Raw Deal

I just poured myself a gorgeous cup of coffee from the French press that managed to retain a tiny bit of crema-ish foam on its surface. It reminded me of 2 things, the first being my recent trip to Italy and all the wonderful espresso that followed the many wonderful meals we enjoyed while there. The second is that I am now well enough to drink coffee again, only just recovering from a flu that prevented me from eating, thinking, or writing about food for about 4 days. So, before any more time passes, I wanted to share with you some of the most delicious things we ate and drank over those 14 days. The highlights: tagliatelle with pork; cotoletto di vitello; proper cappuccino in the morning at the hotel; lunch in Bolgheri where everything was amazing but especially outstanding were the tartare, the papardelle with braised wild boar, and a simple chickpea soup. To drink we had wines from Michele Satta (our host), hubby and I also took advantage of the Enoteca's incredible selection of wines by the glass and shared between us a glass 2006 Sassicaia and one of 2006 Ornellaia; that night we ate something so taboo, so deviant, I can barely stand to mention it--raw pork sausage. We spread it on toast. Decadent, delicious, a little disgusting if you think about eating a whole bowl of it with a spoon, but the deviant nature of the act made us excited and giddy; a wonderful lunch in the home of our friends in Florence where they served an antipasti of sun dried eggplant that was amazing, especially when piled on top of bread with fresh cheese; an apertivo of little white truffle sandwiches washed down with a gorgeous white wine from Antinori; "the herb that hurts you"; some very delicious pizzas; apple crostada; a salad with cold black rice; and, um, I am actually finishing this about a week after I started it, and really can't remember what else. Hubby took some amazing notes, but oh! He wouldn't stand for it if I left out our night of beef with Dario Cecchini, especially the Sushi Del Chianti. The rest of the night is a meaty blur of wine, Dante, smoke, socks, and did I speak French at one point? Anyway, it was awesome and my kid really rocked it that night. He ate his weight in steak, napped at the table for a bit before waking and eating some more, colored with strangers, and posed for pictures. Really great trip.
And back in London, over my flu in time for an Easter feast washed down with champagne at Langtry's, dim sum lunches, lovely sunny afternoons with friends in their garden, and a couple fashion events. Last night's was a total bust--except for my kid who scored the jelly beans and Maltesers from my otherwise totally lame goody bag. Tonight though, I am going to an Instyle event at the Swarovski Crystallized Store. I walked by the shop on my way home last night, and suspect the real biz might have been going on last night given the number of paps outside the store. It looked really nice inside, so I am hoping some of that carries over into tonight's event. Fashion show, make-up, jewelry, goody bags, champagne--how bad can it be? I'll let you know...