Sunday 20 May 2012

Sugar sweet

I don't think I've lusted over ANY clutch, or bag for that matter, as much as I have this little stunner by Mui Mui.  It is everything I could ever wish for in a handheld, the colour is my style of sugar pink and the perfect gold embellishment finishes the cut, except for one little problem; it's made of velvet and at £760, you just know it's not going to last the distance!

Tuesday 1 May 2012

Italian Salami like no other

As you know I not only have an affinity with Italy and it's fresh food, but we also have a small holiday home there in an unknown area called Abruzzo so visit regularly.  Our lovely friend Pietro runs the local hotel/restaurant where he serves THE best, freshest food at very reasonable prices, a bottle of vino rosso Montepulciano de Abruzzo will set you back a whopping 6 Euros!
They stay true to the seasons and what is available at the time. Great cappuccinos to pop in for in the morning and his wife stays locked in the kitchen, slaving over the freshest traditional Italian cuisine.
His signature dish is served bubbling in a terracotta pot with handkerchief sheets of freshly made pasta, mouth watering tomato sauce and local asparagus.  I have tried to re-create this dish for my kids, but it's never the same, until my last trip when we worked out the magic ingredient.  Ventricina.
We have become absolutely addicted to Pietro's home made Ventricina, a spiced salami like not other and a traditional meat in Abruzzo. Served either on a cold platter of meats or in this delicious pasta dish.  No doubt there are many secret ingredients and spices that make the Ventricina taste so good but we have certainly spotted the main couple, lots of fatty deposits mean it's tastier, rosemary, lots of chilli and..... fennel.
In our next trip this summer, I am hoping he might spill the beads on his secret recipe and even show me how it's made
I went onto Luigis mail order and it's available to buy at around the same price as Pietro's but I can't imagine it would be anywhere near as tasty.  This stuff is absolutely smashing.
We WILL be bringing some back this time.