If there’s one thing in life I hope I never learn it’s the amount of tortilla chips I’ve consumed.

After years of study around the world, I think I’ve found the perfect chip. Light, crispy, just the right amount of salt and oil, able to hold salsa and/or cheese dip easily. Ahhh.

This may sound like a description of any chip from Doritos to the best Mexican restaurant chip you’ve ever had. Semantically, yes, but to a true tortilla chip aficionado, these words have a much deeper meaning.

On a good day, the finest chips I’ve had are from Pappasito’s Cantina, who are also the purveyors of the finest Margaritas this side of the Rio Grande, but that’s another post.

Typically I have 2 favorite supermarket brands of chips, Mission and Santita.

- Missions are a “gourmet” -read expensive-  tortilla chip; medium-thick chip, can be heavy, good crunch, oil and salt, about $4.00 a bag.

- Santita are the best chip for the price; medium-thin crispy chip, slightly dry, slight salt, $2. per bag.

However, today my friends, I will share with you Holy Grail of tortilla chips. Restaurant taste and quality right in your supermarket.

Xochtil, Totopos de Maiz (white Corn Chip) by Salsa Xochitl.

Xochitl {so-cheel} was queen of Tollan, lived in the 11th century Mexico. She was the daughter of Papantzin, a noble in King Tepacaltzin’s court. Xochitl, whose name means “flower”, is credited with inventing pulque, the fermented juice of the agave plant, and and an early forerunner of tequila.

I was all set to buy my usual Santitas, when I saw the Xochitl. They were new to my Publix store since the new reset. Being the aforementioned “chip aficionado” I felt it my duty to check them out.

I opened them as soon as I got to the car. Manna from heaven. Just like my beloved Pappasito’s chips.

The downside is that they are not cheap. They are priced up there with the gourmet chip- $3.99- $4.25. But they are worth it.

Don’t waste them on amateurs. Save them for yourself, when you can enjoy every last snappy CRUNCH!

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If you’re like me and my BFF, you’re always looking for a nice bottle of wine to crack open and enjoy in the evening. Not for a special occasion, not for an evening with friends, not to enjoy with a special meal. No…. just because.

Having a glass of wine “just because’” really is about enjoying the Sweet Life. Something as small as this is a celebration in itself. The problem is, most of the time a decent bottle of wine is at least $18 – $25 a bottle. That’s not a lot when you’re out with friends at a restaurant, but when you’re at home, that’s not a casual price.

I’ve found the answer – how does $10.99 sound?
Yes, you can truly buy a nice bottle of wine for $10.99. To top that off, it comes with a delightfully charming name and label; Cupcake Vineyards.

Don’t just take my word for it, The Wine Spectator gives the Chardonnay 88 points.

I’ve tried the Chard and the Cab. Both are very good and I highly recommend them.

What’s even better is that you can give this as a nice host/hostess gift and it’s classy and reasonable.

Give it a try – what have you got to lose?

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Ancient cultures believed chocolate to be “the food of the gods,” which certainly makes it good enough for La Dolce Diva!

With that said….trumpets blare: GOURMET MALT BALLS ARE BACK!

Before you even ask…YES- They are completely edible!

Deliciously, delightfully, delectably edible!

We have 2 scrumptious gourmet flavors for you to choose from:

Cappuccino: A white chocolate lover? This crunchy malt center is drenched with layers of cappuccino-infused white chocolate.

Mint Chocolate: Like milk chocolate? A crunchy malt center is lavishly covered with layers of peppermint-infused milk chocolate.

For that PERFECT gift, you may personalize these fabulous confections with a choice of 6 special occasions and a deserving Diva’s name.

These Dolce Delights are the perfect gift for any occasion.. What a great hostess gift for the holidays. A great addition to a box of La Dolce Diva’s extravagant Bath & Body products. Think ahead for Valentine’s Day!

Whatever the Occasion, these Gourmet Malt Balls will make it even more special. Trust us. After all, at La DOLCE Diva, Chocolate is our middle name!

Want to order now….click here.

