Spaghetti + Meatballs

Ever since we got back from our Lake Como trip on Sunday night, we've been in the midst of a Dolomiti snowstorm! Perfect time for spaghetti and meatballs, so I whipped some up on Tuesday night and thought I'd share my recipe.

To make the meatballs, I combine two or three types of ground meat - I use veal and beef because those are my only options in the store! About 3/4 of a pound of each, depending on how many meatballs you want. I usually cook for three because Ryan tends to eat for two.

Anyway. Then you take about a cup of breadcrumbs, two tablespoons of parsley, half a cup of parmesan, and an egg and mix that all together with the meat (and add some salt and pepper and about half a cup of warm water to keep it moist).

Then take your rings off and dig in! I usually make 2 inch meatballs and this time, I ended up with 25, but froze half of them for meatball subs later in the week - not even Ryan can eat 25 meatballs at once. Then I throw them outside on the deck because our fridge isn't big enough for 25 meatballs, and go have a glass of vino rosso down the street.

When I get back, I cook the meatballs and make the sauce. So - a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a non-stick pan, throw the meatballs in there (maybe in batches if you have tons) and cook away. About 10 minutes does it.

Then I make the sauce. Sometimes I go all out and make sauce from scratch and sometimes I only half do. This time I used a jar of tomato sauce that I noticed had been sitting around and taking up space in the fridge for quite some time. I added some ricotta to make it creamier (and more homemade) and some onion, garlic (sorry, Dad), red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and more parsley because I have to buy a whole bag at the store which usually goes bad within three days unless I put parsley in everything that I cook.

Heat that up and add the meatballs to simmer in it while the spaghetti cooks....

.....maybe add a little more parsley........

....and there you have it! We're calling it "Snowstorm Spaghetti + Meatballs".

Back to Normal

It's been a whirlwind of Christmas, New Years, visitors, birthdays and today we are finally settling back in to our normal routine. This past weekend, Ryan had a few days off so we took a little birthday trip to Lake Como. We stayed in Bellagio and it was so beautiful, relaxing, and quiet and was the perfect place to unwind after the past 3 weeks.

We went for a long walk, had a picnic by the lake, found the hotel that my parents stayed in 30 years ago during their honeymoon, drank prosecco while watching the sunset, had a delicious local pasta (both nights because it was so good) with sage and cabbage and cheese, played cards and took naps. It was the perfect weekend trip - here are a few pictures, if you'd like to see....

 Our hotel and the view from one of our windows.....the light there was so dreamy.

When we arrived, the woman who ran the hotel gave us a map and told us the only thing to do in January was to go for a long walk. So on Saturday we took the walk on the map, which led us down by the lake, up in the hills and into a few neighboring towns.

We had stopped at a salumeria beforehand and brought a picnic with us, which we ate by the lake....

It was quite cold so we had to go back to the room afterwards to snuggle up under blankets and take a nap, but we woke up to see the sun setting over the lake while having a glass of prosecco.

And then.......since no trip in Italy is complete without a visit to a church, we stopped in Milan on the way home on Sunday to see the Duomo, which was incredible, of course, and have lunch.

Buon Anno!

Happy 2013! We had a great time last night at the Menardi Hotel eating a New Years Eve dinner with all of our friends.....and we are so excited for 2013!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Heading into this long Christmas weekend, we just wanted to say Merry Christmas/Buon Natale to everyone back home...We miss you all lots and we're thinking of everyone during this holiday season. We wish we could be everywhere to celebrate with everyone! Hope everyone has a great, great Christmas! xo

More Christmas Marketing

On Sunday we headed up to Bolzano for the day to visit the Christmas market there - Italy's biggest and best. Also with all the Christmas-marketing we do during this season, we've never actually been to one in Italy. I drove, so it took us several hours to get there instead of only two. But it was so worth it. We walked around and checked out all the stalls which sold millions of Christmas tree ornaments and sparkly decorations and mittens. We ate big pretzels with melted cheese and drank gluhwein and, when we got really cold after the sun went down at 4 pm, tried a Bombardino which is a hot rum drink native to the area, and which we don't get in Cortina since we're technically not part of the South Tyrol region. But - we have prosecco instead, so that's okay. It ended up being a very successful trip because we finally found a star for the top of our tree - and because we stopped for Chinese food on the way home (it was Sunday night after all....no better time for Chinese food)!

Opening Weekend in Cortina

The season has arrived! This past weekend was "opening weekend" in Cortina, a tradition we missed last year because there was no snow. The town filled up with skiers and glitzy people-watchers wearing tons of fur (I had to get out my furry hat to let people know that I live here). We got some snow on Friday for the skiers and on Saturday night the stores stayed open late, played music out on to the street, and gave out free glasses of prosecco to shoppers. Our little Christmas market was in full swing and it was almost impossible to sit down in our favorite cafe on Sunday afternoon! Now that it's Monday though, things are settled down and we're back to normal until next weekend.

Christmas Market-ing in Lienz

Today we decided to get out of the country and go see a Christmas market that we haven't been to before. But the best part was - I drove. Ryan lured me into the car, telling me we were going to a CHRISTMAS MARKET (!!) and then he made me drive. All the way to Lienz, Austria. It was my first time driving a stick shift, except for around the parking lot of the rink where I learned - and we all made it home safe and sound.

Anyway. Lienz. It was freezing! On the way there, the temperature was -11 Celsius which is 12 degrees. 12! So we got there and we had to have some gluhwein or else we would have frozen. Also we decided that we are collecting mugs from various Christmas markets throughout Austria, Italy and Germany, so we needed a mug, of course. Then we ate this delicious baked potato with a garlic sour cream sauce and grilled onions and bacon on it. We don't have stuff like that in Cortina. We wandered around and bought an ornament for our tree and a delicious smelling Christmas candle, and then did some grocery shopping - in Austria, they have thrilling things like cumin and cayenne pepper, which you absolutely cannot find in Cortina.

Here's a few pictures from our day: