Easter Eggs With A Surprise | By: Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

29 Mar 2013 8 Comments

by Valentina Author in Culinary Items, Easter Decorations, Holiday Decorations, Italian Food, Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

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It wasn’t too long ago when my father brought home every year a huge, decadent dark chocolate Easter egg for my brothers and me, at least it seems not that long. Sometimes he won the egg with a raffle at his office, but often he bought it at the pastry shop. Italian pastry shops, café and delicatessen stores beautifully display Easter eggs wrapped in cheerfully colored cellophane and contrasting colored aluminum foil. Chocolatiers free their imagination when making Easter eggs in all shapes and sizes, some are even human size and all conceal a surprise. The expensive tall and large chocolate eggs conceal something valuable even gold or silver items from jewelry to knickknacks. The gift inside each chocolate egg is a reminder that the egg is a symbol of rebirth, fertility, the renewing of nature in the spring coming out from under the snow or cold weather and in the Christian world it also symbolizes the resurrection of Christ.

The modern custom of decorating Easter eggs has roots in ancient Egypt, Greece, Persia and even China. Vernal Equinox or else called Spring Equinox marks the Sun crossing directly over the Earth’s equator in the Northern Hemisphere. For thousands of years this event marked the beginning of a new year, thus it was celebrated with gifts of colored eggs and with a variety of rituals to welcome spring.

Painted With Rubber Bands

Colors have a meaning in every culture and every custom, even in decorated Easter eggs, their brilliant mixed colors in general symbolize Spring and the light of Sun, but some specific colors have a deeper meaning or carry a particular message.
Red symbolizes Christ’s blood. The legend says that Mary Magdalene made a joyful announcement to the apostles when she discovered that Christ’s tomb was empty. Incredulous Peter challenged her by saying that he would believe the news if the eggs she carried in the basket would turn red colors. So it happened.
Red eggs are very popular in Greece, while green eggs are popular in Germany and Austria. In the Eastern Europe people prefer eggs decorated with geometric designs in blue and white or red and white; in Armenia often eggs are decorated with religious effigies of Madonna and Christ and in America I see every colors, every designs and everything in between.

I do not remember not having placed at least one Fabergé egg in each of my client’s house. They are highly valuable and lend themselves well to any décor, just as the first platinum Fabergé egg decorated Tzarina Maria’s quarters at her palace, an exquisite gift Tzar Alexander commissioned just for her. Her platinum egg had a surprise in it too. Inside the platinum egg there was a golden egg, which in turn inside contained a chick and a miniature of her imperial crown.

Fabergé_Eggs

Last year I was in Germany around this time and saw this amazing tree Mr. Volker arranges in his front yard every year with over 10,000 papier mâché eggs, while in Berlin giant Easter eggs were on display in the street. One really feels the arrival of spring and the rebirth of the spirit!

MrVolker

Germany Prepares For Easter

Ancient Romans said: “omne vivum ex ovo” – all the living beings originated from the egg, but does anyone know the relation between Easter and bunnies? Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com
http://valentinadesigns.wordpress.com

Copyright © 2013 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Val Working2Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior since 1990, specializing in kitchen, bath, wine cellar, and outdoor kitchen designs. Often people describe her as “the colorist” as she loves to color her clients’ world and loves to create the unusual. “Vogue” magazine and many prominent publications in California featured Valentina’s work. She also has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15. Author of three published books, the latest RED – A Voyage Into Colors is on the subject of colors.
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9
Barnes&Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/valentina-cirasola

In Company Of Port | By: Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

18 Dec 2012 Leave a Comment

by Valentina Author in Culinary Items, Dinner Table Design, Holiday Decorations Tags: , , , ,

Don’t you love this month of parties, celebrations, tasting unusual food and fun drinks? I love it and the people who know me, also know I don’t need an excuse to eat and drink. Life is for living, not deprivations. After dinner drinks seems to be one of my favorite part of a dinner. Especially in this cold time of the year ending a dinner with a port warms up the hands and revives the soul.

