Re-energizing for 2012!

How about a photo recipe to end 2011?
After Xmas in Copenhagen I'm now spending the last days of my holidays in Castelraimondo, where my belly is growing thanks to all the delicious food! (2012 new resolution: exercise!) Anyhow, here's the recipe for the greatest Italian dessert: Tiramisù!
"Tirami su' " is a dialectal expression from the Veneto region meaning 'pick me up', in the sense of re-energizing, regaining strength, or waking-up, what better way to prepare for the new year?!

Ingredients:
5 fresh eggs
6 rounded spoons of sugar
500 gr. of mascarpone
Coffee
Cocoa powder
1 box of Oro Saiwa cookies (ladyfingers)

1. Prepare coffee in advance.
2. Divide the yolks from the whites of the eggs. Mix the yolks with the sugar.
3. Whisk the whites until they get foamy (like a chantilly cream).
4. Add the mascarpone to the yolks and then the whites and mix.
5. Dip the cookies in the coffee and place them in a rectangular dish covering all of it.
6. Add a layer of the mixture, sprinkle some cocoa, then another layer of cookies and finish with a layer of mixture.
7. Sprinkle with cocoa and put the dish in the fridge for some hours.
Enjoy!

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I feel it in my fingers...

Just a quick post to wish you all the greatest holidays!
xoxo
M.

Überlin

"...I know, I know that this is changing
we walk the streets to feel the ground
I'm chasing through Berlin..." 
(fragment of Uberlin - R.E.M.)

Oh, such a pity that R.E.M. are not together anymore!
Anyhow, this song was playing loud in my head in our last year's trip to Berlin, and also in the radio (I'm not completely nuts).

Brandenburg gate

Berlin had always been one of the places I wanted to see,  so when the opportunity came I was good to go.
After 20 years of the fall of the Berlin Wall, you almost can't imagine that this city was once divided and that both sides were so different. Still, when we found the brick line that marks the places where the wall once stood, and we crossed this line, we couldn't help to feel a bit overwhelmed by the historical meaning; I mean, we were able to do what just 20 years back was forbidden, to go from East to West Berlin.

There are still remnants of the Wall standing in a few places around town (near Potsdamer Platz, Checkpoint Charlie and Freedom Park), and sadly, next to them you will find the worst of sourvenirs: people dressed in 'communist' uniforms who put a stamp on your passport for money, or people in soviet uniforms at the Checkpoint Charlie who pose for your photos (it is almost as sad as the chubby gladiators in front of the Colisseum in Rome).

remnant of the Wall

 One of the most touching monuments I've ever seen is in Berlin, not far from the Reichstag and it's famous Norman-Foster-designed Dome, the Holocaust Memorial, which is "a tribute to the murdered Jews of Europe", consisting of 2.711 blocks of concrete of different heights; the feeling when you walk around them is of a deep sadness, but it's such a beautiful modern monument.

Another impressive monument are the remains of the Gedächniskirche, in Kurfürstendamm (Ku'damm for locals), damaged by the bombings in World War II.

Gedächniskirche

 The area near Alexanderplatz ("Alex" as locals call it - you can't miss it, it's where the TV tower is) and Hackescher Markt, which were part of East Berlin and had a very socialist look in their buildings, is now the hip area for shops and nightclubs.
If you want to stay in this area, the Radisson Blu is the place to stay, It's not far from Alexanderplatz, right by the river. It has a huge acquarium in the center so when you wake up this is your view:

pork knuckle

For a beer and a bite, Brauhaus Lempke in Hackescher Markt is the place. It's a brewery located under the railway, it gets crowded but it's all part of the atmosphere, if you're hungry, the Berlin style pork knuckle is a must.




And if you want a quick bite while you explore the area, there are:
- All in One Kebab (Rosenthalerstrasse 43-45, just off Hachescher Markt) - they say kebab is actually Berlin's typical food, I must say this one is delicious!
- Dolores Mitte - if you feel like a quick burrito, visit Dolores, near Alex, they also have delicious aguas frescas and hearty soups.



