I can rarely resist a tasty simple to make lemon chicken recipe.  This is why I share the aromatic roasted chicken recipe by Evan Kleiman of Angeli Caffe in Los Angeles. I spotted his recipe on Saveur.

The recipe is something that you can make after a day at the office, if you do not mind eating later. While it marinates for an hour, you could relax, train with the Wii Fit or pick up fresh vegetables at your local fruit and vegetable store.

The recipe called for a whole chicken cut in 8 pieces. You can easily adjust the recipe to cook the number of pieces you need to feed your family. Or bring the leftovers for lunch at the office the next day. Or use the remaining meat to prepare a homemade chicken soup.

Side Dishes

I would serve the Pollo Arrosto with steamed broccoli, boiled green beans or an arugula salad with a lemon olive oil vinaigrette. I use 2 parts of lemon juice for 5 parts of peppery olive oil and season to taste with freshly ground pepper and fleur de sel. Nothing complicated but it tastes incredible!

+ Pollo Arrosto – Lemon and Rosemary Chicken recipe on Saveur – photos by Andre Baranowski

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Ofuro has a east meet west flavor. Designer Matteo Thun has created for Italian brand Rapsel a Japanese style soaking bath. Beautifully made of larch wood, Ofuro grabbed my attention since we can deeply submerge yourself in it. Form and function are united. I love it!

+ Rapsel
+ via Trendir

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Even if we were not in the middle of a very snowy winter, I would still be impressed by the design of these wood storage units. Naturally, the round fire pit is the ultimate design when it comes to a ski chalet. It is called Zero.

The Ak47 collection delivers a series of tower styles. Albert+ is my favorite interpretation. From a series of baskets to carry the wood inside up to FLEX, a flexible structure that can act as a seat or an ottoman, the collection offers many possibilities.

Sadly, I have no idea where you can buy these Italian design wood storage solutions.

MORE:
+ Ak47
+ via My Urban Garden Deco Guide

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My parents had a cute Swiss cuckoo clock. I was fascinated by the magic of the striking. I still find it charming but I prefer the style of a modern clock. Designed by Riccardo Paolino and Matteo Fusi for Progetti, Cucuruku is an Italian design with a German mechanism. You can choice between a wenge colored wood and white tree design or a black colored wood with an orange tree.

The cuckoo clocks are more intelligent. A sensor light keeps it quiet at night. Waterfalls play in the background while striking. Naturally, the striking can be turned off, if you get tired of it.

+ Albero – Cucuruku Cuckoo Clock $350 USD
+ photo: the new Twitter’s new headquarters via TechCrunch and Design Milk

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What a pretty sight! These are pasta made by food historian and food teacher Oretta Zanini De Vita. As you can see, making pasta has so secret for her. She owns vintage pasta tools including a wooden stamp that mints pasta like coins. It is splendid.

Encyclopedia of Pasta

Oretta Zanini De Vita wrote a 300-page encyclopedia about the history of Italian pasta. The english version of her book will hit the store in a few days. This is not a recipe book. It is a book that explores all shapes and types of pasta. You will learn about their origins, the primary ingredients, the different names that it is called, and how you typically served them. It is a good gift idea for a foodie who likes to know more about food history.

In the interview on The New York Times, Mona Talbott said that the range of pasta shapes shows that cooking “was a way of self-expression for women to show their creativity and imagination with little or no resources”. When you see how beautiful these pasta are, I agree with her.

If you wish to know about Oretta Zanini De Vita’s quest to discover the history of pasta or you wish to admire more delightful pasta pictures, head to The New York Times.

SOURCING:
+ For Americans: Encyclopedia of Pasta by Oretta Zanini De Vita $19.77 USD
+ For Canadians: Encyclopedia of Pasta by Oretta Zanini De Vita $21.74 CAD
+ top photo: Chris Warde-Jones for The New York Times

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My eyes caught a kitchen hood that seems to be made for me. I like it in its yellow orange color. Find more unusual range hoods designed by Barriviera Cappe on Appliancist.

+ photos: Barriviera Cappe

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Last weekend, my husband bought a pouch of imported Burrata cheese. The real Burrata comes from Italy and naturally, they are the best. To tell you the truth, Burrata tastes even better in Italy since the fresher the Burrata, the best it tastes. You must know that it is a cheese that you must eat quickly. After two weeks, it will be too hard.