I’m proud to introduce Doug, my wonderful brother-in-law, who so graciously wrote this post on how to roast your own coffee beans. I’ve been the lucky recipient of his delicious home-roasted coffee beans and can fully attest to their yumminess.

So, take full advantage of this once- in-a-lifetime divulging of coffee-roasting secrets. Go forth and roast beans to your hearts content. Thinking of calling my personal barista Doug to roast them for you?

Fuggitaboutit. Get your own brother-in-law.
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Greetings! Jennifer asked some months ago if I would be interested in blogging about coffee. This was not just some random request on her part – in addition to being an avid (rabid?) consumer of espresso, I also roast my own coffee beans. So I agreed to share my thoughts and musings about this albeit low-thrill hobby on this forum.

Background

My wife, Laurie (Jennifer’s youngest sister) gave me an espresso maker as a surprise Christmas gift in 2005. Prior to that time, I regularly consumed one or more small espresso drinks (either a cappuccino or latte) a day. I found the milk rather filling, so I began drinking plain espresso. Hence, the idea for my gift…

It is no secret that the main “supplier” of my desired beverage was Starbucks – partly because of the flavor, but mostly due to the close proximity of a location next to my office. They produce a beverage of consistent flavor and quality. To this day, I still frequent this chain whenever I am away from home and require a “fix.”

Those of you who enjoy the robust flavor of espresso my have noticed that the Starbucks variety, while flavorful and consistent, has a carbonized (or almost burned) taste. This is due to the roast characteristics (more about that in a minute), which works especially well for milk-containing drinks – cappuccinos, lattes, macchiatos, mochas, etc. My own informal sampling – which consists of nothing more scientific than noting the types of drinks ordered while I am waiting my turn in line – reveals that the vast majority of beverages made with espresso contain milk.

Around this time, the husband of one of Laurie’s law school classmates asked if I had ever tasted “really” fresh-roasted coffee. I said “well, sure I have, hasn’t everybody?” “No” he replied, adding “most of the coffee that you drink was more than likely roasted weeks or even months ago.” I conceded that I honestly didn’t know, but had no reason to doubt him. He said “Unless you have ever roasted your own coffee, you have probably never tasted fresh-roasted coffee.” He then proceeded to explain to me how he roasted his own coffee at home, where he obtained green (unroasted) coffee beans, and how he built his own roaster.

The fact that he was a physics professor at the time at Georgia Tech and my own background in chemical engineering made me feel like we were relating on a scientific level. Or perhaps it was nothing more than the fact that we were both hyper-caffeinated at the time. Regardless, I immediately became interested in exploring this idea.

First, I had to build my own roaster. You can buy any number of quality home-sized coffee roasters – but the idea of “building” my own appealed to the engineer in me. OK, I really didn’t have to build much – a home-made roaster is nothing more than an old hot-air popcorn popper with a thermometer added to it! Notice that I said “old” popper – the wattage on the newer models, while safer for home use, do not come close to the 1400 to 1500 watts necessary to produce a quality roast.

Unless you happen to have an old hot-air popcorn popper lying about the house (I did not), you will have to search Ebay or your local thrift stores. The holy grail for home-roasters is the West Bend Poppery (Not the Poppery II). Other brands will also suffice – just be sure to select a model with the desired wattage. I was able to find a used Poppery in great condition for under $15 on eBay.

Next you will need a good thermometer, one that accurately registers up to 460 – 470 degrees F. I found a good thermocouple on-line for $30ish, which works very well. With a popper and a temperature gauge, you are now ready to roast – oops! – forgot the beans.

You will need to find some green coffee – I use Sweet Marias (www.sweetmarias.com) as my source. They source beans from all over the world, and offer a brief description of the flavor and roast tolerance for each variety that they sell. This site also offers great information for the do-it-yourself enthusiast, as well as offering related products (e.g. roasters) for sale.

Roasting

Before plugging in the apparatus and charring my first batch of beans, I read several different articles on home-roasting. I learned that the first “crack” (chemical reactions within the bean resulting a loud audible popping noise, not unlike the cracking process in petroleum refining) should/will occur in the 400 – 410 degree F range. The second “crack” occurs in the 450 – 460 degree F range. For espresso, darker roasts typically provide the best outcome.

