Good Food, Good Wine, Good Friends...

Virginia isn’t just for lovers- it’s for wine lovers. There are so many vineyards all a short drive from each other. And this past weekend I planned a wine tour with Jared and his friend Jon (a.k.a. my cousin), his girlfriend Cindy, Jon’s friend Matt, and his girlfriend Samantha.

The plan was to visit five vineyards and do a tasting at each. If the typical tasting serves 6 to 10 wines and a sip of each that amounts to about one and a half glasses, I guess you could say… we were in for a lot of friggin vino.

Always up for an opportunity to play hostess, I packed a stylish cooler filled with Stewarts sodas for my non-drinker boyfriend, cheese and French bread, cherries, cookies and cool water for the 90+ degree day.

After an hour in the car we were itching to get into the first winery. Delightfully quaint, Flying Fox was as welcoming and comfortable as the large greyhound lounging in the corner of the tasting room. I could’ve chatted with our lovely server all afternoon over their crisp Chardonnay but alas, we had four more to go and the afternoon was already upon us.

Next up was Cardinal Point, which looked alternative and modern compared to the Granny’s cottage vibe of the last vineyard although they did have a charming fat cat. The wine was delicious and we indulged in some cheese and bread on their beautiful property.

Veritas was an entirely different experience. This established vineyard featured a grand tasting room with a sprawling property. Service was slow due to the popularity of the place but we enjoyed each other’s conversation on the oversized leather couches while we waited for each savory sample.

Our next stop featured more gorgeous scenery complete with a shimmering lake and commanding mountains. I wish I could say we took it all in and relished in the moment but us greedy, tipsy bastards forged on to the last vineyard of the night before closing time.

King Family Vineyard was one I had stopped at on a previous wine tour but crowds sent us packing quickly. This time we stopped, took photos, ogled the goodies for sale and savored the wonderful wine.

It was a memorable day that made Monday morning hard to face. I do have multiple GDL recipes that I made last week to share with you but for now, I’m going to leave you and go sip my Flying Fox souvenir Viognier and dream of my carefree sunny wine tour with friends.

Evaluating and Evolving...

It's been six months since I started this project. Back then, I was in a long distance relationship, trying to move closer to Jared and had just been rejected for a position I interviewed three times for. I was at a job that provided no intellectual stimulation and even less creative inspiration. I related to Julie Powell and was excited by this challenge.

Things have changed. I'm happy and wish to remain in this contented state. I give this project a lot of credit for that but I also give myself credit for this major life change of a move and a new job and a committed relationship. What am I getting at?

The Julie Giada Project is undergoing a small change. I adore having this project- cooking and trying new things and getting to write and hearing that my family and friends love reading it. It's a great gift and I would never abandon it. However, my life is much more full than it was in Connecticut and finding the time to shop, cook and then write is becoming a burden rather than a joy.

So after reflecting with Jared during a hike in the woods a la Walden Pond, I have concluded that rather than completing every recipe in Everyday Italian I am giving myself permission to skip some. And yes, it makes most sense to skip a lot of the meat recipes since I cannot describe what they taste like anyways.

It is difficult to not look at this as a failure- I set out to complete every recipe in a cookbook in a year just like Julie Powell did with Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It was considerably less work with almost 400 less recipes. To be honest, I have no idea how Powell did it without losing a lot of sleep, gaining a lot of weight and throwing a ton of money into groceries.

I'm not Julie Powell. I don't eat meat, I am the biggest neat freak you will ever meet and I have no intention to cause myself or my boyfriend additional and unnecessary stress by having to do anything. I love simplifying and I'm applying that mentality to this project.

I cannot thank my family and friends enough for reading this blog week after week. I hope I will continue to entertain you. And as for myself, I hope I enjoy this project even more as I free myself from rules and deadlines and simply cook my way through my favorite selections in Everyday Italian.

New Family Member & a Familiar Recipe…

I just want to take this opportunity to welcome into the world my second nephew Caleb. In Italian, the literal translation of “to give birth,” is to give to the light. My dearest Caleb, dare alla luce, welcome to the light. And because I can’t mention one nephew without the other, to my little Noah who turned two last week, buon compleanno mio caro.

