Back in summer 2019 Mom and I traveled to Portugal and Italy for about a week. We had overnight layovers in Lisbon, Portugal so we got to see the city and explore food. I was even able to talk mom into staying in a hostel IRB me for the first time (we had a private room though because I knew she wasn’t going for a shared space in a foreign country). We then met up with Marta in Rome for a couple of days. And then we went on to Naples and the Amalfi Coast for a couple of days. During that time, we explored various Italian meals (pasta and pizza of course) and vino! I even got to surprise mom with a cooking class. We ventured to a private farm where we made pizza from scratch and cooked it in a wood stove AND different types of pasta. The food was delicious to say the least.

But this reminiscing was inspired by the CNN program Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy. I viewed an episode focus on Naples and the Amalfi Coast and it brought back so many amazing memories. I’m so glad that I got to spend that time with mommy!

The show made me remember this one dish that has been on my mind.

Cacio e pepe means cheese and pepper. It’s a pasta dish that is made with fresh cracked black pepper and freshly grated Pecorino cheese. IT IS DELICIOUS!!! So I went out and bought fettuccine noodles (because I wasn’t making homemade noodles at home), found Pecorino cheese, and made sure I had enough butter and black pepper on hand. I tried my hand at making this dish, but I have some practicing to do! I made a shrimp sauté to pour on top and you can see in the picture below that I finished it with a sprinkle of the freshly grated cheese. Mister ate it and said it was good so that’s a win! I will definitely try my hand at more pasta dishes that go beyond spaghetti and lasagna!!

What new dishes have you been trying out?!

Dr. Stassi