Easter from the Vatican

...well, sort of.

No, I'm not actually in the Vatican City (I am on my gross couch in Lincoln, Nebraska, actually), but since it's Easter I thought I'd share some memories of going there several years ago.

Although it's been eight years (yikes, already?!) since I went to the Vatican, I still remember how awestruck I felt by the entire experience. I remember the giant throngs of people speaking every language shuffling about, the nuns and priests chatting animatedly in Italian, and the overwhelming opulence of the Vatican itself. I wasn't Catholic then (in fact, I just became one yesterday!), but it doesn't take a Catholic to appreciate the wonder of the Vatican City.

It was especially moving because Pope John Paul II had died just a few months earlier, and the grief was still thick in the Vatican City. We visited his tomb, and although at the time I wasn't able to call him my pope, I was still very aware--based on the grief of those around me--that the world had lost a very important, special man.

St. Peter's Square

One of the most special things I remember from my visit to the Vatican was the Sistine Chapel. You're not allowed to take photos inside the chapel (sorry!), but I always like to tell the story from my visit there:

Two Italian guards were stationed at the front of the chapel, right in front of the Last Judgment. They were talking with each other, seeming relatively unconcerned about monitoring the visitors coming in. There were signs everywhere and in every language warning people not to take photos due to the very delicate nature of the chapel's Renaissance art ("The Creation of Adam," anyone?), but two tourists snapped a few photos, flash and everything. My gut cringed. I turned, expecting to see the Italian guards launching themselves at the guests and snatching up their cameras. Instead, the two guards simply turned to the tourists and very softly said, "No, no," shaking their hands. It did the trick, but I was floored. The only place I'd really ever gone prior to my trip to Italy was Washington, D.C., and if someone had snapped a flash photo of the Bill of Rights or the Constitution, guards would have those people booted on the spot! It makes me smile to think that, even around the precious art of the Sistine Chapel, the Italians are so easygoing.

My favorite thing from St. Peter's: the Pieta. Absolutely beautiful.

I didn't take many photos from inside St. Peter's, mostly because I was very conscious of it being a holy place. Again, not being a Catholic at the time, I didn't know exactly how to behave in a basilica, but I tried my best to be very respectful and quiet, and not be an obnoxious tourist snapping photos every two seconds. Instead, I walked around slowly, taking in every detail of the space and grasping the feeling that there was something uniquely different about this place. I'll never forget that feeling.

Inside the Vatican.

I hope that you'll all be able to visit the Vatican one day. You don't have to be Catholic to appreciate it all; just go in with a kind curiosity, an open and humble mind, and a good camera. :)

This week, we're going to GERMANY AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC! We're going to be making Runzas (you Nebraskans truly appreciate this!) and kolaches, a very special family favorite.

From our home to yours, we wish you all a very Happy Easter!
 

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Amore Mio...it's Bacon!

In a complete break from the norm, I prepared a dish with bacon. Yes, bacon. Deal with it; you can always go to the health and fitness Pinterest board later. But for now, bow down to the bacon.

I used to be one of those people who absolutely abhorred anything with fat. Sugar-free? Diet? Light? Yes, yes, and yes! But now, I'm the complete opposite. I go for what gives me the best taste and most enjoyment. After all, if there's one thing our diet-crazed country should take from the Italians is that food (in proper portions!) is meant to make us happy. It's meant to be enjoyed together, at the table, with family and friends and memories and inappropriate jokes.

So that's exactly what we do at the Heidrick house. By the way, words cannot express the joy on Matt's face as he saw (but first smelled) the bacon crackling in the pan.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!


Linguini with Parmigiano, Bacon, and Asparagus
Prep time: 10 min.
Cook time: 20 min.

Ingredients:

• 1 package linguini (I used regular linguini, but I actually think I'd prefer whole wheat, so give it a try and let me know what you think)
• As many slices of bacon as you feel comfortable eating in one seating, diced
• Asparagus spears, sliced into three-inch pieces
• 1/2 Tablespoon pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup parmigiano reggiano
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 eggs, beaten (I know it sounds weird. Just do it, okay?)

