It is raining here today in San Luis Obispo. But my heart is in Little Italy....San Francisco.
i want to be right downtown..... with the sound of cablecars clackity clacking along the tracks...pigeons cooing from the rooftops,rain soflty falling, and the sweet scent of pastry wafting from the italian bakeries....
after i posted about that bakery, all thoughts went to being there. in The City as we call it out here in california. today i am pretending that i am in little italy in a small upastairs tiny apartment. i have just made my way home from the molinaris deli down on columbus avenue and have bought a couple of cans of San Marzano tomatoes and a nice big piece of parmesano reggiano cheese. for the sauce i will simply saute up some yellow onions and celery in olive oil, add the tomatoes, a little chicken stock,some thyme,parsely and oregano that is coming up all over in the garden and let the whole thing simmer gently on my stovetop. just before serving it I will add a nice big dollop of soft organic butter from petuluma..just up the coast..making sure it barely melts and top off the pasta with the parmesan...and to go with it....focaccia. but this time i am making it from my Rao's cookbook. it is the one i always make. it has 1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes in it.i have no idea why. it is a great recipe that i am happy to share. so the sauce is simmering, Buddy is snoozing, the rain is falling gently in the garden and the focaccia is rising on the drainboard.We will open a bottle of red wine, build a fire and eat...in our little apartment..in little italy tonight. ciao, my friends
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you really crack me up. i just came back from the grocery store with all the ingredients to make a ragu. i am making focaccia as well!
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteWe'll meet you at the Buena Vista for Irish Coffee this afternoon.........drive home via Russian Hill and stop at the corner bakery for dessert. Citrus tarts? Cherry cake? or good old fashioned cream puffs. you choose.
ReplyDeletexx
donkey in the pines
sounds like the perfect evening to me
ReplyDeletewhat time...and YES! to the cream puffs...
ReplyDeletesounds wonderful, and delicious! That little puppy of yours is too cute!
ReplyDeleteEverything you just described sounds sooo good! I love Italian food (I am Italian American) and I also love cream puffs! :)
ReplyDeleteSounds romantic and delicious too! Cindy
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy a good sauce and this one seems perfectly scrumptious. I will give it a whirl very soon. And the foccacia, oh my, what a tasty meal.
ReplyDeleteLove the little ren hens and yellow sun chicks.
I love peeking in the shops and around town. Great pictures and sharing.
Oh my you are one lucky gal...I forgot you lived in San Luis Obispo...I love that area!!!! Enjoy your evening. xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteciao bella! i can just smell the sauce & italian cookies, wafting from my computer screen..... oh, how i love little italy. cheers to you- have a cozy & relaxing night in tonight (and please, have a glass of red wine for your dear friend in MA:)).
ReplyDeletexoxo,
blair
heaven...an Italian market...Philly has a great little Italy and when I was first married at 18, we lived in the Little Italy section of Ocean City, NJ...no money but we had love!
ReplyDeleteWe had pasta and meatballs and gravy tonight.
Old World Charm. I must get to Italy...salut!
A salumeria is just the place to get lost in.
ReplyDeletep.s. love that pup in the picture!
ReplyDeleteyour story makes me both love out sweet town and want to visit the city! thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteIt all sounds so Magnifique! Cheers to you (clinking glass of red wine on computer screen). Love your cute puppy : )
ReplyDeletesounds awesome. do enjoy.
ReplyDeletesweet buddy,
ReplyDeletelovely memories and meal. it sounds like you really love S.F., i hope you get to go back before too long kary.
i did get to the branch farm, and met sharon and susie! we had a wonderful time, wished you could have been there. i hope your f.i.l. had a lovely birthday. i was thinking of you.
xo,
lori
My first marriage was to a Sicilian... I spent every summer on Sicily for 10 years... and what I do miss about the place is the food - genuine, made with what they grow on their own land, peaches still warm from the sun when you pick them right there from the tree. And the moon! I have never seen a moon so big and yellow (yes, yellow, not white) as in a hot August night on Sicily.
ReplyDeleteGods, I am getting old!
Oh, what a lovely cozy evening!
ReplyDeleteoh, that little italy looks fantastic! i think that you can easily find genuite italian products there, are you? it's good to have that kind of shop, very useful!
ReplyDeletehavea sweet day (and i hope it's gonna stop raining!)
hugs,
justyna
I am making some homemade pizza today. I go through spells. I would like to make the best pizza anywhere. Haven't got there yet, though I have had some very good attempts. Nibbles is our little dog. He is getting pretty old but still spry. He is my husband's dog and they are true friends. I would not like to see either one without the other. You pasta sauce sounds awesome. I haven't been to Europe, but Italy would be my favorite place to visit. Ciao!
ReplyDeleteThat deli looks amazing - I wouldn't know what to buy. I'd want it all! Hope the sun comes out soon!
ReplyDeleteOh Kary, I love your romantic storytelling. Your daydreams are so vivid, I felt as though I was walking beside you.
ReplyDeleteHugs and love to you! And more daydreams/stories please!
Oh, I miss San Francisco!! What a deli - I could live there... Love, Silke
ReplyDeletecan you get Rao's in your supermarket? It's the only pasta sauce I will buy... i do not have the cookbook but years ago my friend copied the recipe for vodka sauce from her book for me. Molto fabuloso!!!
ReplyDeleteI would like to join Buddy and take a nap smelling that pasta sauce cooking in my dreams-how sweet.
ReplyDeleteMmmmm, Belissimo.
ReplyDeleteXX
I would love to meet you in S.F. for cream puffs someday. I don't know if you already know I live in NJ. When I do plan a visit, I will be sure to let you know. I think we have alot in common. Take Care! :)
ReplyDeleteWe live in the SF Bay area, and are looking for a ranch in SLO. We love it here and the SF Bay area.
ReplyDeleteI just started following you...You were highly recommended by Purple flower. Hope you stop by and follow me too.
Thanks for the pleasure of viewing your blog...Just lovely!
sounds like true bliss......
ReplyDeleteMMmmm!!! That sounds lovely! Husband and I often like to pretend we are eating supper in Venice. The pavement outside the dining room window is all water and the cars are all (really fast!) gondolas.
ReplyDeleteWhere my parents live in Alabama we call the city "in town." :)
Sounds like a perfectly delightful evening to me!
ReplyDeletethis is s comfy post. that's your doggie?~ sheer love. how can you go wrong with that cookbook~ such a glorious restaurant.
ReplyDeletexo
I would be so happy, indeed, if you lived in Little Italy, only fifteen miles away from me instead of 250. I can't wait for our rendevous in just three more weeks. Hope I get to see you more than once.
ReplyDeleteMy two youngest sons are flying to Atlanta, with their girlfriends, this weekend to see their grandmother who has now been transferred to extended care, near my brother's. She won't even recognize them, I think, but they wanted to come.
xxxooo
Sounds divine... brings to mind my ex's family--Scilian. All the older women with black hair, deep brown eyes, men gesturing wildly and LOTS of loud talking and laughing at the table. The 'stuff' of life.
ReplyDelete