La Bella Vita in the Last Frontier

I've long resisted the idea of writing a blog, or a live journal, especially since I write so much at work.  There it is briefs, pleadings, letters--technical writing that doesn't get too creative, unless the law isn't on my side.

But I love talking about food.  Ask my husband, my marathon training partner, my colleagues, my friends.  I spend more of the day thinking about what to cook than I'd like to admit.  Recently my husband and I went to Italy, and I was fascinated by the food, particularly the simple, hearty food of the type that Italian grandmothers, or nonnas, have been making forever.  The recipe is pretty simple:  take great ingredients.  Don't mess with them too much.  Serve and eat.

That's simplistic, but over the last month it's been my cooking philosophy.  My goal is to cook my way through several Italian cookbooks, including A16 Food & Wine, the Culinary Institute of America's Italian Cooking At Home and In Nonna's Kitchen.  There is a wild card, though--I live in Alaska, where it may be difficult to find all the ingredients.  My parents are coming later this month from St. Louis, which has an old, wonderful Italian neighborhood called The Hill, and I've asked them to check on whether they can bring me bottarga and ricotta salata, both of which I fear are unavailable here. 

My goal is to post what I've cooked in pictures and words, at least once a week.  I cook more than that, but life gets in the way too many nights to post more regularly.  If you're interested in food, particularly Italian food, please drop me a line with ideas or suggestions.

And we're off!