Yesterday, Love Was Such An Easy Game To Play......

Welcome to Philly! I have touched upon the joys of living in the City of Brotherly Love, yes I have. I had such a busy day yesterday that I did not have a moment to write about my trip to see the Flyers.

You see, on Thursday night I had a delicious dinner at Tinto, even though it was Restaurant Week. Don't get me wrong, Restaurant Week is an incredible 2 weeks for Philly. You can try a ton of restaurants, where each restaurant has a special fixed price menu. It is great. The reason I said it was delicious despite Restaurant Week is that it usually uber crowded, the staff has been working extremely hard and run around like lunatics and I am a creature of habit. It is the habit part that gets me. I usually order the same thing at the same restaurant. Especially when I find something I really like. Restaurant Week is a fixed menu - 2 from column A, 2 from column B plus dessert - you get it. I want to order 3 from column 2 and something that is on the regular menu. Like, say, two short rib bocadillos, which is probably one of the most delicious little sandwiches evah! and a bowl of seafood chowder and bomba rice. I dream of that sandwich. John agrees. There have been times when I cannot be home for dinner and I am out with the kids and John will go to Tinto and order two, not one, but TWO short rib bocadillos. Without me. I could not do that last night. Nope, but they did have delicious selections and it forced me to order outside my habit.

Anywho, every year we are invited by our friends Carmen and his wife Elka to attend a Flyers game. We go out to dinner early, then hit the ice. Thursday night was the night and let me tell you all about how great a Philly Flyers game can be. Carmen and Elka are great people. I think Carmen could possibly be a Hall of Famer Fan. He has season tickets to the Flyers, the Phillies, and he is a founding member of the Union! He attends a ton of Villanova games and Eagle games. He grew up in South Philly and he can give you a ridiculous amount of sport trivia going back..forever! John and I really enjoy their company.

Their tickets are on the ice. Right on the ice. Against the glass. In back of the net, to the right in a primo checking location. I once met John LeClair at some random function and when introduced, I told him that we had met before. "You were pressing some guys face against the glass and I thought we made eye contact! No?" Not kidding.


When these guys slam against the glass, your seats rock. John has spilled his beer. We have caught pucks that have been stuck in the net. John got on his chair and jumped. He has the scar to prove it. Well, the guy next to me called out to the players by their first name. "Danny, no! What are you thinking?! Nice, nice Seee-moooan (Simon). Atta boy, Patrick!" Like he was their buddy or better yet, their mom. He smelled of cigarettes and when he yelled, I smelled nacho cheese (honest). The opposing goalie came right to the glass to pick up a piece of athletic tape off the ice, he pressed his face to the glass and gave him the finger. The goalie looked directly into his face and smiled. They had a moment.

There was this ancient guy with a baaaaad toupee who held up well worn signs that said, "Asham Smash 'em!" and "YOU WILL CHOKE!" He was stoned face and wore acid washed jeans. The crowd would erupt and there was toupee guy, like a statue, slowly rotating that sign like an oscillating fan, humorless. The guy behind me had a pretty young girlfriend, with a pink cashmere sweater, who filed her nails the whole time while yelling, "THAT WAS A STUPID MOVE, THINK PU-LEASE!" She would glance up from her nails to wrinkle her nose and scowl.

And did I mention the dancing guy? Holy crap. He is at every, and I mean EVERY Flyers game. He gets MAJOR jumbo-tron time. He is a gift. A gift! Other cities must salivate watching this guy do the lawnmover. How can I get an orange dancing fool at my game, that fans love, who brings to a game unbelievable joy? You cannot, he's ours!

My favorite moment was when the organ belted out the dun, dun, dun, DUN and you are supposed to clap along and yell, "LET'S GO FLY-ERS". Everyone clapped, but then yelled "REF YOU SUCK!". The organist definitely heard and played at least 6 or 7 rounds.

The Flyers were up 3 to 1 and suddenly there was 15 minutes, give or take, of sub par play. They were down 4 to 3. Fans began to boo. Suddenly, the team rallied and played beautiful hockey. Shots were raining in. There was less than a minute left to play and they were going all out. The whistle blew for a foul and 19,000 plus fans rose to their feet to recognize the effort. Whistling, clapping, shouting support. I love sports, but I do not think that any sport compares to ice hockey. I think it is the most difficult sport physically. These guys are specimens and when they go all out, it is poetic. I digress...time runs out, the Flyers lose and the fans start to file out while booing the refs and opposing team.

They played beautifully. It was a great night!

The Church of Prosciutto

Ah, back to Italy. With the freezing weather approaching (26 the high this weekend!), I find myself thinking of warmer weather and vacation. I know, I know, I think of vacation quite a bit. I work to live and to go on vacation!! Work hard, party hard!

