Portofino, Italy: Hotels, Restaurants, Low Season – 5 Tips to Enjoy Your Trip

March 17th, 2010 · Tags: Discovering Italy · Italy

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Have you heard of Portofino?

Portofino is a lovely little town on the Italian Riviera – just south of Genova – Genoa and with only 500 inhabitants. The bay, or rather cove surrounded by mountain/hills all around it makes it a very pretty setting for a day trip or even a romantic weekend.

Another view of Portofino Bay, Italian Riviera, Italy

Here are my Top 5 tips for enjoying your trip to Portofino.

1. Beware of the Low / End of Season

If you’re thinking of visiting Portofino in low/end season (end of November, March), beware that you might save money but you’ll miss out a little on the Portofino experience and find a bit of a ghost town. On one hand, the bay won’t be clogged with yachts anchored away in concentric half-circles, but on the other hand, many local (and high fashion) stores will be closed so shopping and buying necessities will be more difficult.

At the end of November we stayed in a hotel which was literally closing for the season (reopening in March) the day we checked out. A visit to Portofino when most of the inhabitants are gone is not impossible, but finding services like hotels and restaurants becomes difficult.

A boat in Portofino, Italian Riviera, Italy

2. Don’t miss the Golden Hour at the St. George’s Church

If you’re thinking about climbing up to the Chiesa di San Giorgio (St. George’s Church) I strongly suggest going during the “Golden Hour” that is, the hour right before sunset as it really lights up the yellow church and provides a great place to take some potraits or play with silhouettes as the sun goes down.

Sunset and the Golden Hour for Castello Brown and St. George Church, Portofino, Italy

The church itself is a small structure that you can peek your head into, but explore the grounds around and in front of it for those picture-perfect opportunities.

Chiesa San Giorgio, St. George Church, Portofino, Italian Riviera, Italy

With the church at your back, there’s a little terrace on the left that gets the last remaining rays of the day, long after darkness has fallen on the Portofino bay.

Sunset from San Giorgio Church, Portofino, Italia

There’s a telescope if you fancy having a lookout.

Telescope at sunset, Portofino, Italian Riviera, Italy

But above all, have fun with the setting sun and ask some friends or some strangers to model for you and snap away!

Woman's silhouette at sunset, Portofino, Italian Riviera, Italy

3. Take the climb to Castello / Castle  Brown

Sign pointing the way, Portofino, Italian Riviera, Italy

Portofino is a tiny town, so after you’ve seen the church, you should also make sure you see the Castello (Castle) Brown. It’s a healthy climb that winds through the hilltop neighborhood that is fun to take, and the grounds directly underneath the castle can be explored even without paying for the entrance fee to go into the castle. I recommend taking the path from the San Giorgio church to the Castle, and then winding down around the grounds back down to the bay. You’ll get a great shot of the bay this way, too!

Portofino Bay, Italian Riviera, Italy

4. Eat at your own Risk, and your Wallet’s

Food in Italy is fantastic, delicious, and simple. But not always a guarantee.

I have to say one of the worst culinary experiences I’ve ever had was while I was in Portofino. It wasn’t just the cost (which was astronomical) but the quality was terrible and when compounded with the price, it just twisted the knife even more. Is there anything worse than a terrible AND expensive meal? I think much worse than a cheap, terrible meal.

This particular restaurant (again, I’m sure it was getting ready to close for the season) served us the worst plate of pasta I’ve ever eaten – and it was just pesto! Pesto is pretty difficult to mess up – it’s just basil, olive oil, cheese and pine nuts. The pasta must have been cooked in cups of salt as it was extremely salty to the point of being inedible, and we ate just enough to get us through the evening and left the rest. To top it off, drinks were not listed on the menu and when a few in our party ordered cans of Coke, at the end of the evening they paid the hefty price of 7.50euro (USD$10!!!) for a simple coke. Not even a slice of lemon in sight. We paid the bill, on the edge of violence, and decided to leave and never look back, and not ruin the rest of our time in the city.

