Italy In SF

As I was having lunch with Hedonia a few weeks back we ended up talking about fun food-related idioms. In English there are tons, and that got me thinking to the Italian ones. What do you know, I found a slew!! Not surprisingly for a culture in which food is so entrenched, I realized that in every day talk we really compare all sort of things to food, or spices, or condiments…

Here’s my first pass: feel free to suggest more!

“E’ buono come un pezzo di pane”
Literal translation: He’s as good as a piece of bread
What it means: He’s a good person, a really nice guy

“Rendere pan per focaccia”
Literal translation: To give back bread for focaccia
What it means: Similar to “an eye for an eye”, it is used metaphorically to illustrate a payback for a suffered wrong

“Avere sale in zucca”
Literal translation: To have salt in the pumpkin, although “zucca” is very often used to mean “head”- so to have salt in the head
What it means: To be smart

“E’ andato tutto liscio come l’olio”
Literal translation: It went smooth as oil
What it means: It went smooth as silk, there weren’t any problems

“L’ho comprato per un tozzo di pane”
Literal translation: I bought it for a piece of bread
What it means: It was a real deal, very underpriced compared to its value

“C’entra come i cavoli a merenda”
Literal translation: It fits like cabbage for the afternoon snack
What it means: It doesn’t fit, it’s inappropriate

“Sei sempre in mezzo come il prezzemolo”
Literal translation: You are always in the way like parsley (referring to the vast use of parsley in Italian cooking!)
What it means: You mingle in things that are not your own, you are always in the way

“Tenero come il burro”
Literal translation: It’s as soft as butter
What it means: It is very tender, it usually refers to meat or other foods, and sometimes to people

“E’ dolce come lo zucchero”
Literal translation: It’s as sweet as sugar
What it means: Pretty self-explanatory, usually used to describe fruit it is also used for people sometimes)

“Sono pieno come un uovo”
Literal translation: I am as full as an egg
What it means: I am stuffed, I can’t eat anymore (very useful when someone is trying to fill your plate yet again!)

“Avere il prosciutto sugli occhi”
Literal translation: To have ham (prosciutto) over your eyes
What it means: To be unable to see the truth, either figuratively (somebody’s trying to trick you and you don’t see it) or realistically (the referee didn’t see the foul as he had prosciutto over his eyes)

“Avere le mani in pasta”
Literal translation: To have the hands in the dough
What it means: To be very well connected, to know how to pull strings

“Questa cosa mi sta sullo stomaco”
Literal translation: This thing sits on my stomach
What it means: This thing is really unpleasant and annoying. Often also said of people (Questa persona mi sta sullo stomaco)

“Essere rosso come un peperone”
Literal translation: To be red as a bell pepper
What it means: To look lobster red- said of a sunburn but also of someone who’s blushing

“E’ facile come rubare le caramelle a un bambino”
Literal translation: It’s easy as stealing candies from a child
What it means: It is very simple task that anyone can do

“Ha la faccia da pesce lesso”
Literal translation: He has the face of a boiled fish
What it means: He looks like someone uninteresting and uninterested, not someone you want to make friends with

“Quella persona ha il pelo sullo stomaco”
Literal translation:  That person has hair on his stomach
What it means: It is said of people who are unethical, reckless, and overall willing to push the limits of legality in business

“Questa cosa/ questa persona e’ amara come la cicoria”
Literal translation: this thing/ person is as bitter as chicory
What it means: Said of something bitter in taste, but also of a bitter person

“E’ rigido come un baccala’”
Literal translation: He is a as rigid as salted cod
What it means: He is not comfortable, he looks stiff

“Avere le mani di pastafrolla”
Literal translation: To have pastry dough hands
What it means: To be unable to hold something without dropping it, to be clumsy

“Questa persona e’ un polentone”
Literal translation: This person is a polenta eater
What it means: This person is physically slow, awkward, goofy

“Mettere la ciliegina sulla torta”
Literal translation: To put the cherry on top of the cake
What it means: To wrap up something in the best possible way (same as the English “Cherry on top”)

“Ridotto all’osso”
Literal translation: Something reduced to the bone
What it means: As bare-bone as it gets- often said of a price during bargaining, or of a family budget, it means it has been rid of the excess, muck like bones used to make stock.

“Questa cosa mi fa venire il latte alle ginocchia”
Literal translation: This thing gives milk in my knees (good one, uh??)
What it means: It is said of something (or someone) boring and exasperating, something that makes you want to get away as fast as possible!

Filed under: Culinary Culture, italy | 8 Comments »

Image courtesy of Eater SF

When was the last time you sat down for a nice lunch, in the Financial District, and spent less than $25? Including tax and tip? Well, you can imagine why my excitement for lunch at Barbacco was laced with a whole new level of satisfaction once I got the bill. None of the desserts were over $5, a scoop of ice cream was $2, they have half glasses of wines on the list- so you can still sip on your favorite beverage and go back to work without being buzzed- or worse, wasting a half glass! I love the concept behind this new enoteca: informal, lunch-oriented, small plates and big flavors seems to be the staples of their offering. And the food is pretty good!

My favorite dish by far were the bruschette- 3 for $8 were enough to calm my cravings, and the house cured sardine one was to write home about.

We also ordered the Burrata, which was served with a half-sized rucola salad (yum!) and a beet salad, before moving on to the rotolo pasta (you can see Barbacco’s full lunch menu at this link), which we didn’t love but was okay. And of course no meal is complete without a dessert (dulcis in fundo, the most quoted Latin proverb by Italians: sweet in the end!)- so a scoop of ice cream made its way to our table. I am using the Food Gal’s pictures, as hers turned out a lot better than mine did! Here’s the gelato- really, really good!

