Blogger and...pizza maker?

A little while ago I spent an evening with my boyfriend's family at his brother's house. Every now and then the whole family gets together for a meal, and this time we had the pleasure of sampling some homemade pizza, made in his brother's very own pizza oven! Now, I have eaten my fair share of pizza, and have even had a go at making some dough myself, but I've never eaten it from someone's very own pizza oven at home. Needless to say, I was very excited indeed. My boyfriend's brother was an excellent pizzaiolo, and churned out pizza after pizza all evening, with all sorts of various toppings. After I had eaten a piece of pizza (or 7), I was asked if I wanted to have a go at rolling out the dough and cooking the pizza myself. Erm, yes please! I was told how to roll and stretch out the dough into the pizza shape, and even how to place it in the oven properly. Afterwards, I put the toppings on the pizza and, beaming with pride, placed it on the table for his family to dig into. The fact that there wasn't a single piece left made me feel just a little bit proud of myself... ;)

 While I couldn't take any credit for the dough this time, I did write a recipe for pizza dough in this months ITALIA! magazine, complete with all the information you need to know about how the Pugliese like their pizzas (mashed potato and all!!) Get your hands on a copy now! :D 

Savoury delights...

Hello everyone!

I bet you're all wondering whether I've actually stopped eating, seeing as I haven't posted some yummy food pics on here for a while. Never fear though, as I have been well and truly stuffing my face with some Italian culinary delights recently (what a lovely image...) and do I have a treat for you today! Instead of my usual obsession with dolce, I have decided to go down the savoury route. A little while ago, I decided to pop into my local butchers shop to get some lunch. Now, as well as selling big chunks of meat, the nice butcher also does some dishes that are gia fatto, or already prepared. For a lazybones like me, this seemed to be a perfect solution. Yes, I want to eat delicious Italian food, but do I have the time, energy and most importantly, skills to prepare it? The answer, particularly to the latter, is no. So in I went, and I picked up the most delicious mushroom pasta I have ever eaten! So delicious in fact, that I forgot to take a photo before it was too late, and the whole thing ended up in my tum. Oops. However, a couple of days later, when I was feeling decidedly less lazy, I had a go at re-creating this spectacular dish. With some mushrooms, a little olive oil, a clove of garlic, a glug of white wine, salt, pepper and a dollop of cream cheese, I came up with this:

While it wasn't a patch on the butcher's pasta, I reckon I whipped up a pretty tasty lunch. The only thing I didn't have was parsley, which would have made it even better.

Something that I haven't had for a while is sausage and mash. This classic British dish is a favourite of mine, and every so often, I do get a craving for a taste of home. So, myself and my man whipped up an Italian equivalent, using some yummy pugliese sausage. It may not have been like my mum makes it, but it satisfied my cravings!

And just to add to this lovely list of savoury delights, I must include some Italian pizza. I don't think any description is needed...

OK, I said it was a savoury list but come on...you know me by now. A bit of dolce simply HAS to make its way into this post somehow. It may not be Christmas just yet, but panettone and pandoro are starting to creep into the shops and supermarkets. And this little blighter just JUMPED into my shopping basket. Ahem.

Have a good rest of the week! :D

Winter Blues? Just pick up a pizza!

Yesterday afternoon, for the first time in what seems like forever, I finally stepped out onto my balcony...and felt warm. Yesterday afternoon was gloriously sunny, and I truly felt like spring was making an early appearance.

As the evening wore on however, I was catapulted back to reality, as the grey winter skies arrived once again, bringing a load of  rain with them. Sigh. Is anyone else getting really fed up of winter now?

When this happens, we often decide to abandon our giro around town, and opt for something much more agreeable: a film and a pizza. Recently, we took this beauty home, stuck on a film, and ignored the yucky winter rain:

Spring, Summer and Autumn are glorious months in southern Italy, with blue skies in April, endless hot days in July and balmy evenings in September. But Winter? Well, you just have to hunker down, enjoy a bit of Italian telly and crank up the central heating. At least the quality of the pizza doesn't change with the seasons....

al fresco dining...