Degree of Roast

As the beans are heated they pass through several different stages, marked by ever-darkening coloration of the beans. At the conclusion of the first crack, the beans are at the city roast level, and are sufficiently dark enough to brew coffee. The progression of roast stages is as follows: City, City+, Full City, Full City+, Vienna, French, Charred (burned to a crisp). Espresso is usually prepared with Vienna- or French-roasted beans, but Full City+ will also produce a nice shot.

If you try this at home, please follow this one piece of advice – DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ROAST THE BEANS INDOORS – the amount of smoke and chaff will not endear you to any loved ones or pets – unless, of course, you feel the urge to test your home fire alarm. However, if you do begin your own roasting experiments, try stopping at the various degrees of roast (several on-line sites provide temperature ranges for each) – you might be surprised at what tastes best to you.

Measure out 4 to 5 oz of green beans (I use 4 ½ oz) to roast – any type of kitchen scale should work. One last item that you will need (in addition to oven mitts) is a metal colander or sieve for cooling the beans after the roast (I use a large metal perforated pizza pan with a plastic backing tray). Once you have all of these items, and have a suitable outdoor location, you are ready to roast.

The First Roast

Set up the popper on a table or stand, and connect the power cord. Pour in the beans, and replace the top to the popper. Position the thermometer so that the end is at or slightly above the pile of beans. Now turn on the power – and begin waiting. It will take anywhere from 5 – 10 minutes to hear the first crack, depending on the roaster and the ambient air temperature. After the first crack subsides, several more minutes will elapse before you begin to hear the much fainter (and quicker) sounds of the second crack. Stopping a few seconds after this point yields a Full City+ roast; I typically go 30 seconds to a minute or so after the second crack begins for a Vienna roast.

If you continue the roast much longer, you will notice that the beans have become oily and appear very dark and shiny, which is indicative of French-roasted beans. Should you continue roasting past this point until the beans no longer appear oily, you will have succeeded in carbonizing the roast.

Flavor Characteristics

There are two main determining attributes to the flavor of coffee: 1) the origin of the beans (variety, location, and climate), and 2) the degree of roast. The darkest roasts “cook” away any flavor imparted by the beans, and leave only the degree of roast as the main flavor attribute. For my espresso, I prefer a Full City+ or a light Vienna, and typically I will roast one batch to a Full City+ and a second to a Vienna, and then combine both batches.

I have ordered beans from many locations around the world, and would be hard-pressed to name only one favorite. However, if I could have only two sources, I would pick a variety from Yemen, and a variety from Sumatra. To my taste, the Yemen beans have chocolate, dark, spicy flavors while the Sumatra has more of an earthy appeal. Also, the Sumatra beans become much more complex at darker roast levels. A close third for me would have to be the Brazilians…

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If you have any questions for Doug- post them here and I will make sure he gets them.

In the mean time- wouldn’t these be great gifts for Christmas? Think about it- a great mug and a bag of home roasted coffee beans.

Jessie with a Life size cupcake - Gotta love it!

My dear friend Regina at Dr. Flower’s Essentials is always looking out for me and sends me links to anything remotely Italian and yummy.

The following post fit the bill on both counts. It’s from an an adorably edible blog called CakeSpy.com.

CakeSpy is a Dessert Detective Agency dedicated to seeking sweetness (literally) in everyday life. They do this by writing about bakeries, conducting baking experiments, and picking the brains of bakers and food artists, and finding awesome products for lovers of baked goods. The Cakespy crew is comprised of about 6 or 7 Cake Gumshoes throughout the US, and is headed up by Head Spy Jessie Oleson.

At first I thought I would just write my own post about Italian desserts, but why, really? The work is already done and done so well.

After you’re through reading this post- pop on over to CakeSpy and check out some more yummy treats!

~ Buon Appetito!

