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.