​Ciao a tutti! As many of you Instagram diehards might already know, I was lucky enough to be invited to The Grand Blogger Dinner in Milan last Friday night, the inaugural event hosted by Mr. Experience Creators, a PR and event company based in Amsterdam. This was their third event after Berlin and Amsterdam, with another three up-and-coming in other cool-kid European cities. The event was held at the ultra-trendy NHOW HOTEL in the center of Milan and featured 39 hand-picked bloggers from all over the city, plus...yours truly! The evening began with me arriving in typical Canadian fashion, 30 minutes before the 6pm start time. I was ecstatic to have arrived at all, having never driven in Milan before and certainly never even having entertained the idea of driving right into the heart of the city at rush hour on a Friday evening. When I parked the car with minimal scratches and minimal “multe” (fines), I had to sit for a few minutes to calm my heart that was rammering against my chest, high on adrenaline and espresso. The dress code was “Indian Summer” and I had to wear my interpretation of it to work since I would have no opportunity to change beforehand. I was interested to see how the other milanesi bloggers would be dressed and all I can say is that there was a lot of black with accents of colors. A few of the fashion bloggers opted for the very hot-right-now turban that just a few days before had caused, and is still causing, a stir in the fashion world thanks to their inclusion in the Marc Jacobs show. I applaude them for taking risks. I wanted to wear flowers on my head but balked at being too "last season" or too "Coachella" and in fact, maybe I was right because the only headgear I spotted was the notorious head wrap.

​Upon arrival, the bloggers were treated to what might have seemed like champagne at first sight, but was actually a Poretti beer. I drank my share rather enthusiastically much to the bemusement of the Dutch organizers and the rest of the women who might have preferred champagne. Most of the conversation and exchanging of account names and blog names took place in Italian and I was more than excited to flex some linguistic muscle. Once stomachs started rumbling, we were escorted into a delightfully-decorated candlelit dining area that looked like something off of Pinterest. Seats were assigned and written in golden cursive, my card bearing only a first name, “Jasmine”…I felt as significant and special as Cher. The flower arrangements towered over our heads, cake-like layers of every white flower you can imagine, flanked on either side with candles ready to burn the midnight oil. I was starving. 

The dinner proceeded thanks to a number of sponsors and featured products and brands, before each dish was presented, the brand’s chef (including high rollers like Chef Giancarlo Morelli, pictured above) would make an appearance to give us the backstory on his or her use of the product. Five courses later, I headed to the bathroom to unzip the top of my skirt and sneakily hide the evidence under my top. An interesting touch was that each dish was accompanied by a specifically-chosen Poretti beer rather than wine and I kept thinking that my husband would have been in heaven!
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This blogger dinner was my first event in Milan and it’s safe to say that the organization and execution of it all just blew me away. Mr. Experience Creators hosted a top-notch event that let a variety of bloggers rub shoulders in an elegant and refined atmosphere that felt neither stuffy or snobby. I expected to feel like a fish out of water in such a swanky venue in the world's most fashionable capital city but I felt completely at ease. They also sent us home with the biggest swag bag seen this side of Hollywood, packed full with fresh pasta from Giovanni Rana and many other brand products as you can see in the photographs below. Here’s hoping to be invited back next year! ​

This post has been a long time coming which I apologize for, but in all the havoc the weeks leading up to the wedding, entertaining out-of-town guests, and then jetting off on our African honeymoon, I had absolutely zero free time to write about the latest and greatest food (well, beer) tour that I went on. This is the second of the official Milan Food Tours that I've taken, the first you can read about here: The Absolute Best Tour You Can Take in Milan: MILAN FOOD TOUR.

So I had the brilliant idea of doing the Beers and Bites Tour with all my Canadian friends who had arrived the weekend before the wedding in Milan, I thought it would be the perfect low-key pseudo-bachelorette/welcome to Italy shindig, and I did I ever hit the nail on the head! We ended having a private tour, in the sense that there was no one else except my girlfriends and I that had signed-up. This was ideal for us, but I can definitely say a shame for everyone else. The Beers and Bites option is new and hasn't quite got up to speed in popularity with the traditional food tour but it should not be overlooked. I think it's a fantastic way to spend a non-traditional evening in Milan if you're not overly familiar with the city. It's essentially a great way to get a buzz and have someone to hold your hand, guiding you through the maze of Italy's up-and-coming craft beer scene (while also supervising you so no one ends up in the canal from one too many!). 

