A Loveable Corner of Liguria: The Cinque Terre

If you’ve never heard of the Cinque Terre, look it up now. Look it up as an individual area or look up each of it’s towns separately – Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Riomaggiore, Manarola and Corniglia.

Vernazza, Cinque Terre

That’s right, it’s a beautiful little area (National park, actually) on the Italian Riviera in the province of Liguria – you know, where pesto comes from – and I would almost say that the beauty of the Cinque Terre rivals that of the Amalfi Coast. Almost. The two places have completely different atmospheres though, so be sure to visit both if you can handle the sunshine and loveliness of it all.

Vernazza, Cinque Terre

Although the Cinque Terre is becoming increasingly popular with non-Italians, I’m still surprised when people haven’t heard of it. I went there for the first time 10 years ago on my very first trip to Italy. My travel-planner-extraordinnaire mom had heard travel guru Rick Steves rave about the wonders of these little harbour towns and worked a stop at the Cinque Terre into our family’s month-long trip to Italy. All I can say is, good job Mamma! It’s beautiful, it’s beautiful and it’s beautiful there. With boats and beaches, 5 quaint little car-free villages, a castle and kilometres of  treacherous wonderfully maintained hiking paths that wind their way along the coast high above the turquoise-blue waters, what more could you ask for?

Monterosso, Cinque Terre

As most places in Italy do, the Cinque Terre’s got a bit of a romantic side to it, so for the February/March issue of Panoram Italia, the magazine I’ve recently started writing for, I chose to write a travel article on a little bit of romance in the Cinque Terre.

Care to read more?

Click here: http://www.panoramitalia.com/en/travel/article/lovers-walk/1396/

Vernazza, Cinque Terre

Braving The Italian Coffee Bar

To the coffee drinkers who are thinking of traveling to Italy, this one’s for you.

Italians love their pasta, their pizza, their cheese and their vino, but it’s that dark, strong, syrupy, repulsive-to-many-non-Europeans stuff called caffè that actually runs through their veins and puts the spring in their step each morning. (Notice how it’s called plain and simple caffè and not espresso. Now notice how it’s spelled espresso, not expresso. And no, not even in English is it written or should it be said expresso. Remember that, per favore!)

I hate to break it to you, but in my experience, I’ve found “American” coffee (filter/drip coffee) to be practically non-existant in il bel paese. And you want a cup to go? Forgetaboutit! Walking and drinking coffee do not go hand in hand in Italy. In fact, the two are pretty much mutually exclusive. Standing and drinking coffee, sure, that’s standard practice. But once you set your legs in motion you’d better have already knocked back your espresso or savoured the last sip of your cappuccino because you’re committing a big cultural faux pas.

Why do you think Starbucks hasn’t yet moved into the Italian market? They’re in Japan, the UK, India even! What about France and Spain – two other coffee-loving European countries? They’ve warmly opened their places and plazas to Starbucks. Take a look here:

Canadian girl walks all over Paris in the heat searching for Frappuccino

[Ok, so I was at Starbucks in Paris, but I was there for a frosty Frappuccino, not coffee, per se]

The rest of Europe may be littered with to-go cups bearing the Starbucks logo, but Italy seems to have remained Starbucks’ final frontier. Funnily enough, Starbucks creator Howard Schulz dreamed up the concept of Starbucks while sampling coffee in the northern Italian city of Milano. Why then, doesn’t Starbucks have it’s place in the piazza? Because coffee, like food in Italy, has its own culture, its own customs and rituals, and Italians aren’t about to rock the boat on that.

Here are a few tips that will help you order a coffee in Italy:

First go to a bar or a caffetteria (not to be confused with a cafeteria, which would be a mensa) and decide which kind of coffee you’d like.

Caffè – espresso coffee. Referred to as caffè, never espresso and served in a thimble sized cup, often only half full. The coffee of Italians. Add all the zucchero (sugar) you want, but if you need some milk you’ll have to ask for…

 Caffè Macchiato or simply Macchiato – literally “stained coffee”, meaning a normal dose of caffè with two drops of milk in it to lighten it up a bit. Still served in a thimble.

Doppio - literally meaning “double”. With this one you get two standard doses of caffè, same cup.

Caffè Americano – one or two shots of caffè diluted with hot water. The largest cup of this you’re going to get is about the size of a teacup belonging to your Granny’s china set. There’s nary a coffee mug to be found under an espresso machine in Italy. My dear restaurant manager friend is always reluctant to make an Americano for me, even when I beg. “Ti fa male! It’s bad for you!” he chides as he stingily pours a few more drops of water into my teacup of espresso. So be warned, this one may mark you as a tourist, and an unhealthy one at that!

Caffè lungo – literally a “long coffee”, with just a touch of water added to the regular caffè. Still served in a thimble, but it’ll be full. Not nearly as watered-down as the Americano, and much more acceptable to Italians.