Port Sippers

Port aged in oak barrels is a kind of sweet wine, with lot of body and high alcohol content.
Port originated in Oporto, Portugal is a fortified wine made from grapes grown in the Douro valley. Portuguese law allows only this wine to be called Port, just like the French keep strict laws on Champagne and Cognac producers, or Italians are very protective of their Grappa, Parmigiano and many products that took years to perfect.

The new age of Port now includes a dry white specialty and the medium body Port, both can be served before dinner as an apéritif and chilled. The Vintage Port in my opinion is the best. It takes anywhere from ten to twenty years to be ready for drinking. It is intensely fruity, rich of alcohol and contains a lot of deposits, therefore it needs to be decanted before drinking. It goes well with cheeses and nuts at the end of dinner, as all European style dinners end with cheeses, I find it perfect with blue cheeses. Chocolate desserts with berries, or dark chocolates with coarse salt on top are just luscious.

After a bottle of Port has been opened and how is kept will determine the good status, spoilage or the shelf life of the elixir. The most temperamental is the Vintage Port, it only lasts a couple of days after the opening of the bottle. So, drink up with friends and empty the bottle at once!

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Know the rule of serving Port and you will look tall like a connoisseur. The host will first pour Port in the glass of his/her guest sitting on the right, then will pass the bottle to the guest on the left, who will pour its own and pass the bottle to the next guest down and around the table up until it reaches again the guest on the right of the host. The pleasure of holding a  Port sipper glass is immense and I love it (top photo), but simple tumblers or regular wine glasses will work well. 21eq92WjIPL

The English writer of novels and travel books once said: “Port is not for the very young, the vain and the active. It is the comfort of age and the companion of the scholar and the philosopher.

A clipping from The Times of London, circa 1798: “To which University, said a woman to the late sagacious Dr. Warren, shall I send my son? Madam, replied he, I believe, near the same quantity of Port in each of them.”

Port is for fine palates, getting a hangover from it will lower that person a few steps. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.Valentinadesigns.com
http://valentinadesigns.wordpress.com

Copyright © 2012 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

ValentinaXmas
Valentina Cirasola has been a lifetime designer in fashion and interiors. Her extensive knowledge of colors and materials led her in both directions successfully. Vogue Italy featured her as the guru of staging a home in the theatrical way. Among designing and remodeling homes, designing custom-made furniture and writing books, Valentina is now teaching etiquette, table manners, table setting and life style.

Check out her latest books Red-A Voyage Into Colors on the subject of colors, available on
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9
Barnes&Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/valentina-cirasola

Golden Secret Of Exotic Pineapple | By: Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

04 Dec 2012 Leave a Comment

by Valentina Author in Holiday Decorations, Holiday Food, Italian Culture Tags: , , , ,

Pineapple SlicesGrocery stores fill up on pineapples, this sweet fruit, mostly in December, as it is very much associated with Christmas holiday’s food, but knowing the good properties of pineapple we should be eating it all year around.
Pineapple is a good aid for digestion. Bromelain is a particular substance or an enzyme that breaks down proteins reducing them to amino acids and thus promoting their elimination. Bromelain is also used as a meat tenderizer.
Where in the pineapple is bromelain, this good property, located? Right in the center of fruit, just that part we always discard.

Numerous are the beneficial influences of a pineapple. The fruit purifies and detoxifies, thus functions as a diuretic. It prevents cellulite and for those who need to release a few pounds, would not hurt to eat pineapples only a couple of days a week, skipping other food. This practice prevents the accumulation of fat, deflates the stomach and allows losing pounds quickly without damaging the health. Do not overdo, one or twice a week is more than sufficient.

Indio GuaranoThe Guarani Indio, ethnic indigenous of the Americas from Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and the south-central part of Brazil, called pineapple “Ananas” in their language. In my Italian language and most European languages it is called the same. I am sure when Christopher Columbus came to the new world, found the Ananas an irresistible fruit to leave behind, thus filled up his ships and took it back to Renaissance Europe, devoid of any kind of sweets, including fruit.

As a symbol of prosperity, success in work/business and as the family social status it is often found in kitchen decorations, plates and carvings; as a symbol of hospitality is often found as a carving on entry doors and bedrooms’ bedposts or headboard. In Europe, at the end of a dinner, fresh pineapple is served as a dessert, but what else can we do with this exotic fruit?

