5 (Roman) Things

1) Monti

2) Fontana delle Tartarughe




3) A difficult  choice!

4) Oculus




5) The classic


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Delicious Bologna

Oh, Bologna! What have you done to me?

You had me the minute I stepped up to the counter at that busy neighborhood café and ordered an espresso - it was deep, deep brown with notes of bitter chocolate and had the perfect amount of chestnut colored crema on top.
I ordered a prosciutto panino alongside and once I took a sip and then a bite, I was hooked.
Then I asked for the bill. The total came to €2.30.
I had to look again.
€2.30?

Only €2.30? For a perfect espresso and a prosciutto di Parma sandwich?

How soon can I move?

Then of course, there is the gelato.
Have you ever tasted salted pistachio gelato? Not just pistachio, but salted pistachio?
It will change your life (kind of like Normandy salt butter, of which I'm sure Italy has its own version). But so will the fresh strawberry gelato (in season). The pine nut and mascarpone. The hazelnut. The sour cherry. The dark chocolate. The Sicilian lemon.
Basically, you just want give up every other kind of food and only eat gelato. Forever.

Until you have the pasta.

And the pizza.





I haven't even mentioned the gorgeous seasonal fruit and vegetables yet. Have you ever seen such beautiful tomatoes? Or wild asparagus at such a reasonable price?
And those little peppers pack some serious heat!

Let's not forget the cheese. This is Parmigiano-Reggiano country, after all.
But Italy has much, much more to offer when it comes to formaggio. They claim to produce over 450 varieties - my kind of place!

This list of deliciousness wouldn't be complete without mentioning proscuitto di Parma, cured sausages and mortadella, which originated in Bologna.

I savored all of it, maybe a little too much! My jeans were uncomfortably tight by the end of the trip.

Now that I'm back in France and diving into the seasonal chèvre, the brie - which is so perfect right now - and enjoying a daily baguette, I know that I would long for these delicious French foods if I lived in Italy.
So I'll try to visit as often as possible, leaving plenty of room in my luggage.
This time I brought home 2.5 kilos of Parmigiano-Reggiano, a couple of bottles of Balsamico di Modena and a ridiculous amount of Calabrian chiles.
That should hold us...for a while.

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5 (Italian) Things

1) Shopping in the Quadrilatero

2) A quiet street in Florence (not an easy thing to find!)




3) Tortellini - to be eaten "in brodo"

4) Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, located in the hills above Bologna

5) Fresh rapini



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5 (Bologna) Things

1) Surrounded by deliciousness

2) Under the porticoes

3) I had one for breakfast every morning (with espresso however, not a Heineken)

4) Too many to choose from

5) Part of the Sette Chiese



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Sunday Links

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If you go to New Orleans, you must try Cochon and Cochon Butcher.

An homage to a certain French fromage.

Sandal weather is almost here. Guess I better give myself a pedicure.

A million thanks to Lindsey for introducing me to the brilliantly colorful life of Will Taylor. I'm inspired!

Why didn't somebody think of this sooner?

A perfectly frothy cappuccino available morning, noon and night? I don't care how much it is frowned upon after 11am...  As Eleonora says, "screw the etiquette." Pin It

Sunday Reading

Thought I would venture outside of France today.
Not too far...only about 5 hours by car...a fact that makes me wonder why we don't go more often.

To Italy



Infatuated by all of her recipes, including the one for Zeppole di San Guiseppe, a pastry that makes my New York born and raised husband swoon.

She may be lost, but I'm glad I found her.

Delicious advice from an American living in Italy.

She's on vacation at the moment, but I never tire of reading about Michelle's Calabrian adventures. And I love seeing photos of her new kids!

What a beautiful and inspiring dream of a life. With some practical advice thrown in.

She shares my love of food and wine, especially cheese, and takes interesting, thought provoking photos. What's not to admire? Pin It

Photo du Jour - Espresso

Autumn makes me long for Italy.

I traveled to Milan a year ago and to Lucca two years ago. Both amazing places. One busy, bustling and an interesting mix of old and new. The other tranquil, red brick and charming.
Both had fabulous food and strong, liquid energy espresso that I couldn't get enough of. Pin It

An Italian Soirée in the South of France

Saturday night we gathered again, this time to celebrate the cuisine of Italy.
It was supposed to be a Japanese evening, but three of the eight of us don't eat sushi and some of the ingredients for Japanese food are understandably difficult to source in the south of France. As much as we like a bit of a challenge, this is also a night for us to enjoy each other's company, so we opted for an easier cuisine.

