Rome, Part II

If you find yourself in Rome and you, too, crave pizza for breakfast, this is the other place to go.

Tucked away on a side street, the warm aromas of herbs and dough will lead you in the door. Watch out though! It's a hoppin' joint as daily deliveries are prepared.

Between Rosciola Forno and Rosciola Enoteca, you can put together a lovely picnic to pack away as you wind your way through the old streets on the way to any number of magnificent sights in this city.




As for us, we stopped to do a little shoe shopping ("When in Rome...") before we headed over to the forum and its surrounding museums and a piazza that became our favorite and drew us there for a second day, picnic in hand.


Be it flower delivery trucks or ruins or a picnic in the piazza or sculptures or frescoes or architecture or...well...you get the idea. It's an easy city in which to be happy in the middle of it all!










And we were lucky to have that aforementioned professor to give us recommendations for what to see...and where to eat.

He pointed us in the direction of Cul de Sac, where, on the piazza that has the talking statue, we sat elbow to elbow with other diners on the little streetside terrace and had a lovely lunch!

Having seen someone a table away nibbling on this...

...I ordered it too and was not at all disappointed! Proving once again that "Simple is better!" Fresh broccoli and cauliflower, steamed in stock, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil with a dollop of fresh goat cheese that has been gently warmed and topped with herbs centered on the plate and I was in a little bit of heaven! The vegetables were tender to the tooth and the textures blended was very pleasing. The earthy pungency of the cheese softened in the heating a bit and was a lovely complement to the unique flavor of the cruciferous vegetables.

Definitely try this at home! (A note: I heated the plate as the vegetables steamed. After placing the veggies on that hot plate, I placed the cheese in the center and returned the plate to the oven for just a couple of minutes as the cheese softened. A drizzle of oil on the veggies only before serving and it was delicious at home as well!)

A little red wine to wash it all down...a little Italian coffee to perk up an afternoon wandering in museums...


...and then there was that little "run in" with the Italian police...

...no...just kidding! The police seemed friendly enough...as were the Swiss Guards at the Vatican...

...but I did manage to chase a few priests (I don't know if there are rules about that)...

...and catch a bit of the street biz going on just outside of St. Peter's gates.


And while not intending to make this post of the Eternal City well...err..."eternal", I do have one more recipe that I'd like to share with you. A little something that the Professor whipped up for us one evening for dinner.

It was definitely something for La Fourchette but I'd like to have pics to go along with it. In that I'm preparing for a move, things are in a bit of flux around here. I think I've not yet packed a frying pan and a couple of white plates and certainly there is a fork (!) so I'll whip this up and post it on the weekend. Check back for the savory taste treat that came back with me from this Roman holiday!

Ciao!
Leslie

Recommendations:

Atelier San Pietro B&B
Via Cardinal Lualdi 6
00165 Roma
serafini_francy@yahoo.it
cel.: +39 348 2589047

Cul de Sac Enoteca
73 Piazza Pasquino
Piazza Navona
Rome
Italy 00186
Tel: +39 06 6880 1094


Roscioli Restaurant
Via dei Giubbonari, 21
00186 Rome
Tel: +39 06 6875287

Roscioli Forno
Via dei Chiavari, 34
00186 Roma
Tel: +39 06 6864045