L'orso Ioghi compie 50 anni

GRILLED ARTICHOKES WITH LEMON AIOLI!

I confess... I'm an artichoke lover! In fact my whole family is, we can't resist them in any way shape or form!

Give us a pan of stuffed artichokes and we are all smiles, as we sit around the table scraping each leaf working are way down to the "heart", by the time we are finished we each have a pile of scraped and discarded leaves on our plates! Now that's some good eating!!
But now that it's BBQ season we enjoy eating them grilled just as much. I think the hardest thing about cooking artichokes is the prep, to prepare them for the grill you have to cut the top off,discard some outer leaves and trim up the remaining ones.


You'll want to cut them in quarters, and remove any fuzzy center and pull out all pointy and scratchy leaves. Immediately after cutting immerse them in lemon water until ready to cook.
Place them in a pot of salted water and cook till tender.

Drain well, and gently squeeze out excess water, set aside in a bowl.

A couple of hours before they are ready to be grilled, toss them in some extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and crushed garlic, salt and pepper.

The lemon aioli is whipped up very quickly with a good store bought mayonnaise, a little crushed garlic, fresh lemon juice, along with the rind, and salt and pepper to taste. Just make sure the consistency is good for dipping.

I actually like to grill these in my indoor grill pan, I feel have more control because they are a little fragile, and besides the marinade flavor seems to not burn off. But you absolutely can put them on your grill outside, just make sure your grill is super clean, you don't want to take on any other flavors.

These are great appetizers to start off a meal, or to have as a nice side dish.

And last but not least, I want to thank my Florida house guests that were staying with us a couple of weeks ago, they gave me this beautiful blue oval platter ( for my blog!!) I don't think the picture does it justice you can't see how huge it is! I thought the green artichokes would look nice on it, what do you think?

Anyway, thanks again, Angie and Pat, Diane, Donny, and of course Lindsey and Lauren.

Muammar Gheddafi

Comprensione orale: livello medio-avanzato
Segna con una crocetta sola le risposte VERE:
Nel maggio 1973 Gheddafi proclamò la rivoluzione culturale islamica
Il suo programma mirava a superare capitalismo e comunismo
L'unica ideologia valida era quella basata sul Corano
M. Gheddafi è nato nel 1942 a Tripoli
Già a 17 anni aveva fondato una società segreta contro il dominio coloniale italiano
Nel

Rudolf Hess

Comprensione orale: livello medio
Segna con una crocetta sola le risposte VERE:
R. Hess arrivò in Inghilterra nel maggio 1941
Vi atterrò con l'aereo
Durante la Prima Guerra Mondiale Hitler era stato suo ufficiale
Nel '25 fu nominato segretario di Hitler
Nel 1940 Hess cominciò a pensare ad una pace separata con la Francia
L'idea era quella di trattare direttamente con Giorgio VI
Hess aveva

x-factor italia - giusi

Well, my least favorite of the four, won. They are good, but just not my fav. *sigh*

The winner is Aram Quartet:



But my favorite, and who I thought would win is Giusi. One month ago she was working as a check out girl in a supermarket. She definitely has the X-Factor, and WILL be a huge star in Italy, if not the world. :OD





Congratulations to Aram Quartet, and to ALL the finalists. Siete tutti bravi!

x-factor italia - emanuele dabbono

I am so sad. One of my two favs was just voted off. He is so good, and adorable. I think he will be a big star one day. Here are two of his songs he did, that I really liked.







OK, so it's three videos. So sue me. I like him.

x factor italia - tony maiello

Now I know why American Idol is so popular. We have X-Factor here, and it is so hard when the singers get kicked out! I love almost all of them!

Tonight is the finale - there were four contestants. The first one to be eliminated tonight is Tony Maiello. He is so cute, and only 19. He will have a career. He just needs a little more time to train, but he is the next teen idol!

Here is one of my fav songs he did.



My favorite two are still in the race. I will update them as the show goes on. But I think I know who will win. She really does have *the* X Factor.

Enjoy Tony!

I'M BACK!!!!!

I'm back from my wonderful vacation! I hope I don't bore you, but I wanted to share some pictures with all of you. In all it's wonder the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge, fog and all!!

Boudin bakery at Fishermans Wharf, home of the famous sourdough bread. Friendly baker putting on a show for us.

He created all different shapes of bread, I bought a turtle.

We visited Muir Woods and saw the majestic redwoods!

Aren't they beautiful?

Steaming crabs right outside on the wharf!

Yummm!!

A little clam chowder and a seafood sandwich!!

Napa Valley vineyards, looks like Italy dosen't it?

