluation could easily be reversed.)

The chapel facade marked by two distinctive bell towers is all that remains of the convent of an order of Capuchin monks.

Twin Capuchin Towers.

The present Villa and Loggia were constructed in the late 1700s by Cardinal Durini who wanted a quiet summer place to read books. After the Cardinal died, the property passed through several owners and was abandoned for nearly 40 years around the late 19th and early  20th Century.

Enter American soldier and statesman Butler Ames of Massachusetts who purchased and restored the property. The next owner Guido Monzino was a prominent Milanese businessman and avid explorer (he climbed Mount Everest in 1973.) He converted part of the Villa into a private museum filled with his collection of rare art pieces and souvenirs.

Hydrangeas and Cypress.

Fortunately for all of us, Monzino willed Villa del Balbianello to FAI, Fondo Ambiente Italiano, a private not-for-profit organization devoted to preserving Italy’s artistic and natural treasures. That’s how a lucky person like me—or you—can tour the grounds for 6€  (there’s an additional fee to enter the museum). There’s even a convenient public ferry from the town of Como up to the Villa stop (the town of Lenno).

For those with bigger bucks, the Villa is available for booking. Private weddings take place here and movies are made: the Bond film Casino Royale and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones to name two.

The Villa's hilltop loggia.

 

If you can’t get to Villa del Balbianello right away, don’t fret. You can visit via this delightful video that was taped in early spring. The plants are bare, just coming out of dormancy, but you get a wonderful perspective on the majesty of the Villa and grounds.

What spot would you nominate for one of the most beautiful in Italy?

 

View looking south from Villa del Balbianello's terrace.