The last Essi

These S-shaped cookies are a specialty from the island of Burano in Venice, Italy. Yep, besides the colorful houses and intricate lace, the island is famous for these delicious, crunchy vanilla cookies with a hint of lemon (also called Bussolai Buranei). Mama and I became addicted to these delightful cookies some years ago. They’re perfect at…

Homemade granola debut

Mama and I baked homemade granola together this afternoon, and it was so good that we can’t stop eating it! Mama chose it for dinner and I ate some for dessert. We followed a recipe from one of Mama’s besties, More Diane, who also sent us a bag of her yummy granola. Flavored with cinnamon…

Roasted sweet trio

We roasted this colorful trio of sweet potatoes for dinner and it was delicious! Mama and I have long been obsessed with Japanese white sweet potatoes. On the recommendation of the produce manager at our local grocer, we tried adding a white sweet potato, a yam, and a yellow onion to the mix. Mama and I…

Pear cake experiment

Mama and I fell madly in love with a pear and chocolate cake when we were in Venice six years ago. Sadly, the restaurant no longer even makes it. So I did some recipe researching when we got home, and I was thrilled to find a Smitten Kitchen recipe for Bittersweet Chocolate and Pear Cake!…

Following Feed Phil’s footsteps and more

Mama and I started off the day with lunch of cicchetti, or small bites, from a wonderful and tiny place called All’Arco, which we learned about from watching Netflix’s “Somebody Feed Phil.” The food was incredibly innovative and fresh, and we enjoyed getting to meet Mateo, who was introduced in the show. Then as Mama…

Pumpkin ravioli with Moscato D’Asti

After yesterday’s birthday adventures through the rain, we were wiped out and glad that we’d set time aside for rest today. With our fridge stocked with leftover spezzatino, we could stay home during the day. But this evening, Mama and I were hungry and couldn’t get out of our heads the thought that Jonny just…

Walking (and eating) through Venice

Mama and I had a lovely day in Venice, on our own little, self-planned walking food tour. First, we stopped for cafe lattes and pastries at Rosa Salva. We sat at one of the outside tables, looking onto the Campo Santissimi Giovanni e Paolo. We enjoyed watching the people parading past us nearly as much…