Caffè orzo – barley coffee, served the same as a regular caffè but made of, well, barley. This one is best for stomachs that can’t quite handle the strength of a regular Italian caffè.

Caffè corretto – literally “correct coffee”, which is a regular caffè with a shot of liquor in it.

Cappuccino – caffè with a “little hood” of frothed milk. For more explanation on this delightful drink, click here.

Caffèlatte –  served in a tall, usually glass glass. This is basically warm or steamed milk with a bit of caffè in it. [For all you Starbucks sippers out there, ordering a simple latte at the counter will get you a nice cold glass of milk and nothing else.]

Caffè stretto/ristretto – literally “tightened coffee”, it’s got even less water than your regular shot, further reinforcing the taste.

Caffè shakerato - If James Bond drank coffee, this would be his drink. The shakerato coffee is a regular caffè shaken with ice, using a martini shaker until slightly frothy, served often in a martini glass. Beautiful on those hot Italian summer afternoons.

Decaffinato – decaf.

Zucchero – sugar.

Dolcificante – sweetener.

Zucchero di canna - cane sugar or brown sugar.

Although it may seem strange to some, some Italians prefer to drink their coffee freddo (cold) and either leave it out to cool or put it in the fridge. You may also be asked at times if you’d like latte freddo (cold milk) or latte caldo (warm milk) to accompany your coffee, if you’ve asked for milk in the first place.

Also, even if you don’t speak Italian fluently, always remember to try to be polite when ordering coffee, or anything, for that matter. As you see in the picture below, a “per favore” and a “buongiorno” are not only nice, but they also help to stretch your hard-earned Euros:

Taken from: http://vi.sualize.us/un_caffe_per_favore_life_is_good_picture_AEBm.html

Buon caffè!

Tantalizing Tapas

¡Hola readers!

In my last post oh-so-many weeks ago, I included a rough outline of the places I’d be visiting in Spain and Italy on my summer holiday.  Now I’m back, and my travels most certainly did not disappoint! The Frazzled Chef is also an enthusiastic eater, so I have a funny feeling that much of my reporting on Spain will have to do with what I ate and drank. And there’s nothing wrong with that, right?

Obviously you saw the title of this post. So what the heck are tapas, you ask, and why do I think they’re so tantalizing? Tapas are small portions of food that, when many of them are ordered, make a great lunch, dinner or snack. Apparently the word “tapas” comes from the Spanish verb “tapar“, which means “to cover“. (The language-lover in me guessed that little linguistic tidbit before anyone ever confirmed it for me. Turns out, I was right!) Back in the day, pubs and taverns used to serve their goblets of wine with slices of cured meat on top to keep pesky insects from swimming around in your drink. Thus, the custom of serving these small portions of food with drinks was born. The idea is slightly akin to the Italian Aperitivo, but the two should be in no way confused.

Spain’s capital was where I had my first brush with tapas, and taking a 14-euro Sandeman’s New Europe Tapas Experience tour in Madrid was certainly the way to go. Our guide Erik was young, knowledgeable and engaging. He lead us to some very unique tapas bars, and made many welcome suggestions as to what to eat and drink at each place. My big culinary adventure of the evening? I indulged in a plate of – wait for it!- pig’s ears. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, yours truly chowed down on a plate the cartilagious (my amalgamation of cartilage + delicious) Spanish delicacy and has lived to tell about it.

Pig’s Ears and Tomato Sauce – Orejas

And you know, the things were actually kinda good! Below is proof for all you sceptics that I actually did eat them:

Indulging in some pig’s ear tapas in Madrid.

Of course, drinks go hand in hand with tapas, because as we learned before, if it weren’t for drinks that needed protecting, the tapas tradition might not exist.

At the first tapas bar we visited, Erik suggested we all grab glasses of Tinto de Verano Limon. Translation? A refreshing concoction of  red wine and lemon soda goodness. The stuff goes down dangerously easily and quickly became our (my friend Jordan’s and my) go-to Spanish summer drink. At approximately 9-10 euros per litre at the places we ate, it’s also pretty affordable in the grand scheme of things.

Tinto de Verano

What are some other tapas I tried in Spain? Jamon Iberico (Iberian ham), Cod Croquettes (fried cod balls), Razor Clams, Patatas Bravas (roasted/fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce), Chorizo (sausage) with oil, and Spanish Omelette (omelette with potatoes), to name a few. I would definitely recommend experimenting with tapas and taking a tapas tour to anyone who is planning to visit Spain. But diners beware! A problem that we often had with eating tapas was judging how many we would actually need to fill our travel-weary stomachs. We’d guess 3 or 4 and budget accordingly, while the reality was that we actually needed up ordering 5 or 6!

As a side note, Jamon Iberico, it seems, is Spain’s national meat. Forget chicken or beef, Jamon is what you’re going to get. The stuff is everywhere, and it’s delicious:

A little ham, anyone?

Don’t forget to check back soon for more posts on my travels to Spain!