Happy Monday Everyone!

From the moment Burt Lancaster kissed Deborah Kerr in the iconic beach scene in the Academy Award-winning film, From Here to Eternity, people everywhere have envisioned a beautiful beach as the perfect romantic holiday… But the perfect holiday requires more than just a lovely beach for it to be truly remarkable. It should offer exquisite food, culture, historical beauty, nightly attractions, and much more.


Reminiscent of Italy’s more commercial destinations like the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre, the view from Tropea is breathtaking! At the end of the main pedestrian street there is a natural balcony over the sea with a magnificent view of the beach and the church of Santa Maria del Isola glistening on a rocky promontory above an aquamarine sea.

On a clear day, the seaward views from the waterfront promenade extend to embrace Stromboli's cone and at least four of the other Eolians - the islands can be visited by motorboats that depart daily from Tropea in the summer.

The main town of Tropea is characterized by warm hospitality, steep streets, local shops, quaint restaurants, and old palazzi built in simple golden stone on an elevation above the sea. It is the loveliest town on the Calabria Tyrrhenian coast! So the next time you visit Italy, why not take a detour to Tropea and enjoy a few days relaxing on the most beautiful beach in the Mediterranean.

A truly enchanting experience, Il Gatto Nero provides a stunning backdrop for a truly romantic dining experience.

This week’s recipe is courtesy of world renowned chef Massimo Bottura, the most accomplished avant-garde chef of his generation! He is the recipient of the 2011 Gran Prix de l’Art de la Cuisine by the International Academy of Gastronomy in Paris and his Modena restaurant, Osteria Francescana, took 4^th place on the 2011 list of the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants that is organized and compiled by Restaurant Magazine.


Much of the food at Osteria Francescana takes its inspiration from the art world, but this is only half the story. There is no food without poetry, deep thinking, and music for Massimo Bottura. Nourishment is according to him not mathematical, but emotional.







Cooking the onions in butter and sugar gives an uncommonly beautiful sheen to this rich, tangy marmalade.

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 medium white onions, finely chopped 

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup plus 1/3 cup dry red wine

3/4 cup raspberry vinegar

Salt

Eight 4-ounce pork loin medallions

Freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon minced rosemary

8 very thin slices of pancetta (2 ounces)

2 tablespoons pure olive oil

8 garlic cloves

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 cups beef stock or canned low-sodium broth

PREPARATION:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onions and sugar, cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are caramelized, about 30 minutes. Add 3/4 cup of the wine and the raspberry vinegar and boil until the liquid is syrupy, about 8 minutes. Season with salt.

Meanwhile, season the pork medallions with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the rosemary. Top each medallion with a slice of pancetta and, using kitchen string, tie up like a package. Heat the olive oil with the garlic in a large skillet. Add the pork medallions, pancetta side down, and cook over moderately high heat until browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderate, turn the medallions and cook until just cooked through and browned on the second side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer the medallions to a warmed platter and cover loosely with foil. Discard the garlic.

Add the remaining 1/3 cup of red wine and the balsamic vinegar to the skillet and boil over moderate heat, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add the stock and simmer until reduced to 2/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in any accumulated juices from the pork and season with salt and pepper.

Remove the string, set the pork medallions on plates and spoon the onion marmalade alongside. Pour the sauce over the medallions and serve.

MAKE AHEAD The onion marmalade can be refrigerated for 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

WINE PAIRING:
Look for a bright, fruity-spicy Italian red that won't overwhelm the mild pork, such as a medium-bodied Dolcetto d'Alba with soft tannins.

Enjoy!

Standing on a stretch of beach on a private bay, my feet submerged in a sea of crystal-clear turquoise water, I am at peace. As the warm breeze caresses my face, I inhale the sweet scent of exotic flowers. The sun is starting to set over an endless ocean of blue; the view is breathtaking. I relax and enjoy this rare moment of solitude. Later, I will join my love for our evening meal. It felt like the perfect ending to the perfect day…



After breakfast I was told to prepare for a surprise. Anyone who knows women knows how much we love a surprise and so I was anxious to discover the great mystery... My surprise was a small boat with a seaman named Pietro who was hired to circumnavigate the beautiful island of Ischia with us. The boat came equipped with a basket of fresh fruits and sparkling wine. Moments like this remind me how beautiful life can be when shared with someone you love. It was an enchanting day spent exploring fascinating coves, swimming and kissing amidst the glorious sea. We felt as if we were the only two people on earth and it felt great!

