HapaLove

I like to head to the San Diego County Fair once a year, just for the sake of riding the ferris wheel with my honey, checking out stuff like the blue ribbon flowers and 4H exhibits, and snarfing on bad-for-me food. Chicken Charlie, a fast food hawker at the fair, typically debuts a new fried food concoction each year, and out of curiosity I usually try one.

This year the big news was deep-fried s'mores. They were actually pretty good. Last year I had a deep-fried twinkie, and I think the s'more one-ups the twinkie. It's the melted marshmallows that really make it good, and the bit o' melty chocolate takes it a step beyond the twinkie. Plus, obviously a deep-fried twinkie just doesn't provide enough calories, so you really gotta go whole hog.

Here are some of the other fried-food highlights:

• Fried avocados. Pretty self-explanatory. Take the fattiest fruit and cover it in batter. I was halfway tempted to try it.
• Deep-fried white castle burgers. Ugh.
  
• Deep-fried chicken sandwich. But wait -- the bun is actually two Krispie Kreme donuts!  This was popular last year, but I didn't see anyone ordering it this year.
• Fried Coke. A major disappointment. It's just little bits of fried dough, they just use Coke as the liquid. It does not taste like Coke.

But, the all-time winner of original and horrifying fried creations for 2009 is (drumroll).....

How well do you think you know yourself? How well do others think they know you? Which is more important?
Submitted by SearchingForThatOnePerson.

I know myself really well. I'm an introspective person. But I'm constantly learning more about myself -- every new experience, adventure, forces me to challenge old assumptions, makes me realize what matters most to me.

I tend to think about these things often. I think partly it's because I really grappled with my identity growing up, being part Asian and part white, and never quite fitting into either culture exactly. I won't say it was a struggle, because overall I had a pretty good childhood -- but it was something that I sort of had to explore and figure out for myself.

Certain experiences tend to make me introspective -- when I moved cross country (and back), which was more of a culture shock than I thought it would be. When I went to college, when I've gained and lost friends. Every time I've traveled. Often when I read an insightful book or article. Sometimes when I'm unsatisfied with my job and reconsidering what I want to be when I grow up.

It's been a cool journey so far. Full of surprises no matter how much I think I've figured things out.

From Naples, we drove a car down to the southern coast of Italy -- about 2 1/2 hours south of Amalfi, to the Cilento Coast, which is just south of the Amalfi Coast.  I read about the Cilento Coast in this Conde Naste article, and was sold -- and indeed, as Conde Naste said, it's a quieter, less touristy version of the Amalfi Coast. I thought it was just as beautiful, although you won't see the same buildings teetering on the edge of a cliff like you do in Amalfi.  Also, the Cilento Coast is bordered by a humongous national park.

Here's the view from our hotel:

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These photos are from dinner at the hotel. Best seafood risotto ever.

Along the Cilento Coast, there are several quaint seaside towns to visit, so be sure to rent a car if you go. But, the driving is a little nuts, so you have to get used to driving super-curvy roads along the mountainside, with Italians tailgaiting you. I have to give props to the honey for handling the majority of the driving. Here's a little seaside town we stopped in, called Policastro:

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We also drove to Amalfi while we were there. It is gloriously beautiful, but packed with tourists. Most of the Italians go down to the Cilento Coast (which made me feel pretty "in the know", ha ha). Just above the buildings in the photos below, you can see the stepped agricultural fields - they grow huge lemons and all kinds of other produce. It's pretty amazing.

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Amalfi actually only had a couple of private beaches to swim at, that I could see.

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And here are those famous buildings, almost falling into the sea.

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The town of Amalfi is pretty movie-perfect. I mean, check out this shot with the Italian car. Pretty good, eh?

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Friends have asked me what my favorite part of the trip was, and honestly I haven't been able to answer yet. It was all so wonderful, and the different cities were all perfect in their own ways. But now that I think about it, I probably did have a favorite night in Italy.

We used the Slow Food guide to find a restaurant in Maratea.  It was an adventure just to get there -- we drove up a super-windy road, immersed in fog, all the way up and past a ginormous Jesus statue. We finally found the restauant, Il Giardino di Epicuro, basically an extension of a home.