In my book: Sins Of A Queen, http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9 , I have included one recipe of grilled chicken and grilled pineapple triangles served together in half pineapple shell, where the one half shell per person is the plate. Fun and delicious!

On my Pinterest board I find inspirations from other pinners. This really was a good one.  A look-alike pineapple with a creamy spreadable cheese. pineapple-cream-cheese-spreadI served mine with a small variation:
on a large marble tile, I placed a mountain of cream cheese (any of your liking) covered with toasted almonds, surrounded with steamed and marinated broccoli in a simple oil and lemon citronette, accompanied with warm crostini.

I found another solution: a fun way to decorate the center table with a pineapple turned into a lantern. Dry the interior of the shell completed before adding a candle, just for your own safety.

Pineapple Lantern

Fruit is really good grilled, poached, fresh, baked, or drunken in any type of alcohol. Get into the habit of serving it as dessert or appetizer. Ciao,
Valentina
 http://www.Valentinadesigns.com 

http://valentinadesigns.wordpress.com

Copyright © 2012 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

ValentinaXmas

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens, cooking and extensive knowledge of food. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn unattractive spaces into castles, but especially loves to design kitchens and wine grottos, outdoor kitchens and outdoor rooms, great rooms and entertainment rooms. 
Check out her three books on

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/9agl5v9
Barnes&Nobles: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/valentina-cirasola

Happy Birthday America | By: Valentina Author and Designer

04 Jul 2012 Leave a Comment

by Valentina Author in Culinary Items, Design, Holiday Decorations, Holiday Food, Kitchen Design Tags: , , ,

Every year celebrating this historic birthday event is my way of showing my gratitude to this country, which adopted me so kindly a few moons ago. I came as tourist and ended up staying for work, leaving behind family, friends and my roots. I must admit it hasn’t always been easy, but I worked hard and took all the opportunities offered to me. One of my business coaches once said that when people walk on gold, it becomes pavement and they don’t see it anymore. He referred to the local people who often don’t see the beauty, the generosity, the abundance and the open doors this country offers, because they have been used to have it all and at their convenience, whereas emigrants coming from hardship and difficult lives somewhere else in the world, do see opportunities in this country with a different eyes and embrace them with open heart. They do what it takes to succeed and I am one of them. I have a beautiful design business, very nice clients and my books soon to be three on the market are doing well.

Today, I deserve to celebrate my hard work with good food and good friends. I made roasted zucchini, simply sliced and flavored with a mixture of olive oil, mint, garlic, a very small amount of sharp cheese and breadcrumbs. Salt & pepper to taste and in the oven for about 20 minutes. This simple dish can be prepared in advance and served at room temperature. I don’t ever serve food cold, unless is an ice cream, a cake that needs to be refrigerated or a chilled wine. Food kept in the refrigerator for a long time change the molecular structure and the taste suffers a little.

My pièce de resistance is the apricot salsa with grilled salmon. I have three apricot threes overloaded with fruit I can’t even eat. Every year, I make a large amount of apricot marmalade, pies and tartlets to store for the winter, I eat apricots even when I sleep, give a lot away, the wild birds visiting my garden eat them too and still have so much left falling on the ground. This time I tried my apricot salsa version to pair with grilled salmon caught wild around the coast of Alaska. I must say I well succeeded.


Apricot Salsa

All the measurements are to your liking, but if you like one ingredient to come forward, use more of it.

Apricots diced small
Jalapeño pepper diced
Garlic and ginger minced
A hand full of basil leaves
Spring onions
Lemon juice
Extra-virgin olive oil
Add salt to taste and a small pinch of sugar.

Mix well and let it macerate until the salmon is ready.

So many good food and various ideas are showing up on my Pinterest boards. I will make a patriotic Sangria according to punchbowl.com recipe.

Sangria
Strawberries, sliced
Blueberries
Pineapple, cut into star shapes
2 bottles dry white wine
1 cup Triple Sec
1/2 Cup berry-flavored vodka
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup simple syrup

Combine the ingredients in a large pitcher and stir. Chill in the refrigerator for at least four hours. My way will be only with dry white wine, no other type of alcohol.

