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Gelato With a Chocolate Twist

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I know temperatures outside are starting to drop, but can we really put a limit on when to have gelato?  I, for one, can not.  I love the delicious, cool, creamy treat.  If you remember, this is not the first time I’ve written about my love for gelato, and I’m sure it won’t be my last. My current obsession is not only with gelato, but with gelato topped in a coating of chocolate.  It.is.delicious!  I have been hooked. Most gelato is topped with panna (whipped cream), and the first time we visited, we were surprised with chocolate syrup drizzled over the panna.  A few days later I returned again and asked for chocolate sauce and got my gelato dipped in chocolate.  I literally squealed with delight at the sight of this.  I am a chocoholic, and combining delicious chocolate with delicious gelato makes me one happy girl!

As you can see by the line out the door, the word has spread and the phenomenon is catching on.  By the way, the gelato is homemade on site, and is made without hydrogenated fat.  

Yummm!  I mentioned before my standard ‘go to’ flavors are Bacio (chocolate & hazelnut), Pistachio and Stracciatella (similar to American chocolate chip).  At Frigidarium, I still stick with Pistachio (my favorite flavor), but I can’t seem to get enough of their Tiramisù (tastes just like homemade tiramisù) and Spagnola (Vanilla gelato topped with Amarena cherries).   

The tartness of the cherries in the Spagnola and the coffee flavor in the Tiramisù pair perfectly with the rich chocolate coating. 

If you are not a huge lover of chocolate, or if you prefer whipped cream atop your gelato, you always have that choice too (with or without chocolate syrup).  


Frigidarium
Via del Governo Vecchio, 112
Rome, Italy
(near to Piazza Navona)
Prices: Sm-€2, Med-€3, Lg-€4  (Even the small comes with 3 flavors and your choice of panna or chocolate topping)
Website

Piazza Treasures: Halloween Edition

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The entertainment is endless here in Rome, and I always see fun and interesting street performers when I’m out and about.  The piazzas are a perfect place to people watch and be entertained by different street performers.  Since it’s Halloween, I thought I would share a few fun costumes in this month’s Piazza Treasures roundup.  Who knows, maybe you will be inspired with ideas for your own Halloween costume.  Happy Trick or Treat everyone!  
A scary skeleton hanging out by Castle Sant’Angelo.  
You could dress up like a bronze Egyptian statue, like the one in Piazza Navona. 

You could be a pirate or Captain Jack Sparrow, like this guy who we also found in Piazza Navona.  

You could dress up as Michael Jackson, like this person we spotted performing in Piazza del Popolo.  Or … 

… you could go as a bush.  This guy makes me laugh!  He sits along the cobblestone streets of Trastevere, and is very still until someone drops coins into his cup, then he moves and shakes.  Confession:  The first time I noticed him was after I was walking next to him and he suddenly moved.  He almost scared me to death because he blended into the setting and I didn’t notice him as I approached his way.     

Are you dressing up for Halloween?  What are you dressing up as?  What is your costume?

Friday Fun: International Rome Film Festival

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The sixth edition of the International Rome Film Festival began yesterday, October 27th, and will run through Saturday, November 5th.  Many stars are scheduled to be in attendance, such as Richard Gere, Steven Spielberg, Maggie Gyllenhall, Penelope Cruz and Ethan Hawke, to name a few.

The festival will present films in and out of competition, documentaries and independent films.  The 15 films in competition will be competing for the Marco Aurelio awards for best picture, best actor and best actress.  A number of exhibitions and award ceremonies will also be taking place throughout the festival.

Tickets for the screenings range from €3-€25.  For a list of films, along with their screening dates and prices, you can check here.  For information on purchasing tickets you can check here.  For additional information on the festival, you can check here.

For this week’s Friday Fun, we thought we would share trailers from two of the films being shown at this year’s International Rome Film Festival.  Here are our picks.  Would love to know if anyone has a chance to attend the festival, and which movie(s) you liked the best.  **Hubby’s pick**
“The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn” is an animated film by Steven Spielberg, due out in December.  It looks like fun for the whole family.




**My pick**
“Hysteria” is a romantic comedy featuring Maggie Gyllenhall, and is said to be based on a true story.  The film is set in 1880 London, and is about an invention to cure women’s hysteria.  This one is not appropriate for the whole family, but might be fun for a night out with the girls.  I’ll be honest, the trailer made me giggle and left me blushing a little.




Don’t forget, please let us know if you have a chance to attend the festival.  We would love to know which movie(s) you saw, and your thoughts on the festival.

If you would like to see other Friday Fun posts, you can find them here.  If you would like to see the reason behind why we started the Friday Fun posts, you can check it out here. 

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Why Rome?

