Italian for Beginners (39 page)

S
everal years ago, while living in Europe for a summer, my friend Kara and I took a trip to Italy. The country captured my
imagination—not to mention my taste buds!—and some of our adventures even made their way into this book. There was, for example,
a real Roman man who tried to convince me to go home with him by looking me unabashedly up and down, waggling an eyebrow suggestively,
and saying, “But, Kristin! Listen to your body!” (I told him, “I
am
listening to my body. It’s saying no.”) There was an Italian cover band that seemed intent on mangling the lyrics to my favorite
English-language songs, which sent Kara and me into fits of giggles. And there really was a Marco Cassan, although mine was
a restaurant manager in Venice who took me on one of the most memorable trips of my life— a fiveday culinary journey through
Tuscany, where we stayed in a converted farmhouse in a chianti vineyard and ate our way through the most amazing under-the-radar
restaurants in the country (I can still taste the dense bread we dipped in olive oil in Siena, the soprasetta we ate in San
Gimignano, and the wine and fresh lemon poppy bread we feasted on in the countryside while looking out over endless fields
of sunflowers at dusk). So for me, memories of Italy revolve largely around amazing food and the kind of romance that fills
you up with hope, and I wanted to send Cat on a journey that included that.

But Rome is awash in history, and I wanted to tie that in, too. And while world history fascinates me—particularly in cities
such as Rome and Venice, where the remnants of the past are all around us—I thought it would be more meaningful to have Cat
tackle her
own
history while surrounded by the ruins of the ages.

Why? It’s because the older I get, the more I realize how my own past has shaped me, and indeed how the past shapes all of
us. And it’s not just the past itself that can shape our futures; it’s the way we have perceived and dealt with the past.
Misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and betrayals can last a lifetime and change who we turn out to be— if we let them.

In this book, Cat’s entire life has been shaped by the fallout from her mother’s departure, and as I wrote her story, I found
myself realizing just how much my own past has shaped me. I found I had a handful of bad memories and hurt feelings that I’d
locked away in a little corner of my mind, never realizing that they had become such a huge piece of who I am today. Cat comes
to the same realization in this novel, and it’s not until she deals with her own past that she’s ready to move into her future.
I’m trying to do that, too.

If nothing else, I hope that this novel will make you think about how your own history has impacted you—and how you can deal
with the things that have influenced you negatively so you have more power to shape your own positive future. Sometimes, once
we dispatch those ghosts, it frees us up to realize that the very things we were looking for have been right in front of us
all along.

You can find out more about me and my other novels (
The Art of French Kissing
,
The Blonde Theory
,
How to Sleep with a Movie Star
, and the young adult novel
When You Wish
) at my Web site,
www.KristinHarmel.com
.

Enjoy the book! Perhaps I’ll meet you over a glass of chianti one day in Rome!

O
ne of the things I like best about Rome is the food! Since so much of
Italian for Beginners
centers around food—and the people who make it—I thought I’d share with you five recipes for dishes I make at home—and that
Cat eats throughout the novel:

The Big Dipper’s Cheese Fondue

Cat goes on a date to the fictional Big Dipper fondue restaurant in New York, where she and Michael Evangelisti share cheese
fondue and a bottle of sauvignon blanc. You can do the same at home:

I
NGREDIENTS
:

1½ cups (12 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese

1½ cups (12 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese

1 tablespoon flour

1¼ cups sauvignon blanc wine

Dash garlic powder

Dash Worcestershire sauce

• In a large bowl, toss the two shredded cheeses together and coat with flour.
  
• Meanwhile, bring wine to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
  
• Gradually stir in cheese mixture, stirring constantly until melted and smooth.
  
• Once smooth, stir in garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce.
  
• Transfer to a fondue pot and keep warm with a small Sterno cooking fuel.
  
• Serve with torn bread pieces (I like Italian and pumpernickel!), celery, carrots, and apples.
  
• Enjoy with the remainder of the bottle of sauvignon blanc.
  

SERVES 4–6

Squisito’s Roman Rice-Stuffed Tomatoes

While visiting Rome several years ago, my friend Kara and I had cold, rice-stuffed tomatoes at a restaurant near the Roma
Termini train station. They were so good that we skipped the Trevi Fountain the next day in favor of returning to the restaurant
for another round! This version is somewhat Americanized, but it’s quick and easy enough that you can make it for a weeknight
meal. (As a side note, it was the waiter at the restaurant actually who tried the “Listen to your body,” line on me—the same
one that’s used on Cat in the novel.) In the book, Cat and Nico eat rice-stuffed tomatoes at Karina’s restaurant, Squisito.

INGREDIENTS
:

6 large ripe tomatoes

1½ cups rice, cooked (I use instant rice or leftover white rice)

1½ cups tomato puree

2 garlic cloves, minced, plus a few dashes garlic powder

10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil

• Heat oven to 375 degrees.
  
• Cut tops off tomatoes and scoop out pulp, leaving the body of the tomatoes intact. Retain tops.
  
• Remove the seeds, chop the pulp, and place in a bowl.
  
