This time I am going to share with you some of my favorite dishes and moments throughout the trip. I will start with Torino where I was very happy to meet my dear friend Francesca who I met during summer school in Germany. Spending time with her, her friends, and family was memorable because I got the real Italian atmosphere and they were like my own family. Grazie!!

Now...I was very excited to try the famous ''Bicerin'', which is a traditional coffee drink from Torino and it consists of layers of espresso, hot chocolate, whole milk, and whipped cream. It was very good, very rich, great for winter months. Bicerin itself means a small glass.



This is a traditional Piedmontese desseet called ''Bunet'' and it is basically like creme caramel, but it has cocoa powder. Delicious! We made this at the cooking school we attended in Torino; we made stuffed pasta, risotto, and vitello tonato, and of course Bunet.



And a very important information - I had the best gelato in Torino at a place called ''Fiorio''. I had the gianduja flavor which was so rich, smooth, and creamy, I was blown away! If you didn't know, Torino is known for gianduja - a treat made of hazelnuts and chocoloate.
Now lets move over to the region of Parma. Oh Parma and all its beauty...



We visited a place that it's famous for the production of ''Culatello'' - the same part of the muscle as for the prosciutto, but the difference is that Culatello is cured in the ancient basement and it's not exposed to the wind. It is seasoned and lightly salted, then stuffed into a pig's bladder, tied, and then hung 8-12 months.





I really enjoyed it, but my absolute favorite is, and always was, ''Lardo'' - seasoned solid pork fat with coarse salt and herbs....The best thing in the world.



And one more thing that I truly enjoyed (as well in Parma), was the cold drink called ''Sgroppino'' - a drink made of lemon sorbet, Prosecco, and vodka. Fantastic refreshment for a hot summer day!


This would be all for now...June is almost here! :)