L'Aquila..A City to Be Remembered

Collemaggio in L'Aquila

copyright, 2009, Maria Liberati
Keep the city and surrounding towns of L'Aquila in your thoughts and prayers. So many were devastated by the earthquake (this week) that destroyed whole towns and much of the city of L' Aquila.. not to mention the many lives that were lost as well. Such a beautiful city that was filled with so many works of art and culinary delights. I am so grateful to have experienced the original city myself before this terrible tragedy struck. In memory of the city, its' people and region of Abruzzo, where I live, here are some of my former blog posts while in L'Aquila;
http://www.marialiberati.com/blog2/?p=341
http://www.marialiberati.com/blog2?p=314
http://www.marialiberati.com/blog2/?p=132

Join me on May 6th at Country Creek Winery., Montgomery County, Pa for a Wine Pairing and Sampler dinner. Call 215-723-6516 or email us at : events@marialiberati.com

Join me for a week long culinary event at The Basic Art of Italian Cooking School and villa from Sept 23 to Oct 6th.

Get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking

Maria
www.marialiberati.com

Good Food + Great Friends = Winning Combination

Just wanted to remind everyone before the week ends that I have heard from one of my good friends, cookbook author-Frankie Imbergamo- in Boston (most of you probably remember him from his appearances in Emeril Lagasse's TV show. His Italian meatball recipe is famous-especially throughout Boston.
He reminded me and sent me best wishes for National Friendship Week. Since great friends are such an important part of enjoying great food-I wanted to wish you all Best Wishes for National Friendship Week!

Here is a link for an article on Frankie Imbergamo:
http://www.northendboston.com/dining-meetchef.htm

By the way the photo above are two bears (Orsi) that are Marsican -a bear from this region ( Marsica-a region in L'Aquila) this picture is from Scanno in L'Aquila and is in part of the famous National Park of Abruzzo (Parco Nazionale D'Abruzzo)..even bears know the importance of good friends!!

Il Perdonanza, Cafe torronata, L'Aquila...

(copyright 2006-2007, Maria Liberati)

One of the things I look forward to doing each year (if selected) is being part of a 700 yr old medieval event that is held in the capital city (L'Aquila) of the region I live in (Abruzzo).
Each year, a certain number of dignitaries and notable people - from not only Abruzzo but all over the world are selected to take part in this event. This year was the second year I was selected to be part of the 'sfilate' or parade along with many notable people from ambassadors and/or their wives from Bosnia, other parts of Europe, the Vice President of Italy, 5 bishops from the Vatican and all of the mayors from every town in Abruzzo.

I will do a sequence of blogs on this event since it is an important event and it has a lot of significance in the world today. The event was started by Pope Celestino- the Pope back in that time. The event is known as "La Perdonanza Celestiniana". It refers to an idea this Pope came up with to try to make peace in the world, because at that time many countries were also fighting against each other.
His philosophy was in order to try to make peace in the world- to forgive everyone and wash their slate clean from that day forward- no matter what they had done in the past. However, they must promise to mend their old ways and start anew and all would be forgiven. And amazingly enough, at that time this created peace in the world. A beautiful thought and a beautiful way to celebrate the idea of peace in the world
One of my favorite reasons to go to the beautiful city of L'Aquila- besides their beautiful churches, works of art, scenery and food is a special coffee drink called 'cafe torronata'. It is an espresso served up elegantly with a chocolate candy (a specialty made in L'Aquila) placed in the bottom of the drink and allowed to melt into the coffee. A dollop of whip cream on top and prepare to be mesmerized!!.
Here is my recipe for cafe torronato. However, to get the real thing, you should have a chocolate covered torrone from Fratelli Nurzia or Sorelle Nurzia. They invented these candies and are still making them in L'Aquila the same way they did over 50 yrs ago.

Cafe Torronato
Brew 1 cup of espresso. Place chocolate covered torrone at bottom of glass. Let stand for about 1 minute, stir gently, top with some fresh 'panna' or whipped cream. Dust with powdered sugar.

Mmmm!! Delizioso

Ciao for now!!
Maria
http://www.marialiberati.com