I thought I died and gone to heaven...

One of my favourite lunch places on the island is definitely Ristorante Il Riccio, a fishy h(e)aven for fish lovers. It's located in Anacapri, on the cliffs right next to the famous Grotta Azzurra (great to combine the two). Beautifully decorated, amazing views and the most incredible seafood. The perfect place to spend your sunday and  take a dip, enjoy a delicious lunch and relax on a sun bed and just dream away with a chilled falanghina... 

Thank god it's sunday today!

P.S. If you can't choose what to eat because you're worried you're going to miss something great, order one of their antipasti selections  and try them all!

P.P.S. Very important; Leave some room for their dolci. They have this room, which we like to call "the secret chamber", that is packed with amazing desserts. You can eat as much and as many as you want... Definitely heaven!

A visit from Dionysus

Dionysus (also known as Bacchus): the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. Protector of those who do not belong to conventional society and thus symbolizes everything which is chaotic, dangerous and unexpected, everything which escapes human reason and which can only be attributed to the unforeseeable action of the gods.

In other word(s), Luciano. Our friend from Sao Paolo who came over for a quick and unexpected visit last weekend.  2 days  full of great laughs, crazy stories, good drinks and the most amazing illustrations...

Ciao Zio Lucius... ci vediamo in Brasile!

PS: Did I mention that he's probably the last person on earth without a cellphone?  And he has no intention of getting one (?!)

Zio Lucius and Jack at Marina Piccola

Visiting Il Faro (lighthouse) of Punta Carena

Some unexpected action at Punta Carena (...)

Just an ordinary day...

What a way to decompress after the stressful move... Sun, sea and great food! We took our scooter and drove to the beach, where we sunbathed while Jack was playing in the water.We had a great lunch at our favorite place at Marina Piccola.  Fresh gamberi, calamaretti fritti and a delicious sicilian white wine... I really can't complain about my new home can I?! 

Almost San Valentino...

I wonder how their story ended. I don't know what's worse though... Saying something and wishing you had not or saying nothing and wishing you had?  How do you tell someone you like him/her? Definitely not by chat or sms... that would take the romance right out of Valentine's.

My most memorable Valentine's day was 5 years ago. We had the most perfect romantic night at our friend Luigi's place Villa Brunella in Capri. That place oozes romance! Candle light, great music, good wine, the most delicious pasta con gamberi e zucchine (a must eat) and the most spectacular view ever... A night to remember.

Buon weekend a tutti!

Boozing up Christmas

Getting closer to Christmas everybody! And no other event has the ability to transform the way we drink. What would Christmas be without cocktails, punch and champagne?! My first natale in Capri I celebrated with my first Sgroppino...so deliciously creamy and boozy! Maybe a nice idea for Christmas dinner... the perfect palate cleanser between courses.

Salute!

Sgroppino

Ingredients for 4

2 glasses chilled Prosecco

1 glass chilled (lemon) vodka

400 gr lemon sorbet

4 champagne flutes

Preperation

Blend the lemon sorbet until creamy, ad the Prosecco and vodka and blend well. You can also use a shaker. Serve in chilled champagne flutes.

PS: Try the version with a splash of limoncello... also very tasty!

Enjoying my third 

Sgroppino (that night)

at Bar Tiberio

Panettone vs Kerststol

It's almost Christmas everyone!  I'm already getting excited... getting all cosy with my family, enjoying great food and good (bubbly) wines. Being married to an Italian, our Christmas is a mix of Dutch and Italian traditions. The first part of the holidays will be celebrated in Holland so the first little treat that comes my way will be a big slice of our famous kerststol. I love the Dutch Christmas loaf bread served for Christmas breakfast. After that we'll be moving on to Capri where we'll enjoy a real traditional (south) Italian Christmas and New Years Eve. A wonderful Christmas tradition having the best of both worlds... I've tried to introduce the kerststol in Capri (I once stuffed a big one in my suitcase) but a real Italian Christmas isn't complete without a big soft and fluffy panettone. Even though the birthplace of this traditional Christmas bread is Milano... Panettoni are quite hard to find in Holland, but I saw some at the Xenos (a Dutch store) yesterday. Obviously not even half as tasty (and fresh) as the ones in Italy, so breaking with Dutch tradition wouldn't make sense. Anyway, for those who are curious to have a taste of Italian tradition without betraying theirs and for our Italian friends that like to try something new with this sweet bread, here's a tasty and very Christmasy suggestion from a real Milanese. Buon Natale Emanuela! 

Hope you're all having a great one too!

Tiramisù di Panettone 


Ingredients for 4

4 slices panettone
250 grams mascarpone
50 grams powdered sugar
1 tablespoon pistachio's
80 grams dark chocolate
100 ml milk


Preparation 

Mix the mascarpone with the powdered sugar until creamy. Melt the chocolate au bain-marie, add the tepid milk and stir well. Divide every slice of Panettone in four even pieces and put one piece on every plate. Put one layer of the mascarpone mix on every piece and built the layers finishing with a layer of mascarpone. Sprinkle the chopped pistachio's on the mascarpone layers and cover with chocolate sauce. Serve immediately. 

