Back from hiatus.

After a lengthy hiatus, A Wicked Scoff is back. Hopefully I'll be able to maintain a healthy dose of new posts starting with today's entry. While I admit I have been it lazy these last couple of months (blogging that is, not cooking...I prioritize cooking and eating over most things in life...except for my lovely wife), this spring has not been without its share of distractions. With being on vacation in Italy for a week (more on that later), taking advantage of the extra daylight after work to do yard work, and the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs, I've been a bit preoccupied. After getting some requests and questions from friends recently however on "where's A Wicked Scoff hiding" I decided that I will be a better multi-tasker. It's really not that hard to blog about food and watch hockey at the same time you know.

With all that being said, I want to share with you a little bit about the recent vacation my wife and I went on. We traveled to Italy's Amalfi Coast and the city of Naples, truly one of the most culturally rich and significant ,not to mention beautifully scenic, destinations in the world. From the famous archaeological sites of Pompeii and Herculeneum, to Mt. Vesuvius (a volcano that could erupt at any time and wipe out more than a million people) to the jaw dropping twisty winding cliff edge road ways of the famous Amalfi Coast, to the posh Island of Capri, and finally to the rural and touristy mix of towns and fishing villages with impressive architecture and cathedrals, we saw and did a lot. What was as impressive as anything about this destination, as you may well imaging, was the food.

It's no secret that Italy is considered to be paradise for many food lovers, however the regional cuisines across Italy are quite diverse, notably between northern Italy and coastal southern Italy. The region we went to, known as Campania, is known for a few specialties, including pizza (Naples [Napoli] is the birthplace of pizza), fresh seafood, and lemons. Popular dishes from this region include Caprese salad (fresh buffalo mozzarella, sliced tomatoes and fresh basil leaves), margarita pizza (thin crust pizza cooked in an extremely hot wood burning oven topped simply with marinara, mozzarella and basil, fresh fried fish (fritto pesce ) typically cuttlefish, calamari and large shrimps, mussels or clams and fresh pasta (very lightly tossed with olive oil, cherry tomatoes and parsley), broiled fish fillet, tuna, sardines, anchovies, and the list goes on. Also traditional for this region is to take a shot of the very potent lemon liquor known as limoncello. Needless to say we ate very well, and I came home inspired to recreate some of the wonderful dishes and flavors I experienced. Maybe a few pounds heavier too with all the gelato (Italian ice cream) I ate!

So while Italian cuisine doesn't seem to have much in common with Newfoundland or New England cooking styles I think you'll be surprised on how many of the dishes I will share with you over the next few weeks will actually be familiar with your taste buds and your cooking philosophy. Simple preparation, fresh ingredients and hearty, satisfying meals.While pizza, fresh herbs, olive oil, buffalo mozzarella and pasta may not be classic Newfoundland/New England ingredients, fresh seafood certainly is. Other rustic ingredients like bread, potatoes and beans are also traditional in Italy as they are in this neck of the woods. Some of the upcoming recipes I will be sharing over the next little while will include broiled swordfish with lemon and olive oil, olive oil fried cod loins, pasta in the style of Sorrento, spaghetti and clams, tuna salad (not what you think), gnocchi (potato pasta), and much more.

Stay tuned, and stay hungry.