I don’t know what my friends are bringing, I am sure it will be a tasty surprise.
Celebrate beautiful America and have a very Happy 4th of July. Thank you America for all you have made possible for me. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com  

http://pinterest.com/vcvalentina/

Copyright © 2012 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Robert Taitano, a Valentina’s friend and business associate says: “Valentina – an International Professional Interior Designer is now giving you an opportunity to redesign your palate”.
Check out her books in this site on the Books page and on Amazon:   http://tiny.cc/pkoo0

An Italian Sunday | By: Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

27 May 2012 2 Comments

by Valentina Author in Holiday Decorations, Italian Culture, Italian Life Style Tags: , , , ,

In Italy not all Sundays are created equally. People dedicate Sundays to family lunches and the rest of the day is for leisure and social activities.
Meals are women’s best show on Sundays, they get up early in the morning, before everybody else to cook for the family and make sure everyone is treated properly from appetizers to desserts, from the smallest kid to the oldest person.  

This past Sunday was a different celebration. 
I am in Italy now, participating to my niece’s First Communion event. This is truly a treat, a day to remember and the first important mile stone in a Catholic person’s life. It happens every year in May. Boys and girls in elemenary school will go through a couple of years of religious school to learn how to become good Christians and get prepared for the big event of the First Communion. Some churches go as far as organizing spiritual retreats for the kids.
A wide range of businesses related to the First Communion affair are busy for the entire month of May preparing every details from cakes and sweets, to party favors. Restaurants, photographers, hair dressers, tailors and seamestresses work together to assure the event is successful,  parents and guests are happy and have something to remember. Jewelry stores are also very happy in the month of May, as the gold gifts for the First Communion are a must.

My niece was prepared as a bride for the altar. The day before,  all the women of the house including the First Communion girl got electrified with trying on dresses, shoes and jewelery, hairdresser appointments and making sure all the party favors were ready to go.  At night, nobody wanted to go to sleep, we didn’t really know where to put our heads made up so beautifully to keep them preserved  until the next day. And the next day was really special for the kids and the adults! Confetti and photographs greeted the little girl coming down from the stairs of her home, my niece, a 10 years old was dressed in white from head to toes. Her father was the only person allowed to accompany her to the church as her excort, the rest of us followed  later. The church isle was also made up with white flowers to celebrate all the 10 years old kids entering the Catholic World as faithful Christians while cheerful music filled the air.

What really intrigued me was the elegance of the Italian people dressed to honor their kids first mile stone of life. I am Italian and I should be used to see well-dressed people, but somehow I still manage to get surprised  when I see Italians young and old attending some functions. There was nothing out-of-place in their dressing up, not even a hair. Colors and proportions are always well-balanced. Of course, everything was “all’ultimo grido” of the latest fashion.  

The manners of Italian people at some formal affair are so affected and polite, but not disgustingly stuffed. I love to observe some youngsters giving up their seats to older people and helping them in getting up and down to follow the religious function. Certain things in my culture are still well-planted and are excellent foundations for generation to come.

The church of Maria Maddalena built in 1969 is an extravagant architecture considered very avant-guard for that era. A cement pagoda style, almost resembling a Japanese house was not well-accepted by the followers and much criticized by the public and the press. That church so many years later has seen a few funerals, weddings, births and joyous events in my family and in my friends’ families. To see Don Filippo again, the priest manager of that church, grey and older and remembering him young, with dark hair and just out of college, made me realize how much time has passed by and how deep my roots are in this land of Italy.

Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an author and a designer, writing about and observing Italian culture and style. Check out her books available on this site in the Books section and on Amazon.com.

On Time For Valentine’s Day | By: Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

15 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment

by Valentina Author in Culinary Items, Holiday Decorations, Kitchen Design Tags: , , ,

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone.

A celebration of heat and passion, Valentine’s day, comes in February one of the coldest month of the year.  For some people there will not be anybody to cuddle with. I agree with some of them who think expectation and pressure to perform well is high on this day. They should take advice from Didi Lorrilard of Modern Manners and Etiquette who suggests celebrating Leap Year in alternative to Valentine’s Day. It would be so easy for the unattached people to shift their attention from Valentine’s Day to an unusual celebration that comes only every four years.

