Candor Town Talk!

It was nice to get a little news from my town’s paper: Candor woman’s recipes get tie-in to Clooney film

To view the contents on www.pressconnects.com, go to:
http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201009161730/NEWS01/9160380

Just packing a few tasties for my event in Owego later today !

Bruschetta, caprese on a stick, pesto-presto goat cheese spread and presto-pesto ricotta spread. Good way to break bread with guests attending Front and Center as I demo and present my book “Breaking Bread in L’Aquila”!

We’ll post photos and give you an update in a few days.

a presto !

maria

The American: Review By Rule-Breaking Filice

Hi Everybody,

A couple of days ago, I saw a preview of the new George Clooney film The American. The movie is filmed in Abruzzo, and of course I couldn’t wait to see it! Abruzzo is unusually atmospheric and beautiful, with the sophistication and Baroque elegance of L’Aquila at its center. Like the film’s setting, the recipes in my book Breaking Bread in L’Aquila are both classic and contemporary.

The scenes in Abruzzo, such as when the main character Jack (played by Clooney) makes his temporary home in Castel del Monte, brought back a lot of memories. I remember visiting a lot of the small villages nestled in Abruzzo’s Gran Sasso mountain, a medieval hill town. At its opposite side stands Rocca Calascio, high up in the mountains. It was on my first visit there that I was accused by my late husband of eating the rest of his prescutto sandwich while he was taking a quick power nap after our romantic picnic, overseeing the sky, clouds, and stars. The truth is that I did eat what was left from “our shared sandwich.” Shortly afterwards, we had our own prescutto sandwiches. A girl’s gotta eat too!

The scenery throughout the movie left me thinking about my memories over the last few days. Bittersweet, but how lucky I was to explore the nooks and crannies of this beautiful region with my love!

In one of the scenes, where Jack and his girlfriend met for dinner, they ordered a bottle of Montepulcano. If you’re not familiar with Montepulcano, it comes in two main styles of red wines. The first is young, fresh-tasting, robust, fruity, and uncomplicated. The second style has more intensity of fruit, and is it more concentrated and often oak-aged.

My guess is that they ordered the second style, as the scene was pretty intense. I certainly would have ordered the second one if I were having dinner with George (where was I?). I didn’t see food on the table, but what did they order? Might they have had pasta alla chitarra, Abruzzo’s famous pasta, for primi? This dish is made with a pasta guitar (it looks like a harp) to produce squarish-shaped spaghetti. Or perhaps they ate the grilled lamb chops that I have on the focusfeature.com website? Of course, I’m sure that food was the last thing they were thinking about (if you know what I mean).

The village procession reminded me of the one I attended in the town of Celano, la Festa Santa Martiri. It takes place on the last weekend of August. What’s fantastic about this festival is that everybody gets involved. Procession during the day, and music and dancing at night with the stars (the ones above). The town overlooks Lago Celano, which was drained in the late 19th century and then named conca fucino. Can you imagine?

If you’re a Clooney fan with a taste for beauty and thrillers, go see this movie! To view the three regional recipes that I contributed to the article “The Cuisine of Abruzzo,” please visit the Focus Features website at http://focusfeatures.com/article/the_cuisine_of_abruzzo?pageref=4

a presto,

Maria

Breaking Bread in L’Aquila Breaks Bread with George Clooney’s The American

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 30, 2010

Breaking Bread in L’Aquila Breaks Bread with George Clooney’s The American!

Maria Filice, food stylist and author of Breaking Bread in L’Aquila, contributes three regional recipes to the website of Focus Features’ new film The American, in advance of the September 1 release of the George Clooney thriller.

With the film set in the Abruzzo region of Italy, Focus Features asked Ms. Filice to provide three recipes that exemplify the cuisine that Clooney’s character might have enjoyed. “I was thrilled to be contacted by Focus Features and asked to contribute to the movie in some way—especially when the earthquake-ravaged region deserves so much attention. Abruzzo is unusually rustic and beautiful, with the sophistication and Baroque elegance of L’Aquila at its center.”

Filice’s book Breaking Bread in L’Aquila is the perfect companion to the Clooney film. Its regional recipes are both classic and contemporary. The Canadian-American author was inspired to write about this untouched region during her years of extensive travel through Abruzzo’s communities, where she experienced first hand its delicious food, lively culture, and beautiful music.

To view Filice’s recipes, please visit the Focus Features website: http://focusfeatures.com/article/the_cuisine_of_abruzzo?pageref=4.

The cookbook was published on April 6, 2010, on the first anniversary of the earthquake that devastated the Abruzzo region. Releasing the book on the earthquake’s anniversary was a message to the people of the region that “we have not forgotten.” Additionally, the author is donating the book’s net proceeds to the restoration efforts and the assistance still desperately needed in L’Aquila.

First-time author Filice considers herself an honorary “L’Aquilana.” Her book has received abundant praise from print and online reviewers, including the Library Journal, i-Italy, and Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts. She writes a lively and entertaining blog from her kitchen at foodandfate.blogspot.com.

For more information, please contact David Nudo, Marketing Director, at davnudo@gmail.com.

Maria Filice, Breaking Bread in L’Aquila
ISBN: 978-0-914386-43-8
Price: $29.95

Buy directly from the publisher at telospress.com/foodandfate, or from Baker & Taylor, Follet, Coutts, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Midwest, or YBP.

The American Abruzzo Recipes

Ciao Everybody,

Focus Features-the company that produced and is now distributing The American starring George Clooney asked me to contribute an article on the cuisine of Abruzzo!

You can read my article and those of other fellow culinary experts by clicking the link below:
http://focusfeatures.com/article/the_cuisine_of_abruzzo?pageref=4.

Feel free to share the link with your friends, foodies, acquaintances, on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Google, etc. Thank you!

warm wishes,

maria