YumSugar

In Italy, Obama Daughters Dabble in Gelato-Making

YumSugar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:00:02 -0700

Meet Malia and Sasha Obama, first children - and future gelato makers? While President Obama was in Rome, Italy, for a G-8 summit, the US embassy contacted the Italian capital's most renowned gelato parlor, Giolitti, to arrange an insider's ice cream tour for the commander in chief's daughters. At the historic gelateria, Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, donned aprons to become frozen-dessert makers for the afternoon. The sisters, accompanied by their grandmother, made blackberry and banana gelato. According to parlor owner Nazareno Giolitti, "Right after they made gelato, they tasted it straight from the machine, and the youngest one said, "It really tastes like blackberries." The girls, who Giolitti said "ate with great gusto," left with a whopping 6.6 pounds each of their ice cream, and took some home for the first lady.

Giolitti later showed a local television station a tub of some of the blackberry flavor the Obama girls created, saying that the leftover ice cream was immediately picked up by customers who wanted their cones filled with it. If I were him, I would have sold it for a killing on eBay.

Are you as envious as I am that the Obama girls had the opportunity of a lifetime at Rome's most famous gelateria?

A Taste of Rome

YumSugar — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 14:24:56 -0800

Leave it to the folks over at the premium cable channels to come up with another fun marketing campaign. This time HBO has graced 100 Italian restaurants in LA, NY and Chicago with bottles of Rome wine. The cabernet sauvingnon, which is bottled in California, will be offered free to patrons. Each table will have a card that states:

And our house wine tonight is brought to you by HBO. A taste of 'Rome' awaits you. Ask server for details.

I'm not sure what the entire marketing strategy is, but I wonder if it will cause as much buzz as rival Showtime's clever Weeds brownie promotion.

Source: Ad Age

Top 10 Foodie Destinations

partysugar — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:33:39 -0700

When planning your next vacation, why not do something a little off the beaten pack? I don't mean camping in some unheard of destination, I'm talking about a culinary adventure. Instead of choosing a place for its renowned museums, gorgeous beaches, or ancient architecture, select your travel spot based on the local cuisine! If it sounds crazy, think again: culinary vacations are a fast growing trend. Sure you can eat your way through the best restaurants in Paris, New York, and Rome, but wouldn't it be much cooler to stay in a teeny chateau in the French countryside and learn authentic Provencal cooking? Or how about learning to make wine in sun soaked Tuscany? For all that and more scroll through my top ten foodie destinations list and then click on each one for the reason why you need to go there now!

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For more on creating your own culinary vacation check out gourmet on tour and cooking in paradise.

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Valentine's Day Fun Facts

partysugar — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 03:28:12 -0800

You know I couldn't let a holiday pass without giving you some fun facts to spice up the conversation during your day. After the roaring success of my Super Bowl fun facts, I dug deep for lots of fabulous nonsense. Did you know that approximately 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are sent each year? (I believe it - I made and sent out 30!) Or that the Italian city of Verona, where Romeo and Juliet lived, receives over 1000 Valentine's addressed to Juliet each Valentine's day? To know who invented the first box of Valentine's Day chocolate, read more

Richard Cadbury, of Cadbury cream egg fame, invented the first box of Valentine's Day themed chocolates in the 1880s.
3% of pet owners give Valentine's Day gifts to their beloved furry friends.
Over 50 million roses are given on Valentine's Day.

73% of people who buy flowers are men.
In Medieval times people who couldn't write their names signed with an 'X' in front of a witness. The 'X' was then kissed to show sincerity. Many believe this is how the 'X' symbol became synonymous with the kiss.
On average men spend $130 for their dates on Valentine's Day.
Children received 39% of all Valentine's related gifts and candies.
Mothers and wives are the biggest givers on Valentine's Day, providing 33% of all gifts.

More than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine's Day.
Even if they don’t make the final purchases until the last few days, 75% of men testify that they plan ahead for Valentine’s Day.
On Valentine's Day, women prefer to open their gifts after a nice dinner while men prefer to receive presents first thing in the morning.
The most romantic place to share candy is in front of the fireplace.
In the 1800s physicians commonly advised broken hearted patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining.

Throughout history, chocolate has always been seen as an aphrodisiac: Madame DuBarry served chocolates to all of her suiters, Cassanova consumed chocolate instead of champagne to induce romance, and the ancient Aztec king, Montezuma believed chocolate would make him virile.
8 billion conversation hears will be produced this year, enough candies to stretch from Rome, Italy to Valentine, Arizona 20 times and back again.

Source: Candy USA