So, my story is a caveat for eating in Portofino, and I know not everyone will have this experience. But eating in Portofino will be expensive (the restaurants that we saw all had similar, expensive menus) and it might not even be good. I suggest really investigating and getting some suggestions from someone who’s been there (but not me). Otherwise, I strongly recommend spending your mealtimes outside Portofino, perhaps limiting yourself to an aperitivo and heading to Santa Margherita Ligure on the bus for dinner, especially in those low season times.

5. Skip the taxi, take the bus from Santa Margherita Ligure to Portofino

Bus schedules are pretty regular, and you can get easily to Portofino from the Santa Margherita Ligure train station with a local bus that will cost you a Euro or so for the trip. Buy a few extra tickets while you’re at it so that way you can make the trip back to Santa Margherita without having to search for an open ticket stand. If you prefer taxis, there’s a taxi stand just outside the train station.

Taxi stand, Santa Margherita Ligure, Italian Riviera, Italy

Make sure you get back in plenty of time to make your train! Maybe you’ll even have time for a nap while you think about all the memories you’ve just made in Portofino.

Taking a break at Santa Margherita Ligure train station, Italian Riviera, Italy

Have you been to Portofino? Leave your own tips and tricks in the comments!

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Italian Hand Gestures: It’s a Dance

March 4th, 2010 · Tags: Culture · Italy

When people think of Italy, they focus on the food, the wine, and the wonderful historical monuments that are in every corner of the country. But if you look closer, you’ll notice some small details that are a big part of Italian culture. What, exactly? Watch to find out.

Perhaps you haven’t been keeping up with some of the articles I’m writing over at Suzuki Europe’s It’s the Small things that make a Difference site, but I’ve been busy and I’ve created this video which I think Ms. Adventures fans will love, too.

Do you “dance” with your hands?

Feel free to share or embed this video on your own site – you can get the code by clicking on the YouTube link and getting the Embed code.

PS: If you’re in Europe, you can make a simple video like I did, too, about the small things in your life and enter in Suzuki’s YouTube contest!

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Broccolo Romanesco, Roman Cauliflower with Pasta Recipe

February 26th, 2010 · Tags: Entree · Food · Italy · Recipe

Before I grew to love the broccolo romanesco, Roman broccoli / cauliflower (or as I sometimes hear it being called cavolo romanesco, Roman cabbage) as much as I do, I was freaked out by it. A vegetable that’s vivid, electric green and has all sorts of spiky formations all over it? It looks like something you’d see in a futuristic movie instead of at a vegetable stand in Italy.

You’re not sure whether to take a ninja sword and chop it up so it doesn’t spontaneously reproduce and take over your living room with its spiky cones, or so that you can boil it and smother it in olive oil. I have a personal recommendation: do the second, but use the ninja sword in either case.

Broccolo Cavolo Romanesco, Roman Cauliflower

This broccoli is actually part of the Botrytis Group of the Brassica oleracea species which is in essence wild cabbage. Botrytis means really nothing to me, but it does add to the alien life form theory. I would go as far as to say that broccolo romanesco is the most geeky vegetable we have, winning over regular white cauliflower because of its color and coney spikes that are in a fractal formation.

As far as pairing broccolo romanesco with pasta, I have to give credit where credit is due – Rachel from Rachel Eats, a blog from a British woman living in Rome, is the blog I’m currently living through quite vicariously. Winter is especially tough on a food blogger like myself who spends her days in an office. We need really good, natural light to make those photos sing unless we want to invest in a lightbox or artificial lighting that’s good for photography. And I don’t. At least, not yet. Rachel’’s cooking and blogging about it, much as I’d like to if I had access to my kitchen in daylight hours, which I don’t unless it’s the weekend.

So in these winter months, I have a choice: either I use those few daylight hours to stay in the kitchen and photograph, or I go out and do something with them. Guess which one I’ve been choosing?

But back to Rachel. W hen I saw her post about pasta e broccoli, I knew I had to try the simple pairing immediately. Now I have weekly requests for this dish!

If you see steam rising from this photo, it’s not a trick – it was hot and waiting for me to devour it after I finished photographing it, which I promptly did. I can’t wait until next week.

