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We've Moved!

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Pizza, pasta and polpette

Decided to pretend we were on vacation in our own town for a few days. NYC is a dream on holiday weekends in the summer. You can get into restaurants, movies etc etc--all those things ordinarily so crowded. Always on the pizza quest, we are-- with best ones rotating in and out of favor. Loved the sopressata pie at Motorino http://www.motorinopizza.com/ but was knocked out by their meatballs; a light and airy variety with the loveliest most elegant and unadulterated sauce.

On the pasta front, I've now been back to Maialino http://www.maialinonyc.com/ three times in the last week for their pasta. This is true Roman trattoria eating at its finest.

The agnolotti with corn and sungold tomatoes is the absolute pinnacle of a seasonal pasta but what I can't get out of my head and what keeps sending me back there is the malfatti al maialino; suckling pig ragu with wide misshapen noodles, topped with baby arugula. This isn't the tomatoey ragu one's used to rather it has a lemony sauce which is eyes-rolling-back-in-your-head good. Sipped randomly off the nebbiola wine tasting menu but was loving the white Chiavennasca Conti Sertoli Salis 08 from Lombardi which I plan on hunting down and buying a case of for home.

Italian Plum time....

Any regular reader of The New York Times food coverage in the 80's who was also on the lookout for easy baking ideas probably remembers this recipe. It's since become a bit of a cult classic republished often with different subtle changes. Every year at this time, when the Italian plums show up in the market, I find myself hunting down the recipe. Here it is posted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper from NPR's Splendid Table with a little history too: http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recipes/dessert_plum.html

This is the simplest recipe ever and every time I make the batter, I pause because there is so little of it (making me think I've forgotten something) which is spread very thinly on the bottom of a baking pan. Here I use a 9-inch cast-iron (because I never met a recipe I didn't want to try in it). Then, the plum halves are embedded on top and it always seems strange, like it'll never rise into a proper cake buried underneath all that fruit! But it always does. This is my kind of dessert, easily whipped up just before dinner--baking and scenting the room during dinner and served warm for dessert, melting ice-cream pooling into the crevices.

Leftovers also make a fantastic breakfast pastry.

Been Fishin'

After a busy working summer, I am so happy to be out of the city with the family hanging at the beach, on the water, in the kitchen, at the bookstore, on my bicycle--all on a ten day holiday. I disconnected for all but a few of those days which I highly recommend now and then for those of you are are wired to the teeth with your blackberry's

iphones, ipads, cell phones. It is very therapeutic once I got the hang of it but took some conscious effort since I've become really accustomed to connecting with everyone!

Meanwhile, back on the boat, we went fishing for strippers and had the best time. Problem is--there was a 4 day nor'easter storm which jumbled up the ocean. Until then folks were catching them left and right using live bait (mackerel) which you just take a bit of time to catch before heading out for the big fish. Captain Nick knew something was up when the mackerel were no where to be found. And on our maiden stripper trip the only thing we caught was our shadow!!!

It's the first no-fish-catching-trip Nick has had in several years. Bummer.

So--we went home, made a trip to the fishmonger and Miles rocked our taste buds with an amazing meal anyway which I'll post next time.

Meanwhile, I'm glad to be back--all psyched up for the fall and a whole new project with Mad Hungry TV about to launch on September 13th at noon on the Hallmark Channel. The boys join me on a few episodes too! Check it out.