The tour starts off as all tours do, with a meet and greet with the guide and as you'll see in the first photo above, the girls were all stoked about ours. I feel terrible, but I've completely drawn a blank on his name during the moment of writing this. I really want to say that it was Marcello or Luca, but then again, I think every Italian man is named Marcello thanks to the million times I've watched "Under the Tuscan Sun". Anyways, names aside, ours was STELLAR. He did the tour in English, naturally, and just had a wonderfully laid-back nature about him. He wasn't overly oppressive like some guides can be, nor annoyed or condescending when we asked for the umpteenth selfie or photo of the evening or when we asked a hundred non-beer-related questions. My friends visiting from Canada commented on this afterwards and particularly appreciated the fact that he was conscious of letting us girls catch-up with each other during the tour.  

The photos above are from the first stop where the brewing company was named "Minchia"- want to know the meaning of that? Take the tour to find out! I'm not going to describe in detail each beer or bite, also because being on the smaller side, I'm not sure I can even remember past beer #3 which is always an excellent indicator of how much fun I had. I should mention that what's great about doing a beer tour in any European city like Milan is that you can take your beer with you as you wander around, so it's not that you're required to throw back an entire beer in a manner of minutes each time. I think there's no beating a warm summer day and an ice cold beer in hand while you take in the sights and sounds of one of Italy's most underrated cities. I say this because every time I take a Milan Food Tour, I find myself enjoying Milan more and more. Your guide will weave you in and out of nooks and crannies that you'd never find on your own and that's the beauty of doing these tours. 

I'm not a beer expert by any means, but I'm definitely a food expert. I mean, eating expert. And the "bites" on this tour were beyond expectations. My favourite was the little cone of seafood (below) we each got to nibble on as we perused the crowds along Darsena. The fish came from Milan's seafood market, often said to be the best in Europe, it supplies some of the biggest names and Michelin-starred restaurants across the unofficial capital of finery. 

The tour lasted from 5pm until past sundown, to be honest, we all lost track of the time. Our guide was ever so kind and at the end of it, even called around to his favourite Milan restaurants to get us a table. I'm consistently impressed by the hospitality shown by the Milan Food Tour hosts and this was just a small gesture that really translates into much more for anyone visiting the city, whether it's your first or fiftieth time. Another plus of the Beer and Bites Tour is that it's a nice combination of walking and the occasional sit-down, it's not overly heavy in history-book facts, which I prefer. It's really, truly how a beer tour should be: laid-back, informal, and loads of fun. Even my girlfriends who don't like beer, loved this tour. I'll sign-off now and leave a smattering of photos. Go to the website by clicking on the hyperlink you have any specific questions about the or the . Cin cin! 

We just got back from a day in Rome yesterday. I say “day” because we left Bergamo Sunday morning, arrived in Rome for noon and left promptly 24 hours later. To say it was a whirlwind trip doesn't do it justice. I would also love to say that the motive for the trip was food as is most things I do in this life, but unfortunately that wouldn't be true either. We went to check off yet another bureaucratic fun task- the attaining of a nulla osta (yes another one, they love these things) for our wedding. This entails going to the Embassy of Canada in Rome and presenting a book-size folder of documents procured from your prior Canadian home essentially saying you've never been married at any time between the ages of 16 and your current age, then you have to swear it, then you have to show proof of actually being Canadian and of actually having a real-life Italian that wants to marry you. But enough of that, very boring indeed, suffice to say that we are now in possession of this magical nulla osta that gets us one step closer to getting married here in Italy. 

I know what you really want to hear- what did I eat. Well ladies and gents, Massi and I had the opportunity to take one of the tours offered by The Roman Food Tour. We took what was probably one of the most popular, if not the most classic- concentrated around the historical center and featuring stops at The Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. As background information, I should disclose that this was my fourth international food tour, the previous being The Greenwich Village and NoLita tours in New York City, as well as the Milan Food Tour. Hence, I'm getting pretty well-versed in food tours. It's a hard job, but someone's gotta do it right? 

