Gina DePalma's Profile
The Ten Most Recent Posts By Gina DePalma
From Eating Out
Posted by Gina DePalma, May 13, 2008 at 8:30 AM
In a city of numerous and terrific markets that are spread among wonderfully characteristic neighborhoods, it is almost hard to become attached to yet another one. But Rome's twice-monthly Organic Market has definitely won me over.
It takes place on the second and fourth Sunday of every month, which is more than enough to get excited about. If the timing is right, it is a relief to have a place to head for fresh produce on a day when everything else is shut down tight. The location is right, too, in a little piazza where some of the most characteristic streets of the Centro Storico converge, not far from the Campo de'Fiori.
Relaxed and Leisurely Pace
My first visit had a very relaxed vibe, especially compared to the usual frenzied commotion at every other market on Fridays and Saturdays, when everyone is scrambling to get their shopping done. Sundays are sacred for most Romans, reserved for relaxing or spending time with the family. Although this little market was buzzing, it wasn't too busy to have a leisurely chat with the organic producers who had traveled from all over Lazio, Umbria, and lower Tuscany, eager to answer questions or give me a sample to nibble.
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From Eating Out
Posted by Gina DePalma, May 6, 2008 at 10:45 AM
"Come hungry, and bring money. Lots and lots of money."
My visit to Torino last month would not have been complete without a stop at Eataly, the grand and glorious emporium dedicated to the finest foods and gastronomic traditions of Italy. A short taxi ride from the center of the city brought me to the more working-class area of town where Eataly sits, framed by views of the Alps and across the street from the original Fiat factory complex.
Let me start by saying that I am not crazy about the name. When I first read the news of Eataly Torino’s grand opening in 2006, my first reaction was that it sounded like a cool place with a lame name. I still can’t say I’m entirely comfy with it, but once I got inside, they could have called it Foodaly and I wouldn’t have cared.
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From Eating Out
Posted by Gina DePalma, April 29, 2008 at 8:30 AM
It is nearly impossible to visit Torino without having a deep, personal encounter with chocolate in some way, shape, or form. Solid chocolate was born in the city toward the end of the 18th century, and today its aroma wafts through the air inside pastry shops and beckons from elaborately decorated window displays. There are oodles of places to worship chocolate in Torino, but during a recent whirlwind trip I was most excited about visiting the bottega of Guido Gobino. The elegant, wood-paneled shop on Via Lagrange presents a traditional setting for handmade chocolates with a decidedly modern edge.
Enter the shop and your eyes are immediately drawn to the display of tiny, molded chocolates filled with different flavors of ganache and decorated with touches of color; a dusting of spice or a sprinkling of pulverized nuts give clues to the flavors enclosed. Peperoncino, mint, hazelnut, and orange were each delectable, and my friend Jay and I nearly swooned when we tasted the ganache flavored with Barolo Chinato.
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From Recipes
Posted by Gina DePalma, April 22, 2008 at 8:30 AM
The markets of Rome are always ablaze with color, but as the weather gets warmer and the variety of produce grows, the vivid hues have intensified. This past Saturday at the Campo de’Fiori was a riot of spring colors, but it was the reds that leapt out and grabbed my attention.
Locals elbowed wide-eyed tourists for space and the usual Italian cluster mobs had formed, but the hand-to-hand mortal combat wasn’t enough to distract me from seeing red at every turn, bright and deep, from pink to purple. The last of the apples were being nudged by baskets of tiny fragole di bosco, or wild forest strawberries, delicate, variegated Radicchio di Castelfranco nodded to me in the breeze, and tomatoes of every shape and size from Sicily screamed of juicy ripeness.
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From Eating Out
Posted by Gina DePalma, April 15, 2008 at 8:30 AM
My friends and I set out for our day in Abruzzo on a rainy, foggy, downright chilly morning in Rome. It was a straight shot out on the autostrada, and within 40 minutes we had hit the Abruzzese border, bidding Lazio farewell in order to immerse ourselves in the foods, sights, and countryside of a region that is blissfully off the well-beaten tourist track.
In no time we reached Sulmona, a pretty little city known as the birthplace of the Roman poet Ovid and the home of the candies known as confetti. The rain had stopped and bits of sky were starting to peek out of the low-hanging clouds. I was told that the entire city would be filled with the sweet aroma of the confetti factories but I wasn't prepared for the overwhelming perfume of wisteria, as the sun gradually emerged and warmed the blossoming vines. The mountains revealed themselves from behind the fog, the smell of wood-burning stoves pierced the air, and the bustling little town suddenly came alive.