"When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...that's amore"

There is one thing I really love about Naples; the FOOD... If you love to eat (a lot) like me, Napoli is certainly the place to be. Personally, if I lived there,I would eat all day long. The food is always great, even a simple panino at the train station is tasty. You just can’t turn down all the delicious food the city has to offer. And if you find yourself in Naples the one thing you MUST try there is pizza. I never had a soft spot for pizza’s but after a visit to pizza paradise it became one of my weaknesses...   
The Neapolitans "discovered" la pizza. In 2009 the pizza margherita celebrated its 120th birthday. This famous pizza was born in 1889 at Pizzeria Brandi(this is what I've heard). Because of king Umberto and queen Margherita's official visit to Naples, Brandi's pizzaiolo (pizza baker) made a pizza with the colors of the italian flag. Basil green, mozzarella white and tomato red. The royal family appreciated the pizza so much that they named it after the queen.
One slice of a true margherita will change your life (good bye Domino's and Pizzahut)... The secret lies in the freshness and quality of the ingredients and the genuine recipe of the dough, which is really hard to copy. In fact, in order to maintain and preserve the high  quality of one of Italy’s most important export products, “l’Academia della Vera Pizza Napolitana”(the Academy of the real Neapolitan Pizza)judges if a pizza is a real pizza. It wouldn’t be a good idea to let them judge the pizza’s in Holland – I guess I know what their verdict will be after they tasted our "genuine" pizza hawai or pizza shoarma... 

PS: Good pizzerie in Naples: Brandi, Da Michele and 

Donna Margherita 
PPS: Try the margherita with mozzarella di bufala(buffalo mozzarella)...absolutely delicious!

Behind my dad a painting of Napoli's lovable mascot Pulcinella 

as pizzaiolo at Brandi. 
Like Pulcinella we also need very little to be happy; A slice of pizza and a jug of wine!

A genuine margherita:thick soft borders and a tender middle

Lazy sunday leftovers

My sweet friend Emanuela, a very talented food stylist from Milano, has shared some of her great leftover tips with me. Here's a good one from a true Italian kitchen diva... Grazie Manu, sei una super cuoca!

Risottini al Salto

Have a cup or so of risotto left over from last night's meal that you don't know what to do with?...Think twice before throwing it away and recycle!


Ingredients for 8 risottini

200 grams of leftover risotto

60 grams of grated cheese (parmesan)

butter

pepper, to taste

Preperation

Mix the risotto and the cheese together. Heat a small pan over medium heat and add a teaspoon of butter and let it melt. Put a big tablespoon of the risotto cheese mixture in the pan and  squeeze it with a wooden spatula until the rice is compact and the bottom is set. Now gently flip the round risottino over (in one piece) and cook until golden brown. Take the risottino out and drain it on a piece of kitchen paper and cook the next one. Sprinkle your risottini with some pepper... As simple as that!  

Yummy...

Thanks for the picture Manu!

(For more "food porn" as I like to call it, 

check out Emanuela's website)

Cooking apart together

My mom dressed us alike until the age of 8. If having identical twins wasn't enough for her...What was she thinking? It's already hard to tell who's who so let's create even more confusion. She probably enjoyed doing it.
But what about us? Sharing every birthday, sharing friends... Even my DNA I can't keep to myself. Enough with the twin thing, it's me, myself and I from now on! Viva Italia, viva uniqueness!
But even with 1000 km between us there's no escape: once twins always twins... I was skyping my sister saturday night and she was cooking the exact same dish I was preparing...in the exact same sweater I was wearing. Isn't that unique...Viva twin sisters!

Vongole
in Holland...

...and in Italy

Linguine con vongole

Ingredients

A big splash of olive oil extra vergine
1 pound dry linguine
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced very thinly
2 pounds clams (vongole veraci)
peperoncino flakes, to taste
half a glass dry white wine
3 tablespoons butter
2 handfuls fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste 

Preparation

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta al dente. (Prepare the vongole while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the linguine will be hot and ready when the sauce is ready) Heat the olive oil over medium flame in a deep saute pan with a lid. Add the garlic and peperoncino; saute for 2 minutes. Add the clams and stir well. Add the wine, cover and shake the pan periodically, until all the clams are opened. Add the butter to thicken the sauce and season with salt and grounded pepper. Sprinkle 1 handful of parsley on the vongole.  Crank the flame up to medium-high heat. Add the drained linguine to the pan. Toss the pasta with the clams until coated nicely. Shower with parsley...e buon ape!

Something fishy

Fritto Misto di Mare, or Mixed Fried Fish. Little can be more refreshing, or more picturesque, than a fritto misto di mare at this cute place at Marina Piccola. Ristorante La Piazzetta is runned by Gregorio and his wife, lovely people...
Fresh fish rolled in flour and served with lemon wedges. Local lemons of course just plucked or fallen of a caprese lemon tree...che buono!!!

A glass of sunshine a day...

Wow! It was love at first sip... Falanghina. Golden, complex but balanced, full and crisp. There's simply nothing compared to this authentic white wine which is made from a true Campania grape variety already known by the Romans. When I visit my sis in Capri I always bring a few bottles of Taburno and Feudi di San Gregorio home. A glass of Falanghina instantly brings back memories of a Capri summer. A very welcome feeling looking outside, at the rain pouring down. That reminds me to stock up. Dutch winter is approaching... Brrrrrrrrrr!

P.S. Rumor has it that it's one of Obama's favorites.