marcelasenise, Author at lafoodsitter

Author

marcelasenise

I'm a foodie at heart. I never say no to good company over a meal. I love travelling. USA will always be my first choice of destination. Bourdain addicted. Food & Travel Consultancy / Communication, Marketing & Public Relations. Food writer for hobby.

All posts by marcelasenise

Secret ingredients

by marcelasenise

This one is an oldie but a goodie one!

I decided to share here after picking it up from my shelves to read it some pieces again this morning.
The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink is kind of a bible for people that has some sort of relationship with the food world. Its writing by a selection of witty, classic, some old fashion writers makes this book a reference to any kind of food inspiration you might be looking for. Or simply a good New York style reading moment.

Mine has ears all over it! A total comfort to reach to.

Harley Langberg

by marcelasenise

I love cooking in the morning as I’m a morning person.

I came about Harley’s work a few years back in early 2015 while scrolling around Instagram. It was “love at first post”! I love his touch when using the ingredients, choices of pieces, influences and how original years down the line his work still is. Proud to see his changes in creation but I can’t deny my favorite ones will always be the ones with candies and oreos!
One special moment was to see a Picasso piece Harley recreated and Met Museum reposted it!

Harley Food Art recreation of Picasso’s “Au Lapin Agile”

Another quality of Harley’s account is his genuine being in touch with his 36+K followers. Always with a kind word of reply if you leave a comment. And that was how our contact begun. Let’s say we are the real deal of virtual friends.
Proud too to see him hapilly married to his bestfriend Zach.

I can’t wait to meet them in person if not here in Italy back in the US and of course get one priting (or maybe two or three!) to put it in my kitchen wall.

What is the importance of your kitchen in your house?
Very very important! As a food artist and amateur chef, I am in the kitchen at least once a day and it is my favorite part of the apartment!

What’s the best part of the day for you to cook?
I love cooking in the morning as I’m a morning person making a delicious breakfast but I also do love cooking during the day and early evening as well.

Are you a creative chef or simply love to follow recipes?
I love to take recipes and adapt them to make them my own and I always usually put a healthy spin on the recipe. Sometimes I’ll substitute ingredients or omit certain unhealthy ingredients.

Three ingredients that are never missing on your kitchen cabinet?
Extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper.

How did your passion for cooking come about?
It came about when I was young and I had people around me who loved to cook like my babysitter and family friends. Ever since I was little I had such a fascination with the cooking process and still do today!

What’s your favourite dish to cook that you kow it can never go wrong with it?
My favorite dish to make is a recipe I adapted from Food & Wine Magazine where I create my own whole wheat pizza dough, roll it really thin and top it with thinly sliced eggplant, garlic, fresh ground pepper, homemade pesto, and parmesan cheese. It’s more of a flatbread than a pizza and it’s absolutely delicious! I try to make it once a month.

Would you receive for a day an entire tv crew in your kitchen?
I’m not the best on camera but I don’t think I could turn down an opprotutniy like that!

Do you follow any tv show or have a favourite cooking book?
My two favorite tv shows are MasterChef Junior (those kids are just so adorable and talented) and also Chopped (love seeing the creativity that goes into making delicious dishes using odd combinations of ingredients). As for cooking books, I love the Gumbo Shop cooking book which is a popular gumbo restaurant in New Orleans.

Harley Langberg Having been born and raised in NYC, Harley Langberg early on found a passion for both art and food. During high school, he spent a summer at The School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College and the summer after worked in the pastry kitchen of the world-renowned Lacorix at the Rittenhouse. While the culinary world and his passion for cooking was always important to him, Harley decided to attend Northwestern University where he studied Economics and Chinese. While at Northwestern, he continued to invest his spare time in cooking, working in the local pastry kitchens in Evanston, IL, writing a weekly cooking column in the school newspaper, The Daily Northwestern, and teaching his fellow students how to cook during private and public cooking lessons and demonstrations. Since graduating from Northwestern in 2010 he has been working in sales and operations for a NYC-based company, yet always had the urge to find a creative outlet that best suited him. One day while in Chelsea Market, he discovered an exhibition of a food artist and was completely fascinated by this new form of art which he had never seen before. That night, he went home and created his first food art piece, and from that point on had been hooked and unexpectedly developed a new talent, food art. Since plating that first piece in October of 2013, he has created hundreds of food art pieces, worked with a number of prominent brands including The Food Network, Chili’s, Billboard, and Little Caesar creating special pieces for their social media channels, and built an Instagram following of over 33.5k followers.

@jesselauzon

by marcelasenise

You know those certain items that you have at heart almost to the point of becoming a collector one? I, for example, collect mugs. Not cups. Mugs. Crazy about them. Any shape, color, texture of the ceramic.
Jesse’s account is simply paradise for us. His photo’s display are a work on its own. Beauty for the eyes.
Absolutely worth the follow!