I read on CurdNerds that Burrata is essentially unspun mozzarella curds mixed with fresh cream (“burro” is Italian for butter) stuffed into sheets of pulled mozzarella. This little pouch is then wrapped in Asphodelus ramosus leaves, an herb with leaves similar to leeks.

I improvised how to serve it based on a list of ingredients provided by my friend Nathalie Rivard. It is really simple but so so delicious. Remember this if you have friends over that you wish to spoil. The good Burrata is expensive; it costs about $30 a ball in Montreal. It is so good that 4 people, 6 at the maximum, will eat this as an appetizer. Naturally, you could add a big antipasto plate to feed a group of 8 or 10 persons.

Recipe of Burrato with vine tomatoes, olive oil, old balsamic vinegar and basil

In my Sophie Conran’s roasting dish (I like her dinnerware so much), I throw

• 6-7 small vine tomatoes, cut in 4
• 2 Kumato tomatoes, cut in 8

It is time to use your good stuff. I drizzled old balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I spread my basil cut in chiffonade (7-8 leaves).

Then, we put half the Burrata on this mixture. We spread a thick layer on country bread slices. Pair it with a red wine for a divine appetizer.

My recipe has a rustic look. If you need an elegant presentation, have a look at how Stuart Spivack plated his home made mozzarella burrata salad.

MORE:
+ photo: pouch of Burrata by CurdNerds
+ photo: half Burrata on wood tray by John Kenney for Montreal Gazette seen on the blog of Macchi Inc.
+ photo: stu_spivack on Flickr

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I introduced the Missoni Hotel a couple months ago for their bold use of colors in a bedroom. Missoni is one of many designer brands who joined the hospitality market.

These days, the fashionista can do more than decorate her home with designer’s bedding and cushions, or entertain with tableware from the same fashion maven than the clothes she wears at her dinner party. The next frontier is to fully experience a designer style by staying in an hotel room. Seriously, I am all for stylish, well-designed hotel rooms. I am tired to see the generic hotel rooms. When I travel, I want a better experience that will inspire me. That is the main appeal of the boutique hotels.

Elle Canada listed 9 designer hotels from established fashion houses and hip designers. If you wish to stay in an interior designed by Christian Lacroix head to Hotel Du Petit Moulin. You could enjoy a night in a Bulgari Hotel when you visit Milan or or the remodeled Mondrian designed by Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz when you go to Los Angeles.

+ more at Elle Canada
+ photo via Bulgari Hotels

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I had a special lunch twelve days ago. Hivron and her husband Paolo Macchi received me for a tasting of their products at a local restaurant in Old Montreal. While talking to Hivron during the lunch, I discovered that we have several things in common. We both studied interior design for one thing.

Prosciutto crudo

Macchi imports and distributes the highest quality of Citterio’s prosciutto crudo (raw ham). They carry Prosciutto di Parma, Prosciutto di San Daniele and Culatello. I invited my foodie friend Nathalie Rivard to share this experience.

The Citterio’s prosciutto crudo are all natural. They are made without additives. The curing masters created them with ham, salt, air and time. Another main difference with these prosciutto is the sweet taste of the fat. These premium prosciutto are miles away from the taste of the pre-packaged prosciutto.

We savored 5 famous types of Italian and local (meaning made in the USA) prosciutto crudo. We were able to taste each prosciutto “nature”. Plus, DNA’s chef Derek Dammann made us as a delightful appetizer dish for each type. They each have their own personality.

I enjoyed the food combination that Derek Dammann served us. Derek had been Chef de Cuisine at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen in London, England. You know how I love Jamie Oliver. He takes great pride in serving sustainably grown and harvested produce, meats and seafood because food tastes better when its ingredients are the product of thoughtful stewardship. He was the right chef to serve us this prosciutto.

I particularly enjoyed the plate where he mixed prosciutto with a very light mustard vinaigrette. A appetizer recipe that you can do at home is to drizzle aged balsamic topped with shaves of Parmesan Reggiano. The mix of salt and sweet is delicious. Another tasty combination was to serve prosciutto with dates.

Macchi imported directly from Italy as much as possible. It makes a difference. The pigs used in the United States are smaller than the pigs used in Italy. The Italian prosciutto is ham from a very rare bread of pigs that are bred in north-central Italy. How you cure the meat is also important. You get the best results with time. It generally produces a prosciutto that is more tender.

