Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast

We departed Rome on the train, the Circumvesuviana line, travelling along the Amalfi coast down to Sorrento.  We spent a full week there and just fell in love with it.  Sorrento is beautiful, easy to navigate and centrally located to visit Pompeii, Positano, Amalfi and Hercolano.  It's also not a long train ride from Rome. 

We stayed at the Hotel Mignon in Sorrento: http://www.sorrentohotelmignon.com/

It was very nice and pretty centrally located in the town. It was about 4 blocks from the train station and another block from the main shopping/dining street in town.  We weren't brave (or insane - depending on how you look at it) enough to rent a car....so we walked everywhere.  Sorrento is small enough to easily walk through it while looking for restaurants or shopping. 

 

 

Sorrento is known for their lemon groves, and subsequently, their Limoncello.  I didn't really enjoy Limoncello....it's very strong.  But this is the place to try it! You can see a ton of lemon groves from the train....lovely.  Here is the website for the Limonoro - the premire Limoncello maker in Sorrento, and where we bought our Limoncello souvenirs: http://www.limonoro.it/home_eng.htm

We had sliding glass doors in our hotel room that lead out to this patio - right off the patio was a lemon grove:

 

 

As Italy is also known for great leather goods, I found an awesome store in Sorrento and purchased a leather purse....it is one of my most favorite material posessions.  Here is a link to the store: www.concettapane.it

 Tomorrow, Pompeii.

Rome!

One year ago today, Luke and I were on our way to Italy.  It was a great trip, and likely our last international one for awhile....as we are both in school and it's hard to find the time (and money) for a big trip.  Hopefully we'll be able to go abroad again soon, but it will likely have to wait until I'm out of school.

Here is a little review of our trip to southern Italy, along with some pictures.

We started our trip with three days and two nights in Rome, followed by seven days and six nights in Sorrento, ending with another two nights in Rome.  In Rome we stayed at the Hotel Apollo.  The room was very small, but nice and clean.  We were just a few blocks from the Colosseum and the Trevi fountain.  We spent a little more to stay within walking distance of these monuments....but it was nice and safe and clean.  They had a great breakfast area up on the roof....which I am sure we would have enjoyed more if it had not been February when we were there.  Here is a link to the hotel: http://www.hotelapollorome.com/

The first day we wandered around the area surrounding our hotel.  We visited the Trevi fountain, the Spanish steps, did some shopping and had our first gelato.  De-wait for it - lightful.

The second day we walked up the the Colosseum from our hotel, we ate at a great restaurant right across the street from the Colosseum....couldn't beat the view. We had a great calzone, such yummy food the whole trip.  We then walked over to the Colosseum.  We spent most of the late morning and early afternoon there.

Luke is so cute!  From the Colosseum we wandered over to the Roman Forum, it was beautiful - so rich in history. Luke and I listened to audio guides by Rick Steves (downloaded free off iTunes) whilst walking around - this was a tip from Cynthia and Chris - very helpful and interesting.  The Roman Forum is way cool.

 

 

 

Tomorrow I'll revisit Sorrento.

Spiced beef empanadas

This is one of my new favorites.

I got this recipe from Real Simple magazine a few months ago.  I've already made it several times. It is easy (although a little time consuming) and so delicious.  

Spiced Beef Empanadas:

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 pound ground beef
1/3 cup golden raisins
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
s/p
2 store-bought refrigerated rolled piecrusts (I get GF ones from BitterSweet Bakery)
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp. lime zest

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium head. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 6 minutes.  Add the beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon until no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the raisins, ketchup, cinnamon, salt and pepper.

Using a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter (or biscut cutter) to cut out circles from the piecrusts. Divide the beef mixture among the circles, brush the edges with water, fold in half, and press with a fork to seal.  Transfer to a baking sheet and brush with the egg. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Put the sour cream in a small bowl and sprinkle with the lime zest. Serve with the empanadas.

Lemon cupcakes with lemon-raspberry frosting

I really felt like making something light, and summery....so I tried these lemon cupcakes. It's a semi-homemade type thing...as I used store-bought cake mix and frosting. However, I bought fresh raspberries and mixed them into Betty Crocker Lemon frosting (which is not gluten-free) and added a little powdered sugar to thicken the frosting - as the moisture from the berries thinned it out a little. If you can't find a GF lemon cake mix, simply mix a box of lemon jello into a yellow cake mix (follow the instructions under the Lemon Surprise! recipe). GF lemon frosting can be made with powdered sugar and lemon juice and butter as well.