OK, on to the food! This week I made a dish that is near and dear to my heart. I have previously mentioned my childhood best friend Jeannette and the fact that she comes from a big Italian family including her Mama, my preschool teacher and later my high school Spanish teacher, who we always referred to as Senora. In true Italian Mama form, Senora cooked a lot. The house always smelled of tomatoes and garlic and was warm from a boiling pot of pasta or warm olive oil.

And the one dish that I will never forget is Senora’s Arancini. While all the little girls in the second grade lunchroom were munching on their Wonder bread Fluff n’nutters, Jeanneatte was crunching on perfectly round and golden brown rice balls. I remember peering into her Tupperware and seeing gooey rice and bright green peas and wondering what the hell her mother was feeding her?

My American taste buds were not so adventurous and I don’t think it was until we were in high school that I was brave enough to try Senora’s golden spheres. I remember the warmth and the stick-to-your-ribs-ness of them. It was comforting and filling and made with love.

So last Friday night, I attempted to bring this Italian memory of mine into the present. GDL’s Arancini di Riso sounded simple with very basic ingredients but I had to, of course, add peas to give it a more Senora edge.

You start with basic risotto, which I have now mastered thank you very much. And when cooled, combine it with breadcrumbs, Parmesean cheese and two eggs. You then get messy, which was surprisingly fun for a neat freak like me, by forming the mixture into little balls around a cube of mozzarella cheese. The ball gets coated with more breadcrumbs and placed into vegetable oil that’s been heated to 350 degrees. Word to the wise, try not to hover over the boiling oil when the balls first go in- they will pop and shoot burning oil at you once in a while. I have the ruined t-shirt but luckily no permanent scarring to prove it.

Anyways, the Arancini sit in the oil for just four minutes before cooling on paper towel. The outside is delightfully crispy and crunchy while the inside is ooey gooey with extra goo from the mozzarella. And when I brought in my leftovers in Tupperware today and sat in the cafeteria at work, I couldn’t help but wonder if any of the other women were munching on their turkey sandwiches on whole wheat and thinking, what the hell is she eating?

Catching Up and Slowing Down…

This week I tried to squeeze in as much Giada as possible. I watched Giada at Home on DVD, I On-Demanded Giada in Paradise and I made four Everyday Italian recipes! The GDL overdose has to do with the fact that on Friday I am flying down to Florida to see my whole family including my brother’s second baby (if he’s on time!). This mini-vacation is long overdue and I’m so so excited.

So the four recipes included Milanese Sandwich, Roasted Asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto, Brown Butter Sauce with Ravioli and Affogato. The Roasted Asparagus was boring. I’m sure it would be fabulously elegant at a dinner party but using left over prosciutto from the Prosciutto Purses and forcing Jared to eat even more Prosciutto when he’s not a huge fan, it just felt blah.

On the other hand, the Milanese Sandwich was fun and casual. Even though it wasn’t perfectly true to the recipe (I eighty-sixed the pork) it was delicious. I used an asiago cheese baguette toasted with mashed up avocado, tomato, arugula, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. The perfect quick weeknight meal.

Then last night I went all out for the LOST series finale. Brown Butter Sauce was extremely decadent. Butter, basil leaves, salt, pepper, nutmeg and Parmesan goes over a stuffed pasta like the mushroom ravioli I used. So rich and creamy and delicious. For dessert I made espresso for the first time which was super cool and I got a kick out of Jared holding those mini cups. After espresso we had Affogato which Giada describes as an Italian hot fudge sundae. Gelato with espresso poured on top and homemade whipped cream. YUM! Big yum! I’m a fan.

So now I’m off to Florida for some rest, relaxation and fun in the sun with the fam. Kinda like Giada in Paradise. Arrivederci! 

Simply Serene Sunday...

Yesterday I had a quality Julie Day. Nowhere to be, nothing to do, absolutely blissful! I got to clean my apartment (which is not a chore for me but greatly enjoyable for this neat freak), I went to the gym, I lazily flipped through magazines by the pool and then after a long bath Jared came over and I made a big pasta salad with GDL's Prosciutto Purses for dinner and a cool melon ball salad with honeydew, cantaloupe and watermelon for dessert.

Now obviously I didn't taste the prosciutto purses but they looked adorable and Jared seemed very impressed. It may sound like an odd combo but all this dish contains is melon balls (honeydew and cantaloupe) wrapped around a thin piece of prosciutto. It took minutes to make and when arranged on a platter with little toothpicks sticking out, they looked delightful. Plus, on a hot day I never had to stand over a hot stove!

