Buy an Italian Gourmet Food Basket, Help UNICEF for Haiti!
Debi and I are eager to share with you a few recipes to properly celebrate this upcoming Carnival Season the Italian way, with lots of fried dough (there is always a first time for everything), unfortunately our home got swept with a terrible cold, and time stopped, so to speak.
Our daughters started trading bugs and viruses at school, as soon as we got back from our trip to Florence... as a result, many things had to be put on hold, a few good books have been read, and a lot of warm meals and broths have been cooked and served... but the energy of getting in front of the camera was not there, sorry!
Mardi Gras is approaching fast (February 16th), and we are committed to maintain the promise of showing you how to prepare "Cenci and Frittelle" so you can be ready to wear your masks and start partying.
This past month the Girls and I have been following with wet eyes the unfortunate faith of the Haitian People.
Not many words are necessary to describe the way we felt when the TV broke the news about the earthquake... and how we feel now, when we see helpless children and their families struggling to survive on a daily basis.
We donated via iTunes, we sent text messages to our cell phone providers, we helped our kids' schools raise funds and collect food... but every time we turn on the TV we are reminded of how immense this all is, and how much help and effort still is needed, how important is not to forget what happened.
Anderson Cooper is back in the studio wearing a tie, and a new not so familiar face is on CNN reporting from Port Au Prince, don't let that disappoint you, don't forget that your help is needed and necessary, still!
Hence, Debi and I have
decided to team up with our friend Alessandro at
Viola Imports in Chicago
and use this platform to run a Ten Day Fund Raiser
to support the efforts of UNICEF in Haiti:
starting this morning, on our eBay page, we are
auctioning 7 Gourmet Food Baskets and 100% of the
proceeds will be wired right away to the charity.
Each basket contains Organic Pastas (4), Risotto (3),
Farro Pastas and Grain (2), and a jar of Truffle Salt
(1).
Price (bid reserve) is set to $50, which is the retail
value of the merchandise, but here comes the twist:
Debi and I decided to spice it up a bit, and see if we
can convince you to donate even more
money...
Back in our home... far away from Home!
Me, Deb and the Girls are speechless.
This trip to Florence has been the hardest so far, in what is now almost a decade of back and forth; everything worked out fine at the end, but if you follow us on Twitter, I am sure you had a chance already to laugh with us about our Christmas Tuscan Experience.
We landed in Florence on December 18th, at dusk... the snow started falling the moment we exited the airport. By the time we approached the last few turns right below Fiesole, our rental car had to be parked on the side of the street, and got snowed in for the next four days.
We got rescued by my father and driven to our Pink House in the middle of the farmland.
My mom had spent weeks getting it ready for us: clean, decorated, warm, half full fridge, cookies for the girls, a couple of steaks for Me and Debi... It was a wonderful welcome home. And outside, still snowing, a bit harder than before.
My Los Angeles born and raised daughters were literally in heaven: I had promised them I would have brought them to see the Alps and play with the snow... I delivered much better than that: in our home, with the whole family, under a snowfall. Everybody started making big plans for the day after, already counting down the hours before we could all get outside and play “Winter Season” style. Debi and I looked at each other dazzled, trying to forget that Air France lost four out of seven pieces of our luggage: my clothes, all the Christmas presents, the shoes/bathroom piece... and all the snow gear... We shrugged, and poured a glass of Chianti.
We woke up the morning
after, we shivered, and checked the temperature in the
house: “Umph, 47Fº... something must be wrong.....”
The heat was down.
Debi thought of finding some comfort with a hot shower;
by the time she started shampooing her hair, the water
tank was empty... a strong noise started to come up
from the under-roof water system that serves our
bathroom. The pump was trying real hard to accommodate
Debi’s need for water, but as we soon realized all the
pipes got frozen overnight. The pump kept on going
ballistic for a couple of uninterrupted minutes, than
the electric of the whole house went down.
Within a half hour we were moved into my parents house!
The first week of our vacation was spent snowed in with
the “Nonni”, waiting for all the repairs to happen.
Christmas came, and by that time thankfully Air France
was able to retrieve a few missing pieces of luggage,
including the one containing all the gifts... no snow
clothes yet though, those arrived two weeks into the
trip.
Long story short,
This past moth in Tuscany has been cruel as much as it
has been magnificent!
By the time Christmas was over, friends were flying in
for New Years’ Eve, and the cell phone would not stop
ringing.
I never pulled out the video camera once; way to much
to do, organize and think about! I decided to focus on
the “Famiglia” and I dedicated myself to a quest for
books about Traditional Tuscan and Florentine Food, its
history and traditions. I collected about 15 volumes,
between simple farmers’ recipe publications, manuals
about the anthropology of food in Italy and various
Tuscan Almanacs rich in culture and historical
references.
Debi and I are now enjoying a few mornings of quiet in
our L.A. home; kids are back in school, and this first
calm morning hours are for us a wonderful treat after
all we endured in Tuscany for the past few weeks.
