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Italy, the home of my ancestors and beautiful wife, is a land of wonderful food and people, beautiful architecture and landscapes, histo...

Friday, January 15, 2016

Recipe: CombatCritic's Awesome Air Force Chicken Piccata

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts pounded thin 
  • Salt 
  • Pepper 
  • 1 cup all purpose flour 
  • 4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
  • 4 tablespoons butter 
  • 1 lemon 
  • 4 cloves finely chopped garlic 
  • 3 tablespoons capers 
  • 1/4 cup white wine 
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock 
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Preparation
  • Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. 
  • Season the chicken with salt and pepper, dredging in the flour and set aside.  
  • Cut the lemon into slices.  
  • Heat two to three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in the skillet. Cook the chicken, browning lightly on each side and adding more oil as necessary. Transfer the chicken to a warm plate and cover with aluminum foil.  
  • Add the butter to the skillet to melt, then add the lemon slices until lightly brown. Stir in the garlic for about a minute, adding the capers before deglazing the pan with the wine. Add the chicken stock and parsley.  
  • Return the chicken to the pan and lightly baste with sauce.  
  • Remove the chicken, putting it on a warm platter and using the lemon slices for garnish before adding the remaining sauce.  
  • Serve with warm, crusty bread and mashed potatoes.
Serves 4 People


"Phonetic spelling of the acronym HUA, which stands for 'Heard Understood Acknowledged.' Originally used by the British in the late 1800's in Afghanistan. More recently adopted by the United States Army to indicate an affirmative or a pleased response." - Urban Dictionary

"The Department of Military Science and Leadership, University of Tennessee claim HOOAH 'refers to or means anything except no' ... Regardless of its meaning ... the term is an expression of high morale, confidence, motivation and spirit." - WarChronicle.com

"The U.S. Air Force stole 'HOOAH' from the Army because we were part of the Army until 1947 and rather than waste a bunch of time coming up with something new and unique, we said 'fuck it, let's go with HOOAH' ... thanks Army ... HOOAH! - CombatCritic

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Title: CombatCritic's Awesome Air Force Chicken Piccata Recipe

Key Words: chicken piccata, chicken, piccata, recipe, wine, garlic, capers, sauce, lemon, extra virgin olive oil, extra, virgin, olive, oil, butter, parsley, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Translation for Civilians: 

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Florence, Italy: Beautiful, Historic, Impressive, and Overpriced Like Everything in Florence

Palazzo Medici Riccardi
Via Camillo Cavour 3
50129 Firenze, Italy
Phone: +39 055 2760340
Website: palazzo-medici.it
Prices: $$$$
One of the most ancient and important palaces in Florence, Palazzo Medici Riccardi belonged to the infamous Medici family who started construction in 1445 under the direction of Michelozzo di Bartolomeo, completing the palace in about 10 years.


Courtyard and Statues




Palazzo Medici Riccardi sits prominently on the northwest corner of Via L. Gori just one block north of the Piazza del Duomo (take the street that heads north just between the Battistero di San Giovanni - aka Baptistry of Saint John - and Santa Maria del Fiore - aka "Duomo" or "Cathedral". Entrance is €7 for adults and includes the impressive Capella dei Magi di Benozzo Gozzoli (Chapel of the Magi by Benozzo Gozzoli), the Medici family chapel and the first thing you visit as you enter the apartments on the second (European first) floor. Not very large, the chapel's ornate frescoes, painted in the mid-Fifteenth Century by Gozzoli, tell the story of the journey of the three kings to Bethlehem interspersed with members of the powerful Medici family along the way.


Magi Chapel








The rest of the apartment has a few pieces of furniture, some statues, paintings and tapestries, but the most impressive thing is the palace itself, its beautiful courtyards, and the chapel of course. There are art exhibitions in three locations around the courtyard on the ground floor which are included in your admission.


Palace Interior


















Definitely worth a visit, I am not sure it is worth €7 ($7.60) and would be a much better value in the €4 to €5 range. Florence would definitely benefit from a "reasonably priced" all inclusive museum day-ticket option other than the Firenze Card (€72 - good for 72 hours). The Amici degli Uffizi card (€60/adult and good from Jan 1 - Dec 31) used to allow free entry into most of the major museums and churches, including unlimited access to the Uffizi Gallery and Galleria L'academia (statue of David), but starting in June 2015 they limited entry only to the Uffizi, making it a much less attractive option.


Medici Family Portraits



CombatCritic Gives Palazzo Medici Riccardi 6 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!





Six Bombs Equates To:


"Good To Go"

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

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Tabelog Reviewer CombatCriticView my food journey on Zomato!




Title: Florence, Italy: Beautiful, Historic, Impressive, and Overpriced Like Everything in Florence

Key Words: Palazzo Medici Riccardi, palazzo, Medici, riccardi, Florence, Firenze, Italy, Italia, magi, chapel, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, attraction, museum, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Translation for Civilians: 

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Is The AgroMafia Diluting Your Extra Virgin Olive Oil?

Italian products, from wine and olive oil to Mozzarella di Bufala, Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto, are well known, desirable, and expensive, so when we purchase a well-known Italian brand name we should get what we pay for ... right? Well that may not in-fact be the case.

According to a CBS 60 Minutes story on what is called the "AgroMafia", 50% of extra virgin olive oil on Italian market shelves and 70% - 80% on American store shelves are substandard, sometimes dangerous products black-marketed under well known brand names by the mafia and/or camorra. The problem is not confined to just olive oil, but wine, cheeses, tomatoes, ham and many other Italian products are also being exploited.


For those with seed or nut allergies, be extremely careful when purchasing Italian products, particularly olive oil, because cheaper seed or nut oils (e.g. sunflower oil) are often used to dilute or replace the extra virgin olive oil. For information on how you can avoid buying and overpaying for substandard products from Italy, watch this 60 Minutes Overtime video:



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Title: Is The AgroMafia Diluting Your Extra Virgin Olive Oil?

Key Words: Agromafia, agro, mafia, Italy, Italian, olive oil, extra, virgin, extra virgin olive oil, wine, parmigiano, prosciutto, CBS, 60 Minutes, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, story, black, market, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Translation for Civilians: