Stay At The Villa

plus a recipe for No-Bake Caramel Pudding Bathed in Caramel and more....

Once upon a time, one of the original “ad men” from Madison Avenue, Paul Capelli, chucked it all, moved to Puglia, Italy, and bought a house in ruins that he fell in love with. He and his partner worked over the years to create Villa Capelli, a beautiful boutique hotel set amongst ancient olive groves and vineyards. 

As Paul said, “From the moment we set foot on this property, we felt the need to restore its soul. In the process, it restored ours.”

The last time I talked to him I promised I would visit soon and we would talk about how he could write a cookbook for the villa’s guests to enjoy. I had written a few cookbooks by then and was looking forward to explaining how to do it and to spending time there. Unfortunately, he passed away before I was able to make that dream come true.

However, it will be one of my next stops, a destination for food if there ever was one.

Puglia is known for simple delicious cuisine based on fresh local produce as well as for producing the bulk of Italy’s olive oil. Villa Capelli’s cold pressed unfiltered olive oil, may I say, is superb! Yay Paul! You can easily order it online from their web site.

And the best of all? You can stay at the villa. His partner, Paul, is continuing the tradition they began together.

Check their web site for weeks where he offers cooking classes, meals at fantastic local restaurants, and personalized tours of the culinary region.

Via Appia Traiana, 11, Terlizzi, Italy

• +39 340 578 9847

• info@villacappelli.com

Two Food Blogs I Love:

I can thoroughly recommend a great read, a blog I have been following for years. It is written by Kristin Epinasse, called French Word A Day.

A fun way to learn the finer points of speaking French, every entry is a diary of a day in France illustrating a French word or phrase. Kristin writes about antiquing, food and drink, Provence and more.

An American who long ago felt the pull of France, she fell in love with Jean-Marc, had two children, and delightfully chronicles their village life in her blog and books.

In her words: “These two decades of writing have been deeply rewarding and for that I have you, dear reader, to thank (and my loving family who've given me endless inspiration!). A little prayer now for a second wind, a mighty Mistral, to carry this keyboard into the future. And wish me luck keeping up with the very technology that got me here in the first place! “

One more!!! You have to try my friend, Helene Lautier’s blog called Mais Quest-ce qu’on Mange ce Soir, a Cannes? 

I love this one for so many reasons. First, it is by my friend. Second, it is an amazing evocative blog about her life in Cannes, travels, meals she makes, all buttressed with her fabulous photographs that you just want to dive into….it is in French, but if you look at the top of the blog there is a handy little button to translate everything into English.

Helene has blogged about her life in France since 2006. I especially revel in her travels, each trip so detailed and so visual…as well as her recipes. One of my favorite entries and one I refer to when I travel to Alsace is this one that includes a Choucroute and Munster Tart to die for.

With Helene’s permission, I included a recipe from her grandmother in my cookbook, French Desserts. It’s a homey mouthwatering rendition of rice pudding bathed in caramel, which I am sharing with you here:

Helene’s Grandmother’s Rice Pudding Cake Bathed in Caramel

Serves 8

You will need a souffle dish.

Ingredients:

2 cups water

3/4 cup short-grain or Arborio rice (do not rinse)

4 cups whole milk

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

For the syrup: 1 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, toss in the rice, stir, bring back to a lively simmer, and cook for 4 minutes. Drain the rice and discard the water.

Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan, watching it carefully as it will rise quickly as it comes to a boil. When it starts to rise, turn off the heat and pour in the confectioner’s sugar, rice, and butter. Turn the heat back on, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 25-35 minutes, until all of the milk has been absorbed. It’s important to stir frequently, especially at the end, so the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan and so that it becomes creamy. You will hear a plopping noise towards the end.

With a hand mixer, beat the eggs, egg yolk, granulated sugar, vanilla and cardamom together until pale and thick. Add to the rice pudding on the stove and stir constantly to blend until it comes to a simmer. Stir while cooking for 1 minute then take off the heat.

To make the caramel syrup, heat the sugar in another saucepan over medium heat without stirring, until it turns liquid and golden brown. You can swirl the pan toward the end to help it along. The darker the color and the longer you cook it, the stronger the taste. Just make sure not to cook it so dark that it becomes bitter.

Take the caramel syrup off the heat and, being careful not to splash the hot syrup on your skin, [our it into a souffle dish. Pick yup the dish and carefully tilt it to cover the bottom and sides with the syrup. Swirl a second time to give another coat to the sides. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Pour the rice mixture into the caramelized dish. Cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

To serve, place a plate over the top of the dish holding the rice pudding cake and invert it to unmold the cake. Allow any caramel syrup left in the souffle dish to drip over the cake.

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