Shopping Tips

Look for these qualities when buying fresh prosciutto:

• Color should be lighter rather than darker, a light to medium pink. If it’s burgundy, don’t buy it!
• Fat colour should be white and not yellow. A fresh prosciutto should be sweet and not salty
• Ask to taste a slice before buying prosciutto
• Outside fat should not exceed 1/2-3/4 of an inch. Every animal is different. If it is more than 3/4 of an inch, they should trim the excess fat for you.

The Swedish-born Hivron writes a blog for Macchi where you can find recipes and food information.

SOURCING:
+ Macchi
+ DNA restaurant

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I am French Canadian, not Italian. I used to make a bowl of latte every morning topped with cinnamon. Then, my old espresso machine broke. That was a few years ago and I never sent my espresso machine to the repair shop. The main reason was that it was white, which did not work well with my red and blonde wood kitchen decor.

When I want an espresso at home, I use the basic stovetop moka pot but it is not the same. Looking at the red Francis Francis X7 iperEspresso machine is tempting. It is so cute. The  X7 and X8 iperEspresso machines are part of a new generation of espresso capsules developed by Illy. The two-stage brewing process intensifies the flavor to create an aromatic, full-bodied espresso with rich, velvety crema that lasts and lasts.

The appeal of these automated espresso machines is that you do not train to become a good barista. I might had more control on the taste of the espresso with my old machine but it was also harder to operate. Let’s face it, if your 12 guests desire an espresso, an automated machine comes handy. Watch this video to see how it works.

Some Facts You Need to Know Before You Buy It

Notice that the X7 iperEspresso machine makes regular espresso, cappuccino and latte (2 shots of espresso). The X7 iperEspresso machine works exclusively with the Illy ipercapsules. It has an auto-stop feature to control cup volume. It is an important fact because you will not be able to control the taste through the coffee grind or the amount of water. If you wish more flexibility with the red retro-futurist look, go for an espresso machine that supports ground coffee and pods like the more powerful Francis Francis X1 Ground Coffee or the Francis Francis X7 for E.S.E and Ground Espresso Machine Kit.

Another determinant factor for taste is the coffee beans. For the moment, the iperEspresso capsules selection is limited to 100% Arabica dark roast, medium roast and decaffeinated. On that point, the Nespresso wins with a vast selection of coffee. Plus several models of Nespresso will let you make espresso and longo. I prefer the Francis Francis look to the Nespresso machines. Therefore, which machine to get depends of your needs.

Francis Francis X8

I do not like the design of the X8 machine but it is important that you are aware of this limited time offer.  You can purchase the Francis Francis X8 iperEspresso machine for $175 (a $445 value) if you purchase 3 cans of iperEspresso capsules with your machine and subscribe to Illy’s iperEspresso membership program. You can cancel your coffee deliveries any time after your first shipment.

SOURCING:
+ Francis Francis X7 iperEspresso Machine in red or black $399 USD
+ Illy USA

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As a fan, I am happy to tell you that a new season of David Rocco’s Dolce Vita will premiere September 14th, 2009. The show will air each Monday on Food Network Canada at 8 am, 11:30 am and 7:30 pm.

For the first episode, David throws a fall festa at his farmhouse for friends and neighbours. The recipes for the first two episodes of season 4 are already online if you wish to try them before watching the show.

This time, David will visit Italy with his wife Nina and their cute baby twins. The show has a new show opener that I feel reflect his family life. You can watch the show opener on David Rocco’s Web site. You can compare it to the 3rd season show opener.

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Using bold colors and patterns requires more than an eye for design. One luxury company who is known for their bold use of colors is Missoni. The Italian brand opened their first hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland last June. Four more hotels is scheduled to open over the next few years.

As you would expect, the room decor is inspired by Missoni’s line of fabric. Although I do not like all their room decor, I find that some of are well-done. I wish to share my favorite ones with you. The secret is often to use solid colors taken from the bold pattern palette. You do not wish to add new colors. Then, you can oppose textures and finishes (ex: mat vs shiny).

The richness of the more subtle scheme rooms comes from a major element done in a metallic finish. If you like it, check out the Golden Age Silver collection by Missoni.

Although the entrance is a bright yellow, the main walls of the room have an almost plain beige wallpaper. This is what you need to not compete with a bedding.

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