Lots of the Italian vineyards have deli's in them where you can buy lunch. Gourmet sandwiches, cheese, salads, and wine to be packed up an eaten right on the gorgeous grounds, we did that quite often!

Check out all the cheese!

I had that for lunch..... delicious!

A little shopping at the Le Creuset outlet! I was in heaven!

Of course I had to buy something for the blog!!! It's being shipped.

Yummy crab cakes

Fresh halibut

Hubby ate this delicious pasta

Mumm Champagne tasting, the views were breathtaking!

I could have sat out there all day!

Can I tell you how excited I was to go here!

CIA Greystone Napa, Only 101 lucky students get to go here. Of course the big one is in New York. Chef Cat Cora was there the day before we were arrived. Many celebrity chefs visit and teach here.

If I didn't know better I would have thought I was in Tuscany!

Viansa winery, the grounds and views were beautiful.

A view from Viansa.

Ahhhh, La Dolce Vita!!!

Back to reality! I have a lot of catching up to do with all of my blog friends, see you soon!!

Garibaldi a Calatafimi

Comprensione orale: livello medio
Segna con una crocetta sola le risposte VERE:
Calatafimi si trova a metà strada da Marsala e Salerno
Garibaldi era sbarcato a Marsala l'11 maggio
A Calatafimi erano accorsi 3.500 soldati borbonici
I garibaldini erano ben attrezzati
La baionetta era l'arma più usata nelle fila dei Mille
I borbonici erano appostati sulla collina chiamata del "piano romano"

Il parco del Circeo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7z32FY7PZo
Comprensione orale: livello elementare
Come si chiama l’uomo che guida la barca?
Da quanto tempo è nato il parco del Circeo?
Come sono le dimensioni del parco?
Di quale famosa grotta si parla?
Come veniva usata in passato la grotta?
Quale famoso personaggio è passato di qui?
Che cosa è stato trovato nella grotta?
A chi apparteneva il cranio?

Meet My Inner Nerd

Today I saw a story about a scandal in Italian winemaking.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, the short of it is this. SCANDAL No. 1: some Southern Italian producers of bulk wine were found to have added harmful acids to their product, SCANDAL No. 2: Brunello Di Montalcino producers were caught breaking their own D.O.C.G. rules by adding international varietals to make their wines more "palatable" to the American consumer (i.e. more fruit, more extract, less acidity, etc).

Relative to the addition of harmful acids, subversively stepping outside of a well-respected disciplina to make a wine more "palatable" is certainly less important. Scandal No. 1 has obvious implications, but some of you out there may wonder why the hell some of our panties are in a knot about No. 2. I'll tell you what, undies are a-twistin' because what's at stake here is tradition and truth.

I know that money is a powerful motivator, but I'm terrified that we're going to lose our wines that have a sense of place.

Examples?

1. The old-school Chiantis that are hard to enjoy out of the context of a meal (but what they do with braciole!)
2. The nebbiolo from the Valtellina that is dignified in its austerity and wholly a product of its unique environment, but may be a little too "thin" in the eyes of its Parker-educated beholder;
3. A fresh greco di tufo that DOES NOT NEED, for the love of God, to undergo malolactic fermentation
4. Dolcetto that shouldn't cost 60 dollars a bottle be what it is SUPPOSED to be (fresh, lively, and acidic), and appreciated as such

This maledetto palate doesn't want Brunello, and the powers that be have, unfortunately, responded. This palate wants a fruit bomb that tastes like every other highly extracted generic fruit bomb that may be labeled as cab/merlot/shiraz, etc. Does this palate ask for pinot grigio? Yep, but what it really wants is pinot grigio that tastes like new world chardonnay.

Seeing Italians who are typically so proud of their culture and traditions eschewing them in chase of marketability is a sad, sad thing.

At this point, you may call me naive, if you wish.

And here is where you should feel free to call me dramatic:

When I hear of producers shamelessly adding harmful substances to cheap wine, I view it as an acute symptom of an unscrupulous means to financial gain. But when I hear of Brunello di Montalcino producers changing their wine composition to please the international palate, I view it as an emergent symptom of chronic and augmenting greed/fear that could potentially erase all originality and placeful-ness (new word...watch out Webster!) and leave us with wine that tastes the same, no matter where it comes from.

Have some integrity, people! Didn't their mammas tell them that they should never try to be something they're not?

I am certainly not standing in judgment of those who want these modern-style wines nor am I suggesting that tastes should change across the board. I just hope that we will always have a choice between modern and traditional, and that centuries of wine-making wisdom that give all of us a peek into foreign earth and culture not be swept under the rug in the name of market viability.