When I think of Italian sweets, I immediately think of the Little Italy-style bakery, with rows of cookies by the pound, breads stacked in the back, and various cakes and pastries out front. But what kind of sweets do Italians–you know, in actual Italy–really favor? While conversing with Cake Gumshoe Elisa, who is based in Italy, while she noted that “Italy has 20 regions and everyone has its particular baked goods”, she dished up some of the things you might expect to see at her Italian dessert table; I’ve put together a little explanation of what they are (with a little help from Wikipedia).

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I love Italian cuisine. I love its rustic accessible preparation, presentation and use of fresh ingredients, Yes, FRESH ingredients.

Here’s the rub. Herbs. I love fresh herbs and I usually swear by them. A recipe isn’t the same – I’d preach to you!

Well, herbs are not cheap and they are so fragile. I always feel bad throwing away the little wilted green leaves of lovely basil.

This past week, I received my quarterly shipment from Styrker Wine Club. I knew I had a nice bottle of Speedy Creek Cabernet and I really wanted a bit more than chips and cheese dip to accompany it. Bruschetta Caprese immediately came to mind.

When I reached for the fresh basil, I winged a bit. I knew I wouldn’t finish a bottle of wine and all the tomatoes this evening. The basil leaves would be wilted in a few days. I looked at the tube of basil. I’d seen it before, I didn’t roll my eyes at it then, but I’d still bought the fresh basil.

This time  I thought, hmm, I wonder if the tube of basil would be all that bad. No, I use FRESH ingredients.  Put back the tube. Reach for the fresh basil leaves.

$1.99 for a small pack of leaves. $3.99 for a tube. Since I was using small round of bread and not making a sandwich, I wouldn’t be using the leaves that quickly. One leave per round wouldn’t go that far.

I reach for tube. I’ll last longer I “says” to myself.  Obviously, on a subconscious level, I wanted to check it out. So, I bought the Tube O’Basil.

Well, I’m here to say, it’s not bad. Skip reading the ingredients. It’s not going to say- Ingredients: Fresh Basil Only. There  are  preservatives involved- none that I couldn’t pronounce- so, how bad could they be? That is a rhetorical question.

I toasted small rounds of french bread, brushed with yummy olive oil, a squirt and shmeer of basil, a small bocconcini round, diced grape tomatoes with a dash of kosher salt, a twist of pepper and another drizzle of said, yummy olive oil.

I knew I could not tell anyone about this. You can keep a secret, can’t you.

Movie: Julie & Julia 2009

We all know how this ends, Julia Child’s Mastering of Art of French Cooking is published and becomes a world wide success. It’s in practically every chef’s kitchen library, whether the book has been cracked open or not. It is there. After you see this movie, you’ll  probably be inspired to crack it open and make the Boeuf Bourguignon a La Julia Child. I hope that didn’t spoil anything for you.

So, we know what happens at the end of the story, which is really the beginning of Julia’s success, at what the French call “a certain age”..meaning old and over 40. If you have read My Life In France based on letters and mementos saved and sent home by Paul and Julia Child, you may wonder why this wasn’t made into a movie on it’s own. Or maybe not. If it’d been made into a movie, it would probably not have been anymore than a docudrama that had a foodie based cult-following. It needed a spin and a sexy way of bringing it to the masses for box office bonanza. Enter Meryl Streep. Followed by Julie Powell.

Let’s start with the lesser known, Julie Powell. I will address her as I know her from the movie, I won’t go into the foodie-blogger- backlash she has received or her actual Julie & Julia Blog itself (I never read it), you can look into that yourself. Just Google Julie Powell Backlash.

Julie Powell is a novelist that never finished her novel, has a seemingly adorable and adoring husband and  some sort of Post 9/11 support job in a cubicle in Lower Manhattan. She’s not happy about her current work situation, friends and herself. Aside from her marriage, she feels lost and out of sorts. Who doesn’t really. She mentions to her husband that one of her friends has started a blog (weblog) and maybe she should start one too. She is a writer after all! They hit upon the subject of cooking, Julia Child, Julia’s book… and voilá!, the Julie & Julia Project Blog: 365 Recipes in 524 Days was launched.

For one year, Julie made and blogged about every recipe. It seems normal now, but a few short years ago, blogging wasn’t as ubiquitous. Sharing every waking thought that enters one’s head wasn’t as normal then as Twitter has made it seem today. To top that, there were actually people that read theses things, who knew?