Steps:

1. Boil the linguini until it is al dente (boiled but not mushy). In the last 2 minutes of cooking, throw in the asparagus. Don't throw it in too early or you'll end up with mushy asparagus and green pasta. Not pretty stuff. You want it to be in just long enough to get nice and bright green, but no longer or it'll turn a dull green color. Sad.
2. Drain the pasta and asparagus and reserve some of the liquid!
3. Heat a medium sauté pan over medium high heat (don't put any oil or spray in it).
4. Place bacon into pan and dry until brown and crispy, or until your husband comes into the kitchen because of the smell.
5. Place the cooked bacon on a paper towel-lined plate and let drain.
6. Drain off some of the bacon grease and reduce heat to low. Be extremely careful; hot grease is very, very hot and very, very dangerous!
7. In the remaining bacon grease, sauté the garlic, shallot, and red pepper flakes about 1-2 minutes, making sure not to burn the garlic. Remove pan from heat.
8. Place the drained linguini and asparagus in the pan with the garlic and shallot and turn to incorporate.
9. Add parmesan cheese and turn to coat.
10. Add beaten eggs and turn to coat and let eggs cook, about 2 minutes. If the pasta mixture is too thick, loosen it up with some of the reserved pasta cooking liquid.
11. Plate and buon appetito! 

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Living on Gelato

I'm not even kidding. I lived on gelato for two straight weeks while in Italy, not because I was unable to get actual food, but because I think I became somewhat addicted to the delectable frozen treat. Don't ask me how much weight I gained. Don't you dare.

Italy was my very first trip abroad. I went there as a scrawny 15-year-old, naïve to the world and certainly unaware of the delicious, dream-like nectar of the gods the Italians like to call "gelato." Whenever people ask me about it, all I can really tell them is, "It's a frozen custard somewhere between ice cream and frozen yogurt." I think it might also include some element of heaven particles.

Trust me, it's freaking delicious.

I attempted to make it once before, but I was unfortunately unable to replicate the smooth, velvety texture I experienced in Italy. In fact, all I ended up with was a gloopy-gloppy mess. Quite the disappointment to realize that heaven will forever be thousands of miles away in some Italian freezer. :( If you'd like me to try again and post the results to the blog, let me know in the comments and perhaps I'll muster up the courage to try again...maybe.

Sigh.

This week, to celebrate Italian cuisine, I'll be trying a linguini with bacon, parmigiano, and asparagus. We'll see how it turns out! People have this very unfortunate misconception about Italian food, as if every pizza is akin to the monstrously greasy American adaptations, and everything is covered in sickeningly sweet, watery marinara sauce. As you can see, I have an issue with Americanized "Italian" food. And I'm not trying to be a food snob, but Italian food has integrity, and when we reduce such a rich culinary tradition to lasagna noodles smothered in Prego, it hurts my feelings. That's why I've developed this linguini recipe, to show you that Italians can have a good time without marinara sauce. Plus, Matt's been pestering me about cooking with bacon, so I thought it's probably time to give in. Until we try the linguini recipe, though, I'll give you a little taste of Italy in photos.

The Italian Parliament, affectionately called "The Birthday Cake." Great. Now I want cake. Is Lent over yet?!

The Trevi Fountain. All you Lizzie McQuire Movie fans from back in the day will know this one. :)

The view from inside the Roman coliseum.

Florence, the most beautiful city I've ever experienced. I got lost in the city, eventually found my way back to Il Duomo, and spent the rest of the day people watching while lapping up my melting cone of gelato on the steps. Best day ever.

Italy has the most beautiful cathedrals.

My torso in front of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. And yes, if you were standing where I'm standing in the photo, you'd see plenty of people obnoxiously putting their hands up to mimic holding up the tower.

Next post includes bacon! That's all you really need to know. :)

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French dish o' the day: Provençal Chicken

I hope you're all ready for me to divulge one of my greatest kitchen secrets. Listening closely?

Okay, here it is: French food doesn't have to be pretentious, and not only is this dish one of my favorites to eat, it's also one of the easiest to make.

Don't tell anyone, especially Matt. He seems to think I'm some sort of master chef whenever Provençal chicken is on the table, and I'd like to keep him thinking that way because I am shallow and like the compliments. What? Like you don't like a little ego padding once in a while? ;)

Whenever I'm short on time, cranky, or tired, I turn to this dish. It's my go-to recipe because it delivers big flavor with minimal effort. Be advised, though, that since I've made it so many times it's easier than it will be the first few times around for those not familiar with the recipe. Stick with it, and your spouses will think you're a domestic goddess.