I remember one year I gathered all my nice single people and celebrated entering into Lent time. After that event, some of them got married, some are still living together and in the meantime ten years have gone by. Did I want to be a match maker? No, but my choice of friends was so selected that I slipped right into that role.
So far I have read about Valentine’s day in “all sauces and soups” sort of speaking, from table settings, to bedroom romance.

Here it is something simple, healthy, fast and easy, good for Valentine’s Day or any other celebration. It will take me less than an hour and it will be perfect.

Olive Oil Roasted Almonds
This is a nice complement  to a cheese variety.
Place the almonds in a baking pan. Grate the peel of an orange.
Add  a couple of spoons of extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt to your liking and coat the almonds well.
Bake at 350˚ F. for about 10-12 minutes. Serve in a nice bowl.
Almond can also be savory, roasted with rosemary and garlic, or herbs de Provence and they can be made sweet with brown sugar, or honey.

Grape Covered in Chocolate
For a spin on a classic romantic strawberries covered in chocolate.
Wash and pat dry seedless grape.
In a saucepan combine  4 oz. of milk 2 tablespoon of butter and 4 oz. of dark semi-sweet chocolate.
Stir over low heat until chocolate is melted completely.
Dip each grape in the chocolate holding it by the stem.

Sit them on a cooling rack. Chill in the refrigerator  for 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm.
Use the same chocolate to cover Jalapeño (photo at the top). Serve them together with the grape to get the sweet and the spicy hot, I guarantee you will add some extra heat to your romance.

These products are also available at Guiltaste.com. (photos from Guiltaste)
I wanted to order from them, but didn’t make it this past week. As easy as they are, I produce them myself in my kitchen, as I said in an hour time or less.
I will present to my friends a simple bites,  some small tartletts with wild mushrooms, stuffed mussels
(from my book http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen) and some extavagant cheeses.

I have just enough time to get the prosecco, the table and myself ready for some friends to come over.

I hope you will have wonderful time celebrating the day of love, but please don’t wait for Valentine’s Day to express your love to someone. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2012 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking.
She especially loves to design all those rooms with a “make me feel good” tag attached, such as kitchens and wine grottos, outdoor kitchens and outdoor rooms, great rooms and entertainment rooms.
She is a public speaker and a mentor. She is also the author of two Italian regional cuisine books, available here in this site on the Books page, on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and in various locations.
http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnq8baaAq0M

http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

Getting Ready For Carnevale | By: Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

16 Jan 2012 4 Comments

by Valentina Author in Culinary Items, Design, Holiday Decorations, Italian Culture, Italian Food Tags: , , , , , ,


Carnevale is a special winter celebration that happens forty days before Easter and ends with Mardi Gras. The day after Ash Wednesday is time for repentance for the week or two of festivities with fat food, gluttony, dances, at times debauchery and divertissements of various natures. In some parts of the world like Rio de Janeiro, New Orléans and Italy people work all year round in making elaborate costumes they will wear on Mardi Gras, as Carnevale is a giant party for children and adults. Everybody must wear a mask to hide behind it and be mischievous. The theory behind the mask is that whatever is done under the mask covering the face is not valid and it doesn’t count.

Viareggio in Tuscany, Putignano in Puglia, Rome, beautiful Amalfi on the Italian Tyrrhenian coast and various other cities in Italy organize large parades with huge floats representing political people and notables of the country, actors and actresses, soccer players and social climbers, all being mocked and ridiculed in their roles. Venice is the most sought after Carnevale celebration of the entire Italian peninsula. The atmosphere is ethereal, the city becomes more magic than usual, private parties resonate from every balcony and public parties in the piazza are like Goldoni’s comedy in the XVII century costumes. The roles are not defined but it seems everybody in the street know the script and play the parts well. Venice is full of legends and real stories, every corner can tell an original one.

