The Good Life | Valentina Expressions

An Italian Sunday | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

27 May 2012 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #CatholicCeremony, #CatholicHolidays, #ItalianCustoms, #ItalianFirstCommunion, #ItalianFood, #ItalianLifeStyle

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 elementary 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 seamstresses 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 jewelry, 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 escort, 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: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Lambascioni Or Muscari, What Are They? | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

30 Apr 2012 6 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ComeMiaNonnaReturnToSimplicity, #GardenForTheKitchen, #MediterraneanDiet, #PlantingLambascioni, #PlantingVegetables, #PugliaFood, Lambascioni, Muscari

Some call them wild hyacinth bulbs, some call them wild onions, in Puglia we call them Lambascioni, the dialect form of the Italian word Muscari. Puglia, the southern region of the Italian boot is full of ancient food the rest of Italy doesn’t produce.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Muscari is a bulb that grows to ft. in. tall. The edible part is the bulb, the flowers (hermaphrodite) both masculine and feminine are self-fertile, they fall in the ground a self-reproduce. Insects also pollinate them and transport the seeds elsewhere. Some people might get them through pollination, but not knowing they are edible, they let them go unobserved.

People in the food business discovered Muscari or Lambascioni and now enumerate them among all the food delicacy, but I can assure you, it was the poor of the poorest food our agricultural people in Puglia ate for centuries.
If we think about it, poor people in the past were healthier than the rich, the nobles, the landowners and kings and queens. Poor people ate the produce of the land, raw or cooked in a simple way and enhanced the flavor only with the simple spices they grew in the land.

Muscari bulbs have a pinkish coloration, no smell and a very bitter taste at the raw state. I would not suggest eating them raw. It ‘a perennial plant, which blooms in delicate purple flowers until late May, have no scent, but the bright purple attract plenty of insects for its pollination. I plant them between other flowers, as they look so good in the garden. In my last photo below, I show my Lambascioni growing between a bed of arugula. The Lambascioni plant adapts to any climate and soil but prefers full sun and reproduces abundantly in well-drained clay soils. Fall is the best time to plant them, before the cold arrives.
Muscari have many properties, some of which are refreshing, diuretic and stimulant of the digestive organs; stimulate bile secretion, cleanse the intestines; useful for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol; it is an anti-inflammatory and is especially useful in cases of inflammation of the bladder and bowel. I can say that Lambascioni prevent and protect the intestines by freeing them from harmful substances and making more difficult the passage of bacteria in the blood.

To get the bitterness out, I leave the bulb in milk for about 15-20 minutes after I peel the outer shells and washed the dirt out, then I cook them in a few different ways, for example:

casserole of lambascioni with zucchini, potatoes and Parmigiano cheese;
lambascioni fritters in a tempura batter;
lambascioni roasted on the grill and eat them with fresh tomatoes and a hardy cheese;
lambascioni frittata with eggs and prosciutto;
lambascioni baked with sausages.

However, my favorite way is much simpler and it seems most people in family likes them the same way:

“take them out of the milk, as I said to get rid of the bitterness (discard the milk, please, it turned bitter by now), place them in a pot with salted boiling water and cook them until fork tender. Drain the water, transfer to a salad dish and mash them with the back of the fork to make a soft creamy mixture. Add extra-virgin olive oil, a few drops of lemon juice, chopped Italian parsley, salt & black pepper or chili pepper, if you like a kick. Spread the delicacy on a fresh baguette warm or at room temperature. The slight bitter taste will not linger in the mouth, actually it is very pleasant and after about one minute or two, it is not noticeable anymore, as it changes into a sweet and pleasant taste”. I assure you a good experience!

I have ordered the seed from Puglia and now living in California I will be the only one having them on my table spring and fall. Ciao.
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as a designer since 1990.  She has helped people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She designs landscape as a complement to the residential design concept as a unity. She loves creating gardens spaces that will serve the kitchen as well, other than beautification of exteriors. Check out her two published books on regional Italian cuisine, available in this site on the Books’ page and on:
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Happy Cooking with Jacques Pépin | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

19 Apr 2012 6 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ChefJacquesPépin, #ComeMiaNonnaReturnToSimplicity, #CookingwithJacquesPépin, #JacquesPépinEssential, #KQEDJacquesPépin, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor

Never in a million years, I would have thought of meeting my culinary idol, the legendary French Chef Jacques Pépin at KQED T.V. in person and face-to-face.