One of the things I love about these gorgeous (if a little sweaty) Italian summers, is eating al fresco. Sitting outside in the evening heat, chatting with friends and eating fantastic food- what's not to like about that. On Friday night, myself, my boyfriend and another couple we know went to a charming little pizzeria/ristorante in the nearby town of Apricena. Set on a hill (which meant a lovely fresh breeze..aahh!) overlooking the town, Tenuta Grotta degli Ulivi  is a great place to eat outside, and a great place to eat in general!

For our antipasto we chose bruschetta and grilled vegetables, the latter of which were presented on a massive platter (they were so yummy that we finished them all!)

And then we chose pizza and a plate of mixed cured meat. We couldn't quite finish this course!!

Oh yes, the famous chip pizza. And it was fantastic!

A classic. It was so good that I'd already devoured a bit before I remembered to take a photo!

 We skipped on the dessert, even though the selection looked pretty good, and settled for baileys and limoncello (not together...obviously). It was a lovely evening and the food was delicious. I am enjoying Italian food more and more every day, and eating out needn't be a strain on the purse. We paid about 65 euros for 4 people. You really can't complain about that.

Watch out for more food and (simple!) recipes in the future! (And in the meantime, check out my other food posts under the 'food bits' tab. I challenge you not to be hungry after! :D )

pizza, anyone?

I do tend to go on..and on and on about how fantastic the food is here. It's simple, tasty, fresh and not laced with preservatives like a lot of the food in the UK. I don't know anyone here who eats ready meals, and we have more greengrocers than you can shake a stick at in this small town of mine. Sauces and vegetables are not usually taken from cans and containers. Instead, vegetables and meat are bought that morning and prepared at home. And while ready meals or jars are easy and convenient (I sometimes use jars of pesto or tinned tomatoes), I am trying my best to adapt to this tastier and healthier way of cooking (and eating!).

But there's one thing that I have to buy 'ready-made'. And that's pizza. Fresh, tasty and oh-so-good. Most people label pizza as being fast food. Yes, it's fast, but it's also fresh, and definitely not dripping with grease like some pizzas I've had at home. Take a look at these photos, and I challenge you to not want a slice...

From 'Il Gufo', my favourite pizzeria. The owner is friendly, chatty, and makes the best pizza in town. He does lots of different toppings, my favourite being the one on the left at the back- 'Buffalina'. Fresh tomato with big piece of mozzarella di buffala. There's also the spicy sausage, potato and sausage, and caprese, to name but a few. I do belive I have tried all of them....

Pasta and pizza...what more could you possibly want?

Well, the occasional fry up actually. Or roast dinner. Or big greasy portion of fish and chips. But all of these small 'Brit food' urges aside, my food needs are well and truly satisfied by the culinary delights that the Italians have to offer. I don't know if you have ever heard of a certain dish called PIZZA. Or perhaps you may have tried PASTA. Or possibly some GELATO. You get my drift. But until I came to Italy, I hadn't really tried any of these things. A frozen pizza from tesco does not substitute the real thing. I'm sure you can guess what's coming now. Yep, that's right, the pizza snob has LANDED, and she will praise Italian pizza until the cows come home, pooh- poohing any other claim you may have of any other pizza being just as good. Oh alright, I'll spare you. But you won't taste real pizza until you come to Italy. Which of course, I urge you all to do.

A half demolished 'grande' pizza from a local pizzeria. And yes, beer is clearly an excellent complimentary beverage .

Our extreme love and appreciation of pizza has even led to experimentation in our own kitchen. Behold, the Irish one's pesto and sun dried tomato creation: 

It is my belief that pesto, although used in several dishes in these parts (try it with spaghetti and some baby tomatoes...very good indeed), is not generally used on pizza here. The Irish one loves pesto (and stereotypically, potatoes, but that's another story), and therefore cares not about such 'rules' of pesto use. The pizza tasted fantastic. 

P.S. If you are a fellow Brit (or any other nationality for that matter) living in Italy and crave a fry-up, try Lidl for baked beans and sausages (the German rostbratwurst are a similar substitute for British sausages). Buon appetito!