The Italian Way…
Italy is one of my favorite places in the world.
Even before I visited, I’d listen to my grandmother tell me stories of delicious food, lyrical chatter, and the warmth of the people. Watching her in the kitchen as she prepared a five course feast, I vowed one day to see her country and eat my way through the regions.
And I finally did.
I embarked on a twelve day journey with my mother, grandmother, and fifteen year old niece. I left my kids home with my husband and experienced an Italian adventure. From the crumbling ruins of the Coliseum, to the ashes of Pompei, to the quiet simplicity of Assisi, and the bustling shops of Capri, we experienced the sights and scents and sounds the country had to offer.
And we ate.
Oh, boy did, we eat.
We devoured homemade lasagna in Assisi where the nuns lovingly crafted the dishes all day to serve the in a tiny kitchenette off the magnificent church.
We strolled the crowded streets and ate creamy, rich gelato in bittersweet chocolate and washed it down with frothy cappuccino. We flirted with handsome waiters as we feasted on thin crust pizza with the perfect tang of sauce and homemade mozzarella, sipping red Chianti and tart Limoncello.
Dinners consisted of fresh prawns and crisp calamari and bountiful salad greens with bitter arugula lingering on the tongue.
Desert was fresh pears drizzled with honey, served with chunks of parmesan cheese—beautiful in its simplicity and flavor. Nonni’s bakery in Siena tempted us with almond biscotti with the perfect texture—firm on the outside, chewy on the inside.
Each new city brought a new array of treats to savor. Our trip changed us in many ways, bonding us together in a memory we’d never forget. When I arrived home, I immediately invested in a cappuccino machine, and my niece bought a pasta maker, so we could try and recreate the feeling of real food prepared with a loving hand.
I hope everyone gets a chance to experience a new country and culture; to bring back ideas and recipes and memories that make each of us a bit better.
Be sure to pick up All the Way by Jennifer Probst while it’s on sale for just 99¢!
Stubborn food critic Miranda Storme has reached her limit with infuriating restaurateur Gavin Luciano. Nicknaming her Red was just the tip of the iceberg—and not because her pulse races every time he uses it. She’d rather poke her eye out with a fork than let him know he affects her. Now he’s trying to charm a good review out of her? Last. Straw.
Gavin can have any woman he wants, but he only wants Red. The problem? He’s spent a good amount of time convincing her he’s a horse’s ass. Her words. Risking upsetting the feisty critic further could ruin his family’s business, but sometimes, when you know you’ve met your match, there’s nothing left to do but play dirty and go all the way…
Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again. She makes her home in Upstate New York with the whole crew. Her sons, one 5 and one 7, keep her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean. She writes both sexy and erotic romance. She is published with Gallery for her New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling Marriage to a Billionaire series. Other publishers include Entangled, Decadent,and Red Sage. She has also written a children’s book, Buffy and the Carrot, co-written with her twelve year old niece, along with a short story about a shelter dog, “A Life Worth Living.” All of her books are available at her website or Amazon.
About Author
Leave a Reply