Christmas Tree

6 months old

Out little bassotto nano is 6 months old today! And, to celebrate we took her to the vet to get her rabies shot. She had a great exam from the vet. It was definitely a test in my Italian skills, but I managed to understand everything and communicate pretty well.

Libby is a whopping 2.9 kilos (or about 6.3lbs.) and is about 15in. long. She won't get much larger and should only gain about a pound or so more, based on the size of her parents.

Dachshunds are notoriously stubborn and hard to house train, but Libby is doing great. She's learning to let us know when she needs out and is keeping her accidents to a minimum.

We absolutely LOVE her and she has been such a blessing in our life.

Christmas Market in Piazza Navona

I was given early departure from work today in celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a.k.a. the official start of the Christmas season in Italy, as well as the busiest shopping day of the year. So at 2:30 on the dot I headed for the station and met up with Jim in the center. He had just finished watching a ceremony with the Pope and I wanted to go to the Christmas Market in Piazza Navona. The market has a lot of junk, a lot of candy, and a few hidden gems, like my favorite ornament stand. I bought 6 beautiful hand-painted ornaments to complete our very first Christmas tree. (Pictures to come soon!) We didn't put up a tree last year since we weren't going to be in Rome for Christmas and it really felt like something was missing.

Here are a few pictures from the market.

The Pope

Piazza Navona jammed packed with people.

Bufana

Buying my favorite hand-painted ornaments to complete our Chirstmas tree

Creamy Polenta with Mushroom Ragù

This is one of my favorite times of year to cook. You can guiltlessly cook hearty, stick-to-your-ribs meals full of robust flavors. It's something about the crisp air that just makes it okay.

Tonight we're having one of those stick-to-your-ribs kinds of meals - creamy polenta with mushroom ragù.

The polenta cooks for hours and gets so thick and creamy it is like eating velvet. And the mushrooms add another rich layer of flavor with a hint of truffle oil drizzled at the end.

For the polenta:

3 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

2 tsp. salt

2/3 cup polenta, or course ground cornmeal

1 Tbsp. butter, unsalted

2 Tbsp. freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano

In a heavy-bottomed pan, combine the milk and cream. Heat until it is just bubbling. Add the salt and whisk in the polenta, then bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook the polenta for about 2 hours, stirring every 5 minutes. Just before serving stir in the butter and the cheese.

For the mushroom ragù:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 shallots thinly sliced

2 cups of mushrooms (I prefer a wild mix) roughly chopped

1/2 cup reduced stock, either veggie or chicken (I use 1/2 cup water with 1 bouillon cube dissolved because they don't sell pre-made stock in stores)

Truffle oil to drizzle

In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until the shallots begin to turn colors. Add the mushrooms and cook until the liquid has released. Add the stock, reduce the heat and simmer until liquid has reduced by half.

To serve, spoon the polenta onto a plate, top with the mushroom ragù, then drizzle with a few drops of truffle oil.

Tonight I served the polenta with roasted Brussels spouts. Heat the oven to 400F (200C), trim the sprouts, coat in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast them for about 40 min. They will be crispy on the outside and soft in the inside, and, I can actually tolerate eating them this way.

Buon appetito!