Foodie Friday

So I am slowly but surely getting back to my regular blog posts.  This Friday I am featuring my husband.  Many of you who read my blog know he is Italian, (very much so.)  Some of the food he speaks of here I have taken the liberty to link back to some blog posts of those exact dishes/places.  Being Italian he is not extremely open to other cultures food, in fact after living in Southern California for almost ten years he has just started to really like Mexican food...enjoy!

Name:            Massimo Frascella

Affiliation:     Husband 

Occupation:      Designer

Location:        Marina di Massa, Italy (right now)

Birthplace:      Massa, Italy

1.) What recipe do you consistently make at home?

Kimchi.  Just kidding...I obviously love cooking pasta, by far my

favorite dish.  Any kind of pasta, although rigatoni, tortiglioni, paccheri are the ones that stand out.

I grew up with pasta everyday, sometimes even twice a day and if for some reasons I stay without it or 2 or 3 days, I become a very difficult person to deal with...

I love the simplicity of pasta and the best dish in the world, and I really mean it...is pasta al pomodoro, with a touch of extra virgin olive oil.

I also often make pizza for me and Amy.  We bought this little oven which does miracles! http://www.americanina.com/2011/04/little-red-oven-that-could.html  Again, Pizza Margherita is my absolute preference!

2.) Name three items you have in your refrigerator?

Parmigiano Reggiano, milk and tomato.  Just outside, extra virgin olive oil...

3.) Tell me about your most memorable meal.

I had many memorable meals...in Italy.  I remember trenette al pesto in Portofino, http://www.americanina.com/2011/10/portofino-pranzo.html or a pizza da Gennaro in Torino.  But I have to say nothing comes close to my mom's penne with mussels or penne con fungi porcini freschi.

4.) What are your favorite restaurants and what do you order there?
In Southern California my favorite restaurant is Madeo in LA.  It's an amazing restaurant, with a casual and refined atmosphere.I took several people there and they all were impressed at the end of the dinner.  I usually order rigatoni al pomodoro con mozzarella fresca or penne ai porcini.  But anything I order is absolutely excellent!

5.) What is the most unusual thing you have ever eaten?

Because I appreciate food, just like any other thing in life, for its simplicity, I never got to try anything unusual and I probably never will.  Maybe the closest I got to eat something unusual was in Korea, at least the first trip.  From my second trip on, I carefully avoided...

6.) Of all the places you have traveled, which has the best food?

Outside Italy, Mexico.

7.) What is your drink of choice (alcoholic)?

A good Brunello di Montalcino or if I can't, Jack and coke.

8.) What is your ultimate dessert?

Tiramisu', home made with no cream (just mascarpone) and with Pavesini.  NO LADY FINGERS!!! Another one I really love are home made bomboloni, very similar to donuts.

9.) What is a food/dish that reminds you of your childhood?

Uova al Pomodoro and stracchino for dinner.  But the best memory of when I was a kid is taglierini pasta e fagioli that my grandma or my aunt used to cook.  By the way did I mention that my aunt Iso' is the best cook God ever created on Earth?  Her dishes go beyond imagination!

10.) What is your go to meal for a dinner party?

I love this question...thanks Amy!  Well, I have to say I would prepare crostini di Polenta Fritti with Gorgonzola, a mussel salad with olives, bell peppers, capers, cocktail onions and extra virgin olive oil to start with.  Then I would serve a creamy plate of lasagne al forno (stay away from ricotta!!! http://www.americanina.com/2011/09/lasagne-al-forno.html) and I would finish with a delicious tiramisu' or a salame di cioccolato, very easy, very rewarding...I forgot to mention, this is pretty much the menu I served in a very famous cooking competition against my wife, I won.