Smokey Tomato Soup & Lobster Rolls

This is dinner from Wednesday night. Originally I called this soup "Everything but the Kitchen Sink" not because it's has a ton of stuff in it, but I literally had to go digging in my pantry to see what I had that would blend into some soup. This has fast become a staple in our house because it's quick, easy, and oh-so-yummy the next day.

The "Lobster Rolls" are cheating on two fronts: 1) They are lowcal/lowfat and 2) It's not really lobster. It's made with Langostinos from Trader Joes, sauteed until just heated through with 2 T. butter, 2 T. Lemon Juice, 2 T. White Wine, Salt, & Pepper. Reduced the sauce, toasted the rolls, and served with lemon wedges.

The soup is the true yumminess. Here's the recipe:

Delia's "Everything but the Kitchen Sink" Tomato Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves garlic clove(s)
14 oz Muir Glen Organic Farm Select Fire roasted diced tomatoes
8 oz canned tomato sauce
1/3 cup wine
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp red pepper flakes

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and garlic at saute until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the tomato sauce, wine, vegetable broth, and red pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and let simmer about 10 minutes. Puree the soup in a blender or with a hand blender, then warm again for another 5 minutes. Serves 4 as a side.

The Rose

Check out this beauty. I noticed her in our front yard this morning - She's the size of my hand!

Italy: Final Days

Our last day in Florence we woke up with gloriously little to do. We slept in, then took our time getting ready for the day (and each had two cappuccinos at breakfast instead of one, just because we could!) We had heard that the Museum of Science had Galileo's Middle Finger on display, and both agreed we could NOT pass that up. We found the building, and were somewhat delighted that we were one of the few visitors there (I was getting a little sick of crowds by then!) And sure enough, there was Galileo's Finger (our photo sucked, so take my word for it).



Matt was totally digging all the sciency stuff, so we spent about 90 minutes in there. We then walked around and did some shopping, had some more panini's for lunch, and took extra time lingering over our 1/2 L. of wine. We headed back to the hotel, and on our way watched some street artists:



We took a nap and did our best to pack everything up, since we were leaving early the next morning and figured we'd be tying one on that night, as we were meeting our family friends again and HEY, IT WAS OUR LAST NIGHT IN ITALY!

We were ready a bit early so we headed back to Open Bar near the Ponte Vecchio, and I was served the largest glass of Campari EVER.

Behold the size of this glass:


Click for bigger, and imagine it filled to the top with drink.

I basically had to slam the last 2 ounces of it, which made for a very pleasant walk across the river to our friends apartment. After chatting over a plate of cheeses and a bottle of wine, we headed to dinner. We took their dog with us because as we learned, dogs are usually welcomed in restaurants. They took us to a place called La Vecchia Bettola that was is a residential area, and 95% locals. Matt and I were probably the only ones who didn't speak Italian, and the place was packed to the gills.

We started with some sort of grilled veggie dish (we trusted our hosts to order for us since we couldn't read the menu!). For dinner, I had what might have been the BEST Penne Ala Vodka that was humanly possible. I am not kidding you. I licked the plate clean. Matt got another Steak Florentine, that came with this delightful little flag in it:



We were told that means something along the lines if you put it in your mouth, it comes out your Culo. Lovely!

Anyhow, we managed to drink our way through almost 2 L of wine at dinner, and decided "HEY! We need a nightcap!" Cause nothing says "NIGHTCAP" after a massive glass of Campari, and about 6 glasses of wine like Prosecco!

After walking stumbling back to the hotel, we passed out cold. At least I wasn't freaking out about the plane ride home!

---

Luckily, I woke up with only a moderate hangover.

Our flight home was MUCH better than the flight over. The plane was better, and we didn't have to sprint through an airport in Germany to make our flight. In fact, we had enough time in Munich to grab a beer.


Just what I needed for the hangover

My dad is 1/2 German, so I had to give some love to those roots. That's the only way I could legitimize drinking this beer feeling the way I did. You don't get a full size shot because I think I might still be a little green.

Over all, a completely amazing trip. I just adored Florence - I'd love to go back and spend an extended period of time there. We wouldn't have done anything differently except stay longer ;).

CIAO!