I ♥ FOOD... A BIT TOO MUCH?

HOLIDAY IN THE ALPS - PART 1 - Food

I have been back from holidays for 2 weeks now (sigh!) and still I haven't found the time to download and fix all the pictures I have taken.
I have decided to divide the holiday-post in a few parts. The easiest and possibly the most popular category would be the one dedicated to the food I had.

Let's start with a classic Italian "aperitivo", which is something you have before going home for dinner. When I'm on holiday I like going for an aperitivo even before lunch!
My favourite bar for aperitivo in Chiesa Valmalenco is the "Caprice". The orange drink is a Crodino analcolico (no alcohol). Meanwhile the red coloured one is a classic Negroni (1 part gin, 1 part sweet vermouth and 1 part Campari)
Usually the aperitivo includes some nibbles, such as: crisps, olives, focaccia, salame etc.

There are a few ice-cream parlours in the town, but I only buy mine at Gelateria La Rosa. I remembered the year it opened, I must have been already in my teens. I always wanted to go there after the swimming pool. Lately my favourite is the Affogato all' Amarena (above). Literally ice-cream "drowned" in amarena cherries, topped with fresh whipped cream... to die for!

One of the best things about mountain hiking is the satisfaction of reaching a mountain refuge. Most of the times I bring my own lunch in my back-pack, especially if I go for a day-long hike. Some other times, it is nice to actually eat at the refuge, especially if the hike is short and you are with friends.
This is the lovely meal I had at Rifugio Ventina (1975 mt). This refuge is approx. an hour hike from the village of Chiareggio. Very easy, ideal for families or lazy people like me. You can eat on the outside veranda with a view of the Ventina glacier.

Polenta with spezzatino (beef stew). There are different types of polenta. The one you eat in the Alps is made with a mixture of corn and buckwheat flour. I really like it. How much polenta can I eat? LOADS!

Another good refuge where to eat is Rifugio Carate Brianza (2636 mt), which belongs to the Alpine Club of my town of origin. This is a rather long hike, about 3 hours from the lower damm in Campo Moro. It used to be run by an old guy with a German sheperd. I remember that once he offered us a potent "digestivo" (after dinner drink), which he kept hidden under the bar! Strong, hand-made stuff that could make you digest even stones!

For a couple of years now the refuge has had a new manager, Angelo, a multi-talented and very friendly young man. He runs the refuge during the summer and in winter he is a skiing instructor. I think he runs the local snow-boarding school.

He is also a pretty mean chef. Above you can see a plate of Pizzoccheri cooked by him. Pizzoccheri is a traditional dish from Valtellina. They are strips of buckwheat pasta cooked with potatoes, cabbage and local cheese. You can buy pizzoccheri in most supermarkets. Dried, in boxes like tagliatelle. These ones were hand-made the very same day I ate them! I was very impressed by a young guy cooking so well and making his own pasta, in the middle of nowhere, at nearly 3000 mt. He was also so kind to let us put our socks and boots to dry on the aga. I didn't go prepared for so much snow and got wet... we had a chat and he even offered us a nice cappuccino :)

One of the reasons of my past as a chubby child, besides Nutella, is to be found in a restaurant called Il Vassallo.
It used to be called Taverna Valtellinese and it was my absolute favourite restaurant when I was a child. I used to order always the same things: Assetto Valtellinese, Gnocchetti dello Chef, Portafoglio Valtellinese with fries and dessert. Now, I don't know how on earth I could down all that food in one meal. I was something like 10/11... I went back, but couldn't equal my past heroic deeds. I skipped the starter, ordered the gnocchi, the veal and no dessert. I nearly exploded! The Gnocchetti dello Chef (above) are delicious tiny spinach gnocchi in a creamy tomato, mince and mushrooms sauce. As you can see the portions are huge.

This is the Portafoglio Valtellinese, literally "wallet". It is a slice of veal, folded and filled with ham and fontina cheese. I am not too sure about the sauce... cream for sure, some sort of liqueur? Who knows. Whatever it is, it is surely delicious.

Melting cheese! So nice...

I don't usually eat much fruit in London. I think only apples and strawberries are good here. When I go back home, in summer especially, I eat a lot of fruit. Melon, peaches and wild blueberries are amongst my favourites. I like wild blueberries because altough they are smaller than the ones you buy in supermarkets, they are much tastier. I usually eat them with lemon juice and a sprinkle of sugar.

On rainy days, when you cannot go hiking, you can go for a drive to the "duty free" town of Livigno. It is a couple of hours away from Chiesa Valmalenco, passed Bormio, through the Foscagno Pass.

There are many shops selling cigarettes, chocolate, perfumes and alcohol. There are also many nice restaurants and bars. I stopped at the tea room of the Compagnoni Hotel, in the centre of town. I had another ice-cream "affogato", in hot chocolate this time. The cream tasted so milky, the hot chocolate was so thick!

I bought chocolate for friends and my mum. There were so many different flavours. I felt intimidated and bought only the more traditional flavours... silly me!

Nothing like an iced chinotto. I love the stuff, I could drink litres of it. Thank goodness I can't find it so easily in London. This year my sisters have even bought chinotto ice-lollies for me!

I like cooking in my "alpine" kitchen. I have a big table and a beautiful view. My landlord owns a small food store right above my flat, where I can buy good quality ingredients. Such as bresaola di cavallo (cured horse meat) and fresh rye bread.