Ok guys, you know I'm an aspiring foodie, so this means a lot -- probably one of the best, and definitely the most enjoyable, restaurants I've ever been to.  Three words describe the food:  O. M. G.

We were greeted by Milena, the cook, who brought out her son Antonio, who speaks English and has travelled the world. There's no menu, they just give you an idea of what's cooking based on what you like. Everything in this restaurant epitomizes slow food: all of the meats in our charcuterie plate were home-cured; the pasta is hand-rolled by Milena; the wine grown and made by Antonio's uncle; the liqueurs made of wild strawberries, blueberries and grasses and made by Antonio's sister.  Yes, we met pretty much the entire family, including Michele, Milena's husband. It was an amazing night. They served me the best lamb I've ever tasted -- with a thin, perfectly even layer of fat around each piece, it was melt-in-your-mouth slow food heaven. Oh yes, it was.

We had to explain to Milena that the only reason I couldn't gobble down every ounce of everything she served to me was because I simply couldn't eat it all. Antonio replied, "when you eat here, you don't go home hungry." Well, truer words were never spoken. It was an indulgent night full of cheer, food, wine, and great company.

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Oh - and by the way - Milena mentioned that she recently hosted a chef who owns 5 restaurants in Napa Valley, and she taught him how to roll pasta. I haven't yet been able to figure out who that is.

Well, that was the end of our wonderful Italian vacation. La dolce vita, indeed.

From Tuscany, we took a train down to Naples and stayed a couple nights. It was kind of our basecamp to explore the ancient city of Pompeii. Naples is the type of city you could totally love... or do without. It's gritty, there's lots of crime, most people will try to cheat you, the people are talkative and charming, it's vibrant, and it has good pizza. I think you need a lot of energy to really enjoy Naples. I'll confess, we didn't quite have that amount of energy for Naples (especially because I came down with a kidney stone while in Tuscany... ouch).

Here's the train from Naples to Pompeii:

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If you decide you want to go to Naples, here's a tip on the taxi drivers. First, don't opt for their "flat fee" or any variants thereof - ask for the metered rate. Watch the meter; there should always be a "1" next to the fare. Often the drivers will change the 1 to another number, which hikes up the fee. You have to be aggressive if you in any way suspect that you're being cheated. If they hassle you, tell them you want to go to the police. Then the cheaters back down immediately. It helps to have an idea of what the fare should be (ask the hotel staff before you leave), so you know how much you should be paying.

Naples does have the best pizza, IMHO. The crust is delightfully chewy. Our hotel was the Palazzo Turchini, which I'd recommend. Good value, nice place, good location.

Pompeii is fascinating. I've been twice, once with a guide, and this time we just wandered on our own. I'd recommend joining a tour, because there is so much to learn from a guide. Here are some of the victims frozen in ash, when Vesuvius erupted:

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Poor dog:

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Here's the view from our hotel balcony. I think it captures Naples pretty well:

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We took a day-trip to Siena during our stay in Tuscany; it's a 1-2 hour drive from Chianti (along windy mountain roads). Siena is a beautiful, medieval-looking town; a walled city. There's plenty of great shopping and food. There are a ton of windy little alleyways; it's fun to wander through them and just explore.

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Wandering through Siena, you'll see plenty of classic scenes like laundry drying outside the window.

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Here's the honey navigating (you will need a map in Siena):

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We used our Slow Food guide again to find a lunch place tucked in a little alley, called Ristorante Grotta Santa Caterina da Bagoga.

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Bagoga is the nickname of the owner, when he was a jockey (yeah, the kind that ride horses). Due to an injury he was forced to quit the jockey life and follow his passion for food. Indeed, the food was great (see cheese example, below). I preferred not to order the "typical" prix fixe menu (sounded kind of touristy), and ordered a la carte.

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Siena, like Rome, has plenty of public drinking fountains and water spigots. I came across these guys rinsing off their afternoon produce purchase - just thought it was too perfect to miss a photo.