For shopping, Münzstrasse in Mitte is the street to visit, a lot of fun and hip shops; otherwise, for larger budgets: KaDeWe in Ku'damm is the spot, it's gourmet section is a foodies paradise!

2012 resolutions

As 2012 approaches, I can't help to start thinking that it will be my 30th year on ed earth! And I've also started thinking about the changes I would like to make or the places I'd like to go, so here's a quick vision board:

1. Visit Lisbon - the only European capital I've never been to, but always wanted to. The food, the people, the atmosphere, it's all so inspiring! So I hope 2012 will be the year I get to go there!
2. Visit Dubai - actually this is an easy one since we are already planing this trip, so excited!
3. Learn how to make sushi - it shouldn't be that difficult, right? That way I can make a rich cirashi filled with tuna and salmon and only a couple of spoons of rice...
4. Move! - I confess I have never been a sporty type but I guess when you turn 30 you might need a bit of excercise, I'm thinking yoga...

5. Learn Turkish - a language I've always loved, hope I have some time to learn it, even by myself!
6. Get a grown-up bag - a girl must have a grown-up bag in her 30ies, I'm thinking the Kelly-bag type...

Hope to get at least three of these done by 2012!

When in Rome...

So, what happens when two foodies choose their next travel destination? We start doing restaurant research! (Actually I do, G only approves). Anyhow, we start from Trip Advisor, Yelp, blogs from locals and expats (when we don't understand the language), etc. I love this whole research process and the discovery of special places. We don't want fancy Michelin-starred restaurants with micro portions and high prices and our worst nightmare is to end up in a McDonalds, so we focus on the places that offer good food that is part of the place's culture, and if the price is good, great!
Almost a year ago we were in Rome for a weekend and, tired of always ending up in an anonymous Trastevere trattoria offering "menu turistico" (when you see this sign, run away, fast!), after all the research we chose a tiny little restaurant in the Jewish quarter: Sora Margherita (Piazza delle Cinque Scole 30 - Roma - Tel. *+39 06 6874216* - no website). After reading in some blogs that they serve Rome's best tripe, a dish we both love, we couldn't ignore it. We called 4 days ahead and booked for dinner at 20,00 (they have two seating times (20,00 and 21,30), they are open on weekdays only for lunch and weekends for dinner.
It was a bit difficult to find the place because there's no sign outside, but we called them and they guided us to get there. The place inside is small, there's place for 40-50 people and you're literally rubbing elbows with the people in the next table. The decor is made of guides and newspaper articles (note: we normally don't do restaurants that appear on so many guide books - we feel they're too advertised and offer a fake food-experience based on what they think tourists may like - but Sora Margherita is definitely not one of those), some paintings by the owner, simple tables with paper tablecloths. The waitresses are nice, in their own way: they are busy, the place seems to be always full and they like you to eat everything in your plate, so they even yell at you - and you shouldn't think it's rude, it's just the way they are. The menu is hand written in the same paper used for the tables and it includes fried artichokes, puntarelle (roman salad with anchovy, garlic and oil dressing), fresh homemade pasta with different sauces, tripe, beef sausages, fried zucchini, broccoli, meatballs, ricotta cheese cake, etc. No wine list, so we ordered 1/2 liter of the house's wine. As a starter, we had the fried artichoke, cooked jewish-style, and the  puntarelle; both very good, the dressing of the puntarelle was delicious. As an entree we both had the trippa alla romana (tripe cooked roman-style in tomato sauce with parmesan), which probably makes it to our Top Ten of the best foods we've had in our life - simply delicious, tender, tasty, perfect portion and the atmosphere makes you think you've discovered one of those special places you keep talking about (sometimes even annoying people). But wait, we're not done yet, for dessert we shared a ricotta cheesecake with cherries, it was as italians say: "the cherry on top of the cake", very good, perfect to end this perfect dinner in the most beautiful city in the world. The bill was about 55 euro, perfectly average for Rome but a bargain for the supreme quality. The walk back to the hotel in a mild January evening with the enlightened monuments was just "another cherry on top of the cake".

entrance of Sora Margherita