I cooked polenta and salsiccia (sausage). I used a real copper paiolo, which is the pot traditionally used to cook polenta. It really made a difference. The polenta was amazing.

More pizzoccheri. This time from my favourite restaurant as an adult: Ristorante da Toto`. Here you can order half portions, so you can try different things without overeating.

New management at Albergo-Ristorante Fior di Roccia in Campo Franscia. They are a nice family from the Bergamo province. I had some cured meats as starter.

Fresh goat cheese and home-made pickles.

I tried some venison...

... and mountain goat stew. They were both very tasty, but the plate was crying for some polenta!

The father of the family offered us a special home-made liquorice liqueur. Ice-cold from the freezer. So nice and smooth. I didn't realise how strong it was until I was outside in the parking lot and couldn't walk very straight ;)

For my last holiday dinner I had something special recommended by Roberto, the owner of Toto`. Capra in umido. Umido is another kind of stew. The meat was so tender that was falling off the bones. I had never had goat cooked like this.

The story of this goat is a bit strange. I actually saw it and its herd by coincidence a few days earlier... but I will tell you about this later!

I <3 NY

Here are some pics of my first trip to NY. I really loved it and definitely want to go back again soon. The weather was freezing, but dry and sunny. I didn't know what to expect from this trip and I must say I was very impressed by the mood and special character of this city.

Breakfast at Sarahbeth's, as recommended by MJ. This is my pumpkin waffle, with honey, creme fraiche and crunchy pumkin seeds... delicious, but so big! Well, you need a lot of energy to be a tourist!

A trip to the Planetarium, near the National History Museum.

Inside the Planetarium. A very interesting show was on about celestial collisions. Maybe not suitable for small children... many had to be taken outside because they freaked out at the noise of meteors crashing into planets.

I thought these leaves were beautiful. They looked like little yellow fans. I wonder what tree they belong to...

I need a warm pretzel before going to Central Park. Nice ;)

A view of Central Park. So calm and beautiful!

I really love the colour of autum leaves. This tree in Central Park in particular was amazing. You have green at the bottom, then yellow, orange and red at the top.

This is me, sitting on a mushroom at the Alice in Wonderland monument in Central Park.

Some people were racing their remote-controlled boats on a lake nearby the statue.

Hello, little friend!
If I had to choose a colour to describe this trip, it would definitely be yellow.

Even Sponge Bob!

Yellow cabs on 5th Avenue...

The Chrysler Building is absolutely amazing. Much better than The Empire State Building even though it is not as tall.

Great lunch at Smac's! This little restaurant located on 345 East 12th Street serves only Macaroni & Cheese. You can choose from many variations. I went for the classic "All American". "Cajun" and "Cheese Burger" sounded a bit too much for me!!! Really creamy and deliciuos. I chose the "nosh" portion and it was plenty. I can't imagine anyone eating a "mongo" alone...

I think they are doing pretty well, judging from the number of phone calls they got for take away and the delivery. Here are their delivery bikes.

La Bella Ferrara is a cafe/bakery in the heart of Little Italy. It was quite cold outside and I decided that it was the right place for a cappuccino.

Inside there were hundreds of pictures of the owner with famous people and autographs. I think he has a thing for the old wise guys... and he is a fan of the Sopranos...

Nice almond cappuccino and freshly baked sfogliatella.

Tons of cannoli in the window! That's how they caught me.

Grand Central Station first thing in the morning. It is a beutiful building with a great atmosphere.

Jumbo Pretzel? Yes, please!

It looks as if everything is moving but me...

A trip to China Town...

Looking for soup dumplings!

Satisfied outside Shanghai Cuisine...

Time for bobble tea. I got it hot this time!

Pig building...

Cool building...

Dinner at the Blue Smoke. I really recommend this place, if you like barbeque that is. The ribs were so tender and meaty! All the side dishes were yummy, too. My favourite was the corn bread. Downstairs is a jazz venue. Apparently pretty good, but I am no jazz expert... only food. The Blue Smoke is on 116 E 27th Street.

Great time at M&M's World on Time Square and Toys R Us. How many M&Ms can you eat? Loads! There were so many different colours nad flavours. My favourite is always peanut butter, but the new cherry almondelle is pretty good, too.

Elmo!

Drinks at Bubba Gump! Lotsa Lava, alcohol free and sweet.

Trash Bucket... Lobster, Mahi Mahi and Prawns.

Shrimp New Orleans... believe there was plenty of them underneath that slab of fried, cheesy, garlic bread!

Hush Puppies... some sort of fish fritters.

Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge. I didn't cross either of them it was too cold and rainy.

Best burgers ever at Rare on Bleeker St. This one was a T-Bone Steak Burger. They ground the meat you choose and the quality of all the ingredients was great.

Christmas decorations at Macy's.


Shrek's Christmas decorations?


Ben & Jerry's Menu!


Massive, moist brownies...

Empire State Building peaking up at night...

Hacienda de Argentina. Very nice steaks. Pity that because of some silly law they cannot import Argentinian beef any longer. My steak was from Uruguay, but still very very good and cooked to perfection.

Well, I took much more pictures, but I can't post them all. Anyway, after all this food I'd better be off to the gym!!!