Frustratingly, the batteries in my camera up and died shortly after snapping what turned out to be a super blurry shot of the Farro and Chickpea soup that I brought. (I'll post the recipe later this week)
Thankfully a borrowed camera saved the day, so I do have a few photos to share of our fantastic meal.

after the soup came a gratin of Belgian endive, Parmesan, garlic and loads of butter with super garlicky garlic bread - just the way I like it!


then steaming, savory prosciutto, wild mushrooms and herbs in parchment paper and grilled cherry tomatoes

The photo of the main course, Pasticcio, was blurry as well. Merde!

dessert of the most amazing, boozy, orange zest infused tiramisu

We love our World Food evenings! Next time...
South Africa! Pin It

Restaurant Review From Italy

This was a friend's recent dining experience during their travels in Italy. They asked that I post their review so if anyone is heading to Pescara, they will have a wonderful place to eat.
I am happy to oblige!





Magnifico! Modern restaurants try to be a little different, and a lot memorable - Enozioni Wine Bar in Pescara, on the Abruzzo coast of Italy achieves both, and beautifully. The food is exceptional – the beef with onion confit on crushed romano is a delicate delight; the truffled wild mushroom pasta rustic and rich; the duck in Sicilian citrus unusual but splendid; but the triumph is the maialano – tiny ribs of suckling pig in a green peppercorn sauce. The wine list is as long as one might expect in a wine bar, but a lot higher in quality and range; but you needn’t bother. The patron, Gabriele, will provide a different wine for each course; a native of Pescara, he has worked in smart restaurants in Italy and Provence (but is proudest of his own Abruzzo produce). He serves wines that are intelligently suited, and generously poured. Two people can dine in magnificence for around €100, and they should – don’t go near Pescara without visiting
Enozioni!

9 Piazza Dei Martiri Pennesi
65123 Pescara Italy
39 08 54 22 01 74

Comghéin Gleig Pin It

Photos du Jour

The marble floor in the Duomo in Milan was just stunning! Pin It

Upcoming Strike

In sympathy with the Italians, I too will be abstaining from eating pasta on September 13.

Italy is angry. One week from today will be the nation's first ever pasta strike to protest the sharp, 25+ percent rise in the price of their favorite food. The Italians eat an average of 119 pounds of pasta a year and usually eat pasta every day.
Coffee, bread, mozzarella and schoolbooks are also experiencing price increases.
A future coffee strike is being threatened to protest the price of an espresso going from .70 cents to 1€.

Mamma Mia! Pin It

le Weekend

Friends drove over for the weekend, one from Cassis and the other from a village near Florence, bringing with them their charm, cooking skills and Pecorino cheese, wine and succulent, thinly sliced, cured meats from Italy. I made an insalata caprese and we had a perfect Italian feast!

We drove around the region on Saturday, to Caunes-Minervois, to Rieux-Minervois where the unique, heptagonal church of Notre-Dame is located and to taste some wine at a wonderful shop called le Chai Port Minervois on the Canal du Midi at Homps. They cooked lunch (yes, they were the perfect guests) of tomatoes provençal and baron d'agneau followed by a salad, then fresh and aged goat's cheese that we picked up in the market in Rieux. Dessert was apricots from our garden and white peaches. C'était magnifique!
That evening there was a big birthday bash at our friend's house, complete with live music, great wine from the village, dancing and my husband joining the band for a couple of songs, singing in his Barry White-like, smooth, deep voice.

Sunday morning was spent at the kitchen table with coffee and baguette slathered with butter and confiture de fruits rouge, discussing our next trip to see them in Cassis. We haven't been in three years and since they've recently been issued a boat driving license, the plan is to rent one and cruise out to the island of Porquerolles which looks like absolute paradise!
A lazy lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, a trip to le Somail to the Librairie Ancienne and we reluctantly said our goodbyes.

Can't wait for our trip to Cassis in August!

The weekend was full of fabulous photo ops, and I forgot my camera every time we left the house. Merde. Pin It

La Mia Italia

I almost missed out on this one!
Shelley from At Home in Rome will be taking the month of April off to go on her honeymoon so has decided to let others share their stories, pictures and blogs about Italy.
I've added my post from October about Lucca to the event.
Happy honeymoon, Shelley! Pin It

Lucca...

... was stunning.





The most popular form of transportation is the bicycle. They were everywhere and could be rented by the hour or by the day.




The living area of our apartment.

And the kitchen.


Across the street from our apartment was a focaccia bakery with about seven different kinds to choose from. No photos were ever taken as it was always eaten too quickly.
Here is some bread from another bakery with some marinated olives and baked eggplant.


Gelato was everywhere and we took advantage of it!

Two or three espressi a day kept me very happy. Perfect flavor and crema every time.


What a wonderful week!
Seeing our friends from New Orleans was the best part and when you add to that a beautiful city with welcoming people, divine food and amazing scenery, the combination is a recipe for the perfect vacation.


Lucca, I just found out, is known to the French as Lucques, which must be why whenever I told someone in our village where we were going, they looked at me blankly.
Les Lucques is also an olive varietal grown in the Hérault. This olive has a small crescent-shaped stone, thin skin, crunchy flesh and an incredible flavor with tastes of fresh almonds and avocados. Pin It