Global Grub's Blog: Adventures in Cooking

So much to eat, so little time. But Portland’s famous food scene did not disappoint. Trust me when I say there are a gazillion food options that will satiate any craving… because I could write a book on cravings! Being preggers with #2 arriving right around the corner, I jumped at the chance to return to...

The best day of our "eat our way through Europe" trip was when we rolled up our sleeves and made homemade Italian food in an authentic Florentine kitchen. If you ever go to Florence, please take this private cooking class, Let's Cook with Jacopo (it has all 5-star reviews for a reason).

In the meantime, bring Italy to you with this gnocchi recipe straight from Jacopo's kitchen. If pasta and potatoes had a baby, it would definitely be gnocchi! Follow my easy-to-follow adapted cooking instructions and let the tender pillows melt in your mouth. 

As you can see, we literally couldn't wait to try our homemade gnocchi, hence this half eaten platter of tender pillows in this photo. 

Gnocchi Ingredients

• 1 kg potatoes (2.2 Ibs potatoes, such as russet potatoes)

With over 20 countries under my belt (half of which I credit to Semester at Sea; that's what really ignited my international interest), Europe had somehow escaped me and was calling my name. Plus I was in need of some inspiration for a new Global Grub kit... sounds like a good excuse to go, right? And with that, our mission was set: eat our way through Europe, with our 1-year-old in tow (that's a whole different story that you can read about here). With travel days factored in, we only had 8 days to complete our mission. 

First stop: Barcelona. I wish everyone adopted the idea of tapas, small plates so you can have a little bit of this and a little bit of that. One of our best meals of the trip was at Restaurant Rene, a little gem with nostalgic decor in the Eixample area. We ordered too many tapas to list, but here's what stood out the most: the melt-in-your-mouth trumpet mushroom croquette, Catalan cheese plate including the "best burrata I've ever had" and last but not least, seafood paella of course...

I was getting a serious travel itch when my mommy friend told me that some airlines provide bassinets for babies on international flights. Since the double-digit hour flight was my biggest fear of traveling with my 1-year old, the bassinet provided a glimmer of hope. Plus I thought, "now's the time to do it before he's completely mobile" and "let's take advantage of free airfare for under 2-year-olds"...