Pasta with Broccolo Romanesco, Roman Cauliflower and Pecorino Romano

Broccolo Romanesco, Roman Cauliflower with Pasta Recipe

Note: I like to use as much of the broccolo romanesco as possible. I suggest cutting up the more tender parts of the stalk into small cubes.

A head of broccolo romanesco (around 1 lb or 1/2 kilo), separated into florets
Extra virgin olive oil (for cooking)
Extra extra read-all-about-it virgin olive oil (for the finishing touch)
Pecorino romano or parmigiano reggiano, to taste
Salt
250g of your favorite pasta

  1. Boil salted water in a pot big enough to hold the cut-up broccoli.
  2. Rinse the broccolo and separate it into florets and cutting the larger stalk pieces into cubes. When the water starts boiling, add the broccoli and boil from 5-8 minutes over medium-high heat (but don’t overflow your pot!) The broccoli should be very tender and starting to fall off your fork when pierced.
  3. Remove the broccoli from the salted water, but do not drain it – save the water for the pasta! Bring it to a boil again, adding more water if needed for the amount of pasta you’re cooking, and cook your pasta al dente according to the package directions.
  4. While the water is coming to a boil or the pasta has just been added, in a large frying pan, heat up a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and a clove of garlic if desired. Add the broccoli florets and saute them over medium-high heat, starting to gently smash them with your wooden spoon so they get nice and creamy.
  5. After the pasta is drained, mix together the pasta and the broccoli off the heat and add an extra touch of the extra-extra very good olive oil so that the crude, uncooked olive oil taste comes through. Serve and add some grated pecorino romano cheese or parmigiano reggiano.

Serves 3-4 people, or two very hungry ones.

Some of the liquid gold I topped off this pasta dish with:

5 liters of Olive Oil from Puglia

Other articles about Broccolo Romanesco:

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World Nutella Day 2010 Round-up, Part 1

February 8th, 2010 · Tags: Blog Event · Chocolate · Dessert · Food · Nutella Day · Recipe

Be sure to check Bleeding Espresso for Part 2 of the World Nutella Day 2010 Round-up!

We’re already considering what a 5th year anniversary of World Nutella Day might look like – what about you? If you have any suggestions, please feel free to pass them along via comment, tweet @nutelladay, or on the Facebook fan page (8,500 fans and growing!).

Here’s my own contribution: Nutella & Mascarpone Cream Chocolate Tarts

Nutella & Mascarpone Cream Chocolate Tarts for World Nutella Day 2010

On to the rest of the community…..in no particular order, there were so many of your entries! We’re going to add all of these great recipes to the World Nutella Day Recipes page sometime later this week.

David Lebovitz pulls out all the stops and makes his own version of Nutella with a homemade Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread. Grazie, David!
Jasmine from Amore in Cucina made not one, but two entries: treccia / bread braids with Nutella and Cheesecake with Nutella. Grazie, Jasmine!
Maria and Lisa from The Art of Two Tarts takes 4 simple ingredients and make wonderful Nutella truffles! Grazie Maria and Lisa!
Paola from In My Life, Banutella Brioche Puddings, little individual bread puddings made with brioche sandwiched with Nutella. Grazie, Paola!
Meeta from What’s For Lunch, Honey? will inspire you to try her Black Sesame and Nutella Macarons! Grazie, Meeta!
Robin from MyMelange makes Bite-Sized Amaretti and Nutella Sandwich Cookies. Grazie, Robin!
Jessica from My Baking Heart made some soft and chewy chocolate fortune cookies filled with Nutella! Grazie, Jessica!
Jamieanne from The Sweetest Kitchen made a variation of her fried peanut butter and banana sandwich. Grazie Jamieanne!
Pamela from The Cooking Ninja makes Chinese Steamed buns with Nutella filling. Grazie, Pamela!

