Thursday, January 7, 2021

As fresh as it gets

 These vegetables bought at the farmer's market in Castellammare del Golfo were picked the same morning at dawn. They were not only fresh, they were delicious. Produce grown in Sicily has a richness of flavor found nowhere else. A far cry to the produce mass distributed found in today's super markets. And to top it all, the prices are the lowest in town. I cannot get over the farmer's markets in the States that sell allegedly locally grown produce that is usually not very fresh at high prices. 



Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Caprese salad

 This is really a summer dish but it's nice to think summer in the winter. The ingredients are all readily available: round greenhouse tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella and good extra virgin olive oil.

The preparation is super simple. Slice the tomatoes horizontally and place them on a flat plate. Sprinkle with sea salt and add a little EVO. Slice the mozzarella and place atop each slice of tomato again add a little salt and oil. Place a leaf of fresh basil atop each tomato and it's done. Simple and delicious.

Buon appetito



Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Lincoln Center

 New York City is still great in spite of a mayor who is doing it's best to destroy it. Not real. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is an example of the city's greatness.




Monday, January 4, 2021

Pasta with crispy broccoli

Broccoli are a great source of immune boosting vitamins and minerals- The problem that they are usually consumed overcooked and without any seasoning, This dish is very simple but tasty. We only need a fresh broccolo cut into florets, a few anchovies, 2 cloves of garlic sliced finely, a little red paper fresh or dry, good EVO, some grated parmigiano and black pepper to taste.  

The idea is to keep the florets crisp. Step one is to put on salted water to cook the pasta and the florets. In the meanwhile use a large skillet and cover it's bottom with EVO. Add the sliced garlic, the red pepper and three anchovies. Sautee in low heat until the anchovies are amalgamated. Do not burn the garlic. Shut off the skillet. By this time the water should boil. Add salt and the pasta, ay shape will do. If the pasta has an indicated cooking time of 8 minutes. after 3 minutes add the florets. They should cook for 3 minutes. At this point start the slkillet and add the pasta and florets. Scup them out into the skillet. Stir well and add cooking pasta water. Aerate ans ad a little more cooking water. Add a dash of EVO and stir. This should take two minutes. Shut off the heat wait about 30 seconds and add the parmigiano. Stir well. Now you are ready to serve. Notice that no salt was added because the anchovies and the cheese are salty.

Serve and finish the plate with some black pepper and a dash of raw EVO. It's really a very simple dish.

Buon appetito



Sunday, January 3, 2021

Vintage Tri-X

 This image of a pensive woman costumer was shot at the SAN Gennaro feast in Manhattan, NYC way back in 1972. I still remember that I used a Nikon F with the 105 F 2.5 lens. There was a magic to Tri-X that was never equaled.



Have a great week. Be careful out there


 

Fall splendor