Flavor of Italy

Flavor of Italy

Food Tours and Vacations in Rome and Throughout Italy

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Things to Do in Rome

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  • This is an Italian pasta rolling pin. It’s a bit more than a meter long (about a yard) and if you put your thumb and index finger together in a circle it’s a little bit wider than that. The pasta rolling pin I’m holding in this first photograph belonged to my mother-in-law and it was handcrafted by someone in her family. It’s probably close to a century old at this stage. In my other hand I’m holding her hand sewn, handmade cover for the rolling pin. I confess that I don’t use it often as I prefer to keep it safely in a closet with my other prized culinary tools. The other two pictures show my modern day, commercially made pasta rolling pin, which is about the same length and width. And this is the rolling pin we used to make Bologna style homemade pasta dough today under the tutelage of the amazing @tinastableitaly in our fabulous culinary get together. Check out today’s story for more pictures of the pasta rolling pin and the pasta we made. #bolognaitaly #bolognafoodporn #bolognagram #pastagram #pastatime #italianfoodphotography #italianfoodstyle #italianfoodie #italianfoodisthebest #italianfoods #flavorofitaly #foodhacks #foodhack #italiancuisine #pastabolognese #pastanight #healthypasta
  • In honor of National Pasta Day tomorrow four of us food aficionados will convene @flavorofitaly for a day of homemade pasta making and regional cooking from our different locations. Keep your eye out for posts and stories from @mangiawithmichele @tinastableitaly @molisecuisine and yours truly. #cookingfromscratch #cookingschool #cookingismypassion #italianfoodporn #italianfoodphotography #italianfoodlover #italianfoodblogger #pastamaking #pastalover #pastaporn #nationalpastaday
  • RADICCHIO RAVIOLI WITH CHESTNUT CREAM, SIZZLED PORK JOWL AND FRIED SAGE When fall rolls around it’s time to make dishes like this one that bring together some of the season’s best ingredients. Since these delicious ravioli can be made in advance and frozen they are a perfect time-saving dish to serve on Thanksgiving and during the holiday season. You can prepare the chestnut cream, pork jowl and sage in about 10 minutes. The ravioli take about 10 minutes to cook, directly from the freezer into the boiling pasta water. This ravioli dish calls for already peeled and cooked chestnuts, but if you prefer to use fresh chestnuts go for it! Bear in mind it will probably double your preparation time. Caciocavallo cheese is a delicious southern Italian stretched curd cheese made from sheep’s or cow’s milk; the first mention of caciocavallo cheese dates back to 500 BC.! Aged provolone cheese is a great alternative to caciocavallo. This recipe was adapted from a La Cucina Italiana recipe. #raviolis #chestnuts #chestnuttree #filledpasta #provolone #provolonecheese #caciocavallo #friedsage #sagegreen #porkporn #porklovers #crispypork #pastaamericana #pastaaddict #pastalovers #pastalover #pastaporn #foodhacks #foodhack #meatlessmonday #meatlessmondays #lacucinaitaliana #food52gram #flavorofitaly #italianfoodporn #italianfoodlover #italianfoodphotography #radicchio #radicchiorosso
  • I don’t know about you but for me a spankin’ red Vespa is just about the snappiest little vehicle I’ve seen zipping around the streets of Rome! I can’t help but love a red Alpha Romeo Spider a bit more, but I sure do love a little red Vespa ❤️ . Vespas first came on the scene in 1946, almost 3/4 of a century ago. Vespa, made by Piaggio, is the Italian name for wasp because of the shape of its body: a thicker rear body with a narrow central body connecting it to the front. Vespa scooters have become an Italian icon. In Rome there are Vespa tours, and the Vespa scooter has also become an art form for many, including a 1962 Salvador Dalì customized Vespa. I don’t have a Vespa myself but I do have a beautiful red Vespa charm on my charm bracelet; check it out in my story today. #vespagram #vespa #vespaclassic #scooters #scooter #vespascooter #vespatour #vespatouring #piaggiovespa #piaggiociao #italianicon #redvespa #italianscooter #romeitaly #visitrome #italiantrip #italianphotographer #italianstyle