Joanne from Frutto della Passion makes two tasty treats – profiteroles and cannoli! Grazie Joanne!
Andrea Meyers takes a good thing and makes it even smaller: Mini Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Nutella. Grazie, Andrea!
Sue from Couscous & Consciousness whips up Chocolate Panettone French Toast Sandwiches – a great way to use your leftover holiday panettone! Grazie, Sue!
Ivonne from Cream Puffs in Venice tells you to step away from her Nutella and offers you a Nutella Ripple Cheesecake instead. Grazie, Ivonne!
Cheryl from Have your cake and eat it! tries to figure out what kind of Nutella lover she is and makes Individual Nutella Tiramisu – I can’t wait to be a guest! Grazie, Cheryl!
Haalo from Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once gets naughty with bananas and Nutella and wraps them up into Nutella and Banana Pastries! Grazie Haalo!
Emma from The Cake Mistress makes some “ridiculously decadent” Baci Nutella Cupcakes. Grazie, Emma!
Deanne from On A Wim drools over her Nutella rolls ready to be eaten. Grazie, Deanne!
BonnieBeth from Some Pink Flowers writes a lovely oath to Nutella and the country where they first met: France. Grazie, BonnieBeth!
Nastasha from Domestica makes a Nutella Mocha Frappe and an easy Nutella Tart! Grazie, Natasha!
Arlene from nyc/caribbean ragazza whips up some French Nutella Toast and uses up some of her precious syrup stock for Nutella Day! Grazie, Arlene!
Alessandra from La Casin@ di Ale (Ale’s little home) makes her favorite Nutella cake to share with all of you (in Italian). Grazie, Alessandra!
Kathy from Food Lover’s Odyssey remembers her first time with Nutella and makes a Gianduja – Nutella Cheesecake with Nutella Ganache Topping that looks amazing! Grazie, Kathy!