As we approached our port I was told that my surprise was not over yet. Arrangements had been made for us to enjoy the famous thermal water and volcanic mud treatments of Ischia at the hotel’s renowned spa. I can only sum up this experience as the ideal paradise for total restoration and revitalization. I left there feeling like a new woman, grateful for the love and attention bestowed on me. It was then that I decided to make my way towards the beach for a moment of solitude to thank the universe for this magical experience. 

Spring is in the air and it’s the perfect time of year to plan that delicious picnic lunch in the park!

While the conventional version of tiramisù calls for espresso-soaked savoiardi, I've found that other flavors can be incorporated into the dessert with great success. Here, the brightness of fresh lemons and limoncello liqueur lace the cream and soaking syrup to make for a tiramisù that is refreshing and irresistible.

This recipe makes a family-style dessert in a large dish, but you can easily compose single servings in dessert glasses, wine goblets, or even elegant teacups for a more impressive presentation.

Ingredients for 12 servings

·         5 large eggs
·         6 lemons
·         1 cup sugar
·         1½ cups limoncello liqueur
·         1 cup water
·         1 pound mascarpone, at room temperature (2 cups)
·         40 ladyfingers, or more as needed

Recommended Equipment: A double boiler, with a large stainless-steel bowl and a wide saucepan to hold it. A large flexible wire whisk. A shallow-rimmed pan for moistening the savoiardi with syrup. For assembling the tiramisu, a shallow casserole or baking dish with 3-quart capacity, such as a dish 9-by-13-inch Pyrex pan.


PREPARATION:

Pour just enough water in a double boiler pan so the water level is right below the bottom of the mixing bowl when it is sitting in the pan. Separate the eggs, putting yolks into the large bowl of the double boiler and the whites into another stainless bowl for whipping by hand or with an electric mixer.

Remove the zest of 2 or more of the lemons, using a fine grater, to get 2 tablespoons of zest. Squeeze out and strain the juice of these and other lemons to get 3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice.

To make the base for the tiramisù, heat the water in the pan to a steady simmer. Off heat, beat the egg yolks with 1/4 cup of the sugar and 1/2 cup of the limoncello until well blended. Set the bowl over the simmering water and whisk constantly, frequently scraping the whisk around the sides and bottom of the bowl, as the egg mixture expands and heats into a frothy sponge, 5 minutes or longer. When the sponge has thickened enough to form a ribbon when it drops on the surface, take the bowl off the double boiler pan and let it cool.

Meanwhile, pour the remaining cup of limoncello, all of the lemon juice, the 1 cup water and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and cook for 5 minutes, evaporating the alcohol. Let the syrup cool completely.

In another large bowl, stir the mascarpone with a wooden spoon to soften it then drop in the grated lemon zest and beat until light and creamy. Whip the egg whites with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, by hand or by machine, until it holds moderately firm peaks.








When the cooked limoncello sponge (or zabaglione) is cooled, scrape about a third of it over the mascarpone and fold it in with a large rubber spatula. Fold in the rest of the zabaglione in 2 or 3 additions. Now fold in the whipped egg whites in several additions, until the limoncello-mascarpone cream is light and evenly blended.

Pour some of the cooled syrup, no deeper than 1/4-inch depth, into the pan to moisten the ladyfingers (Savoiardi). One at a time, roll a ladyfinger in the syrup and place it in the dessert pan. Wet each cookie briefly-if it soaks up too much syrup, it will fall apart. Arrange the moistened ladyfingers in neat tight rows, filling the bottom of the pan completely. You should be able to fit in about 20 ladyfingers in a single layer.

Scoop half of the limoncello-mascarpone cream onto the ladyfingers and smooth it to fill the pan and cover them. Dip and arrange a second layer of ladyfingers in the pan and cover it completely with the remainder of the cream.

Smooth the cream with the spatula and seal the tiramisù airtight in plastic wrap. Before serving, refrigerate for 6 hours (up to 2 days) or put it in the freezer for 2 hours. To serve, cut portions of tiramisù in any size you like and lift each out of the pan onto dessert plates.


WINE PAIRING:
A nice glass of Riesling wine from Germany would beautifully compliment this Limoncello Tiramisù dessert because medium bodied white wines have a nice mineral edge, allowing them to work well with this recipe