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Next up, Naples!

The next leg of our trip took us to the Chianti region of Tuscany. Arriving there, you might think you've died and gone to heaven. You are surrounded by beauty. There is not a non-photo-worthy view in sight. The Tuscan countryside was in full bloom, dotted with red poppies in between the vineyards and Cypress trees. The sun was shining, the grass was green, the hills rolling.  Here's me looking out at the view:

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We stayed at La Badia a Coltibuono, a 1,000-year old monastery turned into a boutique hotel, winery, organic farm and cooking school. Could it get any better??

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La Badia had a beautiful garden. There were many places inside and outside the hotel to just wander, read, and enjoy some wine or grappa.

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La Badia was poised on a hill with a gorgeous view. (Of course, that also means you have to drive some windy roads to get there). Here's my honey enjoying the view out the front of the hotel.

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Even the cows were relaxed:

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If you want to "get away from it all", Tuscany is a great choice. Great food, wine, beautiful countryside... it all makes you slow down. I highly recommend La Badia. Also, if money is no option for you, check out Le Fontanelle, a super fancy resort down the road.

One mistake we made... the day we left Tuscany was the start of Classico e', a huge wine festival where many vitners have open cellars. D'oh!  Most of the little wineries around Tuscany don't have tastings like they do in Napa or Sonoma... they're just don't get enough traffic to justify it. So do a little planning ahead of time to find the wineries that will give you a tasting; it will take a little research. Oh, and you'll need to rent a car. Get the GPS and the best map you can find -- it's easy to get lost in Tuscany, as most of the roads are not named. Only the localities are named. And, as we learned the hard way, UPS does not deliver every day to this area, and cell phone reception is spotty at best. Hey, you wanted to get away from it all, right?

Parting shot:

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Hi neighbors! I’m back from my Italian getaway. It feels like I’ve been gone forever!  I’m going to blog on a separate Italy story each day for a little while.

First, I thought I’d start with my itinerary and some recommendations for any of you who want to go to Italy. This was my third trip to Italy, and this time it was tour-free, all on our own. I really feel like I got to know the country a little better since we spent a good amount of time in each city we went to.

Our itinerary:

May 22 – 27: Rome

May 27 – 30: Tuscany (we stayed in Gaiole in Chianti)

May 30 – June 1: Naples

June 1 – June 5: Maratea (in the Cilento Coast, a couple hours south of the Amalfi coast)

June 5: One last night in Rome before departing to the U.S.

I would recommend cutting out Naples for most people. Naples has its charms, and some really great pizza, but you must be prepared to be cheated by every taxi driver, be on your guard when you go out, not walk down certain streets at night… and it gets to be tiring. We stayed in Naples for easy access to Pompeii, but you could stay in Sorrento also, which might be nicer.

I would have loved to add a day to the Tuscany part of the trip. An event called the Classico e started the day we left – what a miss!  It’s an event where a bunch of wineries open up their cellars for tasting.

We decided to go to Maratea after I read a Conde Nast article about the Cilento Coast. Just south of the Amalfi coast, it has some beautiful views with much fewer tourists. After driving through and exploring both areas, I would definitely recommend the Cilento Coast and Maratea specifically. Maratea is at the very south end of the Cilento Coast, so it’s a little distant from Amalfi (2.5 hour drive), but much more authentic, quieter, and just as beautiful. It’s located on the edge of a huge national park, with dramatic cliffs going into the very blue Mediterranean sea. It’s a tiny town, but a great place to unwind and enjoy some amazing food.

All the hotels we chose turned out to be awesome, with really helpful staff, and nice rooms in our price range.  Here they are:

Rome – Hotel Fontanella Borghese. Perfect location – close to everything but on a quiet street, excellent concierge. We had considered renting an apartment in Rome, but I’m glad we went with a hotel because the concierge helped us with many things like restaurant reservations and recommendations.

Tuscany – La Badia a Coltibuono. A former monk’s cloister which is now a hotel, organic farm, winery and cooking school. Absolutely gorgeous.  If you aren’t concerned about budget, Hotel Le Fontanelle would be a spectacular choice.

