I cannot say that I have ever tempered chocolate before. Maybe when I was in high school I tried to pour melted chocolate into a mold and call that tempered, but now I know the real deal. No wonder chocolate is such a crafted confection; it takes a lot of patience and efficient effort to…

Emilia Romagna is one the greatest food regions in Italy because it’s subdivided into provinces that are famous for specialty food items like balsamic vinegar, parmesan, prosciutto, and mortadella. It all makes sense once you realize that geographical locations make up many of the Italian foods. The best balsamic vinegar you will ever try is the…

It almost sounds as if  I’m writing the foreword to a romantic story when I speak about how I went to Florence, ate pasta and bought myself flowers. Some of that statement is true, but not all, I did not buy myself flowers. I actually did spend the weekend in Tuscany, touring Florence and the…

Carnevale is celebrated largely in Veneto on December 21st to February 13th before the no meat streak of Lent begins. It’s a necessary time to make all things fried, sweet and heavy like frittelle di zucca (fried quenelles of pumpkin and raisins) or frittelle di carnevale (fried dough with raisins and pine nuts rolled in granulated sugar). I…

This is the week where we venture off to some other parts of Europe that we would never expect to get a taste of. I am finding the ingredients and flavor combos from Italy’s northeastern regions to be some of my favorite food. Friuli Venezia Giulia is described as a “double region” because it borders…

One day we will drink together, communally sharing the warm feeling of hot coffee, grappa, and cinnamon in our tummies. LA GROLLA DELL’AMICIZIA is this wooden carafe from Valle d’Aosta that stays true to its meaning of commensality. Its purpose is for all Italian friends or family to pass around and drink from, each from…

My dearest Christopher, I wish you were here to make these with me so we could eat them together again… Not too long ago when you took me to Marea for lunch, we had a surprise dessert course with a few fluffy puffs called Bombolini. I think you liked those more than the rest of…

Small crescent-shaped Liguria curves the west coast of Italy. How else should I explain this region other than the excellent fish harvested? Red Mullet, Octopus, and Shrimp are some of the best products they offer too. Oh, and I must not forget about the anchovies, they are notorious for those as well.  Some of our…

I have enjoyed all the varied cuisines of Italy up until this point, but then we got to dip our Italian feet into something a bit more diverse. Trentino Alto Adige borders Switzerland, Austria, and beyond that Hungary and Germany which means the food dynamic expands in greater time than Italy itself. So if your…

I think it’s fitting, a fairy tale meal in a castle that is. We found it hard to come up with a theme, thought thru and thru what we would do and we finally thought it be kind of charming to do an Italian fairy tale in a Castle. All I could think about was…