Enough.
A simple Italian dish (and why it matters)
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Dear friend,
In an effort to cultivate the beautiful life, Stuart and I spent a bit of time this week re-reading through past journal entries and enjoying photographs from our travels this past year. Perhaps this is a bit of escapism from the grey and drear of February…
What we discovered was moments of sheer bliss and enjoyment, shared with one another and with our children as well. The five weeks we got to spend in Umbria, Italy last year with our children is a trip that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. They talk about it almost daily and beg us to return, tucking away random Italian words they hear me speak to use the moment they return.
They can all order a cappuccino like a boss.
I don’t want to forget any of it, though many of the details have already been caught in the current of life and pulled downstream. I’m clinging to as many as I can for as long as humanly possible.
This is one I’ll never forget — beef carpaccio. A dish that is as common to Italians as hamburgers and fries are to Americans. It’s a part of their culture, their food language… and now, it’s become a part of ours.
I talk about this, and show the impossibly simple preparation, in this week’s new video:
Moments like these are why we began hosting our Italian retreats in the first place. Not to escape life, but to remember how to live it well — bellied-up to tables, with simple food, unhurried conversation, and rustic beauty all around. If that kind of week feels like something your soul has been craving, you can read more about our upcoming gatherings here.
If you would like the printable recipe for this beef carpaccio, including a sauce variation, as well as a chocolate olive oil cake, and roasted Brussel sprouts with prosciutto breadcrumbs, you can get the printable recipes right here.
My hope in sharing this recipe was to remind myself, and others, how simple good things can be. The temptation is to add to it or make it suit us better; this is most certainly how cooking evolves. But there’s also a beautiful simplicity in saying “enough”… this is quite perfect just as it is.
What that means too, for the cook, is that we don’t need to reinvent or problem solve in the kitchen. Instead, we just get to partake of something good; perhaps giving ourselves a moment of rest and delight instead of labor. Accepting a moment of joy, paved by those who have gone before and created something so beautiful.
Today, that’s sufficient.
Love,
