Sicily, シチリア, Sicilia!

Today, I went to a gelato store in Tanimachi 7 chome, a very famous shop, because the lady who makes gelato there made prize winning original gelato in Italy. Anyway I bought a lot of pistachio gelato for my husband.
http://www.rakuten.co.jp/circo/
After that I went to Licchios to have dinner. This place is the one of the most famous Sicilian restaurant in Osaka, so basically I made today's theme as Sicily.( the gelato shop is also very Sicilian.) http://r.tabelog.com/osaka/A2707/A270703/27041926/
This is one of my favorite restaurants. Great, healthy, reasonable and close to my place:)
Anyway please try if you havent eaten Sicilian yet!
お久しぶりです。今日はシチリア三昧でした。谷町のチルコドーロでピスタチオジェラートを買い、（旦那の大好物）小阪の大西亭で、デナー。シチリアな午後を過ごしました。シチリア料理、ジェラートを食べたことのない方は是非

Licchio's è un ristorante Siciliano, che sta vicino la stazione Kosaka a Higashiosaka. Mangio sempre benissimo! Tanti piatti di verdura e pesce!

Bar ISTA / カフェBar ISTA

Recently I started liking coffee. I googled the greatest cafe in Osaka and Bar ISTA seemed interesting.
http://bar.ista-baristaalliance.net/index.html
He had a lot of certifications on the wall, apparently he is very famous for latte art.
Well, I am not that interested in latte art but this macchiato was absolutely DELICIOUS!
If you are around why not go there!

先週の土曜日、美味しいカフェにいってきました。
http://bar.ista-baristaalliance.net/index.html
ラテアートのかわいいお店です☆

Good Friday / 受難日 / Venerdi Santo

Last Friday was Good Friday. I am not a catholic but my husband is. Therefore, I cooked Good Friday dinner for him. He does lent, so for about 40days, I have been cooking only fish or veggies.
Vincenzo requested cod and shrimp, so I cooked cod & potatoes and paella.
I do like cooking but I don't know all the Italian recipe for cod, you know, so for occasions like this, I always use this website.
http://www.giallozafferano.it/
Even if you can't understand Italian, I am sure that by using Google translate and watching videos, you can manage to learn how to cook authentic Italian.
I coated cod with all purpose flour and stir-fried them and took them out.Using the same pot, I put chopped potatoes and added cold water in it. I added black olives and I simmered them until soft, I put the cod back and cooked them a little longer. Simple and the greatest! Cod season in Japan is almost over, it doesn't hurt to try this recipe now!

先週の金曜日はグッドフライデー（受難日）でした。私も初めてですが、旦那が、タラとエビを食べなきゃというので、つくりました。
ジャガイモの輪切りを炒めて煮て、小麦粉をまぶして焼いたタラを戻してオリーブを入れて煮たものと、エビとアサリのパエリアをつくりました。
シンプルですが、激ウマでした〓
もちろん、イタリア料理のレシピが全部わかるわけではありませんが、私の強い味方をご紹介します。
http://www.giallozafferano.it/
グーグル翻訳とビデオでなんとなくわかると思います。イタリア語なので難しいかもしれませんが、チャレンジしてみてください。案外わかりますよ！

Venerdì scorso era Venerdì Santo. Non sono cattolica, ma mio marito è. Dunque, ho cucinato una buona cena di Venerdì Santo per lui. Così ho cucinato per circa 40 giorni solo pesce o verdure.
Vincenzo ha chiesto baccala e gamberi, così ho cucinato merluzzo con patate e paella. Non è possibile trovare baccala in giappone, per questo ho usato merluzzo.
Mi piace cucinare ma non conosco tutte le ricette italiane,  così per un'occasione come questa, io uso sempre questo sito.
http://www.giallozafferano.it/
C'è anche iphone app per questo sito, GZ Ricette. Provatelo!

Chinese again! No! It is Yanbian! 中華２！？ではなく、延辺料理

Chinese again!? Yeah, why not! But this time we (me and my foodie buddies) had Northeastern Chinese cuisine. Chinese!? I don't know because it can be Korean since Yanbian is an area of China with a large Korean minority.

The cuisine has a big Manchu influence with a Korean touch. I am not a historian so please check out the Wikipedia!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeastern_Chinese_cuisine

I don't know the details either but I do know the food was AMAZING!!!

We had mutton sticks, beef sticks, amazing chicken wings, fantastic stir-fried celery dish  and sweet-sour pork! The mutton was amazingly soft, full of flavors and 150yen. They also have dog food, NOT! Dog meat on the menu if you want.

Where did I go!? Shimanouchi, Nipponbashi!

故郷　羊肉串店 Kokyo Youniku Kushiten (Hometown / Mutton Skewers Shop)

06-6214-5548 (You need to make a reservation, very popular restaurant!)

http://r.tabelog.com/osaka/A2702/A270202/27005197/

If you are not familiar with the Shimanouchi area of Nipponbashi, it is the deepest Korea town in Osaka. There are so many Koreans but also Chinese, Brazilians, Peruvians, Filipinos, and people from many other countries. Very lively district. The signs look like Japanese because of  Kanji but they are all Chinese! I cannot read them. All this time I wanted to go to Shimanouchi to dine, but I was not comfortable going there because I couldn't read the signs. I missed out big time. Do yourselves a favor and GO!