Cooking has been my Italian way of life, not a science, not a subject to study. Cooking to me is an essential skill to secure me good health and a happy face. Never had considered it a sophisticated art I had to have in my résumé of life’s achievements. At least up to a certain point. I get up in the morning and think of what I am going to eat for dinner and plan accordingly. However, I had to learn cooking at one point if I wanted to eat food well-made as I was used at home with my parents. My grandmother and my family were great inspirations and silent teachers, they cooked the food and us kids ate it without fussing, or else we starved but watching Jacques Pépin cooking on T.V., my cooking became an art and all of a sudden, even though I knew how to cook, I felt he took my knowledge of food to a higher level. He taught me the chef’s language, which I really needed, taught me how to use and present simple and less expensive food in an elegant way and of course, he expanded my horizons into the history of food and food of other countries. In the meantime, 20 years have passed learning from the master on T.V. and reading all of his books. He was the biggest contributor in my decision to write cookbooks so many years later I had learned he existed.

I find so many similarities between my grandmother’s cooking and Jacques Pépin’s food. In Puglia, the southern Italian region, where I come from, Normans (French people of Normandy) invaded that part of Italy from 999 up to the year 1200, leaving behind a trail of their language and food culture. It is often said the if people from Puglia don’t speak French can easily travel to France with no problem, just speaking Puglia’s dialect will be sufficient to get them understood.
Jacques food is just the same as my Puglia cooking with the exception of butter and creamy sauce, which we do not use. During the brief evening hours with Jacques Pépin at KQED’s reception for donors and supporters of Public T.V. was a delight to learn aspects of his life I did not know.

Jacques Pepin and Valentina on stage-©Valentina Cirasola

Audience asking question – ©Valentina Cirasola

On stage ©Valentina Cirasola

(All photos were taken in PBS Studio by ©Valentina Cirasola)

He is a television personage, but not only that. I learned he refused a position as a chef for the White House and went to work instead for Howard Johnson, an American Hotel chain.
In 1972, he achieved a master degree in French Literature from Columbia University. In 2010, during the christening of Oceania Marina, Pépin was named an honorary commodore of the Oceania Cruises fleet, for which he serves as Executive Culinary Director.
Pépin serves as Dean of Special Programs at the French Culinary Institute, in New York City. He is also an active contributor to the Gastronomy Department at Boston University, where he teaches an online class on the cuisine and culture of France. Jacques Pépin co-starred in the 1999 PBS series Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home with Julia Child. The program was awarded a Daytime Emmy in 2001. The tribute video was created to honor Jacques Pépin and was shown at the 4th Annual New York City Wine & Food Festival Tribute Dinner in October 2011.
The first tribute of its kind ever. http://youtu.be/l6PN6sf0P8Y

There is so much more to Jacques that I can possibly mention. It is hard to describe in all facets a successful and a renaissance person like him. His latest T.V. series “Essential” http://youtu.be/0WQiFRe5Sfg is now showing on PBS.

Well, I was in seventh heaven a couple of nights ago at KQED. Finally, I met the man behind that T.V. screen with an open face I have followed for 20 years. I talked to him as he was an old-time friend, he signed his book Jacques Pépin’s Table I brought along with me, he is witty, very friendly and looks in person no different from as he looks on T.V. I asked him to tell us how it was to work with Julia Child and the episodes he recounted were so hilarious.

Most chefs are nervous and dictatorial people, Jacques Pépin cannot come in a sweeter and more mellow version. If he didn’t exist, we had to invent him. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She operates in the USA and Europe. 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.

She is the author of two regional Italian cookbooks on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Evolving Taste | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

27 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #AnchoviesAndCheese, #BreadedAnchovies, #FriedAnchovies, #HowToPrepareAnchiovies, #ItalianFood, #ItalianLifeStyle, #MediterraneanDiet

I thought I would have never said this but Italian taste for food is changing.