The Roman Food Tour is a 4-hour walking tour that promises you'll eat like the Gods and learn some cocktail party pleasers along the way. Our group had about 15 people in it, I thought the size was good because hey, the more the merrier. Food tours in general are always a good time because everyone is on vacation and typically chatty and wine-happy. This particular tour has five stops.  The meeting point is at Antica Salumeria, a stone's throw away from the mythical Pantheon. Our guide was Raluca, an expat herself to Rome which I always find to be an endearing touch to tours. They often know even more about Italy than the Italians because they've had to learn the ropes themselves and they bring a mix of local/expat insight to the table. Raluca is very kind and approachable and was filled with 'did you knows' about everything from the origin of the handshake (the Romans invented it) to the way to distinguish artisan gelato from 'artisan' gelato. 
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Our first stop consisted of speciality coffee and introductions where I absent-mindedly ordered water, having already prepared my tastebuds for something less coffee-flavored and more alcohol-flavored. I ended up stealing most of Massi's delicious coffee granita:
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Next, we tackled aperitivo time back at Antica Salumeria. There was almost a slight guffaw here when the waiters gave us plastic glasses for our Frascati, a delicate DOC white wine produced in the province of Lazio where Rome is found. This perhaps wouldn’t bother anyone since most of us are just wanting to get the bottles popping and the good times rollin’, but I could see the rare wine enthusiast get a bit squirmy on this topic. The spread of affetati (cold cuts of different cured and cooked meats) and cheeses was extraordinary. You are first presented with pieces of mozzarella di bufala; the creaminess and slight sweetness of the buffalo’s milk is both an olfactory and gustatory experience. It goes down much too easily between sips of Frascati. You then have your choice (dangerous) of a variety of Italian cured meats and cheeses, all hand-picked of course by the tour and cut fresh. Don’t miss out on the coppa di testa. I won’t translate it for you, but it’s marvelous and not an intuitive choice that most tourists would make themselves. 
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The next stop is Hotel Fontana, directly across from the Trevi Fountain and arguably the star of the whole show. You’ll climb up to the top of the hotel where a jaw-dropping view of the fountain awaits. It’s undoubtably a hidden gem that if not priceless, is more than worth the tour cost itself to get a reserved table there. If the view was the star of the show, the wine wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. While you pity all the cramped tourists below, you’ll sip on the finest wines Italy has to offer like a queen. Our samples included a 2010 Barolo and an Amarone della Valpolicella. The Barolo is to die for, as is the black truffle spread and 100 year old balsamic vinegar from Modena that you’ll taste to accompany the wines. 

“Dinner” is a tris of pasta just a short walk from Hotel Fontana, again partnered with a yummy wine that I absolutely forgot to note the name of. The atmosphere in the restaurant is rather unique- the walls are covered with drawings and the first floor filled to the brim with tourists. This stop is the weakest link on the tour in my opinion but Rome may be to blame for this one. Being so tourist-centric, you very typically have to be in the know and get out of the historical center to eat a decent dish of pasta. Every terrible plate of pasta I’ve had in my 8 years experience of Italy has been in Rome and unfortunately this one didn’t break the pattern. After Ranluca finished her speech about the joys of pasta and the importance of the al dente concept, we were given three different types of pasta that were probably cooked another 20 minutes past the point of al dente. To be honest, it was similar to something one might get from Olive Garden or any Italian food chain in North America. Was this a one-off? It’s possible. Did the other tourists on the tour (a mix of British and Americans) realize? Not sure. I think if you had travelled anywhere else prior to Rome, the chances are very high that you’d have already experienced a really good plate of pasta. If you hadn’t and Rome was your first stop, well ignorance is bliss in this case. 

Our final stop on the tour was at Pompi, said to be home to one of the city’s best tiramisu. There are now four of them in Rome but this one is conveniently located near the Spanish Steps. You get a choice of different spins on the classic, or you could just go for the original which is what I did…sorry I don’t have a photo of the tiramisu, it was literally in my belly within five minutes. It comes in an adorable little box like takeaway and is a cute idea which enables you to enjoy it wherever you please during your evening in Roma. The Spanish Steps would be ideal however they are currently being renovated so best to have a backup backdrop for devouring your dessert. 


Positives: 
The view of the Trevi Fountain and the wines served at this stop are the stuff dreams are made of. The guide is knowledgable and entertaining and you definitely get your money’s worth of food and friends at the end of it all. (The negatives section below looks way longer than the positives but it's just because I had a bit of explaining to do, list-wise, the positives would far outrun the negatives!). 


Negatives: 
Our tour was slightly rushed at some points and I'm not sure of where the culprit might be, whether we were slow eaters or we got off on the wrong foot while waiting for our colossal meat and cheese boards at Antica Salumeria (they took awhile to arrive). This was not a problem at all for the group, I think everyone was fairly oblivious to this however, as an Italian-speaker, it was quite blatant to me that there was some tension at our stop at the Hotel Fontana. The fellow there gave our poor tour guide a berating for being late, responded to her questions rather rudely and all in all was clearly in a hurry to get us to leave ASAP. I must emphasize, this was not the fault of the tour but it created a feeling of inhospitality for anyone who might happen to understand Italian (or body language really). 


Summary: 
This tour is perfect, in my opinion, for first-timers to Rome because you get a sampling of everything from food to culinary facts to sight-seeing. You will leave wiser and a few pounds heavier!

