The daughter of a foreign correspondent and the famed food authority Nancy Harmon Jenkins, Sara Jenkins, author (along with food writer Mindy Fox) of this week's Cook the Book selection, Olives & Oranges, spent her formative years caravanning around Europe absorbing local flavors and learning culinary traditions. By the time she was a teenager, Sara had lived in France, Lebanon, Spain, and Italy. It is no surprise, then, that Sara's cooking—at such illustrious restaurants as 50 Carmine, Il Buco, and I Coppi—is as whimsical and improvised as it is rooted in Mediterranean traditions. With Olives & Oranges, Jenkins builds on the "language of flavor" she learned along her travels. From classics such as Lemon Olive Oil Cake and Tuscan...
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Last week, I took a little lunchtime trip to
Frascati, one of a handful of little towns in the
Castelli Romani, a culturally rich area just southeast of Rome shadowed by the Alban Hills and dotted with volcanic lakes. Thanks to a direct commuter train, I was there in only 30 minutes, and at the very appealing price of €1.90 (US$2.96) each way.
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