  • When I cook my strong suit is flavor and less so beauty, but I do enjoy looking at gorgeous food and strive to improve on this front. When I was recently in the DC area I had so much fun cooking with Laurie from @baltimorehomecook. We made some rockin’ tasty pasta and learned new things from each other. Laurie is a master of beautiful pasta and she showed me some of the gorgeous tools of her trade. Some of her ravioli cutting tools are works of art that you just enjoy looking at and holding, never mind how wonderful they are as culinary tools. Laurie gave me the beautiful brass ravioli cutting tool that I used yesterday. I tend to prefer free-cutting my ravioli rather than cutting them with a mold. This exquisite brass cutting tool added such a touch of beauty to my hand-cut ravioli and I think I might never use anything else! If you haven’t checked out Laurie’s feed then head over right away to @baltimorehomecook. And by the way Laurie sells these pasta cutting tools through her Etsy shop! #raviolis #pastalovers #pastaaddict #pastalover #pastamaking #pastaitaliana #pastaporn #pastalove #pastalovers #italianpasta #pastatools #raviolifattiincasa #cheeseravioli
  • PEPERONCINI We had a hot summer and a very warm fall so we’re just picking the last bits and bobs from our summer garden now, including peperoncini. Peperoncini are hot chili peppers brought from the New World to Italy at the same time as the tomato. At first they were used strung up and hung as an ornament and then sometime in the 1600s they became a key ingredient in Italian cuisine. In 1690 the Neapolitan chef Antonio Latini used peperoncino for the first time in a cookbook recipe. Probably the peperoncino was already used regularly for over a century but not yet by the upper classes. These days the peperoncino is an absolute mainstay in Italian cuisine and is used to provide heat and flavor to hundreds of recipes. I would hazard a guess that the peperoncino is used at least once a day in almost every Italian region. Vegetables are served one of two ways in Italy: steamed or gently boiled and served “all’agro” - with olive oil and lemon juice, or “saltato” - lightly sautéed in hot olive oil with garlic and peperoncino. Many pasta sauces use peperoncino for additional flavor and heat (see recipe in my bio), and in southern Italy, especially Calabria, they are used in everything including desserts, the popular spread ‘Nduja and often eaten raw right off the stem. At the beginning of September the Calabrese town Diamante hosts a wonderful peperoncino festival and you’ll see these beauties strung and hanging almost everywhere throughout the town. When I dry my peperoncini I usually hang them in the kitchen, but this year I’ve picked them and spread them out in this bowl to dry. I placed the bowl in a sunny window sill so for some months I’ll have the pleasure of looking at the peperoncini as they dry. #chilepeppers #italianfoodlover #italianfoodporn #italianfoodphotography #italianfoods #flavorofitaly #hotpeppers #calabriafood #calabria_super_pics #cucinacalabrese #italian #italianfoodie #columbusday #columbusdayweekend #rachaelray #food52grams #foodhacks #foodhack #italianingredients #recipetips #eatplants #eatsmart #eatgreen #cleaneat.
  • If you head north from Washington DC into the Maryland countryside you just might happen upon some delightful and unexpected sites like the beautiful Casselman River Bridge. At the time it was built in 1813 this 80 foot span bridge was the largest stone arch in the country. In 1964 it was designated a National Historic Landmark. #marylandphotography #casselmanbridge #washingtondctrip #marylandrenaissancefestival #marylandblogger #visitmaryland #GrantsvilleMaryland #flavorofitaly #visitmaryland #travelusa #travelusa🇺🇸 #americanbridges🇺🇸 #visitusa #visitusaparks #marylandcountryside #travelphotography📷 #travelphotographyoftheday

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