Now I would like to share with you a story about my mother-in-law, better known as la suocera (pronouced swo-serr-rah). I know I have told you about her love of persimmons and my love of her. My in-laws are really good to me. Remember that lunch in Venice? Well, during that same trip we traveled all throughout the North. We visited friends, played some soccer and ate really well. I am sure this is not the last y'all will hear about this trip. On our way to Udine to buy a DiNatale jersey for Manny, we stopped for lunch in San Daniele.

It was the season of festas and the entire center of town was clogged with a festa or fair. We called them Festas of Underwear and Cheap Kitchen Utensils. You would recognize these fairs. They are identical to church fairs held in every town in America, every summer. Some Festas are incredible! Frico, Prosciutto, certain cheeses, awesomeness... A lot of time, this is just one part of the festa, with the majority of tables selling underwear and cheap kitchen utensils. This was an underwear festa. We struggled to get to somewhere for lunch. Lunch would be at one of the incredible Prosciutterie. A prosciutteria is a small place in which the entire menu is composed of prosciutto. Yes, it is everything you would think it is and more!

There were 11 of us and we sat outside at a long wooden table on benches. Domenic, John's Dad, has a lunch every day that consists of prosciutto, mozzarella, tomato salad and bread. It is one of his favorite things on the planet and here we were at his personal Mecca. What does he do? He orders a bowl of tortellini. Anna, la suocera, barks, "Domenic! What are you doing?!?! Order prosciutto or you will regret it!" Silly Domenic! He obeys.

Plates of prosciutto with melon, prosciutto with olives, cheese and mushrooms, prosciutto with tomatoes are delivered along with bottles of Tocai Friulano. Tocai is the perfect, and I mean PERFECT wine to drink with prosciutto. I was sitting next to Anna and made sure that her glass was always full. The kids ordered Fanta. Italian Fanta is more natural than the stuff we get here. We ate and laughed and drank and Domenic was in heaven. It was a monumental lunch.

Drunk and happy and stuffed with cured pork, we decided to walk the town until we could safely leave. We staggered through the lovely, hilly town, looked out to Austria and sucked up the sun. We stumbled upon La Chiesa di San Daniele. It is a beautiful church, white and austere. Inside it is cool and stark, calm and vaulting. I have a habit of always finding the Mary section and giving props to the girl. I noticed that the candles that you could light had a pic of the church with the inscription "Chiesa di San Daniele". I had to give one to my friend Francine. I turned to Anna and asked, "Do you think if I just paid the 2 euro I could keep the candle?" Anna looked horrified and replied in a Tocai filled Italian accent "No, no, no, Stephanie! No!" She paused, "Pay double!" I placed 4 euros in the box and slipped my candle in my bag.

See? I love her.

White Truffles Make Me Happy

Last winter, John and I went on a food odyssey in Italy. We tended to some gelato business in Milan and then went on a 10 day tour of Piedmont. It was chilly and damp; for some odd reason, I love Italy draped in weather which is probably considered uncomfortable. We wrapped up in heavy coats, wore sturdy waterproof shoes and hit the cobblestones. All our odysseys usually involve food and this one was epic: it was truffle season and we were going all out. After talking with friends, we nailed down the cities: Alba, Monforte d'Alba, Torino, Barolo...to name a few. In each town, we had a mission - find the best restaurant with the best truffles and wine and enjoy. It was epic. Did I already say that? Well, it was. The truffles were as intoxicating as the scenery.


Over the holidays we had many dinners with family and friends. I have already written about Casamento's. When John received a call from our friend Jean Phillipe stating that he managed to get his paws on some truffles from Alba and can we bring dessert, I started counting the minutes down. Jean Phi can cook. I mean really cook. His friends were bringing the wine, excellent wine, and we were in for something great. So off we were to join JP, his lovely smart wife, her mom, his sister, and her husband and his wine genius friends. Sounds like it could get ugly.

Needless to say, it was glorious. We started with eggs and truffles, then beautiful fresh beans with truffle mayonnaise and truffles, then truffle risotto with more truffles, Jean Phi made fresh papardelle with butter,
parmesan and truffles, duck confit with potato gratin with truffles, and finally dessert. With each course was a new bottle of wine. Beyond words.

One of the most glorious things about truffles is that they are seasonal.
You can buy truffles in butter and oil year round, but why? It is the new year and why not try eating seasonally? Here at Capo, we only use fruit that is seasonal: it is not worth it otherwise. Strawberries in February, why? Tasteless and grainy, hard and too cold. When you eat seasonally, you appreciate the quality and the flavors much more. Trust. A New Year's Resolution - Eat Seasonally, increase happiness.