It has been over a decade that new emigrants are flocking to Italy as if it was the new land of opportunities bringing with them their culinary background and their culture.
Italians are now eating pizza with pineapple and cheese, or fried rice in place of risotto. Well, not everyone, fortunately food is one thing Italians are keeping away from corruption, but younger people, traveling to foreign countries more than the past generations are willing to try new food ideas.

I just could not help noticing the change in some of the original and traditional recipes. Cheese and fish cooked together was an absurd combination, it was viewed with skepticism and those people who attempted to do it were always criticized as not having a refined palate.

This is exactly what I observed in a restaurant on the Amalfi coast in Italy, a plate of fried anchovies sandwiched together stuffed with cheese and prosciutto in the middle. The waiter disregarding my dislike of anchovies paired with cheese went on and on trying to convince me that it was a good food and I had to try. I was up for the challenge. The food arrived piping hot and smelled really appetizing.

I must admit fried anchovies stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto was good and new.

However, I still believe if you want the taste the sea in the seafood, keep it simple and do not mix it with other food. Dairy products have a strong taste, no matter how light the product is, milk is milk. To me, milk fights with the delicate fish taste and leaves an after taste. The recipe of fried anchovies stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto is really easy, it’s up to you to try it and decide to like it or not.

Long live the blue fish, which is affordable and low in price, rich in calcium and omega 3 fatty acids.

To make stuffed fried anchovies all you need is:
10.5 oz of flour seasoned with thyme
10.5 breadcrumbs seasoned with thyme
3 whole eggs beaten
1 mozzarella chopped small
a few slices of Italian prosciutto
salt, black pepper to your liking
lemon juice
vegetable oil to fry

Keep each ingredients separate in various bowls. Add fresh thyme in the flour and breadcrumbs for an extra flavor.
Remove the interiors from the anchovies, wash and clean thoroughly.
Once the anchovies are butterflies (see my photo) place on the belly of each anchovy one thin piece of mozzarella and prosciutto and then close it with another anchovy belly down. Repeat until all the anchovies are paired up.
Pass the anchovy sandwiches in flour, than in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs.
Fry in the hot vegetable oil. Season the anchovies with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Otherwise, the simplest way to fry anchovies is to butterfly them, pass in the flour, then in the beaten eggs and finally in the breadcrumbs. I eat fried food every 4-5 months and I use a good vegetable oil that I discard afterwards.
Once in a blue moon is good, the metabolism needs a good slap every so often.

My two books are filled with easy fish recipes along with other Mediterranean diet recipes.
They are a super source if you want to stay off the mortal diets and want to eat healthy while you are enjoying food.
Please check them out in this site on my Books section.
They are also available on

Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Yes, I do design kitchens, wine cellars and other rooms, but I also design your palate. Love to hear from you. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She operates in the USA and Europe.
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.
She is a speaker and a book author. Her new book on the subject of colors: ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors is in production at this time and will be released very soon.
Stay tuned for the launch.

I Am In The Mood For Raw Fish |Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

13 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #CulinaryTrip, #CurledOctopi, #ItalianEatingHabits, #ItalianFood, #ItalianLifeStyle, #ItalianRawFish, #RawFish, #RawOctopi, #SeaUrchin

I was thinking of all the raw fish I ate in one night alone in Japan at a restaurant and cherishing that nice memory in the company of good long time friends. (Click on each photo to view it larger).
http://www.ginpei.com/html/shop/do_tonbori.html

A question came to my mind. Who first adopted the practice of eating raw fish, the Japanese or the Italians from Puglia?
Yes, not the entire Italy is accustomed to eat raw fish, but in the Southern region of Puglia, where my roots are, the ritual of eating raw fish happens once a week at least every Sunday and it is not called sushi.
No family Sunday meal will be left without it, raw fish is the king of every tables, always served before dinner allowing the palate to taste the sea and the freshness of its fruits.
A variety of raw octopus, mussels, hairy mussels (cozze pelose), other shellfish, sea truffles, sea urchins and allievi (cattle fish) is served in symbiosis with a few glasses of bubbles, then the real dinner can start.

