Octopus Carpaccio

When we first arrived in Italy we were invited to a young couples house for dinner in San Felice, by the sea. The husband lives to dive, surf and fish in the ocean and he had caught an octopus and it was featured on the menus that night. It was strange for us to see an octopus being cooked with its strange suction cup lined tentacles and bulbous head. It was even stranger to eat one. But his octopus salad was fresh from the sea and served in a cold salad with celery, lemon and parsley. My husband who is not usually a seafood guy, absolutely loved it and dove right in. You can read the story of dinner that night on my article “Dinner for Six”.

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The Hot Spring Island of Ischia

Poseidon Hot Springs in the Island of Ischia, Italy

This story of our visit to Ischia is a good example of the frustration, joy, exhaustion, exhilaration, disappointment and beauty that is the life of a budget traveler. Don’t get me wrong, I’m too old to be a “backpacker” traveling through Europe staying in Hostels.

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Roman Style Artichokes

Roman Style Artichokes (Carciofi alla Romano)

(Carciofi Alla Romana)

The most common way I have eaten artichokes in Italy is the “Roman Style”. This is reasonable since I am living in the general area of Rome and all cuisine in my area is influenced in the Roman Kitchen . Roman Artichokes are trimmed of all tough parts, with most of the Artichoke discarded. Each leaf is snapped off in such a way that the tough fiberous parts are removed.

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French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup Gratinéed

(with Keto, Vegetarian & Gluten free Versions)

French Onion Soup Gratinéed
French Onion Soup Gratinéed

Nothing warms the body like a steaming bowl of soup! We have been enjoying this French Onion Soup for years! Onion soups date back to ancient times and have always been a staple because onions are cheap and plentiful and you can always find one around even if you have nothing else! The French made this awesome by making it “gratinéed” this means with crusty bread and bubbling melted cheese on top!

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Budapest in December

Budapest in December

Recently we were with some friends talking about places we would like to see in Europe and we all agreed that we would like to visit Budapest. I had heard from other friends that it was a beautiful underrated European City with amazing buildings and low prices. So a little research on the internet and the next thing we knew we had cheap tickets booked on Ryanair and an Airbnb rented for four days and three nights.

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The Amalfi Coast and the Path of the Gods

Path of the gods Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast is the stretch of rugged cliff coastline that stretches between Positano and the town of Amalfi. This stretch of coast is called the Amalfi Coast, not to be confused with the town of Amalfi at the end. The towns of Positano and Amalfi famously cling to the seaside cliffs tumbling down to the sea. These vertical cities create the most dramatic visual effects that have made them popular tourist destinations with five million people visiting each year. This makes them beautifully crowded and frustrating, just like Italy itself.

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Learning Pasta Making the Italian Way

Ravioli

My American Italian family has been making Ravioli as a tradition for as long as I can remember. As I child my grandparents would come over one day in the winter or fall and we would make ravioli together. I have one particularly good memory of my Grandfather picking me up from High School on “Ravioli Making Day”. He arrived in the front of the school on his motorcycle with a side car. I happily strapped on the helmet and climbed inside the side car and then drove off. I’m quite sure this elevated my “cool” status to unprecedented levels, at least in my mind. I mean, who has a grandpa as cool as that?!?

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