延辺料理を食べてきました。中華なのに中華でない。

延辺とは

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BB%B6%E8%BE%BA%E6%9C%9D%E9%AE%AE%E6%97%8F%E8%87%AA%E6%B2%BB%E5%B7%9E

。すいません。あまり詳しくはありません。

料理は、満州の料理と韓国料理を混ぜて2で割ったようなかんじです。

よくはわかりませんが、むっちゃ美味しかったです。

串にさしたマトン（信じられないやわらかさと美味しさ）やら牛肉やら酢豚などをいただきました。セロリ炒めの美味しかったこと！ぜひ食べてくださいね！ちなみに犬肉もいただけます☆

故郷　羊肉串店 

06-6214-5548 (予約しないとかなり待つことになります。)

http://r.tabelog.com/osaka/A2702/A270202/27005197/ 

場所は日本橋の島之内、大阪の一番ディープなコリアタウンです。コリアタウンといってもこのあたりには、たくさんの韓国人、中国人、ブラジル人、ペルー人、フィリピン人などなど、たくさんの外国人の方々が住んでいて、面白いものがいっぱい食べられます。看板はハングルや中国語なので私には読めないですが、読める人ならもっと楽しいだろうなと思います。

なぜ、今まで食べ歩かなかったのかと悔やまれるエリアでした。

とにかくかなりお勧めエリアです、ぜひ！

Carbonara カルボナーラ

For me, making carbonara is like making cupnoodles. if you have boiling water in a pot, you just need 5 minutes, which is pasta cooking time.
Minimum ingredients are
A whole egg
Salt & Black pepper
Garlic
Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano!

We always keep 1kg of either cheese in the fridge.
Too expensive!? NO!!! If you buy from "Hi Shokuzaishitsu",
http://www.rakuten.ne.jp/gold/hi-syokuzaishitu/

1kg is less than 3000yen! If you buy that Kraft thing, 80g is 350yen. Aged for 2 years, the real Parmigiano Reggiano is cheaper than Kraft!

You mix the egg, pepper, and grated cheese in a bowl, while you slowly fry garlic in a pan. You can add bacon or pancetta, any veggies you want here. I recommend zucchini. But usually I basically just chop and put whatever veggies I have in the fridge. Add the cooked pasta to the pan and turn off the heat.
Add the egg mixture and stir it really well.

This is my favorite comfort food, I hope it becomes yours, too.


カルボナーラは、私にとって、カップラーメンに等しい食べ物。お湯さえ湧いていれば、ものの五分で出来てしまう。
必要最小限のものは、
卵
塩
黒胡椒
パルメジャーノレッジャーノまたは、ペコリーノロマーノ
ニンニク
だけ。ウチの冷蔵庫には最低でも、一キロずつのチーズがある。
ハイ食材室
http://www.rakuten.ne.jp/gold/hi-syokuzaishitu/
の送料無料の日にまとめて買うようにしている。
卵全卵に、チーズを削り、黒胡椒を挽き、まぜるだけ。
ニンニクをみじんにして、ゆっくりオリーブ油でいためたら、茹で上がったパスタをいれ、乳化させ、火を止めて卵液をいれてまぜる。
できあがり。
もちろん、パンチェッタやベーコンをいれてもいいが、わたしはよく、冷蔵庫のクズ野菜を細かく切っていれる。ズッキーニが1番おいしいかも。お試しあれ。

Mexican メキシコ料理

I cooked Mexican last Thursday. Shrimp and Guacamole & Mexican tomato and egg saute . For the guacamole, I used cilantro, tomatoes, avocados, salt, chili, garlic, lemon juice and boiled shrimp. For the egg thing, I used eggs, tomatoes, cumin powder,cilantro,garlic, salt and pepper. Very easy! Please give it a try!!!

木曜日はメキシカンでした。
エビのワカモレとトマトと卵のメキシカン炒めです。
ワカモレはアボカドにレモン汁、香菜、トマトダイス、塩、一味、ニンニクに湯がいたエビをくわえました。
炒めものはニンニクにトマトと卵を炒めてクミンと塩、コショウで味付けしたした。やってみてください。

Chinese Cafe 8

I went out with girl friends last night.
We decided to go to a Chinese joint called Cafe 8.
http://www.chinesecafe8.com/

Cafe 8 is famous for Peking Duck but there are 909 dishes including fried scorpions. We had jellyfish salad, Chicken with black pepper, a whole Peking duck, stir-fried duck,soups, vegetables, 2 kinds of boiled Chinese dumplings (3 pieces each) and 9 Shao Long Baos.  
The three of us are famous for being big eaters and we could not finish them!
We each ordered 2 drinks and we only paid 2500yen each!
Go with a lot of friends, highly recommended!





昨日は、女子会でした。
二度目のカフェ８です。
http://www.chinesecafe8.com/

北京ダックで有名ですが、メニューが９０９種類もあり、楽しいお店です。
クラゲやバンバンジーの前菜、北京ダック一羽、その肉の炒め物、スープ、小籠包に水餃子二種類。
さすがの大食漢の私達もギブ（笑）
飲み物を二種類ずつ頼んで７０００円ちょっとでした。
お一人様２５００円なり。やすっ！