Day 3: Roman Countryside Cooking Class in Mazzano

Today we were up and excited for the first of three cooking classes while we are in Italy. We've been watching Stanley Tucci cooking and touring each region in Italy, and have been itching to learn to cook and taste the different dishes! 

Roberto was our chef and guide. He drove us about an hour into the country to Mazzano. The drive was gorgeous! Here is the cute little town - it's actually a new town and a medieval walled village. The area around it has been inhabited continually since the Stone Age. The first historical mention of the town was in 945 AD when it was part of the estate of Pope Adrian. It's surrounded by the Treja National Park - we had phenomenal views from the apartment where we went to cook the meal. 

When we first entered Mazzano, we stopped at the little market to get our ingredients. It was Saturday, so the market was hopping with about 15 people. The town is so small that that is the rush, lol! We stopped at 3 different stores to purchase the items for our meal: the general store, the fruit and vegetable store, and the butcher.

           

   .     .      

From top right: Pizza with a thin slice of potato on top that Italians eat around 10 when they get a little hungry. The top middle photo is my favorite - in the back are giant vats of homemade wine. Everyone goes to fill their bottles for 2 euros a liter! We tried the Montepulciano, and it was some of the best wine we've had. The veggies were so fresh! And the butcher was the best - he sang while he gathered the orders. They had some different meats in the counter - in the last picture, you can see rabbit.

On to the apartment! We walked through quaint, narrow paths to the cutest little apartment. 

After a quick tour of the house, it was time to cook! We made artichoke ravioli, cavatelli with a red pepper and tomato sauce, gnocchi with a caico e pepe sauce, and saltemboca with sandy potatoes. Every single thing was fabulous! 

Bryan and I were team artichoke! He had us cut, peel, and chop that artichoke in crazy ways!

The last photo is what the artichokes look like after they were cooked in water, white wine, and a garlic clove.

I'm making the sandy potatoes. I was relieved to learn that the sand was bread crumbs! Saltemboca is made with veal and prosciutto. Fun fact, Saltemboco means "jump in your mouth," which was the saying of the day! It was so delicious that we all wanted it to jump in our mouths!

Now it's time to make the pasta! Roberto had us make all 3 types of pasta dough that Italians make. We used egg dough (that Bryan is making below) with 00 flour for the ravioli, water and semolina flour for the cavatelli, and potato and water for the gnocchi.

  

The cavatelli (on the far right above) were so fun to make! We used a little ridged board to roll the little dough pieces down to make the cutest little pastas!

We were lucky to be cooking with some really fun people, Karl and Mary. They were a hoot! They had done this same class 5 times, they loved it that much. 

•   

Roberto showed us how to roll ravioli dough a little differently than we do at home. I can't wait to try it at home!

                       

A toast to all our hard work! Look at that yummy deliciousness. Look at the final product below:

         

                                     

Karl was in charge of making dessert, which was fresh strawberries mixed with sugar and balsamic. I didn't think it sounded that great, but it tasted amazing!

We had a fun treat toward the end of our stay! The village neighbors, Luis & Olga, made eggplant roasted and marinated for us - wowza. Roberto put it on slices of bread for an appetizer, and it was delizioso! In return, we gave them some of our gnocchi. They loved it and brought us some delicious homemade Mertyl/pomegranate wine that they sat and enjoyed with us. So, so good!! They didn't speak English, but Roberto translated! They were lovely people and we all had lots of laughs! They kept calling Bryan the giant, and you can see why!

                            

Mazzano was a treat - thank you, Holly, for booking it for us! Fun memories with fun people. We walked away with some culinary skills, some history, and several more new friends.

All Roads Lead to Rome!

Days 1 and 2

I’m back to blogging after many years away. This time, Bryan and I are in Italy without the kids, celebrating our 30th anniversary. We’ve dreamed about this trip for so long—it’s hard to believe we’re finally here!

I’m journaling our journey for future reference, so I’ll likely include more detail than most people would care to read, lol. Feel free to jump around or just enjoy the photos!

We only took a carry-on and an
under-the-seat bag each! I'll let you
 know if this was a good idea at the
end of the trip!

So excited to be at the airport at last!

.                   

Bryan's parents dropped us off at the airport about 3 1/2 hours before take-off. With the TSA strike, we weren't messing around! But good news, we were able to kill time in the Capital One Lounge, right down from our gate! They pampered us with delicious food, coffee, drinks, and even sent us on our way with snacks for the flight. Hello! Why haven't we taken advantage of this sooner?

The food was fabulous!

After a relaxed start and full bellies, we were off to Italy—well, sort of. First, we had a layover in Atlanta. Our flight arrived at the terminal just before Concourse A, and from there we had to sprint to the train and ride all the way over to the concourse past F to make our next flight—with only 58 minutes to spare. They started boarding before we even got off our first plane!

The Atlanta airport trains are impressively fast and efficient. We made it to the gate just as they were calling Zone 4. We were Zone 3, so we slipped right into the line and boarded quickly—easy peasy!

