Re-Creating Dishes From a Trip!

We all already know that my trip to Europe changed my life; I don't need to repeat that ad nauseum. I'm a bit of a foodie, I don't deny it. And certain things throughout my trip to Italy - some new discoveries and some old favorites - really hit me, hit me so hard that I felt the need to come back here and recreate them. Obviously, nothing can change the way these things tasted while there, made by the people who know what they're doing. But here are some of the things I've tried to recreate and how I've tried to do it.

I've tried to recreate that perfect Roman pizza (see picture, click for full-size). I even bought a pizza stone to even out the crust. I buy pizza dough at Trader Joe's and also their basic canned tomato sauce - which even got my mom's stamp of approval (she makes her own from scratch). But it came out better with their imported Italian Tomato Sauce in a box. Really yummy authentic taste. Whenever we made pizza growing up, we'd put on sharp cheddar and plenty of parmesan or romano. But no. The Italians make their margherita pizza more simply. Great crust, great sauce, and great - whole milk I've discovered - mozzarella cheese, all in the perfect balance. Of course, part of what makes it so amazing is that it's cooked so quickly and so hot in a wood-burning oven. But I turn my oven up to 500 and get pretty darn close. And when I pull it from the oven, take a bite and close my eyes, I almost feel like I am sitting in Rome on that last glorious night, sitting in the teeny Piazza del Fico at a red and white checked tablecloth, the way we all picture Italy to be. Not perfect, but not bad either.

Fettunta - the most classic pure wonderful thing possible - is down right easy, if you have the right (and by right, I mean quality) ingredients. I take lovely Ciabatta or other Italian bread, toast it up, scrape a garlic clove across the hot toasted edges of the bread, drizzle some of my precious unfiltered Italian extra virgin olive oil, and savor each delicious morsel. This time when I close my eyes, I'm sitting in the little Tuscan Osteria, with its brick arches, wooden beams, candlelit tables...

I was perusing the frozen aisle at Trader Joe's a couple months ago and saw frozen artichoke hearts, and the light bulb went off. I bought them, defrosted and patted dry, and deep fried them. They bloomed and crisped.... just like those little shavings of artichoke hearts we had in the tapas bars in Barcelona. One bite and I am transported back to that bustling bar with its white walls and chalkboard wine list.

These are just a few of the things i've tried to recreate. others include that Barcelona hot chocolate (melt top quality dark chocolate with some milk and a teeny bit of rice flour, whisk til it boils, take off heat and whisk til it thickens), Belgian Frites (thick-cut fries made from russet potatoes - fried once at a low temp to cook the inside, taken out to cool, then fried again at a high temp to crisp the outside), and bucatini all'amatriciana (a Roman dish using bucatini pasta, tomato sauce with a little bit of spice and onion, mixed with bacon and topped with pecorino romano)..... I haven't been quite as successful making these dishes as with the ones I described above. but still, not bad. And I'll keep trying.

It may not be the same setting or the same fresh quality ingredients or as beautiful, but they're almost as tasty and they are great "living" reminders of my memorable trip. So, give it a shot. Try to recreate that wonderful dish you had. Scour the net for recipes, experiment, have fun with it!