All In One Plate

You are looking at a plate that makes most of my friends back at home shake their heads in disapproval. Isn't it just terrible?

Take a second look: Bavette al Limone, Gamberi al Rosmarino, Verdure Grigliate (Lemon Linguine, Rosemary Shrimp, Grilled Vegetables).

What's the problem? THE PLATE IS! "You don't put pasta, seafood and veggies in the same plate, Dani!" At home they would never!

Confession time: I have, as you can see, and I still do it quite often.

I must admit I have come to terms with this american habit of "building" the entree plate that had shocked me too, at first. It offers possibilities and some mix are interesting. Of course I still think it fits better American food than it does Italian and when I cook for some more important occasion I tend to stick to the traditional "multiple courses" and "multiple plates" meal I am more familiar with. But like I said I have started to like the cross-contamination.

To my Italian friends: if you think about it there are exceptions to the normal standard in our tradition too. Take Ossobuco col Risotto alla Milanese, for instance...OK, OK, got it: it's no excuse. I promise: when you come visit, you will never be offered a plate like this! We'll pretend this conversation has never happened and you will be kind enough to forgive my weirdness...

Teach Your Children Well

It's never too soon. It can'hurt as long as you keep a close eye on them. It has a whole lot of pros and very little cons, if you ask me.

Cooking with your children, that is. Having them around while you prepare their meals. Letting them ... ehm ... help you. It's educational and fun.

I don't know about you, but I want my son to know about ingredients and how what he's eating became what it is.

He can barely count to ten, as of today, but he knows rosemary from basil, he knows the main ingredients of pizza and what a hamburger is made of (that's the beauty of dual citizenship, there).

It's big motivation to eat their food when it's time to sit and have their meal. I was blessed with a good eater (with the parents he has, I would have been surprised if we wasn't) but I must say that it's harder to be picky about what's in their plate when they helped fixing it.

In the picture Nicholas is helping making brownies. Not that he needed motivation to eat those. In fact, right when I was ready to put the pan in the oven he told me: "no need, mamma: I like them cold"

Lemon Zesters Are A Girl's Best Friends

“WE” are a strange type of women. “WE” as in those who recognize themselves in the description that follows (please raise your hand as you read on, if the case).

We are the kind that can pass in front of a boutique store window and turn their head the other way but cannot resist the impulse of thoroughly checking every detail of the last Calph**** or Cuisin*** or Ales** kitchen tool . Average time for the operation: it depends on the size, but never less than 30 minutes since we do things properly and take our mission seriously.

We are those who can spend a fortune in useless kitchen toys (“it’s NOT useless and it’s NOT a toy: I used it ONCE in the summer of 1997!”) and do not remember last time they bought a pair of shoes.

Our husbands don’t fear walking with us into a jewelry store, but panic when we’re taking a stroll together in a mall and they see the sign that shows the direction to the home department. They can’t help it but reach for the pocket in their jeans and check if wallet and credit cards are still there.

Santa Claus does not even open our letters anymore: he goes “yeah, yeah, yeah, I know: it’s gotta be another hard-anodized pan, an electric wine opener, a digital scale or…what was it the other year? Oh, yeah, the professional crème brulee torch…” (and this must be ringing a bell to someone I know...)

Gotta love us, the way we love the ones we’re cooking for. Let us be a little strange sometimes: see the sparkle in our eyes when we open a well wrapped lemon zester for our birthday and just know that we’re already visualizing the next shrimp pasta we’ll make for you with that special touch that had been missing till now. It’s all love, just love, as usual…

Keep It Simple!

Keep It Simple, that's my motto, in the kitchen and in my life. Which is, unlike one might think, easier said than done. At least when you don't want to risk to slip from "simple" into "plain". Especially with food.

Instinctively I hate it when too many flavors are combined to the point that you cannot tell one from the other. To me, just like in music, harmony does not take a whole bunch of notes to sound beautifully. Three of them and you have your perfect chord, right? Same in my kitchen. BUT....eheheh...of course there's a BUT! Those few ingredients must be excellent quality. That's all that you need to know about it. So don't rush adding this and that to your recipe, try on the contrary to do the opposite, to figure out what you can take out instead, but do not settle for second best in terms of quality. If I still have not convinced you, follow these easy steps to my "simple=delicious" test and then let me know.

1) SLICE OF GOOD BREAD (Tuscan, preferably. If not, a nice fresh baguette will do the trick)


2) CLOVE OF GARLIC (can't go wrong with that. Don't you even think of going reach for the garlic powder I KNOW you have in that spice cabinet of yours...)


3) GOOD EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL. (Italian. Double-check that label, please. Thaaank you!)


4) MARINE SALT

OK, now grill the bread. Peel the garlic. As soon as the bread is ready, yes while it's still VERY hot, energetically rub the garlic over the bread. Pinch of salt. Drizzle with EVOO, as someone cuter than me would say...


Now comes the best part. Sit (imperative). Slowly bring the bruschetta to your mouth. Oh, I did not tell you it was a good "bruschetta" I was talking about? Bad Dani!


Now shhhhhhh.....*crunch*....*crunch, crunch*...*crunch, crunch, crunch*. No other words necessary. Now you tell me, after the test: is this plain or....SIMPLY heaven?

Evviva!

Who would have ever guessed? I, Daniela Moro Williams, almost computer illiterate, barely a family cook but nevertheless convinced I can teach, have my own blog and it's about the two keywords of my life: LOVE and FOOD! Up till yesterday I hardly even knew what a blog was (well, I STILL hardly know what that is, but now I own one). It's all Silvia's fault, but this is a long story. Now all I need to know is how to use it. Hey, who cares? Again, I can still say I have one! I feel like I am driving a brand new car. If I don't wreck it in the next few minutes you'll have something tasty to read about in the near future... :-)