Barbara from Art and Barbara Live In Italy swirl some Nutella into a traditional pound cake for a Nutella-Swirl Pound Cake. Grazie, Barbara!
Kate from the Kat Eye View of the World shares her most essential recipe with Nutella: a spoon! Grazie, Kate!
Mardi from Eat, live, travel, write whips up a marbled baked Nutella cheesecake with a molten Nutella sauce. Grazie, Mardi!
Food Hunter’s Guide whips up some orange-Nutella sweet ravioli to not share with her husband! Grazie!
Wic from delicious kitchen therapy makes some delicious Nutella Cinnamon Bread from scratch! Grazie, Wic!
Kokomama from My Adventures in Food pipes out some pretty cupcakes with Chocolate Hazelnut Frosting! Grazie, Kokomama!
Amy from The Petite Filet makes Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting. Grazie, Amy!
Allie from Zucchero Dolce makes a homemade praline for her Hazelnut Cake with Hazelnut Florentine, Praline Buttercream, and Nutella Mousse! Grazie, Allie!
Linda from Ciao Chow Linda rounds up some of the world’s fascination with Nutella. Grazie, Linda!
Stephanie from Plain Chicken posts a roundup of her favorite Nutella creations. Grazie, Stephanie!
Susan from My Life’s Joys wraps up some Nutella in wonton wrappers. Grazie, Susan!
Eryn Chandler from Cappuccino Chit Chat suggests milk for her chocolate butter cream frosting on her Nutella cupcakes. Grazie, Eryn!
Michelle from Culinography takes the chance to make her own Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread. Grazie, Michelle!
Rachel from Coconut & Lime mixes creamy cream cheese with Nutella in her mini Nutella Black Bottoms. Grazie, Rachel!
Laurel from Un’Americana in Cucina gets spicy and mixes up some Spicy Nutella and Pequin Pepper Truffles. Grazie, Laurel!
Karen from Shortbread resists eating from the jar and instead swirls in into rich, buttery pound cake. Grazie, Karen!
Silvia from “Ao Longe o Mar” shows you what it looks like to have a double pack of 750g Nutella jars up close (in Portuguese). Grazie, Silvia!
Elaine from The Italian Dish recommends keeping one of her Nutella pound cakes on hand and one in the freezer at all times! Grazie, Elaine!
James from The Cotswold Food Year ponders the question “Coffee then toast or toast then coffee?” with Espresso, nutella and hazelnut brioche crown Grazie, James!
Jayka from The Giant Typo ladles out some Nutella crepes and suggests you add some ice cream on top. Grazie, Jayka!
Christina from Mausi swirls up some Nutella into a Nutella Cinnamon Swirl bread. Grazie, Christina!
Jen from My Kitchen Addiction rounds up her Nutella recipe favorites and shares a new recipe: Crispy Nutella Treats! Grazie, Jen!
anna l’americana from Only in Maine adapts a classic and makes it her own: Nutella and Nutella Streusel-Topped Nutella Banana Bread. Grazie, Anna!
F_A from Seelensturm (soulstorm) makes some really yummy Nutella Mozart Cupcakes with almond marzipan, pistachio marzipan, nougat and chocolate. Grazie!
Kathleen from Kathleen’s Confections makes something someone should have thought of a long time ago – the CupCrepe – a cupcake built with crepes. Grazie, Kathleen!
Åsa from Miss Meister’s mat med mera… tells us what it feels like to celebrate Nutella Day in Sweden! (in Swedish) Grazie, Asa!
Patricia from Brownies for Dinner skips brownies this time and makes vanilla bean Nutella sandwich cookies. Grazie, Patricia!
Ellen from Mangia, Mangia, Mangia sustains Nutella Day is a holiday she can get behind, and puts it to a test…a Nutella taste test! Grazie, Ellen!
Joy from Gourmeted tries her hand at “The Asian Ferrero Rocher” and makes Nutty Nutella Mochi. Yum! Grazie, Joy!
Mary from The Food Librarian celebrates just a little smaller with her Nutella Bread Pudding for World Nutella Day. Grazie, Mary!
Shannon from Adventures in Food of a Stay-at-Home-Mom rounds up her Nutella recipes for all the fans. Grazie, Shannon!
Wandering Chopsticks has a spicy Nutella meltdown with her Mexican Nutella Hot Chocolate with Chilies. Grazie!
Vanessa from Chefdruck Musings asks how do you worship Nutella? And answers: with Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread. Grazie, Vanessa!
Lizzy from Geek Chica had a breakfast of champions to celebrate the day – with Nutella, of course! Grazie, Lizzy!
Karen from The Shock of the Old shares a good way to eat Nutella when you aren’t alone, but don’t want to share: the Grilled Nutella sandwich. Grazie, Karen!
Isabelle from Eat my Cake now takes a crumble and adds a magic flavor to it to give us Nutella Fudge Squares. Grazie, Isabelle!
Sara from Pixel3v Weblog uses a classic “glass” of Nutella and makes some Sorrisi di Sfoglia Ripieni di Nutella (in Italian) Grazie, Sara!
Palma from Palmabella’s Passions made a simple but deliciously effective and heavenly Nutella Mousse! Grazie!
Achim from Cookelani makes a Torta all gianduia (Schokoladen-Haselnusskuchen) (in German), Grazie, Achim!
Carlotta from Kitchen Confidential mixes both almonds and hazelnuts in a cake called Torta Mandonutella (in Italian). Grazie Carlotta!
Lindsey from LindseyBee shares where she first fell in love with Nutella – can you guess where? Grazie, Lindsey!
Wendy from Pink Stripes doubles up the Nutella in her Nutella and Hazelnut Brownies. Grazie, Wendy!
Tracy from Trailer Park Karma waxes about how Nutella is one of the World’s Most Perfect Road Trip Foods. Grazie, Tracy!

And some more blog posts about World Nutella Day from some of our community:

Looking for more Nutella Recipes? Don’t forget to check the World Nutella Day Recipes page for hundreds of recipes, check more pictures in the World Nutella Day Flickr pool where there are some great shots!

Betty Squirrely from Bad Manors Squirrel Diner had her squirrel friends make a special tribute to World Nutella Day: Although we couldn’t use the actual Nutella (squirrels + chocolate = badness) we did EAT all the Nutella, then have the squirrels celebrate the day SAFELY.

See you next year on February 5, 2011!

