A Month of Celebration
Book launch, Ferragosto, G's birthday, and recipes
It’s hard to believe August has come to an end, it was an incredible month. We celebrated Ferragosto (an Italian summer holiday), Giuseppe’s birthday, and the publication of our book The Olive Oil Enthusiast all on the same day, August 15!
August also happens to be the month when most Italians take their long summer holiday, with Ferragosto acting as the apex of the celebrations. As our small coastal vacation town clears out and things calm down we finally have some time to look back at some of our favorite (and most delicious) moments from this past month…
Celebrating Giuseppe’s birthday
For Giuseppe’s birthday (and Ferragosto and book pub day) we decided to try a restaurant we’ve never been to but have been eyeing for a while, Pietramare Natural Food Restaurant in the zone of Crotone. It was our first Michelin Star experience in a while.
It’s a gorgeous restaurant with an interesting menu but it wasn’t our favorite formal dining experience. However, this could also be due to the fact that we recently discovered that we don’t really miss the Michelin Star dining experience...
Maybe it was the pandemic, maybe we love informal settings, or maybe it’s that we’ve found that many formal restaurants keep falling into the same pattern. But that didn’t stop us from enjoying a crisp bottle of prosecco and the first cool night in weeks!
Eating from The Olive Oil Enthusiast
We’ve been making quite a few ‘perfect for summer’ recipes from our book. One that has been on heavy repeat this summer is pasta con cozze e vongole (pasta with mussels and clams) with the Turi extra virgin olive oil. The mussels and clams have been especially good this year and being in a seaside town we’ve taken full advantage of living so close to fishermen.
Seafood, especially shellfish, can feel intimidating to prepare if you aren’t familiar with the cleaning and cooking process. But it’s actually much easier than you’d think and once you get the hang of it you can clean and cook a big batch in less than an hour. We have a full breakdown of how to properly clean mussels and clams on pg 133!
Lina, Giuseppe’s mom, made her melanzane ripiene (stuffed eggplants) with the Lina extra virgin olive oil and sent them over to us. They’re a specialty in Giuseppe’s family. We especially love the way his Zia Im makes them. We tested and documented her recipe and included it in The Olive Oil Enthusiast! It’s hands down one of our favorite recipes of all time! On pg 140.
Nectarines had their big moment earlier this summer and now the big juicy yellow peaches have finally emerged!! We’ve been enjoying them daily and stopping as often as possible on the side of the road to pick up a few kilos. We use them to make our semolina olive oil cake with the Avus extra virgin olive oil! Recipe on page 148.
The sale continues!
In celebration of the publication of The Olive Oil Enthusiast, we’re having a sale!!! Thank you so much for purchasing copies of our first book for yourself, family, and friends. This is our gift to you <3
10% off 2+ bottles
15% off 3+ bottles
20% off 4+ bottles
The sale includes all sets : )
The reviews are in.
Amazon named The Olive Oil Enthusiast as one of the Top Category Picks!
We already have our first few reviews which are absolutely amazing to see. If you’ve ordered off Amazon please leave a review and let us know what you think about the book, what you learned, and what you’re making next!!
That’s all for this week, until next time.
Xx
-Skyler & Giuseppe