Carnevale is time for fatty food and simple pastries. Depending on the Italian region some of the specialties are frittelle, chiacchiere, cenci, cicerchiata and frappe. It’s OK to eat fried food once a year and these sweets are all fried. Today nobody eats food cook or fried in lard, but a long time ago the original recipes called a good home cured lard.

To keep fried food light and healthy you can either choose to fry with peanut oil that can stand the high temperature or use an Italian fryer equipped with charcoal filter. Food fried this way will take a short time in the oil, will turn out crispy, tender and not greasy. I own one of those Italian frying devices; the house doesn’t even smell like fried food and everything that comes out of there is a real treat.

Other types of fatty food might be the “Casatiello” from Naples, a type of bread stuffed with salami, prosciutto, cheeses and boiled eggs. “Calzone” from Puglia, a type of thin-layered pizza stuffed with grilled leaks, anchovies, sausages and olives. Arancini, rice balls stuffed with mozzarella, prosciutto e peas; Croquettes, potatoes balls stuffed same as the arancini; Pasta Frittata also stuffed with a variety of meats. The variety of  Frittata are countless and endless. Porchetta, an entire pig roasted over an open spit fire is the delight of Carnevale, just everybody will prepare one.

Food connoisseurs will not buy a few slices of cold cuts every time they need to make sandwiches, too expensive. To save money, they instead will buy an entire leg of prosciutto and use the D’Artagnan, a ham-carving stand to cut the prosciutto very thin and make it last a very long time. During Carnevale time the D’Artagnan gets a lot of usage.

Both of my books offer many colorful opportunities to try these types of food, except that my food is well thought out for today’s modern need to stay healthy, for enjoyment and not for fattening you up.

This year Carnevale 2012 runs from February 11th to the 21st. The day after, Ash Wednesday, in preparation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter, some people will go on Lent practice for forty days. This means something must be eliminated from the daily nourishment, or if this is not possible for health reasons, some good deeds towards others, the community, or the society is well accepted.

Now you have a month to prepare, to find or sew your costume and once you have it, post it on my blog, we can have a contest.

I am delighted to bring you novelties in food and home décor from my Italian culture. Should you need any help, do not hesitate to leave your name in the box below. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2012 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Robert Taitano, a friend and business associate says: “Valentina – an International Professional Interior Designer is now giving you an opportunity to redesign your palate”.
Valentina the author of RED-A Voyage Into Colors, the forthcoming design book on the subject of colors, due to be released soon.
She is also the author of two published regional Italian cuisine books:

http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnq8baaAq0M

http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

Waiting For New Year | By: Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

02 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment

by Valentina Author in Design, Holiday Decorations, Italian Culture, Italian-Table-Customs Tags: , , , ,

One of the pleasures of entertaining family or friends is the setting of the table process. Food of course should be the focus of the table. A well-decorated table with poorly prepared food does very little for the spirit and I would say for the stomach too.
Once I was asked to describe bad food and my answer was “food haphazardly scrambled together but presented well”.

Having a theme in mind is one of the important elements when styling a table. Creating light, dark, shadow and silhouettes are super ways to illuminate the space around the dining table.  Repeat the same trick on the table with the decorations.

If a chandelier is over the table and candles on the table, you might want to create an ambience by turning the chandelier on dimmer and let the candles cast a warm shadow.
Recessed down lighting over the dining table is a bit tricky. If a down lighting is not placed properly, all the people sitting at the dining table will have a dark shadow under the eyes and everyone will look a bit more aged than they really are.

Inside of a theme, select the season, texture and the colors you want to assemble. The solutions are endless as you can imagine. You have the choice of keeping every thing in the same coloration or texture, which gives the table a calming effect. You also have the choice of making a creative or funky arrangement.

Let’s take a few colors as samples.
If you want to create a tablescape with the sea in mind, the underwater world includes all the blues from the darkest ocean to blue sky but also includes all the blue-green tonalities of the underwater garden vegetation.
For a nature inspired table setting, the green beauties will include all the variation of foliage colors to olive greens.
A fall arrangement will have a riot of colors to choose from. You can select the reds with an undertone of orange and pink; the oranges that lean towards pink, the purples with a red base, or you can mix browns bleeding into shades of grays.
If the colors of natural gems inspire you, add some metal texture to the tablescape. Gems and metals are both two elements formed in nature; they combine well with the drinking glasses and fabric cloth, two other kinds of texture.

