The first thing I ate in Rome was this delicious plate of pastries that Anna forced on me... Well maybe I wasn't forced, but she insisted I try the best. This was at Vanni where Anna was delivering cheese for their restaurant. The star of the plate was the Monte Bianco which was unlike anything I've ever tasted. The delicious morsel is built with a super soft, creamy meringue drop base. On top is piled a delicious cross cross of marron (chestnut) glacé. If you're like me and you'd never tried marron glacé before you need to stop what you're doing and get on a plane headed for Rome (or southern France) right now. It's amazing. It's made of chestnuts which are candied and creamed to make a light, slightly grainy confection that is pale brown in color. After this is laid on the meringue it is dusted with powder sugar to look like a white mountain- hence Monte Bianco. And while eating it you can be glad that there's a little historical element to the confection as well- it was first mentioned in print in 1475 and was served in the home of Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia.
The other two pastries were wonderful and deliciously sweet. The one with the green and white glacé and the candied fruit is a mini Cassata Siciliana. Labor intensive and extremely sweet, this dessert consists of sponge cake, a ricotta and chocolate filling, two layers of glacé (one pistachio flavored) and candied fruit and a kind of royal icing to top it all off. Delicious, and ridiculous to look at, this cake is very popular at Easter time. I found this updated recipe that doesn't use Maraschino cherries or food coloring, and I would like to try when I get home (http://food52.com/blog/10072-cassata-siciliana).
After the pastries with Anna and my glimpse of the Pope, Marco and Paige and I sat down to a 'Spritz'. This classic Italian aperitivo is made with prosecco and an orange flavored liquor called Aperol. It is readily available, so you can make this one at home! The bittersweet, bright orange liquor is combined as follows- 3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Aperol, 1 part soda water. But I like it better like this- 1 part Aperol, 3 parts prosecco, skip the soda water and enjoy.
Rome's late nights, walking and crowds can make you a little sleepy, so naturally there's plenty of coffee and, (oh no!) more pastries...
This was a banana chocolate muffin which elevated my entire concept of a muffin. When Marco first ordered it I was like 'psh, muffin? Please... I come from the land of muffins' but never have I had a muffin like this. It was dense and rich, yet full of air bubbles like a sponge, and oh-so-fudgy. Just imagine the best muffin of your life, multiply it's deliciousness by 10 and you'll have what we ate. We also had an insanely chocolatey torte with nocci and niccioli ( walnut, hazelnut) and some coffee which was nespresso but still hit the spot. The best thing about the coffee was the funny little plastic cups they served it in. You can see page holding it in the first picture.
I also tried Cafe Prana's espresso macchiato. I made the trip because I had heard good things about it on Katie Parla's food blog but was bitterly disappointed by the weak coffee, but the picture is pretty It's also the only coffee shop in Rome to use exclusively fair trade and organic beans. Ill wait for Jordan to suss out the best coffee in Rome.
Lunch was Paninos from Enotca Provincia Romana, a government sponsored hotspot that serves only roman dishes made with food produced in Rome and it's suburbs. While we waited for our take away order, Paige and I drooled over the hot food coming out of the kitchen so naturally I had to ask Marco to make a reservation for Jordan and I when we're in Rome. Can't wait for dinner this Tuesday! Paige was smart enough to take a photo of lunch but it doesn't of it justice.
While terribly out of season, I couldn't pass up some street chestnuts. They were still quite good despite the more than unseasonal-ness, and I loved the little cone they came served in.
This doesn't even scratch the surface of what wonders lay ahead. I am really, really looking forward to being joined by my favorite eating companion on Monday and will be sure to make notes of the delicacies! delights and maybe some of the disspointments as well. You may ask yourself, 'how is Gwen staying thin?' Or maybe you've skipped directly to 'wow Gwen must be getting fat', so am I? You betcha. Is it the worst thing in the world? Not at all. I may be eating way too much, but I've taken this advice about Italy quite literally- 'Abandon all diets, ye who enter here'. I advise you do the same.
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