A Recipe to Celebrate World Pasta Day

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I told you guys about World Pasta Day yesterday, so I thought it would be fun to share with you how we passed the day, and celebrate with a pasta recipe.  The dilemma I was left with yesterday was whether to have pasta with a red marinara sauce or a white garlic cream sauce.  (Tough dilemma, I know. 😉  Well, the white garlic cream sauce won.  After a trip to the market today, I decided to add broccoli and mushrooms.  Yummm!

Here is what I used:
  • 500g Tagliatelle pasta (long, flat pasta similar to fettuccine)
  • 1 bunch broccoli
  • 500g mushrooms (funghi)
  • 200ml heavy cream (panna)
  • about 60g butter (burro)
  • 2 cloves garlic (aglio)
  • salt & pepper to taste (sale e pepe)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  While the water is coming to a boil, slice the mushrooms and chop the broccoli into small pieces.  When your water begins to boil, salt the water, then add your pasta.  Right after, add the chopped broccoli pieces to the boiling pasta water.  

In the meantime, sauté the mushrooms in a little butter or olive oil in a separate pan.  When ready, add the butter and let it melt.  Once melted, add the heavy cream.  Stir together, then grate the garlic cloves over the pan.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Once the pasta is ready, drain the water.  Combine the mushroom and cream mixture with the pasta and broccoli.  Mix all together and serve.

Of course pasta is even better when accompanied with a glass of wine.  I had a glass of Italian Sangiovese today with our lunch.  I purchased the bottle of wine for only €1,29.  It still blows my mind every time I purchase wine!  If you missed it, you can read more about my cheap wine finds in Rome here.

We finished the meal in true Italian fashion … with Tiramisù.  Our neighbor made the tiramisù today and shared with us.  Such a great treat, and it was a perfect ending to our Italian meal as we celebrated World Pasta Day.

 

La Dolce Vita Series: Pasta

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Photo courtesy 4umagazine.net.

Pasta!  Who doesn’t love pasta?  From spaghetti to vermicelli, from penne to farfalle, or from lasagne to linguine … the pasta possibilities and varieties are almost endless.  To most people, pasta is synonymous with Italian food.  If Italian food is being served, then you can just about expect to see at least one pasta dish on the table.  Italy is known the world over for its simple and (oh so) delicious pasta dishes.  Italian food, especially pasta dishes, has always been my favorite type of cuisine.  It’s such a comforting food.  Living in Italy, we eat pasta all the time, and prepare it at home quite often.  I simply love it!

I recently learned there is a whole day dedicated to pasta.  It is known as World Pasta Day, and is celebrated each year on October 25th.  Care to take a guess where the day originated?  Yep, no other place than Rome, Italy!  It was established on October 25, 1995, by the World Pasta Congress.  (Who knew there was such a thing?)  The focus of the day is to promote pasta and its benefits when incorporated into a healthy diet.  

 
I don’t know about you, but I really did not need another excuse to enjoy a big, yummy plate of pasta.  That is what is on the menu for tomorrow as we celebrate World Pasta Day here in Rome, where it first originated.  The only dilemma … the sauce.  Red marinara sauce with fresh chopped vegetables or a white garlic cream sauce?  Don’t you just love these kinds of decisions? 🙂          
 
In honor of World Pasta Day, I would like to leave you with a poem about a delicious type of pasta … linguine.  Enjoy!  

 

LINGUINI
 
It was always linguini between us. 
Linguini with white sauce, or 
red sauce, sauce with basil snatched from 
the garden, oregano rubbed between
our palms, a single bay leaf adrift amidst
plum tomatoes. Linguini with meatballs,
sausage, a side of brascioli. Like lovers
trying positions, we enjoyed it every way
we could-artichokes, mushrooms, little
neck clams, mussels, and calamari-linguini
twining and braiding us each to each. 
Linguini knew of the kisses, the smooches, 
the molti baci. It was never spaghetti
between us, not cappellini, nor farfalle, 
vermicelli, pappardelle, fettucini, perciatelli,
or even tagliarini. Linguini we stabbed, pitched, 
and twirled on forks, spun round and round
on silver spoons. Long, smooth, and always
al dente. In dark trattorias, we broke crusty panera,
toasted each other—La dolce vita!—and sipped
Amarone, wrapped ourselves in linguini, 
briskly boiled, lightly oiled, salted, and lavished
with sauce. Bellissimo, paradisio, belle gente!
Linguini witnessed our slurping, pulling, and 
sucking, our unraveling and raveling, chins
glistening, napkins tucked like bibs in collars, 
linguini stuck to lips, hips, and bellies, cheeks
flecked with formaggio—parmesan, romano,
and shaved pecorino—strands of linguini flung
around our necks like two fine silk scarves. 
“Linguini” by Diane Lockward, from What Feeds Us. © Wind Publications, 2006.

If you enjoyed this poem, and it left you hungry for more, you can check out the book What Feeds Usfor additional poems by Diane Lockward.