Tablecloth and napkins must not be necessarily of the same set and colors.  Actually if they don’t match is even better, will make the table an interesting canvas to look at.

In my arrangement of the end of the year I did not want the usual red cloth most people use for festivities. Instead, I chose to use dark colors on the table illuminated by metal candle lanterns to emulate the dark winter night, the light of the stars over buildings and the new spiritual light that will infuse the night turning into a new year.

The year 2012 has been described as the year of the Aquarius, not as the ‘60s movies, but as a very spiritual year, a new era of rebirth and enlightenment. Colors will take inspirations from nature, but the exciting part is that we can create a mysterious combination with the undertone of each color and use it in a new way to set the mood, or create high contrast never done before.

This year let me help you projecting your personal image, your home image, or your party tables into new modern, graphic colors that will speak about you and your personality. The current millennium loves colors! Happy New Year, make it great, make it fun. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2012 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer and former Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe since 1990. She blends well fashion with interior and colors the world of her clients. She has been described as “the colorist” and loves to create the unusual.
She is the author of  RED the forthcoming book on the subject of colors. She is also a published author of two Italian regional cuisine books available here on this site on the Books page and in various other locations.  

http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

Christmas Markets Under The Stars | By: Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

08 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment

by Valentina Author in Culinary Items, Holiday Decorations, Italian Culture, Italian Food, Italian Life Style Tags: , , , , ,

Today December 8th the Catholic world celebrates the Virgin Mary Immaculate Conception marking the official opening of the Christmas holidays. The Catholic dogma believes the name Immaculate (pure, the purest of the angels, innocent) was given to Mary when the angels announced to her that she to had been chosen to become the mother of Jesus through the Holy Spirit without any human contact. Up to that moment, Mary lived a life without any original sin, nor mortal or venial sins, thus she had that special privilege to become the mother of Jesus.
The celebration of Mary Immaculate Conception was introduced in the Roman calendar in 1476  and since then Christmas holidays start with this celebration in anticipation of the birth of Jesus. On this day Catholics are expected to fasten for the entire day until the evening. Around 7:00 pm they can sit down and have a really scrumptious meal with different kinds of meats, panzerotti, some stuffed pasta like tortellini or ravioli, fried or cooked vegetables, but mostly rich filling food, good wines and typical Christmas sweets.

On this day, most of all the cities in Italy and Catholic Europe will have an area of the city designated to Christmas street markets. The market will be open for business all day and all night until midnight or 1:00 am, every day until Christmas Eve and in some cities the market will reopen after the first of January for a few days until the Epiphany. Giving Christmas gift to kids is a fairly new custom. Up until twenty years ago, more or less, kids received their gifts the night of Epiphany, January sixth. For Christmas they would get some new clothes and special home-made sweets. The adults celebrated with special food, special wines consumed with family and friends. Christmas was for kids only.

I have included a video of Bolzano’s Christmas market. It’s a bit lengthy, but it will give the idea of what we do in Europe.
http://www.bolzano-bozen.it/mercatino/video_completo-i.htm

At the street markets, especially at night with all the flickering lights, the atmosphere is very Christmassy and sweet. It is December after all, the air is fizzy and cold, perfect for hot cocoa or warm brandy. Women are bundled up in fur coats and boots, kids are wrapped in woolly scarves, hats and heavy clothes looking like petit Michelin men. Some vendors’ kiosks are filled with curious arts and craft, some have specialties food and some sell Christmas delicacy or sweets. There are music and street musicians playing their favorite instrument, but what will catch your eyes is the willingness of people to leave computers and TV’s at home and come out in the streets to enjoy the evening with their kids, kids’ friends, families, to  meet people they have never seen before and to shop at small artisans, where they can find unique gifts. I also noticed the gentleness of people in this time of the year. It is kind of puzzling to me why some people are only nice at Christmas time.