The difference between the Japanese raw fish (sushi) and the Puglia style raw fish is that in Japan raw fish is served almost always on white rice and it is dry only wet with soy sauce.
In the Puglia style, raw fish is served wet with the sea water dripping, occasionally wet with a few drops of lemons, especially on mussels, otherwise there is no other condiment, just the sea flavor.
Fish over there does not need added condiment in that the Adriatic Sea is shallow and concentrated with salt. Nature does it all for us.

This old Puglia gastronomy tradition goes back to the 1500’s, when selling raw octopus was regulated by the local government and had to be sold in rolls of 890 gr. each (31.4 oz.). Imagine how important it was to eat raw fish that the government had to regulate it.

It is a common appetizer to find in restaurants, served every day of the week if the weather has been good and the catch of the day comes in regularly.
The restaurant owners usually are the only one responsible to guarantee 100% freshness of the fish.
Often black mussels will be paired with the sharp caciocavallo cheese, similar in taste to the aged Southern Italian Provolone cheese, with a hard edible rind.
The octopi must be properly curled, the allievi (cattle fish) thoroughly cleaned of the interiors and the mouth, tuna, mullets and cod finely sliced for carpaccio and the fresh delicate anchovies carefully cleaned of any bones ready for a marinade of oil, lemon juice salt, pepper and parsley finely chopped.

Bear in mind that in Italy we believe the months with the R are not good to eat mussels (Jan-Feb-Mar-Apr-Sept-Oct-Nov-Dec) and the months without the R are not good to eat oysters because they are full of eggs and fattier (May-June-July-Aug).
Here in the Unites States we eat them all the time, this rule is really not observed and I am always wondering if I am doing the right thing.

Sea Urchin

Another scene worth filming is the eating of the raw fish in the streets near the port area of any city in Puglia, where the fisherman bring the catch of the day and where they also mend the fish nets when they are not out at sea. The scene is colorful, playful and joyous. Some fisherman scream to get the customers’ attention and some sing. They show off a large display of fresh fish inside of baskets made of olive wood and set on rough tabletops. There, they propose a taste of sea urchins, at time accompanied with a piece of fresh bread and ice-cold beer and other times just as the offering of the sea is, fresh and natural.

Skilled fishermen never poke their hands while opening the sea urchins in half. They make a perfect cut to expose the reddish-orange meat inside; a small piece of bread will scoop out all the goodness from inside of the black shell.
Restaurateurs who have lived abroad for a while brought back to Puglia the knowledge they have acquired in foreign countries. Many sushi bars have sprung up in Puglia, as all over Italy, but when the Puglia people want to do a serious eating, they will always go to what is familiar.
They will always prefer the traditional specialties of their land and sea to the fashionable or trendy food of other parts of the world. They will stay faithful to what has been familiar to them for centuries.

It takes no ability to eat raw fish, just clean, wash and eat it, but it takes ability to prepare the simplest food, poor of ingredients and make it taste like royal food.
(above: Alici Arraganate)

One of the many simple fish dish in Puglia is Baked Anchovies or Alici Arraganate as we call it.
Take the center bone from inside of the anchovies, wash and pat dry. Align anchovies in a crock-pot.
Add breadcrumbs, chopped garlic, mint, capers, oregano.
Drizzle oil and sprinkle a few drops of plain vinegar. Bake in the oven for only 12-15 minutes uncovered.
It’s so simple that is almost a non-recipe.

Another simple dish is Octopus Casserole or Casseruola Di Polipetti as we call it in Italian.
Place the octopus in a casserole with chopped onion, dry white wine, fresh tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper and parsley.
Bake until the octopi are fork tender. The sauce is good to eat with bread or to top a plate of pasta.
Bon appétit.

Find many of these simple recipes in my two published books on Italian regional cuisine from Puglia available on:

Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
and in this site on the Books’ page.

Now, my friends from Japan need to go over to Puglia with me to experience raw fish my way.
Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She operates in the USA and Europe.
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.

Her third book ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on the subject of colors is in production and will be released by end of April 2012.