We wanted to wish you a Happy New Year, and tell you
that many new recipes will be coming your way very
soon.
Debi will be in San Francisco this week to present at
the Tasty Awards, I guess
next week we’ll crack the camera out.
Ciao
Gabriele
Happy Holidays!!!
The wife decided to challenge the crowd at Toys ‘R’ Us, and the lunch I prepared have been sitting on the counter for the past hour...
We will be leaving for Florence this week, and there’s a bunch of Italian kids waiting for some of our precious american-chinese junk, so it had to be done; don’t worry kids, all under control... still, I’m hungry!
Debi and I will be back with a bunch of new recipes and videos around the end of January, as it always happens when we come back from Italy.
From there though, we obviously won’t stop Tweeting about food and all things Tuscan... and who knows, maybe some Flip/Youtube action?!
Thanks to all of you for the continuos support throughout this past year, thanks for spreading the word and sharing with your family and friends our recipes... get ready though for lots and lots more to come. Debi and I wish you the happiest and most savory Holiday Season of all, might you and your loved ones always be blessed with a strong family, a table full of food, and a good glass of wine... all the rest with follow!
For the last time in this year 2009, please join us in our kitchen, as we prepare a magnificent and luxurious Tiramisu’!
“Winter Wonderland” performed by Bossa
Toscana ( download mp3 )
Bossa Toscana is: Terry Radigan,
Gabriele Corcos,
Joshua Camp,
Pat Buchanan and
Dave Eggar
Going to our house in
Fiesole is always a good wake up call. Three weeks
without TV or internet connection might seem scary in
the beginning but, as it always happens, when we come
back to America we realize that not much actually
changes that quickly... So, instead of spending days on
my laptop trying to figure out which mobile internet
provider I might subscribe to in Italy in order to
“remain connected”, I ran a quick QA on
Facebook about what
books these days might be worth my hours in front of
the fireplace, once we finally get to our farm.
The following titles are our picks
for this Christmas (in no specific
order or priority):
- Michael Pollan: “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”
and “The Botany of Deisre”
- Julia Child: “My Life In France”
- Chuck Closterman: “Sex, Drugs and Cocoa
Puffs”
- Ruth Reichl: “Tender at the Bone”
- Barbara Kingslover: “Animal, Vegetable,
Miracle”
- Kalle Lasn: “Culture Jam”
Enjoy your Holidays, your family and friends, and if
you can, share some with the ones that are less lucky.
And remember, if your child knows how to play Nintendo,
he/she can for sure chop an onion: skip the line at the
toy store, and gain some help in the kitchen, it’s a
better long term investment!
BUON NATALE
Gabriele and Debi
Debi and Bonnie
The splendid wife will be demonstrating our Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi recipe, cooking along with Bonnie, talking about food, family and Tuscan lifestyle.
Debi will feature on the
show a very traditional Tuscan recipe that has been in
my family since I can remember, a dish that always made
happy both adults and kids.
A few ideas on how to eat/serve the naked gnocchi:
- a few balls as an appetizer
- a way to convince your kids to eat vegetables
- party plate, paired with a nice
Bruschetta
- as an entree, followed by a
nice piece of meat and some roasted
potatoes
- try it with a creamy
red or mushroom sauce
Debi and I would also like to give a shout-out to the
one that helped us getting it together and rolled tens
of spinach balls with us to feed the whole audience:
thank you Jean!
Let us know how this recipe will turn out for you,
Buon Appetito
Debi and Gabriele
The Little Engine That Could
Unfortunately, while the new version of the site was an eye candy, because of its highly complexed architecture I started encountering issues I needed to address: I progressively lost functionalities I deemed very important, and even if the user experience did not get affected much, I had to make a decision to solve my dilemma.
The programming environment the new site was born in, created a bubble around my content, and I realized all of the sudden that instead of being part of a stream of information flowing seamlessly on the web, I had become somewhat of a "soap bubble" floating on it...
Once I sacrificed my social media connectivity I progressively elevated myself above the "action field", like a beautiful but dumb blond with too much surgery done; she might look hot while strolling on Rodeo Drive, and deep down inside she even might have something very interesting to say, but the hyper-polished figure, the glossy pumped up lips and the overfilled chest that screwed with her center of gravity, have become a barrier that often prevents her from communicating in a way that is relatable and down to Earth.
I gave these issues a lot of thought, then this Thanksgiving Weekend I eventually started talking to myself... Something had to be done, but what?!?
Then, I thankfully came to a realization: I am the Little Engine That Could!
All of a sudden I realized
that my little green backgrounded blog have been a more
than solid locomotive that carried The Tuscan Gun
around and across the web with relentless rhythm for
the past two years:
it
only crashed once in the very beginning
and needed some tune-up, but my version of the site,
built with a $40 simple and straight-forward
software, have been marching steadily
since the very beginning of this project.