Before we talk more about the movie, ahem, enter Meryl Streep. What better person to portray this larger than life (literally, Julia was 6′2″), ebullient, joyful American and not seem like a  SNL skit?

Meryl Streep does an amazing job of inhabiting the Julia character. Her voice and mannerisms seems over-the-top until you see actual Julia footage and realize how spot- on Meryl’s portrayal actually is. Hair and Makeup are the main reasons. I read in Vanity Fair Magazine that Meryl has her own Hair and Make-Up artist, J. Roy Helland, that she works with on her films. Helland changes Meryl’s eyebrows in almost every role. I guess if the eyes are the windows to the soul ,the eyebrows are the window-dressing. It is a trick to change and shift the shape and look of someones face.

Also, an interesting point, the makeup union rules state that actresses have separate hair and makeup artists on a film. Somehow, Meryl and Helland worked out an exemption decades ago.

Back to the movie, Julia is feeling  as if she needs “something to do” in France, as the wife of a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, Paul Child, she doesn’t want to be a Parisian housewife – is there such a thing? It’s mentioned briefly, that Paul is actually an artist and served as designer of war rooms for British and American Generals.

Over their first lunch as new inhabitants of Paris, Julia falls in love with French cuisine – a life changing lunch – she calls it. Later, during another lunch, Julia laments her discontent with just doing nothing. She tries a few different things until she hits upon attending cooking school, because she loves to eat! She enrolls in Le Cordon Bleu.

So, the premise of the movie is based on the “parallels” of Julie and Julia’s lives.

Let’s see, a woman a bit discontent with the status-quo, happily married, turns to food. That describes a lot of people. The twist is the Julie & Julia blog. This element transports Julia’s story to modern day by intersplicing  Julie’s day to day posts with Julia’s life in  leading up to and writing  Mastering The  Art Of French Cooking.

The scenes of retro Paris are wonderful. The lifestyle of the Childs was definitely not working class. The apartment they lived in and parities they attended were ultra chic and glam. Not something you really associate Julia Childs with. At the same time, you see Julie’s world of a less than glamorous Queens neighborhood, subway rides, cramped apartment and cubicle life.

I did enjoy both stories and sometimes forgot there was a second story line until there was transition to the alternate storyline. This applied to both sides. At a certain point though, I began to tire of  the modern Julie’s storyline. Maybe because it is closer to my experiences, dramas and meltdowns. I don’t know if it was the actual Julie or Amy Adams’ portrayal. I find her kind of annoying after a while.

In contrast, I wanted Julia’s storyline to go on. There’s a lot to the back story that is subtly portrayed, Julia wanting children, McCarthyism and family relationships.

The underlying question of the movie, that we know happened or there wouldn’t have been a movie, is the success of Julie’s blog and her thrust into the big time. Obviously this does come, but, after the emotions and kind of whiny hysterics that lead up to and follow it, you don’t really get that excited. Nor is it really satisfying.

After seeing Julia and her co- author, write, edit and TYPE ( on multiple layers of onion-skin paper and carbon paper) the cookbook for EIGHT – TEN years, mail packages back and forth, try to get an editor and then waiting, waiting, waiting. It’s hard to get that excited over Julie’s “triumph” of getting a blog she wrote over the period of a year, in simple daily posts, that was auto-published online, based on another person’s work and then having received numerous offers for book rights following a NY Times feature.

Um, no. Just really an eye-roll from me. But the world is full of lucky stories like that. It won’t happen again until it does.

The upswing is, I really enjoyed the movie. It wasn’t that dramatic, pretty well-acted, upbeat, happy and enjoyable. I don’t know if Meryl will get an Oscar nomination, but it’s still worth seeing.

Bon Appétit!

P.S. Let me know how your Boeuf Bourguignon a La Julia Child turns out.