For more photos that were not included in this post, please check out the blog's official Facebook page:

Find and book  The Roman Food Tour here: http://foodtourrome.com/

Let's just tag this post #storyofmylifeinItaly. It's Tuesday night and we've just finished dinner (it's 22:15 by the way). I'm simply amused by the fact that we went out for a run before dinner and then promptly sat down to platefuls of chestnut gnocchi smothered in butter and sage sauce with freshly grated Parmigiano. And this is precisely why my beloved wedding dress ordered 2.5 years ago no longer fits. What's really exciting is that this is the first time I've made these gnocchi in the correct way as the recipe calls for 'chestnut flour' which I could never seem to find in Canada. This specific flour gives the gnocchi a very slight sweetness which makes for the perfect combination with butter and sage from our winter garden. Here's the recipe from one of my old posts: 

Chestnut Gnocchi with a Butter and Sage Sauce from Two Greedy Italians Eat Italy (Gnocchi di Castagne con Burron e Salvia) 

Try it out and let me know how it goes, it's probably my new favourite dish (for this week at least)!  


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As you know, I've been lamenting about the fact that we are drowning in vegetables from our garden because we can't seem to eat them fast enough! So this is not exactly a typical recipe post in the sense that I just wanted to use it to explain how you can improvise pasta dishes in the blink of an eye with just a few ingredients. In the photo above, I had three key ingredients that I needed to "get rid" of- cherry tomatoes (or pomodorini, little tomatoes, in Italian), zucchini, and homemade pancetta. To make a sauce, I threw some chopped garlic in olive oil, cut the cherry tomatoes and threw those, added about a handful of pancetta and a swirl of white wine. After a couple minutes when everything was nice and soft and the juices had left the cherry tomatoes, I added the zucchini. If you prefer a thicker sauce, you can add a dusting of flour, stir it in, and it will thicken. And voilà...you have a lovely, summery sauce to put on your pasta. 

The recipe for this week is for a dish that we've been eating almost every week for the past month, ever since the tomatoes and zucchini have been abundant in the garden. We are literally drowning in garden vegetables which is why I concocted this cold pasta dish (we might also consider it a 'pasta salad' although it does not contain anything creamy like mayo). A great recipe to make ahead of time since it has to cool in the fridge for at least a couple hours and I always find that it tastes better the day after. Anyways, have a good end to the week everyone! 

Happy Wednesday everyone! I'm counting down the days until the weekend because I think we'll be trying to join the masses at the seaside. Anyone have any suggestions for a day or two-day trip from Bergamo?  We are very likely going to have to go with the beaches of Liguria (straight south of Bergamo) since I'm unwilling to sacrifice beach time with car time! Anyways, this recipe is adapted from one that Massi's mom was planning on making from the publication Sale e Pepe which originally called for acciughe instead of prosciutto. I substituted prosciutto because it's what we had in the fridge and I thought anchovies might over-power the mild figs of the season. It might sound like a strange combination, but we loved it...the figs have almost a "meaty" texture and weren't overly sweet so somehow, they blend into the dish perfectly. 

I apologize for not being more regular with the humpday recipe, but it always seems like Wednesday comes and goes and before I know it, it's Thursday. So here we are, on another lovely but not as scalding hot, Thursday evening. Why not pop into your garden or the local market and take advantage of the zucchini season? Zucchinis are mind-boggling to speak about when switching between Italian and English because for some reason, in English they are called zucchini...in Italian...zucchine (feminine in gender rather than male). BOH. See you in recipes for this great recipe that takes just 30 minutes and makes a perfect all-in-one summertime meal! 

Remember when I gave you the recipe for making a bolognese sauce here? Well this recipe uses that (minus the ground beef part, that will be your chicken pieces) and essentially all you do is add some peeled tomatoes and let the whole thing simmer for 40 minutes until the sauce is nice and thick. You can modify it as like, excluding or adding certain vegetables. In the above photo, I had some spare zucchini and potatoes hanging around that I didn't want to go bad so I just threw those in as well! Catch you in the Recipes section! 

This is a hands-down winner every time and a guaranteed crowd pleaser. It's actually available fully on David Rocco's website here: http://www.davidrocco.com/recipes/pasta-al-forno/. Go to my Ricette section for more photos of how mine turned out and I'll cut and paste the recipe for you there as well for quick reference. I don't have tons of time to write today as I"m working very hard on downing a glass of vino frizzante after spending an entire "personal administration" day out and about Bergamo on my bike running impossible errands like setting up a bank account and ordering vaccines for our cat (you can do this at a pharmacy without a prescription, how fun!). Kisses and ci sentiamo domani (we'll chat tomorrow)!