ITALY - why I want to go there!!!

Certain things set Italy apart from the rest of the world. The things I'm most looking forward to - at least culinarywise - are:

1. Fresh pasta and fresh ingredients.
You can count the number of ingredients in a restaurant dish on one hand.

2. Because pasta tastes better when you have a view of ruins (or churches, olive grove, grape vines, the sea...).

3. The excitement you get when standing in front of 50 flavors of gelato and having to pick just one (or two or three). And you can't go wrong.

4. Open air Italian Markets

Fun. Just fun...














But - do as the sign says and "please, do not touch!"

5. Best tasting salumi/salami/prosciutto on the planet

Yum!













6. Local trattorias where you're treated like family by the proud owners and waiters.

I'm hungry just looking at this picture!











7. Bistecca alla Fiorentina, the world renowned T-bone steak from Florence. While I'm not usually a high-fat meat kind of person, I'm going to have to throw caution to the wind and have one of these babies.

The cut is not to be refrigerated beforehand, and must be thick enough to stand vertically on the bone. Barbequed plainly over wood coals, turned only once and cooked for 3 - 5 minutes. You dress it with lemon, olive oil and salt. Yummy. It is, I hear, the ultimate steak.





8. Parmesan Cheese

Parmessan-Reggiano to be more precise. Love it now, and it's supposed to be sublime when consumed in Italy. Can't wait.







9. PIZZA!

10. Melanzane alla parmigiana, thin slices of egg plant (aubergine) topped with a tomato paste and shavings of Parmesan baked in the oven.

So, yes, Eggplant Parmesan (as we hicks call it in the US) is just about my all time favorite meal on Earth. I just cannot wait to taste it in Italy with amazingly fresh ingredients!