Drive by photo shoot!

I couldn't fit all the pumpkins in the picture!

Last week foisted the reality of Christmas in retail on me again, although in fairness we have been talking about it since June or so!  Two of us from work got the opportunity to go check out our Christmas product and displays in London and to do a pretty extensive tour of our sister Caffe's.  Fortunately the 48 hours of food (oh the pain) was not all work.  We managed a twenty minute spin through Wholefoods in Kensington and another twenty through the Borough Market. Both are fantastic for the senses... from the freshly baked breads as you walk in the door of Wholefoods to the walls of cheese in the Neal's Yard Dairy shop  down in the Borough.  Wholefoods emphasise seasonality and it is impressive....they didn't hold back on the pumpkins!  Indeed they do not hold back on anything as minimalists they are not. Sure why would you bother? Check out this example  below of 'big is beautiful'  from Neal's Yard.

Neal's Yard Dairy, The Borough Market

Chicken Parmigiano... tonight's sustenance.

Chicken Parmigiano is one of my simplest and probably tastiest recipes, but is…difficult…..to photograph, so there isn't a pretty picture to go with it. I discovered a basic version of this in my teens in a book somewhere at home and have worked up different variations since. It's straight forward, quick and requires very little attention.

For 2 people, roughly slice three chicken breasts and fry them off in a deep pan.  As the chicken starts to brown, chop lots of mushrooms in around it.

Pour in a half a glass or so of Sherry.

Place a complete layer of parma, or bacon (this needs to be fried off first)... or, as successfully trialed tonight, thinly sliced Speck.

Lastly, pile on top lots of grated Parmigiano Reggiano and spread it evenly. Leave it to cook away.  Generally this takes around 10 minutes.....while you're making the salads. When the sherry starts caramelising on the bottom of the pan, it’s ready to go.

Tips: 

Brandy works as well if you don't have any Sherry

The cheese does not HAVE to be Parmigiano.  This works as well with a smoked mozzarella, gruyere, or basic cheddar if that's all that's in the fridge. 

My precious....

I found this cluster of mushrooms at the back of our gravelly car-park at Tenuta Centoporte the other week, underneath an olive tree.  They looked harmless enough but I chickened out of bringing them into the chef and asking him to throw them on the pan, with a little garlic! I must ask Antonio next time he's over!! 

Dib dib dib......it's all about being prepared!

Be prepared

It is incredible watching the baristas in action in the busy coffee houses in Italy. The preparation and work-rate put in to give Italy its espresso caffeine fix is very impressive. From the Autogrill (don't dis it till you've tried it) flyovers across the Autostrade from Rome to Naples, to the more traditional but very stylish Caffé Alvino in Lecce the coffee turnover is phenomenal. 
I haven't quite figured out is the en-masse desire for an espresso simply an addiction or something closer to religion with millions of Italians worshipping  at the great altar of the barista. 

The bar at Caffe Alvino

Caffe Alvino had thousands of extra incentives to keep you seated......arancini, calzone, fagottini (hot dogs and chips wrapped in pastry), rustico, crostata, dolci, biscotti.... I could go on! Yum!

Dolci at Caffe Alvino

The one that didn't get away

I have been a little quiet in recently, mainly in preparation for what was a fantastic trip to Italy last week. Here is just a little taster of what we discovered! Lots more to come....

This one didn't get away! Lunch in 'A Casa Mia', in Porto Tricase, Puglia