If, at this point, you've labeled me both naive and dramatic, I don't care. My torch is burning and I can't help but carry it.

Suonare il violoncello

Comprensione orale: livello elementare
Segna con una crocetta sola le risposte VERE:
Il violoncellista si chiama Santa Cecilia.
Secondo il violoncellista, il violoncello ricorda il corpo di una donna.
Suonare il violoncello è un po' come abbracciare una donna.
Il violoncello può emettere una voce dolce di donna.
Il violoncello può emettere una voce grave.
Suonare il violoncello è abbastanza

ROASTED GARLIC PESTO SALMON

As you read this I am still on vacation, I decided to set up and try Bloggers new scheduled posting. I have full confidence that it's going to work, it's really pretty simple, even for a non-tech person like me!
I'm posting this salmon dish because its simple, easy to do, and the flavor is so intensely good!
My Hubby was never really crazy about salmon, he would eat it because I made it, but he would never request it at all. Until.... I made it this way!! Now he craves it and wants me to make it often.
Hey, and its even good for you! Did you know that according to Web MD, a 3oz. serving of salmon has more vitamin D than 1 cup of milk? So it's a great way for all of us to increase are calcium intake, not to mention all the other health benefits!


Have you ever tried roasted garlic basil pesto? I made this just like regular pesto, only I used roasted garlic instead. The flavor goes wonderful with the salmon.
Of course you can use your favorite jar of pesto also, there are some great ones out there that you can buy.

Simply brush the pesto all over your salmon, which is placed on a foil lined baking sheet, that's it!! How fast is that?

Now here is the important part... Along time ago I saw Ina Garten talking about the key to cooking salmon correctly, she said always roast in a hot oven, around 500 degrees.

Roast salmon 18-20 min, or about 12 min. per inch at the thickest part. Remove it from the oven , wrap with foil and let it rest for about 15 min.

Can I tell you it comes out perfect every time! Perfect! Moist! never dried or overcooked, if you just follow her directions, I guarantee it will turn out for you.

Susan over at Food Blogga is hosting an event this month called Beautiful Bones, it's to help bring awareness to osteoporosis, which not only affects women but men too! Please go over to her wonderful blog and read her post on this, it is filled with important information for all of us.

I am entering this salmon dish into her event because it is a calcium rich food which will help us in the fight against osteoporosis!!

Thanks Susan, for hosting such an important event!!!

Greetings from Rome

Hello from Rome, where I am to take some pictures for our new Rome website... but where the weather is positively awful!

PS - Ma non dimentico Venezia! I don't forget Venice...

I fagiolini

Comprensione orale: livello avanzatosegna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE:Il servizio è stato girato in Puglia.Il servizio è stato girato in provincia di Taranto.Il paese in cui è stato girato il servizio si chiama Fagiano.Il signore intervistato si chiama Battipaglia.La semina nelle serre dei fagiolini avviene a febbraio.La raccolta dei fagiolini avviene circa 70 giorni dopo la

you're invited!

I am so jealous I can't attend any of these functions. I would so love to be more of an active participant in this historical campaign process.

If you live in the Chicago area, and can attend, please tell Bill and Hillary I said hello! And tell her I know she WILL be the nominee, and the next President of the United States!

Click on the invite for more information.

Also, there is an event in Washington DC:

Count Every Vote Rally

Sat. May 31st 8a

Washington DC

At the DNC rules Committee meeting

register at http://www.HillaryResponders.com

Greetings from Taiwan

No, I'm joking! I'm not in Taiwan... But in this taiwanese magazine, I am indeed! Some weeks ago, Sandy Ma, Editor at Kadokawa in Taiwan, asked for some images for her magazine. And today I'm receiving this copy of "Dream Zakka" with this double-page dedicated to Venice Daily Photo. Nice isn't it? Thank-you Sandy ;-)

Civitella del Tronto

Comprensione orale: livello avanzato
Segna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE:
Civitella del Tronto è in provincia di Isernia.
Civitella sorge a 600 m. di altezza.
A Civitella c'è una famosa fortezza militare.
La fortezza appartiene ancora ai Borboni.
La fortezza fu costruita dagli spagnoli nel 1600.
Civitella fu un'importante città militare.
Nel borgo c'è la via più stretta d'Italia.

Il didietro

Comprensione orale: livello avanzato
Segna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE:
Il quadro che lo studioso presenta è stato dipinto nel 1531-1532.
Il quadro è stato dipinto da Caravaggio.
Il quadro è stato dipinto a Correggio.
Il quadro ha per nome "Amore di Giove"
Nel dipinto Giove viene rappresentato sotto forma di nuvola.
Nel concorso di Miss Italia un rappresentante della giuria

GET YOUR GRILL ON!!