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From Recipes
Posted by Gina DePalma, April 7, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Italians have an undeserved reputation for hammering vegetables to a fault, an accusation most often leveled at us by the" tender-crisp" camp. While I agree that cooking vegetables to the point of disintegration can be yucky, I think undercooked veggies are an insult to the vegetal world. Too many fine, deserving vegetables suffer an inconsequential position in a meal by being left in a slightly crisp state of unfulfilled flavor that no sauce can rescue.
Asparagus are the perfect example of a vegetable that needs a good long hammering (ahem) in a hot oven. Sorry, fans of tender-crisp, but I really dislike waterlogged, boiled asparagus, and steaming them renders them equally tasteless. If you don't believe me, bite into a "tender-crisp," steamed asparagus spear—no cheating with mayo, please—and tell me if any fireworks go off.
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From Required Eating
Posted by Gina DePalma, April 1, 2008 at 3:00 PM
1. Butchers
I love Italian butchers. I have never met an unfriendly macellaio, anywhere. Most Italian food purveyors are happy and even eager to talk about their goods, but my butcher has an amazing amount of interest in what I will do with the 1/2 kilo of whatever I just ordered. This is especially true when I demonstrate an inadequate thirst for his knowledge. If the right questions about my veal or lamb or sausages aren’t posed, my butcher will ask me what he suspects I need to know, then gallantly and gently coming to the rescue when I have revealed exactly how clueless I am, and showing genuine happiness if I prove to be on the right track.
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From Recipes
Posted by Gina DePalma, March 25, 2008 at 8:00 AM
The cluttered and dusty used bookstore on my block has become one of my favorite haunts, mostly for a sometimes campy and ever-revolving selection of old cookbooks. The Myra Breckenridge Cookbook displayed in the window last week made me laugh right out loud, but inside I found an even greater treasure—an old copy of Elizabeth David's Italian Food. It is impossible not to be inspired by David's evocative and vivid writing style, and thumbing through the dog-eared volume while imagining her travels through Italy in the early 1950s has become my new afternoon ritual.
The pages recently fell open to reveal her recipe for Carrots in Marsala; it instantly seemed so mouthwatering I had no choice but to head straight for the market.
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From Recipes
Posted by Gina DePalma, March 18, 2008 at 8:30 AM
Eggs are essential ingredients in Italian Easter celebrations, playing a role that extends beyond the huge, elaborately decorated chocolate eggs that decorate every shop window in the weeks before the holiday.
Eggs were a symbol of new birth and renewal for many of the ancient civilizations predating the Christian era, when they were adopted as a representation of the resurrection of Christ. They evolved as part of the traditional Easter feast partly because they were one of the foods originally forbidden to have during Lent. These traditions are still intact today, ingrained in the mind, heart, and stomach; each region of Italy has its own special recipes for consuming eggs on Easter.
Romans are likely to enjoy a light first course of Brodetto Pasquale at their Easter table, the local version of a soup that features eggs as well as lamb, another iconic Easter food.
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From Eating Out
Posted by Gina DePalma, March 12, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Last week, I polished off what was left of the Christmas torrone that was left in the candy dish on my desk. I was parsing it out slowly, weekly, hoping to stretch out the nutty-sweet pleasure until Easter candy would arrive. Alas, the last few pieces went down my throat during a painful round of convulsive sobbing over the exchange rate. Since that situation shows no sign of easing any time soon, it was time to head out for some reinforcements today.
Torrone is made all over Italy, and nearly every region puts its own particular slant on it, embellishing the nougat candy with local ingredients and flavors. Some versions are firm and chewy, others soft and creamy, studded with almonds, walnuts, pistachios, or hazelnuts, alone or in combination. Benevento’s torrone is flavored with Strega, the native liquor; further south it is enlivened with lemon or orange, and in Piemonte it is always packed with the region’s richly flavored hazelnuts.
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Website: http://www.ginadepalma.net
Location: New York, NY and occasionally, Rome, Italy
About: I've been the Pastry Chef of Babbo Restaurant and Enoteca for the past ten years, and my cookbook, Dolce Italiano was published in October of 2007. Right now, I'm researching book number two in Italy, and am the Rome correspondent for Serious Eats
Favorite foods: anything lemon, pasta of all shapes, my mom's Sunday sugo, a perfect grilled cheese sandwich, toast with butter and jam, ripe peaches.....
Last bite on earth: un bacio from someone who loves me.