In much of Europe, a new Entry/Exit System is being rolled out, replacing physical passport stamps for non-EU travelers with digital biometric registration (fingerprints and facial scans) for short stays. In Italy, it became mandatory just six days before our trip on April 10th, so as you can imagine, the system is still working out a few kinks.

We’d heard horror stories of four- to six-hour waits in other countries—mamma mia! Thankfully, our wait was only about an hour and a half. And the silver lining? We got to mingle with hundreds of new friends while we waited!

But we were in Italy!! Best day ever!!

I’d be remiss not to mention our fabulous friend and travel agent, Holly Renfrow with Travel By Design, who arranged all of our accommodations and transfers. It was pure relief to step out of the confusion and immediately see a gentleman holding a sign that read “Bryan Hill, Kristen Hill.” From there, he drove us straight to Hotel Mozart, where check-in was seamless. We finally reached our room, collapsed onto the bed, and sat there in disbelief that we were actually in Rome.

First order of business: food. We were exhausted, so we opted for room service—and let’s just say the Italians know exactly how to do room service right!

 

At 6:00, we joined Eating Europe’s walking food tour of Trastevere and the Jewish Ghetto, wanting to get an immediate handle on the local food scene. Luca was our guide, and he led us through the neighborhoods with ease, sharing history along the way. We even got to skip the lines at a few of the most popular spots, which felt like an instant insider upgrade to the experience.

               .     

We took in the beautiful Tiber River
while we waited for the tour to start.

First, a bit of history about the area. Long ago, the port that supplied Rome with food and goods was located right in front of Trastevere. Sailors and merchants settled nearby, while wealthier families lived closer to the city center. Over time, Trastevere and the Jewish Ghetto became some of the poorest and least desirable parts of the city.

Yet, despite that reputation, some of Rome’s most beloved food traditions were born right there on “the island” where these neighborhoods sit. Today, food lovers from all over the world come to wander these historic streets in search of the incredible flavors tucked away within them. And discover them we did!

The tour began at Da Enzo’s, which—thanks to TikTok—has become something of an internet sensation. The line starts forming about an hour and a half before the restaurant even opens!

There, after a glass of Prosecco, we were introduced to the Jewish Ghetto’s famous fried artichokes. Let me just say… wow. The leaves were crispy like potato chips and tasted just as addictive, while the heart was tender and incredibly flavorful. We even learned how to make them—I’m definitely trying it as soon as I get home… after I unpack, maybe!

         

Look at that beautiful deep-fried artichoke!
Trust me, you will love them!

Next, we visited Spirito Di Vino, a restaurant that was once the first Jewish Synagogue in the area. The name is a play on words, meaning both the spirit of wine and the Divine Spirit. Luca took us to the basement that serves as a wine cellar. The cellar pre-dates the Colosseum, dating back to 80-90 BC. 

 

We were served a Sangiovese—my favorite wine—and this one did not disappoint. The name translates to “Blood of Jupiter,” which feels appropriately bold for how good it was. We also had a delicious pork stew, though I ate it too quickly to get a photo. 😏

I ended up sitting at one end of the table with two adorable newlywed American couples, while Bryan was at the opposite end between a family of four from Australia. We definitely had very different conversations going on at the same time—lots of laughs all around.

The next stop was Pizzeria La Boccaccia for supplì: a ball of rice mixed with tomato sauce, stuffed with cheese, and deep-fried to perfection. My mom makes something similar called arancini, it doesn't have the tomato sauce. Luca explained that supplì is derived from arancini, but with a Lebanese influence. Either way, they were absolutely delicious.

In the first photo, you can see Bryan with a napkin holder. Luca assigned him the unofficial role of napkin distributor at the first stop, and he continued in that “job” at all seven stops! No one else would touch them, but everyone happily called out to Bryan to do his duties!

                                 

The supplì was fabulous, but I have to admit I’m still partial to Mom’s arancini!

I’m not really a beer drinker, but when in Rome… 😆 I gave Italian beer a try and passed it off to Bry, who is definitely more of a beer person. He appreciated it far more than I did!

Our next stop was a small, traditional deli where we tried guanciale—the cured pork cheek. It was incredibly tender and absolutely delicious. The owner served it simply, layered over slices of bread and finished with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of pepper. Perfetto!

Luca is holding up the guanciale.

Finally, once we were good and stuffed, it was time for dinner. (That's the Italian way!) 

Luca brought us to a little trattoria that specializes in pizza and pasta. 

First up, pizza! Apparently, Queen Margherita decided to create a pizza that celebrated Italy, so she designed this one with red pizza sauce, white mozzarella, and green basil - the colors

of the Italian flag. That's how Margherita pizza was born. This one was delicious! Next, we 

had cacio e pepe over homemade pasta and little rigatoni. Too delicious to stop and take 

photos!

Here ends our first day in Rome!. So much fun, lots of new friends, and we now know how to spot the delicacies from here on out in Rome!

What a day! We keep saying we can't believe we are actually here!

PS: I spent forever trying to figure out why the last lines are highlighted in white! In the spirit 

of relaxing, I decided to let it go and publish as is. See, I'm already going with the flow and

destressing!