Here in the States, I have seen and experienced many different kinds of Christmas celebrations, but I have never seen a nighttime Christmas market. The closest I got to this idea last week was the market organized in the courtyard of the International German School in my area. I was the only author in a kiosk with books for sale, all others kiosks displayed hand-made art and craft items, jewelry, pottery, ceramics and German food. It was an enjoyable evening, despite of the cold wing and my frozen feet. Kids gathered on stage to sing so graciously Christmas carols in German language, the adults instead played modern rock and roll music.

Both of my books sold well that evening, my easy and healthy recipes from Puglia, my home land of Italy, will delight people’s tables this holiday season and will make a nice addition to their Christmas specialties. Both books are available here in this site on the Books page and on Amazon.
Just in case you are in a bind and need my help in decorating your holiday table, just leave your name in the box, I will answer in 24 hours time and I will be delighted to help you. Ciao,
Valentina

www.Valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2011 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She especially loves to design all those rooms with a “make me feel good” tag attached, such as kitchens and wine grottos, outdoor kitchens and outdoor rooms, great rooms and entertainment rooms. She is a public speaker and a mentor. She is also the author of two Italian regional cuisine books and she the author of the forthcoming book RED on the subject of Colors, due to be published very soon. 

http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnq8baaAq0M

http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

Nature On The Table | By: Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

18 Nov 2011 2 Comments

by Valentina Author in Culinary Items, Design, Holiday Decorations, Italian Culture, Italian Food, Kitchen Design, Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

Jewel tone colors characterize the autumn months along with the bounty of earthy food. This year on my holiday table there will be truffles some friends brought me from Italy, a variety of soups and delicacy made from different squashes. I plan on making lot of risotto with wild mushrooms and prosciutto. I am in the mood for roasted chestnut and dried fruits to munch on while sitting by the fireplace reading interesting books during the holidays. Some of the dried fruit come from garden, in fact I made roasted apples vinegar to use on salads and roasted lemons for grilled or baked chicken.
My table will be colorful with ceramics I hand carried with me in the plane from Sorrento, in the South of Italy all the way across the ocean to the US.
Home-made breads will fill the air of my house. Yes, I make bread at least twice a month.

(BH&G photos)

Since I have been in the process of writing my third book on the subject  of Colors I feel like bathing in colors in all my daily expressions, not that I didn’t before, it just seems the feeling is elevated to the nth power.
This year, I will turn to nature for my Thanksgiving table decorations. It was easy to make napkin holders out of scrap fabrics and spray paint in gold a few real gourds to display on a cake stand.
Mums and pumpkins will be a novelty on anybody’s table this year, not only mine and not only for the table. To keep this arrangement fresh, use floral foam underneath the flowers, cut it in a round shape and cover it with mums. Group a few pumpkins in different shapes and size around the mums. Voila’ nature at your service inside and outside your home!
I am scattering pine cones in vases , bowls, to decorate a towel rack and even on the curtains as tie backs. Pine cones, because they are dark and woody, play well with other textures, such as ropes, glass,  or golden balls.

Nature doesn’t go wrong in combining textures, colors are always the right colors to each season. I can enjoy the decorations for a while longer past the holidays if I fancy and once I discard them back into the nature, they will dissolve again to become part of the earth once more.

This is my advice this holiday season. Stay away from artificial decorations, be respectful of the environment, support your local artists and craft people, buy local, buy handmade and give unique gifts from your heart.

We will soon transition into winter, we will see bare trees, cold, rain and snow in some parts of the world. It will be a different beauty and as usual I will have a lot to say about decorating in the winter style, along with preparing some succulent heart warming food. For now, enjoy this moment, this season in all the colors and prepare to enter the holiday season with a thankful heart.

The highlight of this year for me was meeting a 5 months old girl, the daughter of my new clients, two fine people. I am very thankful to have the opportunity to be of service to them.

If you are in a bound, or feel the stress of the holidays, relax and let me take care of your decorations for the holidays, or any organization you need to do to make your holiday event successful.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2011 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved  

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer and former Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe since 1990. She blends well fashion with interior and colors the world of her clients.
She has been described as “the colorist” and loves to create the unusual. She is also the author of two Italian regional cuisine books available in this site at the Books page and in various other locations: http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnq8baaAq0M
http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

 

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