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

15 Feb 2012 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ChocolateCoveredGrape, #ChocolateCoveredJalapeño, #ComeMiaNonnaReturnToSimplicity, #SinsOfAQueen, #ValentinaDayFood, #ValentineDay

Chocolate almonds

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 expectations and pressure to perform well are high on this day. I suggest celebrating Leap Year an alternative to Valentine’s Day. It would be so easy for unattached people to shift their attention from Valentine’s Day to an unusual celebration that comes only every four years.

(http://www.today.com/style/10-fun-valentines-day-gifts-your-friends-1C854429

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 matchmaker? 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.
Almonds can also be savoury, 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 tablespoons of butter and 4 oz. of dark semi-sweet chocolate.
Stir over low heat until the 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.

I will present to my friends simple bites, some small tartlets with wild mushrooms, stuffed mussels
(from my book http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen) and some extravagant 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 a 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

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

Natural Shells For Elegant Décor | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

30 Jan 2012 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #BotticelliPrimavera, #DecoratingTips, #DecoratingWithShells, #HistoryOfShells, #ItalianPainting, #ItalianTableSetting, #ShellSaltPepper, Shells

Looking through resources for my interior designing need, I found beautiful accessories for the table at One King’s Lane. Two sets of salt and pepper vessels made of seashells on silver really struck my fancy.
They are dainty, the coloration is beautiful, and I am thinking a voiles or chiffon tablecloth will be perfect to stage a table. Each plate will have a shell as place card holder, one large shell for bread, a mother of pearl champagne bucket and some nautilus votive scattered on the table should set an inviting dinner scene.

Looking at the shape of the shells comes to mind their original function: to conceal a living matter inside of them and to keep the secret of the marine abysses. When we go to the seaside to catch shells, it’s almost a compulsory gesture to bring a shell to the ear. We hear the sea waves moving and we immediately imagine stories of navigation and far away lands. We think it is all so mysterious because a romantic explanation at time is better than a scientific one, but in reality the shape of the shell and the limestone material that makes it, promote the echoing sound of the sea. (photos of shell items from One King’s Lane)

The relation between shells and sea is very strong as it is associated with the feminine element of fertility, in fact the word shell comes from the Latin word conchilium meaning to conceal in a shell. Venus, the goddess of love was generated from the sea inside of a shell. Italian painter Botticelli painted her in his masterpiece of the XIV century (photo below). We are born in water too in our mother’s womb, our shell. In other words the source of life is to be found in the water and the woman is its vehicle.

Shells keep the secrets of oceans and earth, shipwrecks, lives lost, earthquakes, moon influence, sun’s scorching heat and people’s touches transferring feelings and sicknesses with their hands. Some people think once shells have found a new place in a house décor will communicate to the household all the secrets they keep, bringing in the good and the bad luck, regardless of their beauty. Legend? I don’t know, but I heard it from an astrologer.

In history shells became an important symbol to mark properties, to indicate social casts, family crests and coats of arms. The shell became the symbol of the Italian Renaissance, a rebirth in the fields of arts, architecture, music, literature and scientific discoveries after the dark age of the Medieval era. In Europe shell symbols are found on important building as churches, cathedrals and political establishments.

I was attracted by the colors of these superb tableware and the elegant simplicity they enclose. Knowing the history and legends attached to shells would make an interesting conversation topic with the guests.

Let me help you decorating and staging your next dinner party with unusual object d’art. Please leave your name in the box below. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola transforms and creates spaces realizing people’s dreams in homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She infuses your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away a comfortable living.  As an interior designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking she loves to remodel homes and loves to turn unattractive spaces into castles, but especially loves to design kitchens and wine grottos.

She is the author of RED-A Voyage Into Colors, the forthcoming book on the subject of colors, in publication at this time. Check out her two published books on Italian regional cuisine, available on this site on the Books page and on Amazon.
http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna

http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

Getting Ready For Carnevale | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

16 Jan 2012 4 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #CarnevaleCostumes, #CarnevaleFood, #HistoryOfFood, #ItalianCarnevale, #ItalianFood, #WinterCelebrations

Photo ©Valentina Cirasola

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.

Photo taken by Photographer (?) -Pacific Art League

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”, which is an entire pig roasted over an open spit fire is the delight of Carnevale. Most pubs, restaurants and rosticceria (finger food places) will prepare one.