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Nutella & Mascarpone Cream Chocolate Tarts Recipe for World Nutella Day

February 5th, 2010 · Tags: Blog Event · Chocolate · Dessert · Food · Nutella Day · Recipe

It’s that time once again! Happy World Nutella Day!

It’s our 4th year celebrating and every year we’re surprised by the level of excitement and participation – be sure to head over to www.nutelladay.com to see what’s happening around the globe! Be sure to come back here and Bleeding Espresso.com on Monday, February 8th for the round-up.

You can also see my recipes for past World Nutella Days like Hazelnut Macarons with Spicy Nut Centers or Nutella Mousse, Cupcakes and Clusters.

This year I was craving little tarts…little chocolate tarts…filled with Nutella, and just in case it wasn’t rich enough for you, mixed generously with mascarpone so that biting into one feels like eating the inside of a Lindt Lindor truffle – you know those truffles with an inside that melts? That’s what this is.

I suggest mixing it up with some salted nuts, too, to contrast and make it oh, so, sweeter.

Nutella & Mascarpone Cream Chocolate Tarts for World Nutella Day 2010

Nutella & Mascarpone Cream Chocolate Tarts Recipe

Note: this is close to a pate brisee or pasta frolla recipe, with the addition of the cacao powder. You are welcome to make this with a food processor, but it’s important that the mixture is not overmixed or heated up too much as the butter will melt. Try handling it as little as possible. Also, I used mini tart pans, so be sure to roll out your dough to fit your pan.

For the Chocolate Crust
170g flour
30g cacao/cocoa powder
100g cold butter, in small cubes
66g sugar
1 egg and 1 yolk
1 pinch salt

  1. Cut the butter pieces into the flour and cocoa mix with a pastry cutter or use your fingers to create the consistency of large crumbs. You don’t want the butter to get too warm and start to melt, so work quickly.
  2. Make a well in the middle of the crumb mix and add the egg and extra yolk. Continue cutting the mixture until the egg has been incorporated and distributed. With your hands, start to form a single mass – if the mixture is too crumbly you can add a small amount of cold/ice water and mix that in. You don’t want to work the dough too much.
  3. Flatten it into a disk and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
  4. Remove the dough from the plastic wrap and preheat your oven to 350F (175 C). On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin, being careful not to add too much flour as it will change the composition of the dough. Roll it out until it’s between a 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick (around 1cm).
  5. Depending on what pan size you’re using, you’ll want to cut the dough to fit or try to fold it in and fix it with your fingers. You’ll want it to come up the sides of the pan evenly, and I like a little to peek above the top of the pan. Otherwise you can put it just even with the pan top.
  6. Next, we’re going to blind bake them – cut out a piece of parchment paper larger than the tart pan, enough so that it sticks up above the pan edges, so you can remove it easily later, and fill the center with dried beans or lentils that will help keep the crust from rising and deforming.
  7. For small tarts, bake 8-10 minutes, keeping a close eye on them that they don’t burn. Remove the pie weight and return the tarts to the oven for several minutes (3-4). Remove the tarts and let cool completely before filling.
  8. Blind Baking Chocolate Tarts for World Nutella Day 2010

For the Nutella & Mascarpone Cream Filling

Start with a 1:1 mixture of Nutella:Mascarpone. In this recipe I used roughly 125g of Nutella with 125g Mascarpone. I whipped the Nutella for a minute or so with an electronic (whisk) mixer so it would incorporate easier with mascarpone. Mix in the mascarpone and mix for a few seconds until completely mix. Taste, a little, to see if you want to add more Nutella at this point, or more mascarpone.

Refrigerate the mixture for 20-30 minutes, then fill the tarts just before serving, so the crust stays crisp and the filling stays cool. The tarts can be refrigerated after filling, but the crust will lose the snap so it’s best to serve them the same day.

To contrast nicely with the Nutella flavor, I recommend chopping up some salted pistachios or peanuts and sprinkle them on top, or add a little filling to the tartlette, then a layer of chopped nuts, and then the rest of the cream on top.

Nutella & Mascarpone Cream Chocolate Tarts Close-up for World Nutella Day 2010

Did you make something for World Nutella Day?

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