We are home sweet home from Italy and my first order of business in my beloved, familiar kitchen was to make Homemade Chicken Pot Pie (emphasis on the homemade). We needed some delicious, home-cooked meals to warm us up in this cold Michigan weather and to help us recover from jet-lag and the terrible colds...
Cooking
Minestrone with Pesto
It's nearly time for me to pack things up and head back home to the US. In preparation for our departure there are lots of things to be done, details to be arranged, etc. But a girl's gotta eat! In an effort to avoid many more trips to the market before we leave, I made...
Croque Monsieur
One of the great things about Paris is the food. It is also one of the most overwhelming aspects of taking a short trip to Paris. With all that marvelous food and pastries everywhere you look, how can one possibly decide what to eat and where to eat? Considering there is only enough time and...
Homemade Gnocchi with Creamy Gorgonzola Sauce
If there's one thing I thought would be easier to get used to while living here, it would be the lack of conversation. In two months, I have only spoken to my husband of course, and my family a few times via Skype. Everything else is patchy Italian for survival. While I'm definitely not lacking...
Whole Fish Baked in Salt Crust
This technique has been on my to-try list for ages. I wish I had a good reason for putting it off so long, but we're making up for lost time. We may or may not have enjoyed three fish prepared this way in the past week alone. It is incredibly easy to do, and in...
Risotto with Branzino
As you can imagine, the Branzino here in the Venice area are plentiful and fresher than fresh...and so much more affordable than in the United States! Branzino is definitely becoming more widely available, at least in Michigan, so if you happen to know of a place that carries really fresh whole branzino (sea bass), I...
Radicchio Crepes (Crespelle al Radicchio)
Living in the Treviso, Italy area, we see radicchio everywhere. Radicchio di Treviso is purple and white, and is sort of the shape of romaine lettuce. Since it is such a local staple, I knew I had to give it a try and this recipe for Radicchio Crepes seemed like a logical place to start, given my affinity for...
Pasta with Zucchini and Ricotta
There are a lot of things Italy does really well. For one, they really respect their ingredients. You don't have to speak their language to see that it is deeply ingrained in their heritage. You only really eat what you grow yourself, or what is grown in your immediate vicinity. You're buying from the person...
Italian Meatball Sandwiches
While pizza and pasta are perfectly wonderful, Hubby and I have been craving some meat. And by meat, I don't mean prosciutto, because we have definitely been consuming that at an alarming rate. We needed something a little more hearty and homestyle to fill us up after several days in a row of rainy weather...
Churros
For me, churros will always be synonymous with high school final exams. Strange, right? My high school always served churros in between final exams at the end of every semester. The smell of cinnamon-sugar coated goodness would fill the halls and signal the arrival of sweet freedom. By the time I visited Spain after my...