What Happened?

What happened in  Italy in 2011? 

There was alot of loss.
We lossed Berlusconi: Ding Dong, Berlusconi's Gone
We lossed parts of Cinque Terra: Disaster in the Cinque Terre
We lost some parts of Pompeii: Pompeii Collapse Prompts Charges of Neglect
We lossed Pier's grandmother.

We were on TV! HGTV's House Hunters International, "Taking Off to Torino".

Pier turned 30
Italy turned 150 or the Centocinquantenario Anniversario

 

Amanda Knox was exonerated: Amanda Knox Exonerated, Murder Conviction Overturned

I made Christmas lunch this year.

 What will you remember most about 2011?

Flavor of the Month

The flavor of the month at Grom gelatoria is panettone! If you had not yet had the pleasure of panettone let me give you a quick description. It's a orange flavor sponge cake with candied fruits baked inside. It was first made in Milan and takes 3 days to make because the dough is actually cured like sourdough. It's traditionally eaten at Christmas dinner for dessert with a sweet sparkling wine, and the the next day for breakfast with hot chocolate.

The panettone gelato starts with a dense creamy orange base infused with chunks of candied fruits. It's delecious. I would say that the only thing missing is the crunchy sugary crust which is for me the best part.

Holiday Street Scenes

  Here's what's going on in my neighborhood.

Festive markets popping up everywhere. 

Panetone in every window.

A skating rink in our piazza.

Nativity Scenes made of cheese and macaroni.

What's going on in your neighborhood?

Choose Who You Sit With On Your Next Flight Using Facebook, What?!

  It's called Social Seating. Don't want to sit next to a 6 year old? Looking for that single serving friend? Both Malaysia Airlines and Royal Dutch Airlines have just launched MHbuddy, in which users can check in via Facebook and select their seats. During seat selection, they are able to view the seats of other passangers on the same flight. Fun on paper? Yes! A creepy stalker situation waiting to happen? Also yes.

CNN article found here.

Door Series #55

Only in Italy

  Only in Italy does your religious preference and your football (soccer) preference go hand in hand.

Del Pino Restaurant, Santa Margherita, Liguria.

It's Begining to Look a lot Like Natale

  This year the city of Torino has decided to decorate Piazza Castello with a giant advent calendar and a life size Nativity Scene. The art is fun and the scale of it all is so festive! Also, the windows of the bakerys are full of chef's showing off their creativity. As cold as it is, there is just too much going on in the city to stay inside!

Best Market of the Year

 Today is a holiday in Italy, Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, so I did what any good American does on a holiday and that's to go shopping. One of the best markets all year took place today. It's so big that they have to hold it at the old FIAT factory. I found some great stuff and so did my shopping partner (Thanks again for the ride home Jenn!).

Shout-out to Paola and Alessandra who always tell me where the best market are!

City of Christmas Lights

  One of the best parts about Christmas is that every city does their own special thing. Torino takes it to the artists. Starting at the end of November, light installations go up on the main streets of the city, each designed by a different artist. Suddenly walking the city at night becomes festive, romantic, memorable.

These are 2 of my favorites but you can see all of the lights on the official web page here. What is your city doing? I'd love to know.

Putting Up the Christmas Tree

I decorated the Christmas tree today and my dog took her rightful place. Too cute.

Torino Film Festival

  The Torino Film Festival has been taking over the city this week. Opening night took place at the theatre in front of my house so I watched the stars arrive in the cars and the paparazzi snap shots, all from my window in my pajamas.

See what I was watching from my window here:

Spread the Love

  It was a free hug weekend in Piazza Castello. Call me greedy but I took 2.

FIAT Ad Banned in the US

  Is this ad too sexy? It's showing in Italy but has been banned in the US and Australia. What do you think?

KCC's Best Video Yet

Note the Italian guys want to be called "the best"! Typical.

Vintage Italian Booze Ads

...to put you in the party mood for the holiday! (all found in my vintage La Cucina Italiana magazine collection).

Eat Here: Eataly Cafe Via LaGrange

  Luckily I have a friend with inside knowledge that the new small satellite Eataly Store/Cafe/ Restaurant (compared to the 3 story mega-store in Lingotto), is the new hip place to eat. Also lucky, it's just around the corner from my house.

The new Eataly on Via LaGrange in Torino has an atmosphere of a vintage diner mixed with a new breed of organic restaurant. The whole front of the cafe is glass and with the kitchen in the front, from the street you could watch the chefs cook pasta all day.

Long tall tables with barstools greet you once inside that encourage you to sit closely to strangers mostly because you have no other choice. Once you settled in next to your new best friends, a waiter will come over and take your order. The menu is short and changes everyday according to the chef's specials. A pasta of the day, a salad of the day, or a cheese and salami plate of the day and an organic beer or wine to drink.

Everything was fresh and delicious. Simple, not complicated. The cafe is also a grocery store. Once you have finished eating, you can pick up your fresh pasta, wine, some produce, and baking goods. And that's not all. They are also a gelatoria with several combinations of toppings to make a sundae. With ALL of that under one roof I wondered how they were going to pack so much stuff into such a small space... but somehow they make it work.

Flavor of the Month

  The flavor of the month of November at Grom is a good one. Merengue flavor base with lots of chunks of marron glacè (candied chestnuts). Brovo Grom and may I say, YUM.

If you are not full aquainted with these ingredients then let me show you.
This:

Plus this:

A great fall flavor, don't you think?

Door Series # 54