I like to serve it with rice (our favorite is Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley, which has long grain brown rice, black barley, and daikon radish seeds. Sounds strange, tastes AMAZING.) and a veggie. I've got Matt hooked on roasted veggies, and since it's asparagus season we've been eating TONS of it! To roast veggies, preheat your oven to 400-425 degrees Fahrenheit. For more delicate veggies like asparagus, I go with 400 degrees, but for hearty ones like potatoes, I kick it up to 425. Line a baking sheet with tin foil--for easy cleanup--and place your washed and dried veggies on it. Drizzle 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil on top of the veggies, shuffle the veg around with your hands to make sure they're all covered with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes (depending on the veggie). You can change it up though; sometimes we'll pair the chicken with roast potatoes as our starch and sauté some French green beans. Do whatever's in season, on sale, or just sounds good.

This dish attributed to the south of France is a perfect blend of hearty chicken, the delicate mélange of flavors from herbes de provence (see note in the ingredients list), and the tangy quality of lemon, wine, and mustard. Eating this dish is like getting a big, warm hug from France, and I love the fact that the flavors are so simple and affordable but deliver such amazing flavor.

Since I hate wasting good flavor, I like to make a simple pan gravy after the chicken finishes cooking. It tastes AWESOME over rice, and since it carries the flavors of the chicken, I think it really ties the dish together.

Provençal Chicken
Prep time: 10 min.    
Cook time: 20 min.

Boneless skinless chicken breasts (one for each person)
Extra virgin olive oil
Herbes de Provence (a delicious combo of lots of herbs sold all over the south of France)
Salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced (If you haven't discovered the wonderfully mild onion-y flavor of shallots, I definitely suggest giving them a try!)
1 lemon, juiced 
1-2 T all-purpose flour
1-1.5 c. dry white wine or chicken broth
1/2 T Dijon mustard 


1. In a medium or large sauté pan, heat your olive oil over medium heat. While you're waiting for the oil to heat, season your chicken breasts on both sides with salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence. Be generous; chicken tends to be a little dull.

2. Once your oil is heated, place your chicken breasts in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 6 minutes on each side. Once cooked through, remove chicken from heat and cover with tin foil so that the chicken can rest and stay warm.

3. In the same pan, cook the garlic and shallots. Be sure not to burn your garlic! It'll be a pretty quick process, maybe 1-1.5 minutes, so watch the pan carefully.

4. Toss the juice from your lemon in the pan. I love how, when the lemon juice hits the hot pan, it hisses back at you. Lemon is so sassy!

5. Throw a tablespoon of all-purpose flour into the pan and stir with a whisk. Using a whisk is very important because it effectively incorporates the flour into the other ingredients in the pan. Let the flour cook at least a minute; you want to cook out the flat flour-y taste. The flour is acting as your thickener for your gravy here.

6. Whisking constantly, pour your white wine or chicken broth into the pan. Be sure to thoroughly incorporate the liquid into the flour mixture so that your pan gravy is satiny smooth. Squirt in the Dijon mustard and incorporate into the gravy. Mustard also acts as a thickener, so if you find that your gravy is too thick for your liking, feel free to add some more wine or broth. It'll thicken more as it cooks, so don't get too trigger happy on adding more liquid or you'll end up with thin gravy. When it's thickened to your liking, season to taste.

7. Time to plate your dish!

Bon appétit!

Tomorrow, we're making crêpes! We bought Nutella to stuff them with...we just couldn't help ourselves.

Until then, bonne nuit!

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Photos from France

Hi all!

Since I shared with you in my last post that I had studied photography in Provence, France, I thought it would be neat to pull out some of my photos and relive the trip again. :)

Don't get used to any sort of photography blog, because once I had to give back my school-issued Canon Rebel (the camera I have since been pining for every time we go to Best Buy), my photography capability was reduced to the camera on my smartphone. (I feel like that deserves a #firstworldproblems.)

Anywhere, here in its abbreviated glory, is my brief life in Provence.

I always dreamed of framing my market photos and putting them in my house, but I haven't gotten to it yet. :(

This is one of my favorites. It was taken at a church at the very top of this small mountain town, and the image of the cross standing alone at sunset struck me as being very moving.

The French flag flying proudly in the light of the setting sun.

Love this one, too. I literally squatted down in a field for about a half hour to get this shot of this tiny little flower just right.

Looking out over the Mediterranean.

Mary looking down from the entrance to a monastery-turned-insane asylum where Van Gogh was admitted as a patient.

A lonely chair sits in the sunlight streaming through an asylum window.

A bumblebee enjoys the expanse of French lavender fields.

That's all for now! If you'd like to see more, let me know and I'll post some. :) I love sharing my travels! I hope you'll share your memories of France in the comments!

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