Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Herein lie the reasons she gained two pounds on vacation

It's not my fault the food is so good in Italy.
I mean, mamma mia, who can you resist all these delectable dishes?
A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Consequently, this girl gained two pounds on her trip. It's back to the gym in a big way this month.
Here are some random photos from my many food adventures during my recent trip to Italy. I've got many others, but I'm saving a few for later posts, with recipes.




Ortisei - Pappardelle with a creamy porcini sauce. It's not the season for porcini so where did they get these delicious morsels of fresh mushrooms? Of course the pasta was homemade and sensational.




Ortisei - Filet of beef with green and red peppercorns, served with potato galettes.











Val di Siusi - Apple strudel - our mid-afternoon slope-side break. They serve two different kinds - one is the traditional kind that you probably know, made with paper-thin pastry. The other kind, pictured here - and my favorite - is made with a more cakey-dough. I am planning to hunt down a recipe and post it later.
















Venice - Lots of great cheeses to savor - including a new one for me called Casatella, made in the Veneto region. It's very white, creamy and mild like a triple-creme brie, but runnier.












Padova - No sanitized, unidentifiable chicken pieces for sale here. You know what you're getting when you buy poultry here, complete with head and feet.



Padova - Polenta reigns supreme here, and in this case it's served with a veal stew.

Padova - Gratineed crepes filled with squash and porcini mushrooms.




Padova - Fried chiacchiere for Carnevale, all wrapped up from the pasticcieria.





Padova - Both the white and long red variety of radicchio are specialties of the area, and are grown commercially in nearby Treviso.




Padova - Baked custard topped with caramel as rich and thick as a chocolate sauce.




Soragna - Parmigiano Reggiano - The king of cheeses. I'll be writing a separate post about this later.





Castell'Arquato - Sbrisolona - a crunchy tart that resembles a rich, almondy shortbread.


Vigolo Marchese - Tortelli, a specialty of the area around Piacenza. They're filled with spinach, ricotta and parmesan cheese, and are sealed shut in the shape of a little tail. Sometimes they're twisted at both ends like a salt-water taffy candy. Traditionally served with butter and cheese.




Milan - Our friend Valerio, who is a BIG Nutella lover. We'll have to get him to participate in World Nutella Day next year.











Padova
- Whole menus of nothing but hot chocolate - Page after page of hot chocolate with chestnuts, with cinnamon, with berries, with pistachio, etc. etc.

10 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, the food looks incredible! I probably would have gained more than 2 lbs if I was there :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. OMGoodness!!! Just 2 lb.s?? That would have been after an hour for me! Everything looks amazing, what a trip! Glad to have you back so you can hunt down that apple cake recipe. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow!!! And you only gained 2 pounds?!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am doing a post on blogging weight gain, you had a good excuse.
    Just the strudel is making me salivate, let alone all the other photos.

    2 lbs is nothing.
    All worth it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Every bit of this looks work gaining 2 lbs for! I would have gained much, much more, so you should be quite proud!

    Love your blog, so glad I stumbled across it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. All delicious photos! :-)

    I would ahve eaten the Pappardelle with a creamy porcini sauce every day! LOVE that!

    Welcome back!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Everythjing looks so delicious. If you're anything like me the best vacations are remembered with great food.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm getting fatter with each photo ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very proud to be testimonial for Nutella on your blog!
    I'll do my best to be at the party next year. Thank you Linda.
    Ciao

    ReplyDelete
  10. It seems you had a very delicious experience. Italy is the right place for it - that's for sure!

    ReplyDelete