Views of Venice

I’m finally back from a two-and-a-half-week family vacation with my husband, parents, brother, and sister-in-law. We ate our way through Venice, Bologna, and Paris. We slept little, ate and drank well, and smoked two packs a day second hand. It sure feels good to be home.


Venice isn’t exactly the dreamy, romantic place I’d imagined. It’s impossible to shake the feeling that you’re in the world’s biggest theme park. Everything is so surreal, and there are throngs of tourists everywhere. It made me flashback to going to Epcot Center as a kid. Sweeping views of the Grand Canal are included with admission.


Gondola rides cost extra.


But the food is for real.

The Rialto Market, possibly the best market I’ve ever experienced, is pure sensory overload…A rainbow of fruits and vegetables.


Glorious tender lettuces.


Striking radicchio tardivo of Treviso.


Piles of purple carciofi of Sant’Erasmo.


(Coincidentally, I’d just read about these two seasonal regional treasures in the May issue of La Cucina Italiana on the plane trip over!) Neatly pared artichokes ready to cook.


Bouquets of just-picked squash blossoms.


Crates and crates of strawberries on the banks of the Grand Canal.


Tiny fragoline—that’s wild strawberries to me and you—bursting with flavor.


Then there’s the seafood from the lagoon…


Fish of every color and shape.


Endless varieties gleaming silver.


Octopuses with tentacles folded.


Ink-stained cuttlefish and also squid, tiny and large.


Every manner of crustacean from crab…


To lobster…


To these unusual mantis shrimp.


(Which by the way, I sought out in a restaurant only to be disappointed by their overly delicate texture and flavor.) And everywhere, fishmongers busily tending to the catch. Expertly filleting.


Making sure everything glistens.


Wrapping it up for eager customers.


Aside from the expansive market, dozens of gourmet shops, delicatessens, butcher shops, and bakeries lined the streets, offering up delicacies of the region. The window display of Drogheria Mascari lured us in more than once to buy spices, dried fruit, and wine.


We procured dry goods, cheeses, and different types of prosciutto from the various delis.


The Prosciutto Crudo di Sauris and Pancetta Coppata were memorably delicious. Of the variety of cheeses we tasted, a mild young asiago was my favorite.


We also tried one cheese—possibly Fontina Valdostana, but I’m not sure—so stinky that even my cheese-loving husband couldn’t bear it…for shame. The butcher shops tempted us with salamis every bit as delicious as French saucisson sec. In fact, the best salami of the entire trip was this salamino cacciatore, pleasantly spicy from dried red chile.


Though we didn’t share a common language, the friendly butcher managed to explain that it was an artisan sausage, not an industrial product.


Heart-shaped salamis definitely upped Venice’s romance factor.


All of the butcher shops were staffed by men except for one.


I had a crush on the lady butcher, but don’t worry, my husband knew. And speaking of butcher shops, there was one devoted exclusively to horse meat, which greatly pained my equestrian sister-in-law and therefore endlessly amused the rest of us. Breakfast meant a trip to a bakery for jam-filled croissants. I would seize the opportunity to pick out cookies or other sweets for later.


It seems we tried every gelato shop in town at least three times.


We let ourselves get carried away shopping because we were staying in an apartment with a kitchen. We stocked up on plump squid.


And shucked scallops with their roe.


And the sweetest scampi.


We selected several fillets of John Dory since it seemed to be the most popular fish that day. All the seafood was prepared on a six-inch cutting board with a three-inch pocket knife and sautéed in turn with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, peperoncino, lemon, and parsley. White asparagus (in case you’ve never had white asparagus, it tastes exactly like regular asparagus minus the green…and by green, I mean chlorophyll) was blanched.


Then served with a somewhat soupy lemon mayonnaise brought barely together with a fork in a shallow soup bowl. We tossed together a lush salad with greens and the succulent leaves of that brilliant radicchio.


Oh, and there was al dente spaghetti lunghi also with olive oil, garlic, and peperoncino and a fine grating of Parmegiano. A feast fit for a king.

Finding our kitchen woefully under-equipped, the next night we downsized to just scallops and scampi, switched to regular spaghetti because one member of our party was intimidated by the long kind, sautéed blossom-on baby zucchini with the usual flavorings, and brought in from a bakery schiacciata salata, a sort of oil-rich flatbread with an addictively crisp crust and chewy crumb.


