Oatmeal?

So this entry is a bit late, as it is no longer fall squash season, but I thought I'd post anyway. Risotto is a great cold weather dish, and although it does take a bit of time to prepare (45min-1hour), it is very simple to make. And you can riff on it as you please, adding any myriad of ingredients to adapt to the seasonality of your produce: asparagus, mushrooms, ramps, even strawberries in the summer!). I had leftover roasted butternut squash from a soup I had made, so I plopped the already seasoned chunks into the soffritto (see below). Presto, change-o, a beautifully colored, but more importantly, tasty rice dish. I used chicken stock for a bit more flavor, but you can certainly use vegetable stock to make it a fully vegetarian meal. In the picture, the risotto may seem a tad watery to American eyes (hence the oatmeal comment made by a friend of mine), but that's the way it should be! A bit soupy, to be eaten with a spoon. Buon appetito!

This ain't yo nonna's raviol

Pane e Vino is an adorable little restaurant/pizzeria tucked into the Suisun City train station. In an area (and by area I mean entire county) starved for (pun slightly intended) food of quality and thought, Pane e Vino aims to fill a void... in my dining calendar at least. Run by a Neopoltian chef who slings some serious pizza, this joint follows the edict of slow food- good, clean, fair. Excellent dishes, reasonable prices, seasonal selection. What more can you ask for in the 707?

Fresh, hand made pumpkin ravioli in a goat cheese sauce. 

The sweet nuttiness of the pumpkin plays amazingly well with the tang and creaminess of the goat's milk cheese. And look how plump those are! No skimping here.

Check this place out! They love to feed a fellow foodie.

Oenotri Who? What? Whatever.

This southern Italian restaurant in downtown Napa draws both its name and its ideology from southern Italy, particularly from the lesser known regions of Calabria, Campania, Basilicata, and Puglia. The Oenotrians were inhabitants of the lower part of the peninsula in the 6th century BC. What does this have to do with Italian food circa now? Nothing. Just know that the food is damn good, and that it is authentic. Not 6th century BC authentic, but definitely 20th-21st century southern Italian authentic.

We started with the house made salumi- that's salumi, not salami. Salumi is the overarching term for any cured meat product. Oenotri offers quite an extensive selection; we had Felino, Sardegna, Noce, Milano, Salametto, and Nduja. A pizza napoletana (san marzano tomato, anchovies, gaeta olives, hot pepper, oregano) and the salumi were our appetizers. This was probably one of the better pizze I've had stateside, and that assessment does not come easily. I've tried and pooh poohed many an artisanal pizza as inauthentic (including Mozza. Sorry Mario Batali fans, it ain't all that) This one is quite close to a true Italian pizza (thin crust, char, true tomato sauce, moderate toppings, not sopping with oil). Unfortunately for you and fortunately for me these antipasti were so freakin good that we were too busy with our feeding frenzy to bother for a photo-op. Whoops.

Wild nettle fusilli with cardoons, delicata squash, and young walnut pesto

Linguini with manila clams, pachino tomatoes, hot pepper, garlic, and white wine

Bucatini alla carbonara. A classic Roman dish (NOT southern Italian, hmm..) Tully dolci egg, black pepper, guanciale and pecorino romano

Cheese plate as dessert for them

Black Jonathan Apple Crostata (that means pie) with sultans and bay leaf ice cream. Auguri a me! (that means happy birthday to me)

Love this place.