Marlene Pellegrini REALTOR® ERA REALTY PROs - Eastern Connecticut

During this economic time of turmoil...the war in Iraq, the hurricanes of the season, I think it is important to know what sort of heating system a home has and how to inform buyer clients about how the houses they are interested are heated. There was a time that electric heat was shunned upon since electricity was/is so expensive. Now that oil and gas are just as expensive, it is a toss-up to whether there would really be a difference in the expense to heating a home - depending on the system it has.

Most U.S. homes are heated with either A FURNACE OR A BOILER. These mechanisms are not the same.

• A Furnace heats air and distribute the heated air through the house using ducts.
• A Boiler heats water, providing hot water to:

1. A baseboard system
2. A more modern radiant system that is uses tubing filled with the warm water that the boiler has heated - which is usually located under the subfloor of a home
3. Older steam radiators

Boiler Advantages

• Can heat a home without moving air (moving air will cause drafts that will make a house cool in spots)
• It is more energy efficient to transport hot water than hot air
• It is easier to control and zone water
• The heat is not as dry as air that is heated

Furnace Advantages

• If it leaks, it only leaks air
• There is no water inside to freeze if the power fails

Often times, I hear people use the words boiler and furnace interchangably. Please know that there is a difference!

Being from Connecticut, I feel it is important to advise buyers of homes to what kind of heating system they are looking at when they are interested in buying a home. Nowadays, there are options for heating a home of which are becoming more popular. The use of wood to power a heating source can be available in a home. It could be a wood burning stove (in my area this has always been popular), to pellet stoves, to wood burning boilers. These are options we need to be knowledgeable about to inform our clients.

What can you share about this topic??

***If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Eastern CT region, give me a call and find out about the Unique way The Dan Sperduto Home Selling Team does business.***

CONTACT ME NOW : MARLENE@REALTYPROs.com ERA REALTY PROs 170 Flanders Road ~ Niantic, CT 06357 ~ (860) 886-7000 x121 106 Westcott Road ~ Danielson, CT 06239 ~ (860) 779-1943 x121 Direct (860) 884-6169 ~ Fax (860) 691-5011

With a name like PELLEGRINI, I have to talk about this place.

(I would make my father -in-law proud - Americo Donato Pellegrini 1931 -2004)

On my way from a closing in Norwich, CT to a listing appointment in Mystic, CT, I stopped at Valentino's Restaurant in Ledyard, CT for a quick take-out dinner. (If I had the time - I would have stayed and ate there at the full service Italian restaurant).

I placed my order for something here in Eastern CT (and parts of RI - it is a regional thing) is known for. I ordered GRINDER (if you are ever here in this region, you should try one).

Basically a grinder is what other parts of the country may call a "hero" or a "sub". It will have your choice of meat such as:

• Salami (When ordering this, just ask for a Regular) Genoa salami, Capricola ham, Pepperoni
• Provolone cheese (not American, Swiss or any other kind of cheese)
• Shredded iceberg lettuce,
• Slices of tomato
• A drizzle of olive oil
• Salt and pepper -
• ALL on a sub shaped roll.

Valentino's uses bread that is fresh baked daily and delivered from NYC. This bread has fabulous sesame seeds sprinkled on top and baked right in the bread - You can't beat the freshness!

As the gentleman behind the counter takes my order and speaks to me with his Italian/NYC accent, it takes me back to my visits to Greenwich Village, NYC -where the pizza is very specific and wonderful in taste.

After I paid - the man hands me a slice of fresh-baked cheese pizza that tastes just like that Greenwich Village style pizza that I know and love. (Since I have been here before, I knew he would give me that slice of pizza and anticipated the flavors while I ordered.)

Ciao Bella!

Valentino's also has a full menu with Italian cuisine that is to die for.

Valentino's Restaurant

725 Colonel Ledyard Highway

Ledyard, CT.

There is also a restaurant with equally fabulous Italian cuisine that is owned by the same people called:

Vetrano's Restaurant

30 Granite Street

Westerly, RI

(When I visit my mom in RI, we often will eat here)

For more fun things to do in Connecticut & the surrounding area - check these out:

