Food Around the World

Croatia in October 2012. We just got back from our trip to Croatia where we had the opportunity to try all types of regional Dalmatian cuisine. In different coastal areas of Croatia, the cuisine and architecture have Italian influences, since the two countries are located just across the Adriatic Sea. If you pay a visit to this country, I would recommend trying the fresh scampi, fresh daily catch (if you don't mind picking out the bones), fried calamari and even the delicious steak houses.

Our dinner in Dubrovnik of the fresh catch of the day and risotto with scampi and mussels.

Lunch in Dubrovnik - Greek salad with delicious fresh veggies and thin crust pizza, just like in Italy.

This is a burek filled with cheese and spinach. They are also available filled with minced meat. These are handheld quick eats. Yum!

Fresh octopus salad and fried shrimp.

Grilled scampi with the traditional Dalmatian side dish of boiled chard and potatoes.

Fresh and delicious tuna ceviche.

Lunch on Hvar - cheese and ham gnocchi. This dish inspired a dinner of my own (recipe here).

 Pork schnitzel and fried calamari with fries. Both served with mayo as the dipping sauce...we just went with it. :-)

The traditional Croatian dish, Pašticada, Dalmatian beef stew with prunes and dried figs, over potato gnocchi.

Our dinner in Zadar - Fresh green pasta with "fruit of the sea" and the special, deer ragout with potato gnocchi. This was one of the best dinners on the trip.

My appetizer of scallops with fresh noodle macaroni in white truffle sauce.

Marcipan treats found in a pastry shop in Zadar.

 

Italy in May 2011. We were really excited about this trip, mostly for the food, to eat lots of pizza, try all the different pastas and drink lots of wine. You could really taste the quality of the fresh vegetables in these dishes. I've never eaten such delicious tasting tomatoes before, and the Italians use tomatoes in everything! Also, I had the best seafood of my life on the riveria, in Cinque Terre.

You'll find a gelato shop on every street corner.

Piles of every flavor were beautifully decorated with fresh fruit.



Spices and different varieties of sun-dried tomatoes were displayed at Campo de' Fiori in Rome.



Tuna pizza.

Pizza on every corner with a variety fresh ingredients.

Many different kinds of tomatoes, zucchini blossoms and ministrone mix (on the bottom left).

In spring, artichokes are big in Rome.

Zucchini blossoms are used in many dishes,

either sauteed within the sauce or stuffed with fresh ricotta and fried.

Antipasta of cured meats and marinated vegetables.

The best eggplant I've ever had... and I don't even like eggplant!

Baskets full of colorful, fresh vegetables in front of the markets.

My favorite photo.

Our server with the bistecca alla fiorentino at Buca dell'Orafo in Florence.



In Greve, enjoying toast topped with shaved pork cheek and cheese, then drizzled with honey.

A specialty meat shop in Greve Chianti features wild boar products.

The most amazing caprese salad I've ever had.

The creamy mozzarella exploded in your mouth and the tomatoes were so sweet.

Pasta in a sausage cream sauce topped with shaved truffles.

We really enjoyed our daily cappuccinos!

Fried seafood in Vernazza, Cinque Terre.

They fry everything whole - fish with heads and tails attached, prawns with claws and shrimp with shell. 

Tuna bruschetta in Monterosso, Cinque Terre. 

Fresh seafood salad - shrimp, calamari and marinated vegetable ribbons in Monterosso, Cinque Terre.

 

An everything pizza in Vernazza, Cinque Terre. We ate on the pier, near the small, colorful fishing boats and looking out over the Ligurian Sea.

Yellowtail carpaccio...just a little too much olive oil for me (though you wouldn't tell the Italians that, as it would be most offensive!).

The best meal of the trip, lobster fettuccine, at Trattoria dal Billy in Manarola, Cinque Terre. I would go back just for this dish!

Sauteed baby octopus with marinated vegetables and potatoes.

It was so tender that it melted in your mouth.

...though the octopus tentacles felt a little weird on your tongue...

Beautifully sculpted fish and fruit made from marzipan.

 

Our second favorite dish of the trip at Rosa Rosa in Venice: Zucchini and gnocchi with duck fat in gorgonzola cream sauce. I tried to make something similar at home (see my recipe here).

Baby octopus for sale at the Rialto Fish Market in Venice.

Fresh scallops at the Rialto Fish Market in Venice.

Live lobster at the Rialto Fish Market in Venice.

We spent one day doing a 'cicchetti hop' in Venice. Pronounced 'chi-KET-tee', it's fun to say too!

Common cicchetti include tiny sandwiches, vegetables, halved hard boiled eggs, small servings of a combination of one or more of seafood, meat and vegetable ingredients laid on top of a slice of bread.

Ben's favorite one, shrimp salad with spinach in a triangle sandwich with the crust cut off.

Having a great time! Here we're eating jalapeno poppers and fried rice balls.

I think we had 15 different kinds that day.

Prosciutto sandwich squares, tuna stuffed cherry tomatoes and goat cheese with toasted baguette slices. Our last stop of the day. 

Fettuccine in tomato sauce topped with fresh ricotta. Mixing in the ricotta made the dish so delicious and creamy. I can’t wait to try this at home.

Pasta with tuna, sautéed tomatoes and olives.

 

Arugula salad topped with seared steak and shaved parmesan cheese.

Fiji in Sept 2008. All the reviews told us that the food was awful, so I was a little concerned. What else are you supposed to do on vacation? We ended up being pleasantly surprised. I loved all the fresh tropical fruit and Indian curry dishes and my favorite dish, Kokoda (see recipe below).


Our first canapés and champagne at our resort, Outrigger on Viti Levu, Fiji.



My breakfast every morning at the resort buffet: croissant, fresh papaya, greek yogurt topped with fresh coconut and honey-apple mixture. I couldn't get enough.

There was a lot of Indian food on the island. Here's a meal of Chicken Tikka Masala.



Thin crust pizza in Fiji.



Curry and Cassava Soup. Cassava - a rootcrop with a bland, starchy taste.



It's BBQ time!



Kokoda - I loved this stuff! We had it every day at our stay on Matamanoa Island Resort. The dish consists of cubed fish steeped in lemon/lime juice then squeezed and garnished with onions, chillies, shallots, grated carrots, tomatoes and combined with thick coconut cream.



Another version of chicken curry served in coconut shells.



Fried goat cheese coated in sesame seeds, served over salad.

Greece in Sept 2006:


Greek Lasagna



The colorful spread at the hotel

We ate ate this place in Athens twice while we were there. This is a salad of tomatoes, peppers, olives, cucmbers topped with a huge slice of Feta cheese.

Meatballs and potatoes in Mykonos.

 

We picked one and then....

...ATE it. Check out those fangs!