Italy

Menu: Bucatini all’Amatriciana, minestrone soup, biancomangiare | Recipe Source: asimplepalate.com, saturdaysinrome.com, and thespaghettisisterhood.com

As expected, Italy was an absolute joy to cook. The minestrone soup was complex and multi-dimensional thanks to the Parmesan rinds; the bucatini all’Amatriciana was incredibly flavorful and rich; and the biancomangiare is a dessert I’ll be making for the rest of my life.

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Special equipment: Biancomangiare molds ($9)

Bucatini all’Amatriciana: (link): I used 1.25 lbs of guanciale and discarded any pieces that were 100% fat. Instead of peeled tomatoes, I made of batch of my marinara sauce, and I added 3 diced shallots to the wine (which I only used 3oz of) during de-glazing. I also salted the sauce with bouillion powder!

Minestrone Soup (link): Instead of using veggie broth, I used 4 cups of chicken broth, 2 cups of beef broth, and 1 cup water. I also upped the tomato paste to 3.5 tbsp and used multiple parmesan rinds instead of just one!

Biancomangiare (link): I doubled this recipe and it filled 6 of the molds that I linked above. I didn’t use any cinnamon in the pudding batter but did add 1 bay leaf (which I removed before pouring into the molds). I decorated the puddings 4 ways: one with honey and lemon zest, one with honey and orange zest, one with honey and crushed pistachios, and one with honey and almond flakes!