Pillow Soft: A Love Letter To Gnocchi

by David Farley on

The first time I ever saw a bidet, I peed in it. I was young; I wasn’t very well traveled, and, well, the porcelain bathroom apparatus for washing one’s nether-regions found in many European hotels and homes looked like a toilet. That was in Florence. And it was also on that trip when I first learned about gnocchi (which I’d grossly mispronounced). And since then I’ve had a bit of a torrid culinary romance with the dumpling.

I order it in restaurants, where, if made right, is pillow soft. I buy them in supermarkets – at least when I can find them. Just last week, I was wandering around a big chain supermarket in Los Angeles unable to find my favorite dumpling. When I uttered the word “gnocchi” to an employee, she just stared back at me. After the third supermarket employee asked me “what’s a gnocchi?” I gave up.Gnocchi, for the uninitiated (listen up, LA supermarket employees) are little Italian dumplings. They’re usually made with potatoes but sometimes restaurants serve gnocchi – pronounced nyo-kee – made with ricotta. If you’re in Rome and obeying the traditional day-of-the-week eating agenda, Thursday is gnocchi day and that means many restaurants will offer it as a special. The word itself, which is in the plural, could mean “lumps,” but others have argued it comes from the word “nocchio,” which is a knot in wood, or possibly “nocco,” meaning “knuckle.” The origins of gnocchi are even less clear – though most culinary historians say that gnocchi was absorbed into the Roman Empire’s culinary traditions via conquest, likely from the Middle East.

This is an intriguing example of proto globalization. An ingredient or dish that is inextricably tied to a certain culture did not originate in that culture. Knowing this, it was all the more fitting that when some friends and I had a gnocchi-making competition, I did something radical. Anna Watson Carl, food writer and chef, I feared, was going to easily win. I had to do something crazy. I didn’t make straight-up gnocchi, which is sometimes served with pesto or a tomato-based ragu or a brown-sage butter sauce. I made kimchi gnocchi, which I’d named Gnocchi3000. True to the dumpling’s murky origins, I was re-appropriating it for another culture. This time it was getting fused between Italy and Korea. And it was simple enough to do: I infused kimchi spices, of which I’d procured at a supermarket in New York’s Korea Town, into a traditional batch of potato gnocchi. Then I made a brown sage butter (I opted for goat butter) and topped it all off with pancetta and pieces of kimchi.

The other contestants besides Anna were food and travel writer Jessica Colley and Time Magazine photo editor Natalie Matutschovsky. Travel writer and historian Tony Perrottet was meant to compete but instead he just came to eat. The other competitors cooked the more traditional variety. I didn’t get a chance to try everyone’s because I was cooking. But I re-call there was butternut squash gnocchi with a brown sage butter; there was also potato gnocchi with a tangy ragu. They were all delicious and we had no idea which way the judges – in this case Savuer senior editor Gabriella Gershenson and Bon Appetit digital editor (and author of the new book, “The Turk Who Loved Apples“) Matt Gross – were going to go.

In the end, they said it was, indeed, a tough decision but they went with the one that, in their words, they “just wanted to keep on eating.” And it was mine. I have to admit, I didn’t see this coming but I’ll take it.

It’s unlikely on my next trip to Italy, I’ll see kimchi gnocchi on any restaurant menus. Just a lot of traditional ways of preparing the dish, which is fine with me.

As for any bidets I may encounter, I’ll gladly leave them be.

[Photo by David Farley]

IKEA To Launch Budget Hotel Chain In Europe

by Anna Brones on


Meatballs for room service? That might be a bit of a stretch, but Swedish home furnishings giant IKEA is launching into the accommodations business, collaborating with Marriott to create a budget-friendly hotel chain in Europe.

The hotels – which will be called “Moxy” – promise to offer contemporary stylish design at an affordable price, though the rooms will not feature furnishings from IKEA. So forget placing your travel guidebooks on a Billy system.

IKEA and Marriott are targeting locations across Europe, but the first one will be in Italy, near Milan’s Malpensa. Rooms will be priced at €60 to €80 a night. The ultimate goal is to expand the Moxy chain to include 150 hotels with between 25,000 and 30,000 rooms. Hey, it’s better than living in an IKEA.

In true IKEA style, many of the rooms will be prefabricated offsite and then assembled much like IKEA furniture. Fortunately though, you can leave your stash of never-to-be-used-again IKEA tools at home.

[Photo Credit: Håkan Dahlström]

Conservatives, Pack Your Bags! Liberal-Free Travel Has Arrived

by Megan Fernandez on

Some people like risks when they travel. Others don’t want to take any chances that their entire hard-earned vacation will be ruined by angry, bitter, close-minded companions – you know, liberals.

That’s the philosophy behind Conservative Tours, a Boston-based company not to be confused with conservation-related tourism. It’s led by political pundit Ken Chase, a 2006 Republican candidate for the Senate who lost to Ted Kennedy. Chase really can’t stand what he calls “Cambridge democrats.” He certainly doesn’t want to travel with them and figured there was money to be made by making sure people aren’t forced to do so.

In an interview with Outside magazine, Chase describes his demographic as “Americans who are easy going, affable, nice, better with their time and money, and of good humor. So, they’re kind of the opposite of the Cambridge democrat.” An avid traveler who speaks French, Chase organizes escorted tours of Western Europe for people of his political persuasion. “I wanna spend four- or five-thousand dollars on a luxury tour to be with somebody who’s pleasant,” he tells the author after combatively badgering him to say that liberals assume gay-marriage opponents are homophobes.