Jesse Lauzon @jesselauzon
Oh! and he wears glasses too! 🙂

@ingridhofstra

by marcelasenise

I very much enjoy the lightness on Ingrid’s work. She takes you around the world with her images in the most delicate way.
Here is an extract from her About.

Hi, I am Ingrid. I am a photographer, journalist, and videographer and I create global culinary stories. My work revolves around food because I love how it brings together people from all walks of life – and I want to tell the stories they like to share. It’s also the perfect excuse to be on the road non-stop. In the past years I dined with local coconut farmers in Sri Lanka, tasted cactus in Palm Springs, went foraging with a Michelin chef in the Faroe Islands, roamed the premises of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and harvested olives in Catalonia.

When I’m not traveling, you can find me at home in Hilversum – a town near Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Visit her Instagram @ingridhofstra & website

Sorbillo opens in NYC

by marcelasenise

“When he was a little boy he had a dream. To become a pizzaiolo and take his pizzas to an even bigger dream. The american dream.”

…and he did so. Gino Sorbillo is making his highest dream become reality. The Sorbillo clan is opening their first location this week in the heart of Little Italy, where else?!

His efforts paid off. His believes and what is important to make the best pizza are real. Protection and respect of his territory to export in the most accurate way to one of the most competitive cities in the world when it comes to the food industry.
He is ready to tell the story of his family, to make New Yorkers try Italy’s most famous pizza in the world.

While writing this article, Gino himself shared on his Instragam stories, yes he’s all about his social media chanels too, that Unesco has recently announced the recongnition of pizza makers job as a Italian heritage – so Hurray & Congrats to all pizzaioli!

When I met Gino at ‘Cibo a Regola D’Arte last month I was amazed to meet such helpful and available guy he was but most of all how down to earth.

Gino Sorbillo & Michelin star chef Rosanna Marziale at Cibo a Regola D’Arte – Napoli 2017

His talk was al about genuinity, respect and love for his home territory. To the point of publicly stating so in front of politians his commintment as citizen and enterpreneur.

His energy is contagious, his smile is sincere and his arrival in New York City is happening because of his determination of fulfilling that young boy’s dream. He is very aware of what the city has to give and take. But so far the feedback of opening trials and and opening night have proven a success.

The Sorbillo’s brother received the visit of New York’s Mayor, Mr. De Blasio, as their friendship goes back a few years back when tey met back in Naples while the De Blasio family was holidaying in the souht. Media coverage has been pretty full including the famous CBSNews channel of all NYC yellow cabs!

Gino-Sorbillo-sindaco-New-York-Bill-de-Blasio-brindisi-pizza

Credits Press / James Collier

: Credits Press / James Collier

I can’t wait to be back in the Big Apple and enjoy a good slice with my New Yorker friends.
I wish Gino & family the most amazing time on their new adventure.

Follow Sorbillo NYC on Instagram
Sorbillo NYC
334 Bowery between Great Jones & Bond Street, New York, NY 10012 646.476.8049

Sorbillo the pizza man

by marcelasenise

When you visit Italy there are some clichés to be done that are a must like going to Rome and seeing the Colliseum, going to Pisa and taking a picture “holding” the leaning tower and going to Naples to eat pizza.
Simple as that.

credits Sorbillo Facebook

You have infinite choices of places to do so but my suggestion is to go right in the core of the city, Centro Storico, where you will find Sorbillo. This is THE place where to eat THE most traditional e faithful napolian/Italian pizza in town.

credits Sorbillo Facebook

I did so myself!

Gino Sorbillo is the man behind the empire he created with his own hands. First he will tell you about his unconditional love for Naples, his hometown, what the region has to offer with all the quality of raw material, homeland of mozzarelas, burratas and pomodorinis. But most of all what he has done to the neighborhood where he chose to open his pizzeria. Yes, Centro Storico, in Via del Tribunale, where Camorra is renown for playing their rules. This is a delicate issue of course but Sorbillo has placed his cards too. Some say he managed to fight the mafia but I guess this is not the point here.

credits Sorbillo Facebook

He loves what he does, does is really well and what he really fights for is to achieve higher and higher. With 3 pizzerias in Naples, 2 of Zia Esterina (the historical fried pizza take away) locations, Milan and very soon the Big Apple.

credits Sorbillo Facebook

When in Naples make sure to save one evening just for it. The waiting time is long but surely worth it!

Follow Sorbillo on Instagram, Facebook ,Twitter and visit his website too.

Via dei Tribunali, 32
Naples, Italy 80138

+39 081 446643

Terri Salminen

by marcelasenise

I am American born and had the great fortune of growing up in the countryside of the northern Italian region the Veneto. I soaked up culture, friendship and love of food through my mother’s intensely social attitude and followed her to markets and into the kitchen from three years of age onward.

I first met Terri about five years ago through our connection with Jamie Oliver’s Foundation.
She is a very lovely lady impossible not to fall in love with! She is caring, gives attention to the smallest of details when dealing with people and, YES!, she is a true food lover. Did I mention what a great food photographer she is as well? You can see it all on her blog Recipe Writings – and food memories.