• Add the cooked rice, tomato puree, minced garlic, garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
  
• Fill each of the tomatoes with [[frac16]] of the rice mixture. Cover each tomato with its top, place in a baking dish coated
  with nonstick spray, and drizzle each tomato with a little olive oil, using your fingers to coat each tomato lightly.
  
• Bake 12–15 minutes, until tomatoes are soft, hot, and cooked through.
  
• Serve right away or refrigerate and serve cold, as in the book. Cat eats them with a side salad and a glass of prosecco,
  a perfect summer lunch.
  

SERVES 6

Pantheon Margherita Pizza

You haven’t had pizza until you’ve had it in Italy. This version is simplified, but it’s a quick and easy way to make a real
Italian pizza that will knock the pants off of takeout and delivery. In the book, Karina and Cat dine on margherita pizza
near the Pantheon.

INGREDIENTS
:

1 premade pizza crust

Olive oil

6 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced in rounds and blotted dry on paper towels

½ cup packed, torn fresh basil leaves

4–6 ounces fresh buffalo mozzarella (it comes packed in liquid), thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

• If using a frozen pizza crust, prepare according to package directions and let cool until you can touch it comfortably.
  
• Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
  
• Place crust on baking sheet, then cover crust with several liberal dashes of olive oil; use your fingers to spread evenly
  over crust.
  
• Spread tomato slices all over crust, covering as much area as possible.
  
• Follow with basil leaves, again spreading evenly.
  
• Finally, cover with thinly sliced mozzarella.
  
• Drizzle with a little more olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
  
• Bake on lowest rack for 8–10 minutes, keeping an eye on it to make sure cheese doesn’t burn.
  
• Cool slightly, slice, and serve with a salad. In the book, Karina and Cat enjoy it with a bottle of chianti.
  

SERVES 4

Karina’s Creamy Risotto with Asparagus, Zucchini, and Mint

I’ve always loved risotto, but I hadn’t had it with mint until I visited Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for my good friend Kristen’s
wedding last year. We dined at an Italian restaurant; I ordered the risotto of the day, and I couldn’t stop talking about
how much I loved it. In the novel, Karina marries the flavors of asparagus, zucchini, and mint for a flavorful, beautifully
green summer risotto, which pairs perfectly with salad and crusty Italian bread (or with panzanella salad; see next). This
recipe is the result of much trial and error in my now-asparagus-splattered kitchen.

INGREDIENTS
:

1½ pounds asparagus, tips cut off and reserved

1 tablespoon butter

1 large zucchini, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons olive oil

½ white onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1¾ cups Arborio rice

½ cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint

½ cup parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

• In a medium saucepan, cook asparagus tips for 2 minutes in boiling water. Remove tips with slotted spoon and set aside.
  
• Chop remaining asparagus into smaller pieces, discarding the tough bottoms of the stalks. Boil in same saucepan for 12 minutes,
  until very tender.
  
• In a food processor or blender, puree cooked asparagus with ¼ cup hot water. Set aside. Drain saucepan.
  
• In the same saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and cook zucchini just until softened. Remove and set aside.
  
• Rinse out saucepan, then use it to bring chicken broth to a boil. Reduce to a simmer over low heat.
  
• Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened,
  then add garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
  
• Add rice and toss to coat with oil, garlic, and onions, then cook, stirring for 2 minutes.
  
• Pour in wine and cook, stirring constantly, until wine is almost fully absorbed, about 3–4 minutes.
  
• Using a ladle, add about a cup of hot chicken broth and stir continuously until the stock is almost absorbed.
  
• Continue adding broth, one or two ladles at a time, stirring constantly each time, until the liquid is almost fully absorbed
  before adding more.
  
• After about 15 minutes, begin taste-testing the rice. When it’s tender but still a little firm in your mouth—about 20 minutes
  after you’ve begun adding the broth (you should have used nearly all the broth)—add asparagus puree and continue cooking about
  3 more minutes.
  
• Add the asparagus tips and cooked zucchini and cook for 1 more minute.
  
• Remove from heat, immediately add mint leaves, parmesan cheese, salt, and freshly grated pepper. Stir until cheese melts
  in.
  
• Serve with white wine; you might even want to try Verdicchio: Cat’s mother’s family comes from the same region as the wine.
  

SERVES 4–6

Karina’s Panzanella Salad

There’s no better way to use day-old Italian bread than in a fresh panzanella bread salad. This version is quick and simple.
Karina serves it during Cat’s farewell dinner in Rome.

INGREDIENTS
:

6 cups day-old bread (this is best when bread is slightly hardened and stale), torn or cut into bite-size cubes

½ cup olive oil, divided into two ¼ cup portions

4 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 dashes garlic powder

6 medium tomatoes, cut into small wedges

12 fresh basil leaves, shredded

1 medium red onion, sliced as thinly as possible

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  
• In a large bowl, toss together bread cubes, ¼ cup olive oil, minced garlic, and salt and pepper
  
• Spread bread mixture in an even layer on foil-covered baking sheet.
  
• Toast until crispy, 7–10 minutes. Remove baking sheet and cool.
  
• Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining olive oil, vinegar, and garlic powder. Set aside.
  
• In large bowl, mix the tomatoes, basil, onion, bread cubes, and vinaigrette.
  
• Let stand 10 minutes, toss again, and serve.