Amaretti and fire- a fun combination!

Since SFS is Italian, he's been showing me all sorts of new things- from new pastas and sauces to specialty Italian goods. One of the things he introduced me to were Amaretti di Saronno.
Have you ever tried one of these? They're crunchy, almond-y cookies, covered in sugar sprinkles.
And not only are the cookies yummy, but they come wrapped in these little papers. And SFS showed me the coolest little trick.
First, you flatten the paper.
Then you role it into a tube and place it onto a plate.
Then, you light it on fire.
And as the fire burns down...
Something magical happens...
(I'm sure there's a scientific explanation, but I don't know what it is...)
Because as the paper is about to burn up completely, it floats into the air!
Unfortunately, I didn't catch a picture of it actually flying, so check out this short video to see the magic IN ACTION! (UPDATE: I can't take video on my camera, so I snagged this video from youtube.com!)

Pretty cool, right? I think you can pick up these cookies in any specialty Italian store- we happened to get these at Buon Italia in Chelsea Market.

I hope you're having a wonderful Wendesday- thanks for stopping by!

Pasta perfection

The other day, SFS made me dinner. While most people in America were shopping and preparing food for tomorrow's holiday, I was taking pictures while someone else made me dinner. How did I ever get that lucky?
As usual, SFS was able to whip up something delicious in no time. First, he came up with this pasta sauce, full of bell peppers, portobello mushrooms and tomatoes.
Then he sliced up some zucchini to saute.
While they were cooking, he came up with a version of caprese salad. Isn't it beautiful?
After a dash of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, it took all my might not to dig right in!
A few minutes later, the zucchini were finished.
And a few minutes after that, our dinner was complete.
Can you believe this spread? Talk about delish!
I hope your Thanksgiving preparations are going well! Thanks for visiting my blog!

Lunch in Little Italy

Let's pick up where we left off yesterday, shall we? Here we are on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx... or Little Italy of the Bronx! After lots of shopping and exploring, SFS and I had worked up quite the appetite. We were checking out all the restaurant options, as as we walked by Dominick's, a man that was just leaving asked if we were looking for a place to eat. When we admitted we were, he told us that he'd just finished an amazing meal, and he highly recommended eating there... so, we headed inside.
Let me tell you- the place was PACKED! The restaurant was filled with family-style tables, where you shared the Parmesan shaker with the person sitting next to you. Even though we arrived at 3 pm, there was a wait, so we were directed to the upstairs bar area until a spot opened up for us. So, we each enjoyed a glass of the house red.
And before we knew it, it was our turn to take a seat. When we were seated, the waiter approached us asking what we'd like for a starter. SFS explained that we hadn't seen a menu yet, and it turns out that THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY MENUS! That's right- they work off of a verbal menu! You just tell them what sounds good to you, and they'll see what they can make! We decided to start with a stuffed artichoke, and I had pasta with a marinara-type sauce while SFS tried a baked ziti dish. It was incredible- we could have ordered ANYTHING, and they would have tried to make it... how fun is that?

Our meal was delicious- and would you believe I didn't take a single picture of our dinner? I know... I must have been ill! :)

But I got the camera out when we got back outside. We stopped in an Italian market, and I blown away by these peppers: Instead of picking the peppers, they just pull the whole plant out of the ground, before hanging it upside down to dry!
Isn't that crazy?
The bins of nuts made me think of the holidays... we always have a basket of nuts at my parent's house during Christmas!
Before we left, we made sure to say a quick "hello" to Al Capone!
And last, but certainly no least, I want to show you one of the best stores in Little Italy: Calabria Pork Store!
When you walk inside, it's the most amazing sight- pork hangs from the entire ceiling!
Since the pork sausage is made in back, it's hung from the ceiling while it cures.
And although the store sold other treats, like these wheels of Parmesan...
It was the sausage that held my attention!
I mean, how could it NOT!
As you can tell, SFS and I had a wonderful time in the Bronx! Thank you for checking out my photos- I hope you're having a great day!

An afternoon on Arthur Avenue

On Saturday, SFS and decided to embark on an adventure... to the BRONX! After a subway ride and two different buses (the Q60 and Bx12), we made it to Arthur Avenue! It's the Little Italy of the Bronx! I had never been there before, but it only took a few minutes to fall in love. Unlike the Little Italy in Manhattan, this area was full of specialty food stores, restaurants, bakeries, butchers, and all sorts of other unique shops!

One of the first shops we stopped in was Tino's Delicatessen.
Along with a seating area for fresh pasta, there was a whole grocery section inside the deli... and most of the items were imported from Italy. Check out all the different kinds of pasta:
A few shelves away were the olive oils and balsamic vinegar... yum!
In the middle of the store was the deli counter, complete with hanging cheeses and meats!
As we meandered on down the road, we stopped in all sorts of stores.
Including this fresh fish market.
Admittedly, I let SFS go in alone... just looking at the live crabs outside made me a little queasy.
And seeing these dried fish a few stores further down didn't help much!
Another fun stop for SFS was this traditional butcher. I didn't take a picture of what was hanging in the window, but you can catch a glimpse of it along the bottom of this picture.
While SFS checked out the meat, I checked out the bakery next door. There were tons of bakeries like this along the block.
And every one of them had cases of the most scrumptious looking sweets!
Thanks for coming with us on our visit to Arthur Avenue. I have more pictures from our walk, which I'll post tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by- I hope you had a wonderful weekend!