What is the importance of your kitchen in your house?
The kitchen is the center of the house and a favorite place to write.

What’s the best part of the day for you to cook?
I am most inspired to cook in the morning as I like to create new things during the first part of the day. Sunday is my favorite day of the week to cook, and I often make fresh pasta or something that takes time to prepare on Sunday.

Are you a creative chef or simply love to follow recipes?
I am a creative cook. I like to read recipes in order to learn. Cooking is a continuously growing process so reading recipes is like learning a new language to me. When I cook, I cook intuitively though.

Three ingredients that are never missing on your kitchen cabinet?
Extra virgin olive oil, garlic and rosemary are always in my kitchen cabinet.

How did your passion for cooking come about?
My passion for cooking comes from two sources, my mother and her love of cooking and Italy, where I grew up.

What’s your favourite dish to cook that you know it can never go wrong with it?
My favorite dish is zucchini soup. It never goes wrong and always tastes wonderful. It’s like comfort on a spoon. On the other hand, risotto and polenta never go wrong either and I love them too. And of course, I can’t live without tomato soup, tomato sauce, tomato jam. I love tomatoes!

Would you receive for a day an entire tv crew in your kitchen?
Yes, I would receive a tv crew in my kitchen and I would make them a nice lunch.

Do you follow any tv show or have a favourite cooking book?
I don’t watch cooking shows generally. I have many favorite cookbooks. Cooks I admire are Elizabeth David, Alice Waters, Nigel Slater and of course Jamie Oliver. I have many cookbooks but choose them carefully. I have just ordered Julia Child’s “The Art of French Cooking” and will read it page by page!

Terri Salminen “I am a cook by profession and a philosopher by education. I am American born and had the great fortune of growing up in the countryside of the northern Italian region the Veneto. I soaked up culture, friendship and love of food through my mother’s intensely social attitude and followed her to markets and into the kitchen from three years of age onward.

https://terrisalminen.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/caldogno-1966.jpg?w=672&h=505&resize=660%2C495

I started cooking professionally when my first child was born. I follow the principles of the Italian kitchen, utilizing fresh, colorful and seasonal ingredients. I love to experiment with color and structure. In my cooking there is always a combination of raw and cooked, steamed or grilled, braised and stewed. I love herbs and cannot cook without olive oil, garlic and good sea salt.

I live in the Netherlands where I work as Sous Chef at Microsoft at Hutten, sometimes as private chef, give teaching classes and write about food for the Dutch edition of Jamie Magazine, on my own blog and for various special projects. My dream is to have a cooking school, open to the community, working with all generations, sharing the beauty of food.”

Carluccio

by marcelasenise

“Italian men has two main functions, to eat and to make love”

Antonio Carluccio

Last week the world of food has lost a very important figure. He was considered the Godfather of Italian food abroad.
He was born in Salerno, in the region of Campania, the fifth of six children.
He moved with his father’s job when he was young and lived in Castelnuovo Belbo and Borgofranco d’Ivrea. Living in the northwest, an area with great vegetation, as a child he would hunt through the forest for different mushrooms and fungi with his father. After leaving school he did his compulsory one year of military service in the Italian Navy. After leaving the navy, he briefly worked as a journalist with La Stampa in Turin and then as a technician and sales representative for typewriter manufacturer Olivetti.
It was not until he moved again, this time to Vienna, to study languages and start his work life as a wine merchant. Thirteen years later he moved to London to become the Italian wine importer of that time. Thas was back in 1975.

In the restaurant business everything started when he became the manager at Terence Conran’s Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden. He married Conran’s sister. The rest is history.

If you visited London you must surely have come across the Carluccio’s sign from one of his restaurants, seen some of his 20 books in bookshops. It was under his supervision that UK beloved chef Jamie Oliver started working in London.

Credits David Loftus

That led to a life time friendship between them and Gennaro Contaldo, whom they made a hilarous tv series for BBC called “Two greedy Italians”.

: Credits David Loftus

: Credits David Loftus

A rather quiet and shy persona, I remember, during my London years when I visited his Deli back in late 90’s. Always present and smiling but reserved, making sure everything was up and running as he wanted. Food was good.

The United Kingdom surely is grateful to what Carluccio represented in the evoution and upgrade of quality of food when eating out over the years but mostly being the man who brought Italian flavors over the chanel.

In 2007 he was appointed an OBE by the Queen.

*extracts from Wikipedia

French butter crisis?!

by marcelasenise

It is an announced crisis for a while. Climate change, political issues, you pick your choice.
What is in question here is how will the French live without their fantasticly buttered croissants and all those jambon baguettes?
Prices are rising, supermaket shelves with apologetic notes for lackign supply, bakers not knowing where to find their tones of butter.
Let’s hope for the best!

here is a good article from The Guardian to get into more detailed explanation.