Crepes

I love crepes. Whenever we have the good fortune to travel to Europe, I constantly keep an eye out for crepe stands or restaurants. For some reason, there seem to be so many more places that serve crepes there. Are we less aware of their deliciousness? I digress. My cousin, with whom we stayed while she was studying in Paris, visited for a few days during the Christmas holidays this year, and we reminisced yet again about my first crepe experience with her that summer in Paris. It was love at first bite. I created reasons to have one nearly each day. Now I own a crepe pan and can make them whenever I so desire.  I started by making sweet crepes but later branched out in the realm of savory crepes.  Spinach sauteed with onions and mushrooms and a little goat cheese are a flavorful combination.

Pizza in Baltimore's Little Italy

I recently met up with a couple long-time friends for a girl's weekend in Baltimore and Philadelphia.  While exploring the harbor in Baltimore, we had a wonderful pizza in the Little Italy area.  We went to Isabella's and had the Pizza Bianca, which is made with ricotta, feta and mozzarella.  It was incredible - definitely a memorable pizza for me!  I love a brick oven pizza (seriously, I'm convinced it does something magical to the crust), but this was a great mix of cheeses - tangy, sweet and incredibly flavorful.

jambon et fromage

One of my favorite food memories from Paris is grabbing a quick lunch each day in between sites.  If we didn't have crepes, we'd stop at a little cart for a sandwich.  It was typically a single slice of ham and cheese on the most delicious crusty, chewy baguette.  The sandwich plus a Coca-Cola (yes, I know - incredibly American, but sometimes you just needed the sugar and caffeine to get through a full day of museums) made for a delightful lunch.  It was good, inexpensive, and typically included entertainment (people watching in the park).

Yesterday, my husband and I were walking through Trader Joe's to pick up some pasta and salad for lunch, but when I saw a basket of fresh baguettes, we changed plans and decided to recreate those Paris sandwiches.  We allowed a couple modifications to the Paris version and used Black Forest ham and sliced goat cheese.  The sliced goat cheese was hanging in the cheese section just like any other deli-sliced packaged sandwich cheese (cheddar, provolone, etc) but was a nice change.  It became more flavorful as it warmed to room temperature.  The sandwiches turned out really well, and with a side salad, a few chips and a glass of French rosé, we had a memorable lunch in our own kitchen.

Mafiaoza's Part 2

The cheese plate was served with a small cup of honey.  We were so overwhelmed by the cheese cornucopia spread before us that we forgot which cheese the waiter recommended actually pairing with the honey, so we ended up trying it with several, and I don't think any were disappointing.  Our favorite, however, was dipping the Parmigiano Reggiano in the honey.  It was a perfect contrast of smooth, sweet honey with the salty, dry, crumbly Parmesan.

Parmigiano Reggiano is a hard cheese made with skim cow's milk. The production is highly regulated.  The cows must be fed only fresh grass, hay or alfalfa, depending on the season, which creates variability in the flavor of the cheese throughout the year.  It can only be made in four provinces in the region of Emilia-Romagna (Modena, Parma, Reggio Emilia and Mantova) and one province in the region of Lombardy (Mantova).  The recipe has remained largely unchanged since the 12th century.  It takes 160 gallons of milk to make each 85 lb drum and each is aged between 18 and 36 months.

La Reggia

After just one bite of this crumbly cheese at Mafiaoza's, my husband paused and said, "This reminds me of the Pecorino with honey we had at that place in Fiesole. Do you remember it?"  I looked at him silently for a moment before responding, "Do I remember it? Really?  I remember everything about that meal.  It was amazing!  We had the asparagus tart appetizer, I had the tagliatelle with guinea-hen sauce, you had the ravioli with tomato-orange sauce, and we had the Pecorino with honey for dessert.  It's one of my most memorable meals!"  It was the first time I had really considered cheese as a dessert, other than cream cheese.  We savored each bite of the firm, slightly grainy, cheese drizzled with sweet honey.  The pecorino was "di Grotta."  It was a sheep's milk cheese aged around four months in caves and washed with oil.  The restaurant was La Reggia, and we stumbled on it quite by accident.  We had taken the bus to Fiesole, and then climbed a steep incline to the overlook.  We ended up staying quite a while, so transfixed by the view of Florence during daylight, that I decided I wanted to stay long enough to see how the city lights and mountains looked in a night sky.  Therefore, we needed to kill some time, and there's no better way to do that in Italy than with food!  We walked a short ways back down the path and discovered La Reggia.  It was the only restaurant that we saw up where we were, and from inside, we could still look out over Florence to enjoy the changing light.  We both want to return to Fiesole and stay there for a couple days.

climbing to the overlook

Florence from Fiesole

Firenze da Fiesole alla notte

places to go

I've recently been sent a couple sites that make me want to pack a bag and hop in a plane, train or car.

Here are some lovely pictures of cheeses, dairies and fromageries in various countries, including a few in the U.S.

Here is a blog about an experience at a specific London cheese shop.

I want to go.