The Maxi Christmas Cube has now arrived with the online SHOP too!

Are you planning to be the most successful Santa ever? Are you keen to please everyone this Christmas? Here is a very special idea for you and your loved ones.

This year Pastificio dei Campi has thought about all the food lovers and those passionate about cooking, creating a unique version of the very famous red and black cube, "The Maxi Christmas Cube"! The Maxi Christmas Cube is a limited edition, only 150 will be available.

The cube includes 4Kg of Pasta di Gragnano PGI from Pastificio dei Campi, along with a selection of high quality products from the region, including a "starred" Extravirgin Olive oil, L'arcangelo and the amazing tomatoes "il Miracolo di San Gennaro, very well known by the real food experts.

The 3 products are in fact 100% made in Italy and represent the finest, classic products the region has to offer, from the grain of Southern Italy, to the olive from the marvelous Sorrentina Peninsula, to the Sanmarzano tomatoes, defended by the Slow food international association. These are some of the unique products, the perfect companion to this high quality pasta, all packed together in a box to allow you to experience authentic and flavoursome italian food.

The 6 different shapes of pasta were selected based on their popularity and are the most commonly used in Italy, for the Christmas festivities and to cook with oil and tomatoes.

And another surprise is following this announcement: this ideal gift present can be NOW ordered directly on the site www.pastificiodeicampi.it. Today in fact Pastificio dei Campi officially opens its ONLINE SHOP, where you will be able to order the Maxi Cube and their wide range of pasta too.  

Finally, Pastificio dei Campi would like to thank you, all the readers of this blog with a little Christmas present… Pastificio dei Campi will give a 15% discount on 'The Maxi Christmas Cube' (coming to £65 pounds + shipping expenses) to the first 5 people who will leave a comment to this post, with their name and email address. Tell us how much you love pasta!

So if you hurry, the Maxi Christmas Cube could be yours and with it part of the culinary traditions and products of Italy, that we are sure you are going to appreciate.

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Do you have any plan? Here are some ideas for you

Since few days in all UK started to snow and you have definitely the sensation to be already in Christmas. All the decorations, all the people running for shopping and lots of ice rings around the city. In Italy we use to decorate our house and Christmas tree  the 8th of December, that is holiday and it's a good occasion to stay with all the family.

So I have decided to spend  next weekend in markets and typical english events around London to look for my Christmas decorations and typical products to be ready for the 8th.

Here are 3 nice events for all the people who love food and the Christmas mood and atmosphere:

The first one is  the Real Food Christmas market taking place at the Southbank Centre Square this weekend:

"Traditional seasonal fare of mince pies and mulled wine will sit alongside other delicacies including fabulous cheeses, delicious chutneys and pickles, wild game, hams and charcuterie and all manner of chocolate delights. Why not stock up your Christmas larder with gourmet goodies and find the perfect food gifts for your friends and family"

The second one I can suggest you is Taste of Christmas held at ExCeL London, located just 10 minutes from Canary Wharf.

"Twelve of London’s top restaurants will be serving up seasonal menus of everything from traditional classics to cutting-edge cuisine - plenty to fire up the imagination, and your tastebuds."

There will be stands with the typical ingredients for your Christmas dishes and famous chefs will share their secret recipes for some special menus'.

And last but not the least, is the Underground Christmas Market organized by Marmitelover, great food blogger and creator of one of the first UK supperclubs 'The Underground Restaurant'

On Sunday the 5th of December, in her secret house in Kilburn there will be music, an ironing board cocktail bar,  a ruffle, cooking demonstrations, Christmas puddings, craft stalls and lots more! When you will buy the ticket here, you will be informed about the precise address.

Are you curious to know which one i will choose? You will see it in the next posts. In the meantime I hope you will enjoy the weekend in one of these events or just staying at home and maybe cooking a good plate of pasta.

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At their best in this season, you can't miss to try this dish

Last weekend I went to Portobello Market, because I had a friend visiting me and I decided to bring her in one of the most typical market here in London.

