Adventures of an Italian Food Lover: The Round Up

I asked Ivonne about the genesis of her food blog's name, "Cream Puffs in Venice," and her dreamy description of her inspiration -- a book -- conjured up such incredible visions of the power of food in relationships and in memory that when I read through Faith Heller Willinger's new cookbook, "Adventures of an Italian Food Lover," I couldn't help but to wonder how others might be inspired by sharing meals with friends and family.  So I grabbed Ivonne and said, "Let's have a food blog event and let's ask bloggers to share stories about the meals they made and shared!"

We were utterly delighted and awed by the wonderful posts that came in for our Adventures of An Italian Food Lover event. 

Here's one of the Round Ups -- find the other at Cream Puffs in Venice.   

Sherri at Braude's Bites met Geneve, on a serendipitous flight to Sydney.  Geneve introduced her to the joys of blogging.  Now these two friends share a lovely Sunday meal with a plate of Scquacquacio di Mare...

 

Barbara at Winos and Foodies reminisces about a lost friend..a bittersweet love story in oh so many ways, over the sweetness of Zia's Tiramisu

 

Like Faith, Chubby Hubby and his beautiful wife S. were inspired by their friendship with a chef and they share their take on his recipe for Laksa Fisherman's Pie...

Mary, aka Breadchick at The Sour Dough and her friends Weedhopper and Wife of Weedhopper (seriously, you gotta go learn more about this interesting duo) each pick a recipe to make and share, including this gorgeous Chickpea Puree with Shrimp...

Tanna at My Kitchen in Half Cups has packed this Etruscan Grape Tart (you should see a picture of the baked version!) in a basket for an overnight adventure with her friend Gorn.  Where did you end up going Tanna?

 

Foodbeam's Fanny talks about her great grandfather Tranquillo  for whom food and wine  were life, love and raison d'etre.  Fanny riffs on one of Faith's recipes to produce a Pesche al vino con vanilla, panna and sablé breton

Stephanie dispenses happiness from her kitchen (I know -- I've had the chance to visit that kitchen!) and tells us about Erin, the sister she chose for herself at age four, and for whom she would make a dinner including this Leek & Sausage Orzotto ...

Jennifer Jeffrey follows in Faith's culinary booksteps and shares with us the tale of her first trip to Venice.

And Nicole has the final (and some very kind) word(s) for us at Baking Bites.

To our friends and participants: thank you for sharing your stories with us!

Update:   

Oh my FREAKING HEAVENS.  I had these beautiful posts written up and due to some HTML coding gone mad, they got buried and never popped up in the post.  I've only just now discovered the error! 

RUN RUN RUN, look at this beautiful posts

Tartlette  made Amaretti -- inspired by the memory of first time she had them at a restaurant whose name is now long-forgotten, but which experience still resonates

 

  More deliciousness!  The indefatigable Béa at La Tartine Gourmand makes this gorgeous walnut cake -- which makes her think about picking fresh walnuts with her mother, and  about life as an expatriate...

Comments

[Tanna]

We checked out airports for him to try flying again. Enjoyed our dinner on the hotel balcony overlooking a wide Texas field. Simple but perfect for married & best friends for over 40 years who still have lots to talk about.
Thanks for a wonderful round up. I really enjoyed participating in this one! Thanks for inviting me.

[Jennifer Jeffrey]

Thanks for organizing this, Cathy! It's fun to read everyone's posts.

[breadchick]

Thanks so much for asking me to participate. I had a blast (and so did Weedhopper and Wife of Weedhopper).

[barbara]

Thanks for hosting this Cath and asking me to be a part of it. I've read all the stories and enjoyed all the wonderful memories.

[tami]

Cath-

What a great event you and Yvonne hosted! I only wish I had seen it earlier and had had the time to participate. Both of you did wonderful jobs hosting and recapping. Thanks so much - everything looks delicious...and with a wonderful story to match :)

- tami

[Ivonne]

What a turnout indeed, Cath! Thanks again for sharing this book with me!

[cath]

Tanna -- I'm looking forward to what you've just described...40 years -- how perfect...

Jennifer, thanks so much for partying with us! :-)

Breadchick! I'm so glad you all had a great time...we were so happy you shared your story with us!

Barbara -- your post still leaves me breathless. Thanks so much.

Tami -- oh man these things are so fun -- can you join next time?

Ivonne -- you are an incredible co-host and can't thank you enough...I'm not worthy! 'm not worthy!