Naples – Palazzo Turchini

Maratea – Villa Cheta Elite. Gorgeous, wonderful food. It doesn’t have a pool, but you can use the pool at the Villa Mare hotel across the street for 4 euros/towel.

Here are some resources I found helpful when planning the vacation:

Concierge.com

The book, Osterie & Locande d'Italia: A Guide to Traditional Places to Eat and Stay in Italy. My friend gave it to me, and this book pointed me to the best restaurants, including one transcendental dinner experience I will blog about next! This is a real foodie's guide to Italy.

RomAround Tours – good company to use for tours in Rome.

Another note, do NOT use Appian Line Tours. Worst tour I’ve ever been on. More than half of that tour consisted of waiting in line and waiting for the bus - it was awful.

Well, all for today. Stay tuned for some food reviews and photos!

One of my favorite things in my CSA box lately is the blood oranges. They are delicious and beautiful.

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But I've been getting a lot of them, so I decided to juice some for a cocktail invention. This was my first attempt at inventing a recipe, so I spent the weekend perfecting it, and I think it turned out pretty good.  I hope Steve will try it out and let me know!  Oh, and I need a name for this cocktail -- I am accepting suggestions.  Here goes:

Recipe
About 3 oz. club soda (or a third to a half of a lowball glass)
1 oz. white rum
1-2 oz. blood orange juice, to taste
1 oz. simple syrup
A generous squeeze of lime (about a quarter of a lime's worth)

To make simple syrup, combine 2 parts sugar and 1 part water. Heat until it boils, then cool the syrup.  Combine all the ingredients in an ice-filled lowball glass. Voila!

I had a pizza party night last night, and the blood orange cocktail added a nice Italian flair to the evening. Here was the menu for the pizza party, btw:

Crostini with ricotta and roasted cherry tomatoes
Pizza #1 - Ricotta, garlic and squash flowers
Pizza #2 - Sliced tomatoes and basil
Pizza #3 - Pepperoni, mushrooms and onions

I got all the ingredients super-fresh at the farmers' market, including the pepperoni. It was divine!

Happy entertaining,
HapaLove

I sometimes sign up for restaurant mailing lists (always use a separate spam account!),  and it's really worth it during my birthday month.  I got some awesome freebies this week: free ice cream at Ben & Jerry's (and I just got a free one for free cone day too!), free Rubio's lunch, $20 at DSW... excellent.  Happy birthday to me. :)

The honey and I have booked a 2-week vacation in Italy, and I am so very excited!  Below is our general itinerary -- if you have any tips or suggestions, please let me know!  I've been to Rome a couple times, so any out-of-the-ordinary suggestions are especially appreciated.  Grazie!

May 22-27: Rome
We're staying at the Fontanella Borghese near the Spanish Steps. So far on my "must do" list are the catacombs, the Vatican, Forum, Pantheon, Borghese Gardens, some shopping, and obviously, plenty of eating. :-)

May 27-30: Tuscany (Gaiole in Chianti)
We're staying at Badia a Coltibuono, a former monk's cloister that is now an organic farm and winery. I'm thinking we'll do a cooking class, and driving around the countryside. Maybe some laying by the pool and reading.

May 30 - June 1: Naples
Staying at the Hotel Palazzo Turchini. Mainly staying in Naples to visit Pompeii, and eat pizza. I'm thinking of going to the archaeological museum too.

June 1-5: Cilento Coast
Staying at Villa Cheta. The Cilento Coast is just south of the Amalfi Coast. I was intrigued ever since I read in article in Conde Nast that said it's as beatiful as the Amalfi Coast, but a lot less crowded and very charming. I've never been south of Naples, so I'm really looking forward to this part of the trip.  We'll have a car, and I'm a bit nervous about driving on the cliff-side roads full of hairpin turns, but I think it will be worth it to explore the area.

On June 5 we head back to Rome, and we're out on the 6th. I cannot wait!!  Oh, and if any of you have suggestions about Italy movies to watch to get me excited, that'd be cool too. I still have not seen Roman Holiday!