I was chatting with a few friends from the Indie Beauty Network last night, Regina from Dr. Flower, Lisa from Cactus & Ivy and Marla from Back Porch Soap. Somehow the conversation came around to Prosecco. And what actually is it? Don’t ask how we came around to this thought provoking question, it is a “had to be there” situation. I never thought  “EVERYONE knows what Prosecco is,” rather, I thought, ” how can I make sure that everyone does?”

So here we are, once again, me enlightening you, my dear readers, to further joys of Italia! I am only happy to do it.

I myself , at one time,  was part of the Prosecco Ignorati; those ignorant or unaware of the this divine nectar.

About 10 years go, I was on holiday in Italy with my sister. I think on holiday sounds so much more cosmopolitan than on vacation. We had just spent several days in Venice, which was lovely and quiet in an after-the-canals-flood, bitter-cold kind of way. A city of great beauty and mystery, but  alas, not great cuisine, at least for us. Since this trip, my sister has gone back and found several wonderful restaurants..but that is her, lets get back to me. Ahem. I was dying to get to Florence. My sister had never been and I was anxious for her to adore it as much as I did.

Upon arriving in the city center of Florence and wandering out for our first walk, my sister was struck about how noisy and fast paced it was compared to Venice. Well yes, Vespas (Italian scooters named after wasps), do travel a bit faster than lets say, a gondola. But, she was right, it was a stark contrast. I was hoping she would overcome her first impression and still fall in love with the city-village. My worries were soon put to rest.

That night we went to a little restaurant my sister had found in Fodor’s travel guide. It was called La Giostra (Italian for carousel) and owned by a Hapsburg prince who was also the chef. It got rave reviews and sounded charming. It was. It is. It has since become my all time favorite restaurant. I have taken numerous people there and told anyone I could about it. I would say that La Giostra alone is worth the trip to Florence, but come on, it’s FLORENCE, that would be a bit of an exaggeration, even for me.

After a long day of travel and touring we arrived for our reservation at 7pm. This is early in Italy. 8 to 8:30pm was the more regular hour for dinner. With the Italian’s penchant for a gelato break at about 5pm, it was easy to wait that long. My sister and I, however, were starving.

Nelum, our lovely waitress

Greeted at the door by the lovely and charming Nelum, “ahhh, the Americanas”, we were seated beneath glittering pixie lights that covered the ceiling and each presented with a glass of, what we thought was, Champagne. Compliments of the house, she said, as was the first plate of antipasti she brought out.

Wow, Champagne before dinner? Hmmm, we tried not to act like that was anything new. Nelum went through each item on the menu. I ordered the Taglierini con tartufi bianchi (white truffle pasta), my sister had the Chilean Sea Bass (Chilean Sea Bass). Needless to say, white truffle pasta is now my all time favorite dish, isn’t that just like a diva?

I have been back so many times, that Nelum brings out the Chef-Prince to slice more white truffles onto my pasta. I am in heaven at that moment. And really , who wouldn’t be, white truffles at hundreds of dollars an ounce, sliced onto my plate by a PRINCE! That is the Sweet Life!

We finished off the meal with their Tiramisu-su-su, which was yummy. Every restaurant has their own version. It is not always a cake-like slice as we usually find Stateside. La Giostra’s is a creamy mascarpone concoction spooned over ladyfingers, soaked in Vin Santo (Holy Wine) and espresso. Powerful stuff.

We returned to this restaurant 3 nights in a row and it remains one of mine and my sister’s fondest and enjoyable experiences.

This post is really about Prosecco, no? Or did you forget? It is easy to forget a lot of things in the romance of Italy. That is exactly the reason I wanted to share this experience with you. Such a simple gesture, Champagne before a meal…only it wasn’t Champagne, it was Prosecco. Champagne is made from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France. It is highly regulated in order to preserve the value of the region.

Prosecco is made from grapes grown in the Veneto region of Italy. Champagne and Prosecco are both Sparkling Wines. It is the most simplest to say that Prosecco is the Italian Champagne (sorry France), but that would really be doing Champagne a disservice. Prosecco is the laid back Italian cousin. Both are served as apéritifs (before dinner, cleansing your taste palate), both are used for celebration, both used in mixed drinks, both can be cheap or expensive.

