065: Paul Cappelli
Living Villa Cappelli
So, full warning, this is not a happy podcast. But I just wanted to say a little about Paul and thank you all for your support. For those of you that don’t know, Paul Cappelli passed away this year after a short battle with cancer. From all of us at the Cappelli family — Steven, Connie, Nikki, Casey, and Logan — we want to thank you all of you so, so much for all your support. His creative, amazing, loving, and bigger-than-life spirit and love for all things Italian will live on in everything we do at Villa Cappelli. Forever. Thank you.
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064: Translating Pasta
Living Villa Cappelli
We take a lot of pasta names for granted. Sure, we all enjoy “spaghetti,” but do you know what it means? How about “penne” or “fusilli”? In this podcast, we talk about the names of various pastas. And in many cases how the name describes the shape. If you want to see actual pictures of the various pastas, check out all the pics in the show notes. Also, at the end the podcast, we give you a few cooking tips on pasta.
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063: Caremongering, the virus, and gardening — oh my!
Living Villa Cappelli
The title pretty much says it all. We talk a little more about the coronavirus in Puglia and how Italians are dealing with things. Luckily the medical system here is very good. We talk Caremongering. A wonderful movement started in Canada. Essentially, it is a movement encouraging acts of kindness or assistance, especially to help vulnerable people, during tough times, like the COVID-19 pandemic. And while it’s not an Italian expression, the sentiment is totally Italian. Typically Caremongering revolves about starting your own local Facebook group. The...
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062: Our experience with the coronavirus in Italy.
Living Villa Cappelli
Not much in the way of show notes for this episode guys. And this might be a trend as we focus more on putting out good audio, and not so much on the show notes, so we can do more podcasts. This episode, we catch you up with what life has been like with the coronavirus here in Italy, and more specifically, Puglia. It is definitely a strange time, but very manageable and fine from our perspective. Do you have a question you'd like answered? Anything we didn't cover? Let us know in the comments. And we'll give you updates very soon in the next podcast. Stay safe everyone! Wash and...
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061: Day in the life of running an Italian Villa
Living Villa Cappelli
In this episode, we try to give you a bit of behind the scenes look at what it’s like to run a villa, especially from the tour and vacation rental aspect. We cover all sorts of topics, including: • Breakfasts, as far as what we serve and why a simple breakfast is never a simple breakfast • Laundry. Again, while for most a load of laundry here and there during their week is a normal chore. There’s nothing normal about it when you have 10 bedrooms of sheets and towels to wash each week. Plus, you have to head down to hang them up to dry, which is another...
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060: Italian Villa Projects
Living Villa Cappelli
In this podcast, we catch you up on the projects we’ve been doing at the villa during our “off time” without guests. From major new interviews to unexpected construction, we’ve had a lot going on.
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The Top 10 reasons to book an Italian villa for your next celebration
Living Villa Cappelli
Have a big milestone birthday coming up? Or perhaps an anniversary? Perhaps you’re just looking to travel with a large group of family and friends. Then booking a villa in Italy might is the perfect way to celebrate with family and friends. Here are just a few of the reasons you should book an Italian villa now! 1. It’s more affordable than you think When you stay in a villa in Italy, it will feel like you’re living in luxury, but it’s very affordable. Definitely more affordable than a hotel or resort. According to Lonely Planet travel site, even a...
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058: Real News, Fake Food
Living Villa Cappelli
In this podcast, we take a dive into the culinary world and explore where there is a lot of “fake food” out there. From doctored extra virgin olive oils and grated cheese to wine and balsamic vinegar, we give you the real news on fake food. Topics we cover: • How we’ve had a few podcast fans visit this year, including Kendra and her new business: • How often we don’t realize the wool is being pulled over our eyes in regards to food. Here’s a list. Do you have others? Let us know in the comments. Extra Virgin Olive Oil • The corrupt...
