In an alcove studio on the Upper West Side, I had my favorite home cooked meal of 2015. Yes, I realize it's still January but the meal I savored in Rossano's kitchen was deliziozo! Rossano is my friend Chieu's Italian boyfriend with a sexy accent and all the right moves in the kitchen, nice work Chieu! To start we nibbled on crostinis with shrimp and avocado. For the first course, he served risotto with rosemary, fennel, onion, and a splash of Pinot Grigio. Rossano likes his risotto al dente, the key is to toast the rice until it's clear on the outside but still white in the center. The flavors blended beautifully and I was thrilled with our first course but the second course was even better...cod alla barcarola. It was served on a bed of thinly sliced red potatoes and topped with caramelized red onions. The red onions were caramelized in sugar and apple cider vinegar. YUMMO! It melted in my mouth. It was light enough that I had room for my favorite part of every meal, dessert! That was gone in a matter of seconds, Maison Keyser Bakery's decadent chocolate "Adagio" dessert with a passion fruit filling.
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