Thursday, March 17, 2011

Waterproof Walkie Talkie Watch

Italy wet, Italy lucky? 150 years in the rain and roast chicken for consolation.

Inno di Mameli


How did you spend your day of celebration?
With some excitement last night at 22.00, I hung the flag at the balcony of the kitchen window. I did not think I could do it simply because I did not have a flag.
My daughter came home from school with a small flag of handmade paper, painted with markers and supported by a rigid plastic drinking straw. That's nice - I thought - at least a small mark in the house we will. I am saddened, however, the idea of \u200b\u200bnot having a nice big banner and lucid as to fly on a day like this.
But my husband surprised me and coming back later after two days of travel, soft hands me a packet which slides out a large banner in rayon ready to be lowered. Probably it will seem silly, but keeping it in hand I was excited, so I felt like hanging a movement of pride and I thought it was a very solemn gesture.
This morning was nice to see her fly blown by the wind and resist the rain has not stopped for a moment wish to disturb the celebration.
The day's program output in the center in the afternoon to take advantage of the opening of museums, in particular that of the Monte dei Paschi, the historic site, whose visit is subject to authorization complicated during the year but which today opened its halls to anyone wishing to discover the medieval wonders. At three in the afternoon the wind slapping the rain on the windows of the house with a deafening noise, to a four scatafascio water flooded the garden.
Without a word, my daughter was locked in the room to play, my husband, who up to half an hour before maintaining an excellent disbelief saying "now open, now it stops raining" - has sold miserably all'abbiocco post-lunch and I decided that I could also put a stretch to give a nice fanned the pyramid of Cheops in clothes that looked at me sternly from the basket of linen. So no party, no museums, so much water everywhere.
I hope you're braver than me and you're thrown into the fray. Tell me how you spent this birthday.
Birthday wet, happy birthday hopefully. The flag hanging there, but I leave it there: the birthday lasts all year, and then Mica will be present so easy to others, at least try to remember this. I want to make a wish in Italy this: that it is always as strong as my flag, to inflate the wind and resists rain. And always have around so many people like me who loves her, despite everything. Long live Italy!



for this important day, I went on the classic. I had no desire to experiment and surprise, I felt it was necessary to go on and on a traditional dish that always like a big and old (and I had a craving). I made a nice roast chicken with potatoes and sage as did my grandmother Gina.
Serves 4

Roast chicken:
- A eviscerated whole chicken 1 kg of c.ca
- Rosemary, sage, garlic, thyme
- Extra virgin olive oil
- ; Salt

potatoes with sage

- ; 1 kg of white potatoes
- sage
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt

Wash chicken and dry well. Sprinkle the inside with fine sea salt and then place a branch of rosemary, sage, thyme sprigs and 2 cloves of garlic. Brush the torso, thighs and wings with plenty of olive oil and then rub it all well with salt. Place the chicken in a casserole dish, drizzle with a little 'oil and place in oven at 180 ° C.
during cooking which will c.ca 2 hours or until the skin is not beautiful golden, you will continue to sprinkle (every 10 minutes c.ca) with their liquid using a spoon or brush. Be careful not to pierce the skin and flesh to do disperse the liquid meat.

Cut the potatoes into large wedges and place in a large pan in which you have warmed up pretty good 5 tablespoons of olive oil and several leaves of sage. Cook the potatoes over medium heat, stirring occasionally until they are crisp and beautiful beaches. Add salt directly into the pan a few minutes before you finish cooking and serve on a platter with the chicken.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Western Party Invitation Wording

Fracchia and Dad's birthday: almond cake with lemon curd and chocolate icing

Happy Birthday to You - Stevie Wonder


Do you remember the movie "Fracchia the human beast"? I have vague memories of the whole story but a part is stamped indelibly in my cerebral cortex, or lunch at his mother's house, in this case represented by Gigi Reder (mythical accountant Filini) mammeschi in rags, with terrific accent dialect (as was, a Sicilian? Calabrese?, help me I have a blank). Yes, well, our poor Fracchia mistaken for a double, was forced by circumstances to dine at the home of so-called mother, who has prepared a menu that can wipe out a gang of woodcutters in Montana not eaten for a month. Poor Christ ingurgita the impossible and finally, exhausted, is subjected to a gastric lavage (or enema? I removed). For the duration of the entire sequence, I do not know about you, but I suffered like a dog, it made me laugh so much, I rather caused some discomfort in the pit of my stomach.
Fracchia Why do I say? Simply because the mothers, and I mean all mothers (oh my God, I am also a mother), are transformed and are possessed by the spirit of the mother Fracchia when it comes to a family lunch.

Today, my father's birthday, we went to lunch at my parents' house. Anticipating the epilogue, I had offered to prepare lunch, "so mom will not tire and you relax," but God forbid, there can be no! In response, she says, "you bring the dessert!"
Ok, so I'd think anyway. "And do not worry" I am back - "Just prepare only two little things" - Here are just two little things that worry me!
Well, not that I was frightened by a table spread, far, I like to eat and when I get home from mine, I do not know, sit down at table with them and find the flavors of my childhood and adolescence, it fills me emotion and triples the appetite.
This is what happened today.

We arrived that we were already hungry. On the table, set for the big occasion, there were already starters, the Italian way,: toast, ham, olives, homemade vegetable oil, parmesan, etc., etc.. My sister arrived, we were there we ate at greedily. And now with the appetizer, fanned by hunger and a better you'd almost right, except that there are still the first, the second outlines the cheese because La Boca is not the strace if not the sa de vaca ", the birthday cake, the cookies at Vin Santo and if you have not exploded with a roar you feel up to Piazza del Campo, the fruit to cleanse the mouth ... .
course for education and affection, you can not exempt themselves from the tasting everything (if you want to taste a portion of a truck driver), then everything is really good but the cheese to begin the first signs of structural failure and looking at the my sister's face with imploring eyes make a gesture with his hand out of time, I try to explain to Mom that perhaps there is no need to pull out the Asiago cheese and if you do not want to kill all family!
We are home now. My husband is lying on the couch like a beached whale, and sometimes by 'life through the decades that yawns are like the twister. I try to figure out when I can digest costoleccio tap dancing in the stomach, and probably I'll go ahead and boiled vegetables for the next 2 weeks. But it was nice (but do not speak about, someone could come get the idea of \u200b\u200busing the family meals as weapons of mass destruction).

As was the birthday of my father and I wanted to make a special cake, I thought it probably would have gone well a simple cream pie given the likely menu. No, I had to overdo it and I made a cake exaggerated, that I wanted to do so, the recipe is on a splendid collection of chocolate cakes with salt and pepper.

Huldah lemon almond cake and chocolate icing.

A tip is to prepare the day before frosting the next morning, before serving. The ingredients are a riot of calories

Serves 10/14 people
For the lemon curd
8 large egg yolks
375 grams of sugar
1 ½ tablespoon of lemon zest
125 ml of lemon juice
150 grams of butter into small pieces

For the cake
250 g blanched almonds and toasted
375 g sugar
350 g butter softened
grated lemon rind 6 eggs
large whole
80 ml of lemon juice
185 gr flour
1 teaspoon baking

For the chocolate icing
200 grams of dark chocolate
100 ml of fresh cream.

cream
Whisk the egg yolks with sugar until they are puffy and fluffy and then put them in a saucepan with the lemon juice and zest and cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved but be sure the mixture is too hot otherwise the eggs will curdle. Add the butter and continue to stir and cook for c.ca 5 minutes until the mixture velero spoon. Remove from heat and let cool then put in container and leave in refrigerator to harden overnight.

Cake
Grind the almonds and sugar in the robot until the mixture is grainy. Apart from the planetary mount softened butter until mixture is puffy and fluffy. Slowly add the mixture of almonds and sugar and lemon zest, and mix all with the leaf. Beat the eggs lightly and gradually to the mixture uniscile: Go to the next until the previous one spoonful is well mixed in the dough. Finally, with a rubber spatula, add the flour sifted with baking powder and lemon juice.
Pour the mixture on a baking pan with hinged 25/26 cm, buttered and bottom lined with baking paper and place in preheated oven at 170 ° C for 50 min c.ca. and in any case until a toothpick comes out dry from the cake.
Let cool in the mold.

glaze
Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan. Finely chop the chocolate and add to cream off the heat. Stir until mixture is glossy and thick. Let cool a bit 'before frosting.

Dial the cake cutting the cake in half. Put the first disc on a serving plate and cover it with a layer of lemon curd by staying at a cm. from the edge. Appoggiaci gently on the second disc, cover with glaze and let harden.
The cake is perfect served cold.