la bussola, firenze

Looking for a very cool wine bar and pizzeria in Florence? Go to La Bussola. Perhaps some things are best left to unfold naturally, for instance, to discover that great little cafe you return to every single day of a trip, and it never lets you down. And some things are best planned in advance, like researching to find the cozy romantic wine bar, with great food, where you can linger and just unwind. One afternoon, Jeff and I were looking for something to eat, and luckily we happened to find La Bussola. We were lucky, but next time, I will definitely plan to go back. It is dimly lit, and quite cozy. I ordered a lot of lardo this trip -- what is lardo? Well, it is almost like it sounds! It is cured piggy fat, and it is oh, oh, oh so very delectable. It is best served thinly sliced, and a little bit warm. Like pig butter, but you can't spread it. We started with a bit of prosecco, then enjoyed this cannellini bean crostini topped with lardo (albeit impossible to photograph with the dim lighting, and sheen on the lardo!). There were a few tomatoes to spruce up the middle of the plate. I love lardo, so I was already loving this place. Walnut, pear, honey, and pecorino pizza. It was very rich, but sweetened by the thinly sliced pears and drizzled honey. I would absolutely love to have this pizza again. Love. Jeff ordered the sausage, tomato, and truffle pecorino pizza - again fantastic. So while, there are many places in Florence that I still am anxious to try, La Bussola is one of the restaurants at the top of my list to return to again. Ristorante La Bussola Via Porta Rossa, 58/r Florence Tel. 055 293376
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fri five fave food finds & calzone

The only thing that beats leftover pizza for breakfast; leftover calzone.

Jeff has become quite the master of these fun pockets of goodness. He is in charge of assembly, and takes it very seriously. However, sometimes he is overzealous, and creates monstrous calzones. So, we are often fortunate enough to enjoy some the next day.

There are two secrets: 1. The dough. 2. A hot oven.  

The dough: (start pre-heating the oven, see below) 1 1/4 cups of warm water 1 1/2 tsp traditional yeast 1 tbsp honey 2 3/4 cups flour 1 tsp salt 2 tsp olive oil Make sure the water is warm, but not too warm (read yeast package directions). Dissolve the honey, and then stir in the yeast. Leave it 10-15 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and olive oil.

Once the yeast is activated, combine everything together in the bowl. Knead it, if you feel like it. If you're not grumpy or stressed, just do it a little. (a hardly noticeable difference, unbelievable, I know) Cover the bowl with a towel, and let the dough rise 45min to 1 hour. Knead again. Divide the dough into 3 sections. Use a lot of flour, and shape the dough into a circle. Leaving the edge clean, smother your favourite sauce over the dough.

On half of the dough, place your favourite toppings (capicollo, genoa salami, mortadella, buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, etc.). Fold over the other half, and crimp the edges together. The dough makes gorgeous pizzas too. Plain pizzas are irresistible snacks when dipped into olive oil and sea salt.
 
The heat: Place a pizza stone in the oven. Heat the oven as hot as it will go, and continue to pre-heat for one hour before baking any calzone's or pizza's.
 
Convection is better; pre-heat on 550 fahrenheit on convection. Turn the convection off before placing the pizza or calzone in the oven. Pizza's take 6-8 minutes. Calzone's take 10-12 minutes. Mangia!
 
Onto the food finds, with a seasonal twist:

1. Pomegranate jam: Cafe Fernando has absolutely stunning photos of this jewel-toned jam, but do check out the recipe.

2. Flagrante Delicia: Forget dessert, I want the Chocolate tagliatelle with chocolate sauce for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A very sweet blog, literally and figuratively.

3. Gourmet's Favorite Cookie Recipes: Gourmet Magazine's favourite cookie recipes from every year from 1941-2008. Holiday baking here I come!

4. Decadent Pumpkin Torte: I am a pumpkin addict, so I can't think of anything much better than this creamy dessert. If you haven't visited Canary Girl's site yet, do check it out. Her recipe's are fabulous, and her humorous writing style is fun too.

5. Roasted Butternut Squash Farro Salad: A delicious combination of everything the season has to offer, in a healthful, and flavourful dish. Delightful! More hot chocolate to come soon.
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