And make an EGGPLANT BRUSCHETTA

Simply brush a loaf of ciabatta bread with olive oil, and grill it till crisp. In the meantime, mix together your favorite goat cheese, along with some mascapone, to even out the tang.Mix in some lemon peel and fresh herbs, I used basil and parsley, set aside.

After you have grilled your eggplant that was also brushed with olive oil, salt and pepper, lightly toss it in a balsamic vinaigrette. ( a very important step!)

Now spread that creamy mixture over that crispy ciabatta and layer your eggplant on top, oh yeah, I also grilled up some red pepper for a little color and added flavor! Serve at room temperature. I hope you eggplant lovers try this!!


GRILLED ZUCCHINI RIBBON SALAD

This recipe is adapted from Michael Chiarello. Take a mandoline or a vegetable peeler and make length wise strips of zucchini. Toss them in some olive oil and place on grill, he suggested cooking only one side, but I did both. It cooks up fast so watch it, you just want it lightly wilted with light grill marks. Place them all on a platter. In the meantime, whisk together a fresh lemon and olive oil dressing, adding some crushed garlic, just a hint! of course salt and pepper to taste.

Now add fresh basil and parsley roughly chopped and toss into the zucchini ribbons. Pour the lemon dressing all over.

Top it off with some shaved Pecorino and toasted pinenuts! Can I just say, Yumm!



LILAC'S FROM MY GARDEN

Lilac's are popping up everywhere here in Chicagoland! They are in full bloom right now, and the smell is incredible! These were taken from a big bush I have in my backyard. Thought I'd share this bouquet with all of you.

Note to all my blog friends... I will be gone on vacation for 1 week, we are flying to sunny California, ( Napa Valley & San Francisco, Woo Hoo!!) I will be sure to come back with plenty of pictures to share, after all it is a foodie lovers dream trip! So with that being said, I won't be around to visit you till I come back, don't worry you are all in my reader, I'll look forward to catching up when I get back.

See you soon,

Marie

Bagno Vignone

Comprensione orale: livello medio/avanzatoSegna con una crocetta solo le affermazioni VERE:Bagno Vignone si trova in Toscana.A Bagno Vignone ha fatto il bagno Santa Caterina da Siena.In questo paese ha fatto il bagno Dante Alighieri.In questo paese, Majakovskij ha scritto La cimice.La piazza del paese è una grande vasca di acqua fredda.A Bagno Vignone ci sono solo trenta residenti.Gli abitanti

ROASTED TOMATO AND RICOTTA TART

This is such a great summer appetizer, side dish, or even a light lunch. Savory ricotta on flaky puff pastry that is studded with vine ripened tomato slices that have been roasted with a hint of garlic, thyme and olive oil. Now pour yourself a glass of your favorite crisp white wine, and your good to go!

Lay parchment paper on a baking sheet, add your sliced tomatoes, fresh thyme, ( you can use fresh basil also, but add it later you don't want it to get brown) ) salt, pepper, crushed garlic, and drizzle them all with EV olive oil. Roast at 400 degrees till juices are more concentrated. These could be done ahead of time until ready to use.

Next mix up your ricotta with salt and pepper, egg and lots of grated cheese, I used Romano, because it has a more intense flavor. This also can be done ahead of time.

Place 1 sheet of puff pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet, and with a small knife form a 1" border around the pastry and slice diagonally all around like it is shown above. Be care full not to cut through. With in the frame, poke with fork all over, and lightly brush border with olive oil.

Place ricotta mixture within the frame, now layer the roasted tomato slices all over.

Bake for around 20 minutes at 400 degreesF, till golden brown. Let it rest for a while before you cut into it. Serve warm.

Buon Appetito!!

Hotdogs, Tamales, Italian Beef and a Wedding!!!!

Over the last few days we have had relatives from Florida staying with us to attend a family wedding, so I haven't had much time for blogging and visiting my favorite blogs. Don't worry, I'll be back to normal shortly! I just wanted to share with you some of their favorite foods they crave when they come to Chicago.
One of their traditions is Portillo's Italian beef, always consistent! perfectly spiced! Never a disappointment!

A tamale from Portillo's. Yes, these are not traditional tamales you make wrapped up in corn husks, but there's something about the taste of these steamed goodies!!

And of course who can resist a Chicago style hotdog? Nobody in my family can!!!

And last but not least, I wanted to share with you a picture of my precious Granddaughter who was the flower girl at the wedding.
I know I'm a little biased but isn't she beautiful? :)

Can't wait to see what all of you have been up to!

Talk to you soon,

Marie