And both nights, there was much wine. The surest way to experience a place as the locals do is to shop and cook like them.

The next best way to experience a place is to do your laundry there.


We felt very Venetian drying our laundry on a clothesline outside…Really, does no one in Venice own a dryer? I mean, it poured most of the time we were there.

When we weren’t cooking or self-catering, as the travel books like to call it, we dined out. It seems like every other door is a charming café.


Or an inviting restaurant.


We sampled the seafood, with the sarde in saor, Venetian-style sardines in an oniony sweet and sour sauce, getting mixed reviews from the family. Fun for all was grazing on chiccetti, little appetizers similar to tapas, and washing them down with sparkling Lambrusco. The best chiccetti were at the popular Cantina do Mori.


Hunger came again after a long vaporetto ride to the island of Burano, famous for its handmade lace and brightly-colored fishermen’s houses.


We lunched within the art-covered walls of Trattoria da Romano.


Sublime fish risotto, spaghetti with squid ink, gnocchi with creamy crab sauce, spaghetti Bolognese, fritto misto, and grilled sardines. Another crowded vaporetto ride delivered us to Murano, where I acquired a small millefiori bowl to use as a salt cellar.

The delicious and watery world of colorful Venice.


By the end of our visit there was so much rain that the water lapped over the banks of the Grand Canal. The canals were full and so were we.


Truth be told, I was never a great fan of Italian food before, probably because I’d only known it through Italian-American restaurants, cookbooks, and cooking shows. But experiencing the real thing for these few short days in Venice moved me. Now I have a new understanding of what is truly fresh seafood, what is truly al dente pasta, what is truly perfect risotto. Venice has given me a whole new respect for real Italian food.


Next up: Bites of Bologna.

A Gift for Mother's Day

I had planned to get my mom an aebleskiver pan for Mother’s Day. I’d been thinking about it for a few months, ever since she mentioned she’d like to have one. I take note when the people I love mention what’s on their wish list—I pride myself in being a good gift giver. An aebleskiver pan was the perfect gift idea for Mom, my little brother agreed. I knew she would never get one for herself.

But Mom went and got herself an aebleskiver pan. Foiled by my own mother. I was so set on getting her this aebleskiver pan that I had no back-up plan.

But yesterday Mom asked for a mac and cheese recipe…So, Mom, here's your Mother’s Day gift.


I developed this recipe just for you, and I really hope you like it. I wish I could be there in person to make this for you on Mother’s Day. I’d serve it to you with a big green salad on the side because I know that’s how you’d like it. And I’d even do the dishes.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom, I love you!

And happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there!

Macaroni & Cheese with Tomatoes & Herbes de Provence
Printable Recipe

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, diced, plus more for greasing the baking dishes
¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
1 ounce grated Parmegiano-Reggiano
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 quart milk
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/8 teaspoon piment d'Espelette
12 ounces shredded medium cheddar
4 ounces shredded provolone
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound short tubular pasta, such as macaroni, penne, or rigatoni
12 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter 6 individual baking dishes. Toss together the breadcrumbs and oil in a medium bowl, making sure that the breadcrumbs are evenly coated. Stir in the Herbes de Provence and Parmegiano.

Heat the butter in a large, heavy pot over medium heat until it melts, bubbles, and the foam subsides. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it begins to smell toasty. Whisk in the milk, garlic, and piment d'Espelette. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, or until thick. Remove from the heat, stir in the cheddar and provolone, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water according to the package directions. Drain the pasta when it is al dente. Immediately add the pasta to the cheese sauce and toss to combine. Divide among the baking dishes. Divide the tomatoes among the baking dishes, arranging them evenly over the macaroni and cheese. Sprinkle evenly with the breadcrumb mixture. Arrange the baking dishes on a baking tray and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling around the edges. If the breadcrumb topping is still pale, broil for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Serves 6. The piment d'Espelette, a Basque chile powder, may be replaced with a pinch of cayenne pepper. Don’t bake the mac and cheese too long—overcooked cheese sauce becomes grainy. May be prepared a day or two in advance and kept covered with aluminum foil in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature and bake just before serving.

