Italia

So. first stop along this world tour of food is Italy - with my thanks to Elizabeth Gilbert and also Julia Roberts. Her sheer physical enjoyment of a plate of pasta is what inspired me to do this in the first place! Saturday afternoon after watching "Eat Pray Love", I grabbed my copy of Elisa Celli's "Italian Light Cooking" and started flipping through it, trying to find something simple enough to cook for just one person. The kids were at their dad's, so at least I was free to choose whatever appealed to me. A quick trip out to pick up some groceries and some wine (well, one of the recipes called for a dry white....), and then a few hours of sheer enjoyment, and a lovely meal as a reward!

I started with a Minestrone (okay, that one I cheated on, it was a Knorr package, but quite tasty, all the same). My appetizer was Gamberi con Aglio (shrimp with garlic sauce), light and absolutely delicious, followed by Spaghettini alla Chitarra Abruzzi (pasta with traditional Abruzzi tomato sauce). I found I totally enjoyed all the prep work, and I was almost transported by the lovely smell of the fresh parsley as I chopped it up. Then and there, I vowed to myself to always use fresh herbs when they are available, it adds soooo much aroma and flavour to the food. I added a loaf of Herb and Olive Bread that I picked up at the grocery store, which was the finishing touch to a delightful meal.  The meal (and the cooking process) were complemented by a Bolla Pinot Grigio, which added a lovely subtle flavour to the Gamberi con Aglio, and a Umani Ronchi Montepulciano D'Abruzzo, a light red which I lucked upon! I chose it because it was from the Abruzzo region, where the pasta recipe originated, and it turned out to be a lovely fit.

It was wonderful, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole evening, especially the end result! It wasn't about the cooking, nor about the eating, but the whole combination - planning the menu, shopping for the necessary supplies, preparing the meal, and finally, sitting down to enjoy the fruits of my labour!

                                                               

                  Buon appetito