Italian is one of my all-time favorite international cuisines. Not our Americanized take on Italian cuisine., i.e. the Olive Garden, but authentic, generations-old, homegrown, made-by-the-90-year-old-matriarch-of-the-family Italian, which is one of the reasons we choose to go to Italy on our honeymoon. We love to eat great food, and Italy has some of the best in the world in my opinion. We made sure to try a variety of pastas, pizzas, olive oils and desserts, although we had our favorites. As we ate our way through the country, mainly the Tuscany region, we found it was difficult to find a bad meal. I think truffle could be to blame.
Pastas
Homemade lasagna with truffle oil / Tenuta Torcian, San Gimignano
Gnocchi with truffle flakes / Pietro, Rome
Spaghetti alla bolognese / Santa Margarita
Troffiette with pesto / Taverna del Marinaio, Portofino
Tortellini / Santa Margarita
Pizza
From front: pizza topped with Italian sausage and margarita pizza / Munaciello Pizzeria, Florence
Meats & cheeses
Meats: ribollata, finocchiona, salami and prosciutto; Cheese: pecorino / Tenuta Torciano, San Gimignano
Prosciutto and mozzarella / Pietro, Rome
Aged prosciutto / Open air market, Piazza della Repubblica, Florence
Prosciutto aging in the wine cellars/ Castello di Verrazzano, Greve in Chianti
Salami, gruyere and sun dried tomato sandwich / Antico Noe, Florence
Olive oil
Extra virgin olive oil / Tenuta Torciano, San Gimignano
Balsamic vinaigrette / Tenuta Torciano, San Gimignano
Desserts
Strawberry (fragola) gelato / Florence
Panna cotta / Santa Margarita