These were delightful. I love lemon cake on its own - no frosting - but this lemon-raspberry frosting is a little tart and sweet and really yummy. This is so summery......a perfect treat for February cabin-fever.

Too much snow

I know I go through this every year, cursing the MN winter - at about mid-February. I love the cold.....I am a truly Nordic person. I sweat too much in the spring, summer and fall. Winter is the best. Plus, bulky clothes to hide my fat. It's awesome.



I don't, however, enjoy driving in the snow. Or shoveling. This year we've had a ton more snow than usual, we have no where to put it. We've also done a really poor job with our shoveling....I'm sure our neighbors curse us whenever they walk along our stretch of sidewalk.




















Here are some photos of our abundance of snow, including our sad, "spare car" - which is for sale (by the way) if anyone is interested:) and our tiny garbage can, which is precariously perched atop 4 feet of snow in the alley. Ah, lovely.

Pepper steak

This is one of my absolute favorites, it's my mom's recipe and I make it all the time. You can use stew meat - which is already cut in small pieces, but I usually buy round eye steak and slice it myself. You can brown in by itself....but I generally brown it in 2 Tbsp. of butter - it really adds a great flavor.

Pepper Steak

3 cups cooked rice
1 pound round steak, sliced
1 Tbsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, pressed or crushed
1 1/2 cups gluten-free beef broth
1 cup sliced green onions
2 green peppers, cut into strips
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce (or Bragg's Liquid Aminos if GF)
1 can diced tomatoes (or two large tomatoes, diced)

Cut steak into thin strips, sprinkle meat with paprika, let stand. Brown meat in butter. Add garlic and beef broth.

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in onions and peppers, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Blend cornstarch, water and soy sauce. Stir into pan until thickened. Add tomatoes, heat through. Serve over rice.

Sausage & Peppers

Sausage and peppers....or sausage and peepers - as Joe and Luke call it. This has become one of my all time favorite meals. This recipe is excellent - it's fairly easy and quick. The blend of spicy and sweet make it unique and the aroma is really enticing.

Recipe:
1 lb. Italian sausage links (Johnsonville Italian Sausage is gluten-free)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 red pepper, cut in thin strips
1 yellow pepper, cut in thin strips
1 orange pepper, cut in thin strips
1/2 white onion, cut in thin strips
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes


Slice sausage, brown in olive oil. Add pressed garlic and 1/4 cup sugar. Stir until sugar melts. Add peppers and onions and salt and pepper. Saute until veggies are limp. Add tomatoes and remaining sugar and red pepper flakes. Cook for 10 more minutes. Serve over GF rigatoni with Parmesan cheese.

Layered Taco Dip

I figured I should post an easy recipe for Superbowl Sunday...here is my favorite dip recipe.

Mmmm, taco dip

Recipe:
1 can refried beans
1/2 cup salsa (ensure that the salsa is GF)
1 small container sour cream
1 cup guacamole
1 cup shredded cheese
sliced black olives
sliced green onions

Mix the refried beans with the salsa, layer on a plate. Next layer sour cream and then guacamole. Sprinkle the cheese over the top. Top with olives and green onions. Also could layer diced tomatoes. Serve with GF tortilla chips.

Pita pizzas

 This is an easy, nostalgic meal. I remember making pita pizzas and english muffin pizzas when I was younger. Here are some grown up variations. The first time I tried this I used no tomato sauce, just olive oil, cheese and tomatoes, with some dried herbs sprinkled on. They were delicious. The next time I made them I used canned tomato sauce, mini pepperoni slices and green olives - my favorite (don't use regular pepperoni if you are GF!). They aren't too bad for you either, using a whole-wheat pita (or GF pita) and low-fat shredded cheese, these are a great lunch.

Gnocchi part 2

Writing about gnocchi the other day made me crave it....

I haven't found GF gnocchi (pre-packaged) but there is an easy recipe at celiac.com

I made these baked gnocchi dishes with tomato sauce, a blend of garlic and herbs, mushrooms, green pepper and a lot of cheese. I used a little too much crushed red pepper for my taste, but Luke enjoyed it as it was.