I adore Italy and it’s beautiful cuisine but after several days of eating Italian, I’m ready for a change of cuisine. That’s the American in me, spoiled by the abundance of foreign foods available. But we Americans aren’t alone, our Australian cousins and British parents also love ethnic foods. We all tend to agree that Mexican, Thai, Chinese and Indian are among our favorites.
We are finally back “home” in Italy after two days of traveling and three days of jet lag. It’s been a whirlwind of getting our cell phones running, updating our Permesso di Sorggiono (Permission to stay in Italy filed at the local commune) and checking on my Citizenship documents. We have eaten the pizza, sipped the cappuccino’s, devoured the Cornetto (breakfast pastries) and slurped the gelatos. We reunited with friends over apperetivo and pasta.
The last night before flying back to Italy after our three month stay in California we enjoyed a family dinner with Jeff’s parents. Family dinners are a favorite pastime on both sides of the family, both mine and Jeff’s. We love gathering around the table over a delicious meal and talking the evening away. My father in law came up with a new recipe to try and us girls got busy in the kitchen to bring it to life.
Carrot Ginger Soup has always been the soup I make when I am aiming to impress! I first sampled this soup 27 years ago when I was still a teenager. I was invited to a “fancy” luncheon at a friends house and I will never forget her star studded menu of Carrot Ginger Soup and Chicken Cordon Bleu.
This recipe I learned from my mother-in-law Lynn, she was the first to introduce us to the Keto Diet about a year ago. Back then I barely understood the concept, but she has persevered and lost a lot of weight on the Keto Diet. This past week we visited them and spent a week eating delicious Keto meals. From a Smoked Rib Dinner with all of the sides, to Beef Brisket, Jalapeño Poppers, Scallops, Hot Wings and much more. We never felt like we were dieting and still gathered around the table each night to nourish our tummies and hearts. It’s what family is all about, good conversation, good card games and enjoying time around the dinner table.
In California it is very common to enjoy all of the many delicious recipes and foods of Mexico. I first ate this soup in my 20’s, it was prepared by a friend who was not of Mexican decent but being from Southern California she always loved a good Taqueria! We were always on the look out for the best nachos or those huge burritos stuffed with carnitas, beans, rice, cilantro, onions and chili.
So looks like you tried the Classic American Turkey Dinner! Now you find yourself with heaps of leftover turkey, but thats part of the fun of making turkey, all of those leftovers! In my American Italian family we always had another night after the Turkey Dinner that we all went back to grandmas house for another night of Turkey dinner. That proves that an Italian can cook an American Turkey dinner because my Italian grandmother always nailed it! Interestingly, Ravioli was always part of the turkey dinner too, right along with the mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing. I guess you can take the Italian out of Italy but you can’t take Italy out of the Italian.
It’s Wednesday night and you’re asking yourself what your going to make for dinner tonight. This is something many of my friends dread, they hate the monotony of cooking night after night. They tell me they like to cook when they have time and are making something special but to think of something every night is daunting.
I am always so impressed when I see a large Paella pan filled with red rice, succulent pink shrimp, black mussels opened up, sausage and chicken, topped with parsley and lemon wedges. There is something so romantic and festive about cooking this large dish over an open fire in a special pan with a large group of friends.
