My 2 Favorite Bites of 6 Weeks in Europe

I just returned from a nearly six week food and wine extravaganza spanning five countries.  There were a plethora of outstanding dining venues such as private dinners in several Bordeaux Grand Cru Chateaux, a French two-star Michelin restaurant, and a galaxy of other special restaurants and wineries on Malta, Sicily, the Amalfi Coast, Lake Como, and even Poland.  Want to know my favorite bites? 

      Pistachio gelato & shreds of cooked filo cover the top, while the bottom is Dubai chocolate gelato 

My first earth-shaking bite was in Sicily.  Yes, we were near Mt. Etna, but that had nothing to do with the gastronomic shaking.  It began with one of my clients insisting that I have a bite of her dessert:  a Dubai chocolate and pistachio ice cream.  I declined twice, but on her third insistence (thank you, Sharon!), I relented.  One bite to appease her, right?   It was a seismic moment and I was tremoring with delight.  I love anything-pistachio, however, what in the world was this Dubai chocolate after-shock?

                         Dubai chocolate & pistachio ice-cream bars have become a food fad
 

Since returning to the US I have learned that Dubai chocolate is one of the hottest food items in the U.S.  Google it and you’ll have over 7 million results in a nano-second.  People can’t seem to get enough of it.  On the market for only 3-4 years, it comes in a variety of luxury bars (Whole Foods carries them and even Amazon offers dozens of types).   Dubai chocolate is laced with shreds of cooked filo dough giving it a great crunchy texture.  In between those layers is a rich pistachio-tahini cream.  Pair this with Sicily’s famous volcanic-soil-pistachios which have been infused into a rich pistachio gelato....well, its magnitude goes off the charts.

                 Amalfi lemons are a special variety that are significantly larger & more aromatic

My second undeniably magical bite was on the Amalfi Coast.  This drop-dead coastline has been declared by the United Nations as a World Heritage site.  If you’ve been there you know that lemons are the star of this coast’s gastronomic show.   Ceramic shops are filled with gorgeous lemon platters, bowls, and sets of endless lemon dishes.  Souvenir shops feature an array of lemon dish towels, lemon salt and pepper shakers, and even lemon clocks.  Every store seemingly carries the area's prized limoncello.

The Amalfi lemon has a special status awarded to it by the Italian government, and only lemons grown in the coast's special volcanic soil can be called Amalfi lemons.  Naturally, they command a much higher price than any other lemon.

                                                 Utter simplicity in a perfect bite

All the above said, it’s no wonder that my second most astonishing bite was made with Amalfi lemons.   It was simple beyond words…but so complex:  ravioli stuffed with ricotta infused with lemon zest, and topped with a superb olive oil from the area inoculated with the essence of lemons.   Now this was a World Heritage bite if I’ve ever had one.