OK, now after a completely relaxing Sunday, Monday has jolted me back to reality and my three postings aka just three recipes in May thus far has sent me into Julie Giada Project panic mode! I know I will make my deadline! This just happened to be another busy month. I really hope to knock some meaty recipes out over the summer but I am getting nervous.

Hopefully my loyal readers can keep me motivated. But after five months of this I can't help but wonder, is anyone out there? Anyone besides my relatives?

Lazy Mushroom Monday...

Last night I made GDL's Mushroom Pesto Crostini. When I ran down the ingredient list, everything was a staple in my kitchen so I just needed to run out for the mushrooms. The recipe calls for 8 ounces of white button mushrooms and just one ounce of porcini mushrooms.

At Whole Foods on Saturday, I grabbed my typical button mushrooms and scanned the shelves for whatever the heck porcini mushrooms are. Bingo! Leave it to Whole Foods to carry thirty varieties of mushrooms. Just one problem- they're $19.99 a pack and I only needed one ounce and even if I could separate the pack, no way in hell I'm paying 2 dollars for one friggin’ mushroom that probably doesn't taste all that different from all the other mushrooms anyway! Sorry Giada but maybe when I have four cookbooks and three TV shows and a line of Target products, then I'll start including these crazy expensive vegetables that still smell like dirt no matter what price tag is on them. So I eighty-sixed the porcini and went with my perfectly priced white button mushrooms.

I was feeling extraordinarily lazy last night, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the whole operation took no time at all. The mushrooms soften in hot water for 15 minutes and then get thrown into the food processor along with fresh parsley, garlic and toasted walnuts. OK I didn't toast them, I was tired... enough with the third degree!

Anyways, the mixture gets pulsed with a little olive oil and then poured into a bowl with Parmesan cheese. During this process the perfect little pieces of baguette got toasted in the oven until crispy and golden brown. A dollop of mushroom pesto on each slice and I was done! The mushroom mixture appears slightly dog-food-esque if it wasn't for the beautiful bright green parsley flakes and the shards of white Parmesan. And on the crostini it looked like a gourmet appetizer. I was quite pleased with myself.

Most importantly, it was delicious. The earthy mushrooms with the creamy parm, the fresh zing of parsley and the crunch of the baguette was a heavenly little bite. And my lazy self was able to crash on the couch for the remainder of the evening. Perfecto!

Summer Nights...

It's been hot here the last couple nights. In New England, May hits and everyone gets spring fever- puts on the sun dresses and short sleeves and then gets sick because it's still friggin' cold. But in Virginia, May started out ninety degrees and humid. I'm talking surface of the sun, sitting in a sauna, breathing through a straw, wrapped in a Snuggie- HOT!

You get my point.

So last night as the humidity dropped and the cooler breezes drifted in bringing more seasonal seventy degree days for the rest of the week, I decided to make a fresh, cool, summertime GDL dinner- Caprese Salad on a thin whole wheat crust and for dessert Grilled Pineapples with Nutella and Chopped Hazelnuts. And BONUS! For beverages I served cool sparkling water with lemon and fresh mint (thank you AeroGarden) mine with a splash of Vodka.

Caprese Salad is always delicious but I bulked up the meal by adding a whole wheat crust. Giada made this sort of Caprese Tart on an episode of Giada at Home. The crust bakes in the oven for just 15 minutes. If you prick it with a fork first the dough won't rise and bubble, it will stay nice and thin and crisp. Then I layered alternating big beefsteak tomato slices and fresh mozzarella slices on top, cut some basil (again, thank you AeroGarden) strips on top and drizzled with a mixture of lemon juice, salt and pepper and extra virgin olive oil. The presentation was gorgeous and so Italiano! And most importantly, it tasted so so good.

Next up was GDL's grilled pineapple with creamy Nutella drizzled on top. My kitchen was transported to Hawaii as I chopped up a whole pineapple into perfect little rings and Kate and Sawyer ran past the palm tree jungle on LOST. As the rings sizzled on my grill pan (only three minutes on each side for beautiful golden grill marks!) I whipped together Nutella, heavy whipping cream and vanilla and microwaved for a minute. The warm mixture was poured over the pineapple slices and topped with chopped hazelnuts. It was sweet with a nice crunch and so satisfying.

All in all, a lovely summer night in Italy... errr... Hawaii... um...  VIRGINIA!