• Jonathan Edwards Winery... Where Napa Valley Meets the Old New England Coast
• The Magic of Butterflies... In New England
• FYI... Guess Who is in Town Already!
• Have you been to the Rainforest???
• The Colors of Foxwoods and MGM Grand Resort & Casino
• Oh... Those Monsters!
• A Thrilling Ride....Did I say FAST!?!
• A Camper!?! ...Me?
• Mangia!....A Grinder is Fabulous at Valentino's Restaurant....
• EASTERN CONNECTICUT....SO MANY CHOICES, SO MUCH TO ENJOY!

~~~

***If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the Eastern CT region, give me a call and find out about the

Unique way The Dan Sperduto Home Selling Team does business.***

CONTACT ME NOW : MARLENE@REALTYPROs.com ERA REALTY PROs 170 Flanders Road ~ Niantic, CT 06357 ~ (860) 886-7000 x121 106 Westcott Road ~ Danielson, CT 06239 ~ (860) 779-1943 x121 Direct (860) 884-6169 ~ Fax (860) 691-5011

So you have all of these tomatoes that you have proudly grown in your garden. You want to use them but you have made all of the sauce you need. How about giving this recipe a try.

Tomato Bruschetta

I understanding that the word Bruschetta means "toast" in Italian. If you may know different let me know!

Ingredients:

4 or 5 Medium sized fresh tomatoes (Plum tomatoes seem to work best with this recipe since they are firm and don't have a ton of seeds).

1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped

2 fresh garlic cloves, crushed in a garlic press

A ball of fresh mozzerella

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO as Rachel Ray would say)!

Sea Salt and pepper

Fresh bread like a loaf of Italian, Ciabatta, or even a French baguette, thickly sliced (I often use the bread for my local Italian bakery....Vocatura's)

Dice tomatoes and dice mozzerella cheese & place in a medium bowl. Add chopped basil, crushed garlic, salt and pepper and EVOO to coat the mixture and stir together. Let meld for an hour or 2 so the flavors are brought out.

Drizzle bread slices with EVOO and toast them in the oven or on the grill.

Spoon tomato mixture over toasted bread slices.

- Serve and enjoy!

Tiramisu

Like the Italian restaurants, you too can make this fabulous and sophisticated dessert. It is easier then you think!

INGREDIENTS

8 egg yolks 1 cup sugar

1/2 cup Kahlua 1/2 cup cold water

Splash of Amaretto 2 1/2 lbs. mascarpone cheese

36 ladyfingers 2 cups coffee reduction or espresso

Chocolate shavings (optional) A few raspberries for garnish

1. Whisk egg yolks, Kahlua, Amaretto, sugar, and water over a hot water bath until thick and ribbony. This mixture when finished is called zabaglione.

(When making the zabaglione mixture I use a double boiler. The method of heating ingredients in a double boiler is called bain-marie. This method will help reduce any issues with salmonella. You will be whisking everything over the simmering water just below the boiling point).

2. Cool the zabaglione mixture over ice bath.

3. With a mixer, mix cooled zabaglione and mascarpone cheese together until well incorporated and smooth. DO NOT overmix or the mascarpone will break and become granular.

4. To prepare coffee reduction, simmer 4 cups of coffee until reduced by half. Or go to Dunkin Donuts and order a couple of cups of expresso. Cool and add Kahlua.

5. Prepare a 10 inch springform pan by lining the bottom and sides with parchment paper. If you don't have a springform like me, you might try a 10 inch casserole dish. Sometimes we have to be creative. A GLASS TRIFFLE DISH WORKS WELL TOO.

6. Place a layer of ladyfingers, flat side down, on the bottom of the pan, leaving gap between the sides and the ladyfingers. (The gap is so you can add more ladyfingers in an upright position in step 9).

7. Using a pastry brush, soak the ladyfingers with the cooled coffee reduction.

8. Fill a pastry bag (you can buy disposable bags at most housewares shops) with the mascarpone mixture and pipe a rope of cream to fill the gap around the ladyfingers OR JUST SPOON A LAYER OF MASCAPONE MIXTURE OVER LADY FINGERS IF YOU ARE NOT A FANCY SCHMANCY PERSON.

9. Place ladyfingers, in upright position, sugar side out, against the pan. Be sure to push them into the cream and fit them tightly against on another.

10. Begin the next layer by placing ladyfingers on the cream layer. You may cut them to create a perfect fit. Brush them with the coffee reduction.

11. Pipe a layer of cream on top of ladyfingers and smooth with a spatula.

12. Allow to chill overnight.

13. To unmold, simply undo springform and remove pager collar. Top with chocolate shavings & raspberries and serve. If you didn't use a springboard, you can spoon serve from your pan. Not as pretty, but just as tasty.

VOILA! An impressive and delicious Italian dessert.

MANGA!!!!! ENJOY THE COMPLEMENTS.

FALL IS AMONG US AND...

BOUNTIFUL SUNFLOWERS!

YOU'VE GOT TO LOVE THESE THINGS!

Last spring I gave out many packs of sunflower seeds to my friends, family and clients, through a mailing. As I drive through my neighborhood and by my family and friends homes, I see these mammoth flowers in bloom and I am proud of this harvest. I've seen a lot of these people through out the summer months who have expressed that "my sunflowers are coming up.....they are going to be huge!"

These seeds grew into 10 foot beauties! And the seeds in these flowers feed the birds... What more could you ask for!

I personally have been planting these things for years. I haven't found a flowering seed that is so easy to sow as these.

Contact me and I'll send you some sunflower seeds next spring ... Of 2009!