“You’re pretending to be dumb because you don’t want to answer the question because you know what the answer is,” Chase tells him, pleasantly.Chase assumes conservatives (and only conservatives) are interested in landmarks related to the U.S. military, so he works in visits to D-Day beaches in France and an American military cemetery in Italy. After all, he says, “You know what [liberals] think of the military.” And he avoids places that are “not the kind of destination that conservatives are attracted to,” such as Cannes. Don’t worry; his trips are more fun than they sound. “Once in a while we lighten up and have a good-old pizza night,” the company’s website says of its Italy itinerary.

Otherwise, Chase tells Outside, politics have nothing to do with the company’s travel experience, which always includes first-class airfare. It’s simply about being with “people who are like-minded politically.” Based on the interview, that means if you like to refer to our sitting president as “Barack Hussein Obama,” you’re the kind of “tolerant… normal… pleasant… thoughtful… traditional” person welcome to book with Conservative Tours.

Have an enlightening time!

[Photo credit: Flickr user Chiaralily]

Video Of The Day: A Sunny Day In Venice

by Libby Zay on

Venice is widely thought of as one of the ultimate romantic destinations, especially in Europe. Today’s Video of the Day, Around Venezia, captures the charm of the The Floating City’s beautiful canals and colorful architecture. Venice’s trademark gondolas are included, too, but what I like about this video is how it goes a little deeper than typical videos about Venice to show the beauty in objects that might seem mundane in other cities: a reflection in a puddle or clothes hanging out to dry. In less than two minutes, the video has me wishing I was walking around Venice on a sunny day-but who wouldn’t want to be in that situation?

How You Can Help Save Endangered Destinations

by Reena Ganga on

Earlier this year, I told you about several destinations you should see before they disappear. Climate change, environmental destruction and a number of other issues were all threatening to ruin these travel sites, and in some cases (such as The Maldives) wipe them right off the map.

A lot of you responded with feelings of sadness and helplessness about the travel treasures we face losing. Some of you weren’t content to sit by and let these endangered destinations die – you wanted to know what you could do to save them. So to help you do just that, I’ve put together a list of resources and organizations where you can get involved and make a difference.

Fight Climate Change

When it comes to problems that are destroying our environment, climate change is a biggie. Two examples I gave you before were the melting snowcaps at Jungfrau, Switzerland, and the rising sea levels in The Maldives, but of course there are countless other victims, including Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and the flora and fauna in the Amazon rainforest.

One organization that has been tackling the problems caused by climate change is the Environmental Defense Fund. The charity pushes for clean energy policies and legislation that will lower carbon emissions. They also work with big companies to lessen their impact on the environment, and encourage other countries around the world to cap carbon pollution as well. If you want to support the cause, you can become a member of the organization, donate funds, sign petitions, or lobby your senator to take action.

Adopt A Polar Bear

Polar bears are dwindling in number fast as their icy home shrinks more and more every year. These creatures not only play an important role in the marine food chain but also in the culture and economy of people living in the arctic region.

The World Wildlife Fund is one of several groups working to save these animals from extinction. They do things like monitor polar bear populations, protect the animals from bears, and prevent oil and gas drilling in the local habitat. If you want to help save this animal from extinction you can get involved by writing a letter to congress or adopting a polar bear for as little as $25.

Conserve Important Art

When we think about travel sites that are disappearing, we don’t normally think of art. But many significant artworks around the world are in fact crumbling away – Da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” which I mentioned in my prior article, is among the more famous of them. In the Italian city of Venice, thousands of paintings are under threat. The city is home to the highest concentration of historic architecture in the world, but rising waters, sea salt and industrial pollution are pummeling the cultural treasures.

Organizations such as Save Venice have been helping to preserve the city’s landmarks and restore its artwork, and to date, they’ve tackled more than 400 projects. Those looking to get involved can become a member of the non-profit organization, make a donation, or choose a specific restoration project to adopt.

Save The Rainforests

Deforestation has been wiping out the planet’s rainforests at an alarming rate. Last time, I talked about the plight of Madagascar’s rainforest, which has shriveled to less than 20 percent of its original size.

The Wildlife Conservation Society has stepped in to try and stop further destruction of the country’s natural landscape. They’re teaching locals how to grow rice without slashing and burning the forest, creating tree nurseries and promoting ecotourism so locals have ways of earning a living without resorting to things like illegal logging. If you want to contribute, you can become a member of the WCS (which includes free access to a number of New York City’s zoos) or make a donation.

Preserve World Heritage Sites

Of the hundreds of travel sites that have been given World Heritage site status, 38 of them are considered to be in danger. Natural disasters, war and even out of control tourism have all taken a toll and threaten to obliterate these historical sites. If you have cash to contribute, the World Monument Fund is a good place to start. They’ve partnered with local communities and governments in more than 90 countries to save and restore cultural treasures.

However, if you really want to get your hands dirty and do something, then you might consider volunteering at a World Heritage center. There are volunteer projects across the globe, including diving along the Great Barrier Reef to help threatened coral, conserving the Medina of Fez in Morocco, and restoring archaeological sites in Tanzania, to name a few. If you want to take part, you need to apply well in advance and you will have to share some of the travel costs. But the good news is you don’t need any experience to get involved.

[Photo credit: Flickr users Peter Blanchard; Travel Manitoba; cowman345; Frank Vassen; Fighting Irish 1977]