Food connoisseurs will not buy a few slices of cold cuts every time they need to make sandwiches, it’s too expensive! To save money, they instead will buy an entire leg of prosciutto and use the D’Artagnan, a Spanish 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.

Hamon-Serrano

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 11^th to the 21^st. 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

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 | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

02 Jan 2012 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ChristmasTableDecoratio, #ChristmasTableSetting, #ItalianCeramics, #ItalianTableSetting, #NewYearEve, #NewYearTableColors, Tablescape

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.
(Click on the photo to vie it larger).

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

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- A Voyage Into Colors 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.

Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

The Art Of Dainties | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

25 Dec 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ChristmasFood, #DaintiesAppetizers, #ItalianAppetizers, #ItalianLifeStyle, #ItalianTableCustom

This year for Christmas Eve I will have adults only at my table celebrating the passage into the new light, it will be one of the few times in my life I will not make a sit down dinner. I will prepare an array of fanciful small dainties to be served in various area of my great room.

Putting dainties together will be just like choosing colors and textures for dressing up. It is important to find the right balance of colors and flavors. Need not to have too much salty food, nor too much food of the same kind of textures, protein, vegetable, starches and sweets must be equally distributed and in between palate cleansers are a real treat to put all the taste buds back in place.

Caviar with a variety of crackers and breads will be the opening, accompanied by smoked salmon with capers and sparkling wines.
A large size tray of endive, raw celery and fennel will be a good match with cheeses and will be good to help digesting dairy products.
The highlight of my cheese tray will be the Tête de Moine and the Dubliner, which I recently discovered from one of my dearest friend.
Last summer I made sun-dried tomatoes in my garden, preserved in olive oil, capers, garlic and fennel seed. I will put them next to the cheeses, olives and Italian prosciutto, they are so good on crostini with one of my spreadable cheeses. (Photo Tête de Moine from: Wikimedia)

Tête de Moine

My Italian tradition calls for fried salted cod for Christmas Eve. It is one type of food that never makes it to the table, fried cod is absolutely good piping hot right out of the fryer.
As we say in Italian “cotto e mangiato” cooked and eaten at once; scorching of the palate and fingers are allowed. I own an Italian made fryer equipped with a charcoal filter and a turning tumble canister that makes fried food so light, clean and no fried food smell in the kitchen. I don’t eat fry food during the year, but when I have people over is so fun to eat something different and allow myself to go out of my own strict rules. Besides, my friend will polish everything, I am lucky if I get to taste one or two pieces of fried cod.

I will cook the rice with wild mushrooms in small individual Savarin molds (photo on the right), perfect to create the effect of a large ring when they are turned over in the plate. I will decorate the center hole with some arugula leaves. (From: https://www.fantes.com)

Mussels cooked in garlic, fennel and wine will be in a large bowl for a grand effect. Some of my friends have never eaten mussels this way, they will have a good opportunity to try some brassiere food.

I fancy stuffed grilled eggplants rolled in small packages hiding a surprise mixture of meat, spinach, beaten egg and a small spoon of Parmigiano as a binder. I am thinking, since I have the grill going, I will put on some asparagus and colored peppers too, my friends will not mind.

I will make the zabaione cream myself and my friend will watch. It seems as if many of them tonight will be in a cooking class involuntarily, but it will be much fun to cook together than preparing it all by myself.
I will conclude my food spread with dried nuts, fresh fruit, panettone an Italian Christmas cake and more sparkling wines.

It will be simple home cooking and it will take the whole night.
Many of these recipes are in my books, some of my friends will have a taste for the first time, but many of them are so happy to share my Puglia food with me again.
I am going to start the preparation and welcome everyone with a glass of prosecco.

The night is young and we need to reach midnight doing something fun, laughing, making jokes, telling stories and playing with food. Some of my friends are not into cooking, they will have easy tasks, as I don’t want to risk a food mistake just tonight on Christmas Eve and some will pour all night.

I hope you are having fun too.

We will welcome the new light in the world and celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Merry Christmas, peace in the world. Ciao,
Valentina

www.Valentinadesigns.com

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 and on:
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w