So while she was lost between all the antiquities and second hand dresses stands, I had the chance to buy some fresh products to cook in the evening. Between all the fruits and vegetables available, I was really undecided  about what to pick up, but the artichokes are one of those ingredients so rare to find, that I couldn't stop myself from buying them.

In Italy the artichokes have normally two seasons: one in these months and another one in spring, and they are a classic also in my family's Christmas dinner. There are so many ways to eat/cook them: you can serve their leaves like they are and dip them in vinaigrette, you can grill or fry them... or you can finally use them as an ingredient for your pasta.

Here some tips and a little recipe to enjoy them in the best way.

Ingredients for 4 people:

- 3 artichokes: Pick artichokes with well-coloured, undamaged, tightly-closed leaves. Smaller artichokes have more tender leaves; larger ones have bigger hearts.

- 380-400gr Pennoni Pastificio dei Campi

- 3 spoons of single cream or even semi-skimmed milk for something light.

- Extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and a vegetable stock

- 3-4 garlic cloves

- Parsley and a bit of lemon juice

- Parmesan cheese

Remove the toughest of the outer leaves. Snip off any sharp leaf tips. Snap the stalk off at the base and remove the tough fibres running into the base where possible. Cut them in four pieces. Pull out the central cone of thinner leaves to reveal the inedible fibrous 'choke' (this may not be present in smaller baby artichokes). Carefully scrape this out with a teaspoon, leaving the prized heart in place. Then put the artichoke in acidulated water (e.g. water with a good squeeze of lemon juice added) for around half an hour.

Place the garlic cloves in a pan with some olive oil. When they starts to get goldish, take them out and add the artichokes and some finely chopped parsley. Cover with some stock water and leave it cook for about 40 minutes. Add other "brodo" or stock water if needed. Artichokes are cooked when you can easily pull out an inner leaf and the stem is tender.

Prepare now the water for the pasta and then pass the half of the artichokes in a mixer with the milk, pepper, salt and some grated Parmesan. If you prefer to use the cream for your dish, don't add the milk to the mixer. When the sauce is done, put this back in the pan with the rest of the artichokes until the pasta is cooked. Here you can add the cream if you want, with some other salt and pepper.

When the pasta is ready, drain it and add the sauce with some Parmesan flakes and a touch of parsley.

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Let's start from here: Food in the city Warehouse

It's missing just one month to Christmas and nowhere like in London everyone is talking about the festivities: from recipes, to holidays, from homemade decorations to the classic shopping for presents.

Lots are the little Christmas markets popping up every weekend  in the city and the shops are starting to get busy between clients, boxes and wrapping papers.

Here I have a little suggestion for you: what about food presents this year? Are really few the people who won't enjoy something like this! Have you never thought about something special like  an hamper or a selection of high quality products, not easy to find in the normal shops or supermarket?

I'm sure I have in mind a place that really can make your Christmas shopping very easy: Food in the city, a very special warehouse in the beautiful St. John's Wood, where you will be able to find lots of products and of course our Italian pasta from Gragnano.

On the 27th and 28th of November there will be the warehouse Sale, where you will be able to buy all the products with a big discount.

Are you curious to try our pasta?  Do you have some great food or pasta lover in your family? Are you planning to invite people and cook for them on Christmas? Or you just fancy high quality products and to try new specialties and delicatessen from different countries? Whatever is your need, I'm sure that passing by, you will love this place.

And if you are not near the city, just go online and enjoy the sales comfortably seated on your sofa! And don't forget to check all the different shapes of pasta available from Pastificio dei Campi.

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Some guidelines to choose between the best italian wines

I admit it: I'm italian but I'm not a real expert about wine, especially if not produced in Italy. I love Sangiovese for example, but I could not really tell you which brand sell the best wine, or entertain you with a little insight about the taste and flavors in a wine.