The difference to me is that I think you can get a better tasting inexpensive Prosecco than Champagne. Also, Prosecco is not as complicated as Champagne. It is dry, crisp, fresh, light and well, simple. It does not ferment in the bottle like Champagne. It is better to drink it while it is young, 2 years and under.

Prosecco was the first ingredient in Bellini’s before Champagne became the norm. That makes sense, Bellini’s are Italian. They were invented by Cipriani at Harry’s Bar in Venice, which by the way, my sister and I did peek into. I only wish wish we had known to stop in for a Bellini- I sure it would have been the best!

Prosecco has been enjoying a wave of popularity lately in the United States. I find it to be an unexpected and more affordable, quality alternative to Champagne.

You may even find that you will be saying Prosecco Per Favore, Champagne, non grazié. Why not ring in the New Year with Prosecco and as the Italians say, Felice Anno Nuovo!

Happy New Year, My Sweet Divas.

I love Insalata Caprese. What’s not to love? Tomatoes, cheese and olive oil all on the same plate. But I will say, when I order it, I am always a little bit anxious before it arrives. Will it be a plate of faded red tomatoes with no flavor? Bland olive oil? Mushy cheese? OR will it be a plate of ruby red lushness, succulent olive oil and firm slightly sweet cheese? Even if the waiter highly recommends it, sometimes I pass because I can’t take the stress or disappointment. It is widely known that I have a low stress-threshold.

Today, I will let you in on my little secret to perfect Insalata Caprese every time- at home.

For those of you still wondering, Insalata Caprese is a Neapolitan summer salad from the Isle of Capri. It is a fantastically simple salad and should remain so. The 4 ingredients are: Fresh, vine-ripe, semi-firm, non-refrigerated tomatoes; fresh Buffalo mozzarella cheese; excellent quality olive oil; garden fresh basil. Plus, coarse sea salt and fresh ground peppercorn.

Like you, I am always put off when I read such defined elements of a dish. I am not a gourmet chef. I don’t  have a farm-fresh supplier dropping off locally grown produce or want to take a trip to the local big-box organic market. Sometimes I just want to run to Publix (local food shop), and hope for the best. Luckily, I have found that the popularity of the Food Network and Top Chef etc. has caused chain grocery stores to step up to the “plate” and start stocking more niche products. So, happily, I am able to find a pretty good selection of ingredients. The secret is to know what to look for and what you have to make the extra effort buying online or at specialty shops.

First off, tomatoes can be tricky. Even in the height of the season you can come up with a bland, mushy, gritty tomato. Even with all the hydroponics and international year-round imports, we cannot be guaranteed of a yummy vine-ripe tomato. Although, when you find them- they are the best!

Secondly, olive oil is key to most Italian dishes. This is one area that I do go out of  my way to get the best I can afford. When cooking with it in sauces etc., I use a good but simple extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) purchased from a grocery store. When using it in it’s pure state on a salad, bruschetta, or a dip, I put my money where my mouth is. At the moment, my favorite olive oil is from O & Co., Oleificio Sociale Valdelsano, a Tuscan varietal- which is not available this season. But alternatives are 2 Sicilain varietals: Olis and Monteleone. If you have questions, call one of their Olive Oil Ladies (Divas) and they will recommend something to you. Don’t forget the stainless steel pourer!

If you can’t imagine olive oil really being all that different, stop into a gourmet shop like William-Sonoma, they have a olive oil tasting bar. Just like wine, you will find that your palate is drawn to certain flavors over others. Then go home and taste your plain EVOO, I think you will notice a difference.

Olive oil is also good for you. It is high in mono-unsaturated fat, a type of fat that researchers are finding has good health benefits. How many things can you name that are good and good for you? Admittedly, this is coming from a Diva that considers chips and salsa a food group.

Thirdly, cheese please. I just like saying that. Cheese, oh cheese, I love cheese. The textures, the tastes the smells..well, not always the smells. Insalata Caprese calls for Buffalo mozzarella, which can be found in the deli section of your store…not the cheese freezer with the yogurt.