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057: It's Not Only Rock 'n' Roll
Living Villa Cappelli
We move outdoors to sit among the olive trees for our second part of our interview with rock ’n’ roll royalty Jenny Boyd. We talk music, creativity, and her book . Topics we cover: • We talk about Jenny’s second husband • The British invasion • How Brits saw America a land of opportunity • What musicians drive was during the creative process, what they experience when writing a son • What part drugs and alcohol played in the creative process • If they believed everyone has the potential to be creative and how to express yourself...
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056: Jenny Boyd "Rock 'n' Roll Nobility"
Living Villa Cappelli
We are finally back after a very very very busy summer. But we couldn't resist making some time to sit down with one of our guests, Jenny Boyd, and talk to her about creative and music and her book . Topics we cover: • We introduce Jenny Boyd, a recent guest at Villa Cappelli • She wrote the book It’s Not Only Rock and Roll . • How Paul grew up with the music Jenny had a first-hand account of this music • How Jenny is a part of rock and roll nobility if you will • How music today doesn’t have the same social relevance as it did in the 60s...
info_outlineAnna joins us again for another fun podcast, featuring an amazing day of food shopping with Paul, a delicious lunch, and a fun discussion about her new cookbook Eat Happy.
Topics we cover:
- How Anna's last name is ironic. It translates to "little voice" yet she is a voice over talent.
- Anna's mission to find stracciatella (more info below)
- How cheese shops are call caseificio and why
- The cheese grater also has name based on a similar base
- The local dialect is influencedd by the different cultures that have all been in the area and thus is also a history of the area
- The two biggest influences to the local Terlizzi dialect are French and Arabic
- How areas near Lecce have a more Greek influenced dialect
- How the local dialects were all spoken languages, no written languages
- What Paul and Anna did all day, shopping and enjoying Aperol Spritz (recipe here)
- How it is mandatory to have a gluten-free section in Italian supermarkets
- Our lunch, which included steamed mussels, and Paul's "recipe" for the mussels
- Our lunch also included raw tuna and salmon sashimi
- The Facebook Live video we shot during lunch
- The difference between an aperitif and digestif
- How Italians want to drink with a purpose, not just drink to get drunk
- Anna's new cookbook Eat Happy: Gluten Free, Grain Free, Low Carb Recipes For A Joyful Life
- How the cookbook came about
- How long it took Anna to make the cookboo
- The struggles Anna went through
- How Anna tested and retested every recipe
- How magazine recipes aren't really tested a lot
- Taking pictures of recipes for a cookbook
- How Italians hate cilantro
- How recipes evolve and are guidelines, not rule books; you can adjust them to your own tastes
- How even different kinds of salts can affect a recipe and should be adjusted to your taste
- Our red wine infused sea salt
- What real balsamic vinegar really is
- How the other "balsamic" can be used to make salad dressing, but not the real stuff
- A quick explanation on how they make balsamic vinegar
- Why Italians hate Bloody Mary
- Our favorite Bloody Mary Mix, Bob's No Problem
- Anna's favorite recipes
- Anything with zucchini noodles made with Paderno spiralizer
- Butternut squash cauliflower rice
- Low-carb pizza crust
- Pistachio crusted salmon
- Sausage zucchini bake
- Bacon broccoli
- Cooking seasonally
- Our Red Onion Jam
- Paul and Anna's shopping, where they also bought:
- Napoli salumi with peppercorns
- Some spicy Calabrese salumi
- Mortadella, how big and delicious it is in Italy
- How Paul hates bologna or baloney
More on Stracciatella
Otherwise known as heaven on Earth at Villa Cappelli, it's a fresh cheese produced in Puglia using a stretching and shredding method. Thus the name which means "little shreds."
The way it was explained to me at one point is that it's the same as mozzarella before it becomes mozzarella. Meaning, the curds aren't worked quite as much.
After the shreds are made, they are mixed with cream. It's amaze balls. A creamy, smooth, delicious bite of heaven.
This is also the same cheese you find in the center of burrata, which is essentially stracciatella wrapped in mozzarella. So when you cut into the big ball of mozzarella, the stracciatella and cream ooze out. Also to die for, but for me, why not just enjoy the star of the dish on its own!