Barbacco
230 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94111-4301
(415) 955-1919

Filed under: Restaurants, San Francisco | 4 Comments »

It is that time of the year again!! Spring is here, VinItaly just wound up, and Donato is hosting another of his marvelous wine and food events at Enoteca in Redwood City. 100 Italian wines poured by the glass from all the best US importers, including many varieties of Barolo and Barbaresco and many lesser-known wines, like Teroldego and Vermentino. All are not to be missed!

The best part, for a foodie like me, is the chance to try out Donato’s porchetta, along with many other little hors d’ouevres. I am hoping for bruschette with cinghiale (wild boar) and black seafood risotto! Yum!

WHEN: Saturday, May 1, 1-4 p.m.
VIP Preview: 12-1 p.m.
WHERE:

DONATO ENOTECA
1041 Middlefield Road
Redwood City, CA 94063
(650) 701-1000
Note: Caltrain Redwood City stop is across the street from the restaurant.

COST: VIP Preview – $70
General Admission – $55
Early Bird General Admission – $50 (limited)
TICKETS: To purchase a ticket, visit www.donatoenoteca.com.

Filed under: Events, Peninsula, Restaurants | 3 Comments »

While San Mateo is rarely on my radar, I am sure grateful I got a chance to try out Acqua Pazza downtown. My friend Amy was invited to try out their offerings, and I was more than happy to tag along! I had heard good things about them, and I was certainly curious to try- just the chance never presented itself!

So, you have to wonderful, yet another place that claims authentic Neapolitan pizza? Well, yes, but also so much more! The three brothers that own Acqua Pazza are from Naples, and are very proud of their heritage! Their offering is not limited to pizza, but to the whole range of Neapolitan cuisine, including a burrata that gets shipped from Italy, caponata, arancini, a plethora of mouth-watering fish dishes and vegetable-heavy suggestions. Anything that is not directly from Italy comes from local producers: the vegetables form Half Moon Bay, the fish from Monterey- that’s always nice in my book!

We started with what I think was the best dish I had- a Caponata di verdure that would be able to resuscitate the dead!! Delicious sweet peppers and eggplants with capers and olive oil, marinated till they can be spread over bread- I found this impossibly good! Served witha  bread made of pizza dough, warm, it was really a perfect way to be entertained while we were scouring the menu!

Next stop was a mixed antipasti platter that showcased an imported burrata as its main feature. The texture of the burrata was soft and delicious, and the crostini with fava bean puree were a really nice side. I did not care for the diced beets- while I usually really like red beets, these were a bit bland… but the dish did not miss them!

We then ordered a margherita pizza, made the traditional Neapolitan way with double zero flour from Mulino Caputo, San Marzano tomato sauce (San Marzano tomatoes are protected by the DOP seal!) and imported mozzarella di bufala, with a touch of basil. The dough was delicious: springy and soft at the core, just a perfect consistency, and the tomato sauce was delicious. The only fault Amy and I found in this pizza was the amount of cheese: we both agreed we’d ask it with less mozzarella next time, as it felt like it overloaded the dish and made it a bit too heavy.

We ended lunch on a high note with a delicious Baba’ al Rum, a Naple’s special to be remembered (although I could have done without the whipped cream- which is saying something, considering how CRAZY I am about whipped cream!).

Acqua Pazza
201 E. 3rd Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94401
P: 650-375-0903

Filed under: Peninsula, Pizzerie, Restaurants | 2 Comments »

Few items are as omnipresent in Italian pastry as crema pasticcera, the egg custard that fills morning cornetti, layers pan di spagna, and makes the basis for fruit tarts and zuppa inglese. It is simple, delicious, versatile and tasty! I made a batch at home and have made tarts, crostate, brioches and vol-au-vent desserts for a whole week, and then some.

The recipe for crema changes for each region, for each town, and even for each family! I have been following my friend Laura’s recipe- since I have tested it multiple times in her delicious profiteroles, pastries and desserts- and since Mom still guards our family recipe…

Ingredients

180gr of flour –> roughly 0.4lb of flour, or about 1.5 cups of flour

400 gr of sugar –> about 2 cups of sugar, or about 14oz

3 egg yolks  and three whole eggs

1 l of milk –> 1 quart of milk, roughly

Optional: a bit of lemon rind, grated, and a hint of vanilla

What to do

Warm up the milk, and meanwhile use a mixer to mix flour, sugar and eggs. When the milk is near boiling, pour it in with the egg and flour and sugar mixture and transfer to a thick-bottomed pot back to heat. Lower the heat to medium and stir till you find the texture thickens- you can choose how think you’d like it to come out, but make sure it doesn’t taste like flour once you take it off the heat! It is crucial to keep on stirring to prevent lumps from forming and the bottom from sticking- it should take about 5-10 minutes from the time you transfer it to the heat to the time the crema is completely done.

Tips

Resist the temptation to eat the crema while it is warm- it gives you a stomachache and it makes you noxious! (That’s what Mom used to say when I was a kid, I thought it was a scam to make me wait… but no, she was right)

I finished the crema with a hand mixer before taking it off the heat, to work out any lump.

Fill anything you’d like with the cooled off crema- use a pastry bag with a medium tip, or a syringe, to fill in anything you can think of with crema: eclairs, profiteroles, brioches and croissants. For cakes, you can just use it as a filling, and for fruit tarts, your fruit will taste delicious on top of a layer of crema on your pie crust!

You can also serve crema pasticcera as a stand-alone dessert in a small cup, with a ladyfinger cookie or a slice of ciambella… delicious!

The recipe for the brioche pictured at the top is coming…

Filed under: Traditional Foods, italy | 3 Comments »