Lastly, fresh herbs are essential to tasty dishes. Don’t skimp on them. I qualify the fresh leaves you can buy in bags in the produce section as “fresh”. Some may quibble and say “fresh” means picked off the basil bush in your backyard. Whatever. My way works just fine.

After lastly, coarse salt and fresh ground pepper. There are a lot of different types of salt. Americans are probably most used table salt which is usually pure sodium. Sea salt is made from evaporated sea water. You may not be able to tell the difference if evaporated in water, but when sprinkled on food in it’s coarse state, sea salt provides a different mouth feel and taste due to the different rate of dissolution.

Fresh ground peppercorn also offers a much different and heightened flavor than table “ground pepper”.

Now to the secret part… sotto sotto (shhhh…), if you read my comments on tomatoes carefully, you were surely envisioning the typical round Beefsteak tomato. A-HA!..not so fast. I have found the surest way to get a fresh ripe tomato every time is to think smaller. Just like Tiffany’s, the best things come in small packages. I use grape tomatoes . They have the thicker skin and inner texture of Beefsteak tomatoes, taste of Roma and not as watery as cherry tomatoes. And they are small and oblong like grapes. I will admit it is a piccolo (tiny) variation of the Insalata Caprese.

I also use Bocconcini. These are small rounds of Buffalo mozzarella. You will find them in small, whey-filled containers in the deli section of your store. I find the size of slices much more visually appealing than trying to slice the large rounds into rectangles.

Sheesh!, who thought it would take me this long to get to the heart of my Insalata Piccolo Caprese!

I use 2 containers of grape tomatoes, 1 approx. 8oz. container of Bocconcini, 1 bag of basil leaves, olive oil to taste, salt/pepper to taste. The best part is that all these ingredients are available all year round. These will make about 4-6 side dishes or 2-3 good size lunches. The cheese comes in pound and 1/2 pound sizes. It is FRESH cheese, so it does have a fairly quick expiration date. About 1 week after opening.

This dish is to be made and served, not placed in refrigerator. If you do, olive oil will separate and congeal- just as icky looking as it sounds. Harmless, but icky.

Slice tomatoes in halves, slice cheese to desired thickness (a bit less than a 1/4″), slice or tear basil into small pieces- just enough to add a bit of color, a few dashes of salt and a few grinds of pepper, drizzle olive oil over top. More of any of these ingredients can be added afterward. That is the beauty of most Italian dishes!

I make this up for a quick lunch, antipasto, or a contorno (side dish) for meals.  I sometimes just make the tomatoes and skip the cheese. My friend Evette (who is Italian) likes to skip the tomatoes (how does she call herself Italian?) and just have the cheese. Hmmm…cheese salad- not a bad idea. Add a slice of Tuscan country bread, which I can also find in the bakery of my grocery store, a glass of a chilled, crisp, white wine and you have yourself a delectable feast for the eyes and the tummy.

Kick back and enjoy La Dolce Vita! Buon Appetito!

Trivia Alert: Did you know the red of the tomatoes, the white of the cheese and the green of the basil in the Insalata Caprese are meant to represent the colors of the Italian flag? Now you do.

Lemon Raspberry Tiramisu: Recipe by mcat49

Have you heard about BakeSpace.com? It is simply the hippest cucina around! While other recipe based sites can be as dry as day old bread, Bake Space is a place where you “come for the food and stay for the conversation.”

Innovative and fun, it is a social network of food enthusiasts dining and dishing about their favorite food, recipes, techniques, books and anything food related.

Easy and interactive, you’ll soon be clicking away like a kid in a candy store. The metro-retro features and layout will immediately inspire and comfort you. No highbrow chefs clucking their tongue at you going on about mise en place.

Instead there’s the feeling of sitting around your kitchen counter with a group of friends, sipping a glass of vino, munching on bruschetta, discussing the best way to make cheesecake, what is the newest tiramisu, should I buy Le Crueset or stainless?

As Bake Space says themselves, “Gathering in the kitchen is a uniquely social tradition that connects people from all walks of life. That’s because the kitchen is where we go when we’re hungry… not just for food, but for friends, family and great conversation.”

A Diva never thought recipe -swapping could be so fun!