Therefore, for the moment being, I am more than happy
to jump back on my Little Engine That Could, grease its
wheels and fiercely approach the next hill or mountain
and I am pretty sure, I will see you safely on the
other side!
The new version of Under The Tuscan Gun has gone
back to Beta, and as
soon as I can figure it all out you'll be the first
to know.
For the moment though, welcome back to our blog!
This week for our family life is action packed: Debi
will shoot today The Bonnie Hunt Show,
where she will be cooking live our
Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi and in pure
Oprah style she will feed all the audience (yes she
will have help at the stove), and I will become
officially an American Citizen this coming Thursday...
I am wondering what I will receive first, my new
Passport of the first Jury Duty Summon!
Monday Morning now, slightly overwhelmed. Hang on for
just a few more days, a new episode will go live by the
end of next week.
“I Think I Can Do It, I Think I Can Do It, I Think I
Can Do It!!!”
Hold On Tight!
Gabriele
The Italian Food Heritage Program
I am extremely pleased with the outcome of the transition from my old blog to this more refined and updated platform, and so it seems are most of you visiting my virtual kitchen.
Something happened though, in the past few weeks, that made a light bulb go off in my head.
As I was collecting all the mails and messages I received, and organizing them for my future reference, I encountered a common denominator I could not let slip through the cracks of my archival process: your family heritage!
Without even thinking about it, I seemingly tapped into a matter that is very important to most of you that have been visiting the site, cooking my family recipes, reading about how I became who I am in my kitchen... but mostly how I am trying to pass on what I learned from my mother and grandmother to my wife and daughters.
I am talking about your own Family Tradition of Food and Life in the Kitchen!
Many of the messages I
received lately are not just simple appreciations for
the food I am proposing you to cook, but more deeply,
they are sincere thank you messages for the way I
helped many of you remember how your family "Used To
Cook", the way the kitchen used to smell when you grew
up and your granny was in front of the stove...
"Now I know why my grandfather used to cook this way!
It is the way we always did it, but we never knew
why.", or "You made me remember of when I used to visit
my family in Sicily, and my grandmother used to store
her jars of Limoncello in the closet... I was five
years old and thought it was lemonade.", and again
"Thank you for helping me re-create in the kitchen the
flavors I grew up with... I thought they were lost
forever".
I never thought it that way, I am safe in that
department, as I can pretty much prepare any dish my
family has ever cooked... in my mouth food still tastes
the same way it did when I was a little
kid.
Tango and Limoncello!
I have to be honest, I always knew she had some groove within, even if the only times I ever saw her dancing in the past she was hustling with her gay friends... Now, it’s a whole different ball-game, as she has discovered pretty quickly after starting her training with Maks.
Days are melting for us in Lala, as Debi is always at the dance studio or on stage for her performances: we miss her a bit, but we could not be more proud and excited. Last week’s performance seemed to have woken up the wife and helped her get out of her own head, even if only temporarily...trust me, it will never happen completely, it is just her nature. However, she is now approaching her training with a much different attitude: she seem more relaxed, and she started enjoying the process without succumbing to the pressure.
Check out Debi’s photo shoot for the NOH8
Campaign. Support
equal rights for everyone!
Last night’s Tango
helped her climb a bit into the ranks of the show,
and gave her a nice confidence boost... She came
home happy and encouraged by her performance, even
if I could tell that deep inside she is already a
bit worried about next week’s show: her dance will
be Samba. We love Brazilian music in the house and
we are constantly playing Sambas and Bossanovas:
Debi told Maks how happy she was to start working on
it, until he showed her the “Ballroom Version” of
the dance, which does not have much in common with
the moves adopted in its Carnival and more Popular
forms.
However, the energy level is there, the
neck injury is almost
healed and does not hurt much anymore, and Debi seem
to have finally realized that this show is all about
letting it go and have fun! Speaking about fun,
ABC would you mind
letting the wife come home one night in her costume?
I promise, I will be careful! I Want My Share of
Fun!!!
On a different note, after a long wait, you can finally
enjoy the
Limoncello episode that we have been
promising for about a month.
This brewing experiment was a huge success, and our
gallon of liquid gold is already basically finished: a
few friends stopped by, and Debi and I have been really
enjoying it after our dinners for the past couple of
weeks. My aunt’s recipe is really a good one, and many
friends are already praising it to be the best
Limocello they ever had... and to be honest, not to
brag, but I have to agree. Our limoncello came out well
balanced, it is not too sweet and has a great texture:
we will start brewing our Christmas presents this
coming weekend. We also have a few episodes almost
ready to go, so come back soon and check what’s cooking
in the house.
Last but not least, many of you have been writing
asking what happened to the new version of the site we
have been tweeting, and why it is not online yet.
The past two weeks have been hectic, and we decided not
to rush into things... Under The Tuscan Gun 2.0 will be
available very soon, but for the moment we have been
collecting comments and feedbacks on the
beta version that is
currently online.
Log in if you feel like
taking a peak: if you do so, we’d love to hear what
you think of it.
Gabriele