So I was really happy today when I discovered Tom Hylands's blog and his article about "Duemilavini". I knew about the Gambero Rosso Italian Wine Guide called "I vini d'Italia 2011", but I didn't know about this other guide for italian wines made instead by the Italian Sommelier Association.

This is something I wanted to share with you, readers of this blog, because I'm sure you will find in this two books a big help to learn and understand more about italian wines and their characteristics. Both of them are based on a very simple system: glasses or grape bunches. More glasses or grapes bunches they give and better is the wine.

Gambero Rosso's guide arrived this year at the 24th edition and it reviews around 20,000 wines and more than 2,300 different companies. The guide reports the price of the wine and a quality judgment based on glasses: 3 is the excellence. This year they were 402.

Duemilavini instead, at its 11th edition, tastes as well more than 20,000 wine, but gives the 5 grape bunches (the maximum score) just at 298 wines and, simple but detailed, it has also a part dedicated to the food and wine pairing.

Did you always wanted to learn more about italian wines, or you simply wanted to make your dinner just perfect matching the right wine with the dish you have prepared? Now you don't have any more excuses: here is your solution for an excellent italian wine to pair with your excellent pasta dish.

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To remind you about "Children in need" this evening on BBC

Every year in November the BBC set aside one evening of programming on its flagship television channel, BBC One, to show events aimed at raising money exclusively destined for charities working with children in the UK.

In 2009, the charity raised over £20 million! The mascot is a yellow teddy bear with a bandage over one eye, called 'Pudsey'. Introduced in 1985 it has become a regular feature and a famous character.

The attention for this event it's high in all England and everyone try to raise money or spread the news around this project in every way. Very typical is the bake sale and especially the cup cake sale, with some created from famous chefs just for this event.

So, to remind you all this important event, I decided to make a list of the favorite pasta dishes for children, the ones they love the most and finish in no time.

Children normally like little shape of pasta because easier to eat and simple flavors. A part from the classic and simple tomato sauce pasta (made with passata, without any tomatoes chunk, or following this recipe), you can try to add some tuna too or you can cook some cheesy pasta. With  some butter and a good quantity of Parmesan, or even with another cheese they like, this pasta is really appreciated. Have you ever tried pasta wit ham, pies and cream? This is always a success and it puts together, protein, carbs and the vegetable too. Easy and quick to prepare, it's a must to remember.

Finally for the most creative and even fussy children, a good idea is to give them some cooked pasta (maybe with some butter), some cooked vegetables and other ingredients they can easily add to their plate. In this way they can decide what to eat, how much, and have the satisfaction to have cook this by themselves.

What is your secret recipe to make your children happy? Share this with us and I'm sure you will  help not just the little ones. And don't forget tonight the show on the BBC.

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... and we are celebrating with some pasta lovers!

Yesterday it was really exciting to listen the news about the international cultural patrimony being enriched by our mediterranean diet. 

It's not just question of having something great in a country: this is more about being recognized for all our traditions. From the way to grow good products, cook them, combine them and live following the nature and what the territory offers to us. This is our history!

So I decided to celebrate this day, sharing with you a very interesting reality that I have just discovered some days ago: Presto Pasta Nights.

In 2007 Ruth decided to organize a round up of pasta dishes every week. She started just with 8 pictures of pasta dishes cooked by readers of the blog.

Last week it was the round up number 189. It was hosted by another blogger, Helen from fussfreeflavours and lots of people are now sending pictures and recipes: in the last post there were more than 20 pictures from all over the world and cooked in the most different ways: there were home made pasta dishes, pasta with clams and chickpeas, traditional recipes or absolutely unusual, but there were also noddles and cous cous.

I particularly like the fact that all these people in love with pasta could come together every week to post their dishes and recipes, exchanging ideas and getting to know new ways to cook and new ingredients too. These are passionate food lovers!

What is better than this international group to celebrate the now international mediterranean diet and one of its main elements? Next time I will send my dish too and I hope to host this nice round up soon! I will see you there too?

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