Second Blogiversary and Mint Chocolate Pot de Crème

The truth is I started this thing on a whim. In the middle of one sleepless night. Two years and nearly 175 original recipes later, I’m still here. (To be precise, this Mint Chocolate Pot de Crème is recipe number 174, but who’s counting?) I’ve even surprised myself. The best part is the sharing and the interaction with you, dear reader. It truly warms my heart to hear when you give one of my recipes a try—it makes me feel as though I’ve been invited to your dinner table. My hope is that this little blog of mine can be a source of inspiration and do its part to help you become a more confident cook.

Of course, a blogiversary celebration calls for chocolate!


I recently realized that my husband is wild about the combination of mint and chocolate (funny how you can live with someone for nearly ten years and still have so much more to learn about them!), so I flavored the classic French dessert with mint.

Mint Chocolate Pot de Crème
Printable Recipe

1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups milk
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped or scant 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
Pinch kosher salt
½ teaspoon peppermint extract

Preheat the oven to 300˚F. Combine the cream and milk in a small saucepan and heat to a simmer. Place the chocolate into a medium bowl, add the hot cream mixture, and whisk until smooth. Whisk together the eggs, yolks, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Continue whisking while adding the hot cream mixture in a thin stream. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Stir in the peppermint extract and skim off any foam from the surface. Divide the mixture among 8 ramekins and place them into a roasting pan. Add enough hot water to the roasting pan to come most of the way up the sides of the ramekins and bake for 26 to 28 minutes, or until just set. Remove from the water bath and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours, or until firm.

Serves 8. Hubby loves the candy-like flavor of peppermint extract, but you can use fresh mint to infuse the cream instead. You can tell that the pot de crème are done when they jiggle like gelatin. They may be baked a day or two in advance and kept covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream, if desired. For plain chocolate pot de crème, substitute vanilla extract for the peppermint extract.

Salsa Series: Pico de Gallo

Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, this is the fifth post in a series on salsas.

Salsa isn’t just for corn chips any more. This was my sudden mind-blowing, earth-shattering realization. It came way back during my college days after a working interview at one very famous Southwestern restaurant. They fed me dinner—a grilled tenderloin steak smothered in a smokey salsa—in exchange for my night’s work. I had only ever eaten steak plain, and my life would never be the same. I got the job. But more importantly, I opened my eyes to the possibilities of salsa.

Salsas, whether they’re made from chiles, tomatoes, tomatillos, avocados, or fruit, are an integral part of Mexican and Southwestern cuisines. They vary from mild to medium to spicy, and they can be served hot, at room temperature, or cold. Salsas can function as either dip or sauce (in fact, salsa is Spanish for sauce), and they are the perfect accompaniment to everything from eggs to tacos to rice and beans. They can transform a simple grilled steak, pork chop, chicken breast, fish fillet, or even veggie into a spectacular meal. It’s no wonder that salsa has overtaken ketchup as the most popular condiment in the U.S.

But while I’m singing the praises of salsa, I want to make clear that I mean homemade, from-scratch salsa. Homemade salsa is vibrant and fresh and delicious and healthy, and it can perk up anything you put it on. (In comparison, the store-bought stuff is appallingly expensive and completely tasteless.) And if there’s a batch in the fridge, it’s sure to inspire many amazing meals.


Pico de Gallo
Printable Recipe

4 Roma tomatoes, diced
½ small yellow onion, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
¼ cup minced cilantro
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Kosher salt

Toss together the tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, cilantro, and lime juice in a medium bowl and season to taste with salt.

Makes a generous 2 cups. A fresh, uncooked salsa also known as salsa fresca. Heat level: mild, depending on the jalapenos. If you like it hotter, use more jalapenos or substitute Serranos. The riper the tomatoes, the better. This ubiquitous salsa is good with everything from tortilla chips to tacos, fajitas, and quesadillas to grilled meat and seafood, and it adds zest to black beans, Mexican Rice, egg dishes, and more. Pico de Gallo is best a couple of hours after it’s made, once the flavors have had time to mingle. Keeps for a day or two tightly sealed in the refrigerator. Serve at room temperature.

More salsa recipes are available here.

Now, if you’re going to have great homemade salsa, you probably want some of this Guacamole to go with it.