andiamotrips - campania, italy with karen phillips

A ros eye's view of Quintodecimo' s aglianico vineyard in Mirabella Eclano (Av)

Kenny Garrett Summer is  full of music festivals.  I mean, hanging outside listening to your favorite band is a perfect way to spend the long steamy evenings that accompany the season.  This year, my curious eye caught the schedule for the Pomigliano Jazz Festival, this year in it's 14th edition.  This time my schedule and the dates of the festival matched up - I was able to attend the Kenny Garrett Quintet concert scheduled for the 16th of July in a small town in Cimitile (Na).  The venue was not a stadium or auditorium. Oh, no.  But nestled on the grounds of the town's   Basiliche Paleocristiane , a complex with about 13 building/churches dating back to the 5th century.    Basiliche Paleocristiane, Cimitile (Na)    I arrived early ish for a stroll around the grounds and to take a look at some of the stands sponsored by Note di Gusto and   Slow Food Vesuvio .  First stop - Madrenatura Agricultura Biologica às booth.  Even though the sun was setting, it was h

We met a few months ago ish.   An April evening  where he was the guest star in a small kitchen at a winery in Quarto that evening.  Chef Giuseppe (Peppe) Guida  called me into that kitchen to try an appetizer while we waited for the the rest of the dinner guests to arrive.  A fried cauliflower zeppola with butter and anchovies.  I'll never forget it, I wrote about that evening here . Since then, I've bumped into Guida on a couple of other tasty events like here and here.   So ami I   Guida-ddicted ?  Maybe.  I needed another fix, so to speak.  A meal prepared by the chef in his own kitchen...on a normal day, not during a grande event.  A lunch where the chef could prepare his specialties con calma . That opportunity came last week when I went to visit the chef at his summer home; Yacht Club Marina di Stabia, where the Michelin star chef spends his summer giving his restaurant Antica Osteria Nonna Rosa  a well deseved break. From the terrace,  there is a beautifu

Summer in the city.  In Naples, at least one evening a week must include a pizza. And on this particulare evening on this particular week I decided to drop in and salutare, say hi, to maestro pizza maker Enzo Coccia at Pizzaria La Notizia .  Coccia showed no sign of jet lag from a recent trip to Shanghai, China where he and his team served as consultant for a new pizzeria there.  He was eager to show me photos and videos that he had in his Samsung Galaxy from his recent adventure.  Pictures that he has yet had time to share with the world via the social networks and his web site. Enzo Coccia It was easy to understand why. Coccia's life is non-stop ! Coccia's place was already packed with a waiting list at 7:30 pm.  Very early for Naples.  Families, couples, old friends and new were greeted by Coccia one by one as they entered his house .  Coccia has two pizzerias, or as Coccia told me long ago, pizzarias . And as one place filled up, he was quick to pick up the