L’Express Chicken Liver Pate with Pistachios

L’Express – Fish Soup

L’Express – Toulouse Sausages with Potato and Braised Brussel Sprouts

L’Express Steak Tartare with Frites

Listen to the podcast Montreal Food Scene. Listen to the podcast Montreal Food Scene

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our 3 weeks in Italy last summer. Maybe it’s the pick-me-up you need to? Oh, and I need to give a huge “shout out” to my blog-o-sphere friend Sarah from The Real Potato who has been kind enough to answer some of my annoying WordPress questions when we were having some difficulties getting our new URL up and running… THANK YOU! Also, below the pics I have answered an older Meme I was tagged for by the awesome and lovely Nuria at Spanish Recipes.

***MEME – Some Answers from Amy (Jonny’s Not Gonna Play This Time)**

Time to play now:

What were you doing 10 years ago?

I was drinking cheap beer and wine 6 days a week and getting sad that I was graduating college soon and being forced into “the real world”. I opted instead to skip that for a few years in exchange for 2 years playing in the snow in Breckenridge, Colorado.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
I was a stressed out, grumpy graduate student – finishing my thesis, working 3 days a week for free (internship) and planning my Tuscan wedding from a small apartment in Brooklyn. I wouldn’t have been doing meme tags, let’s just say that. I barely saw my husband!!

Five snacks you enjoy

1. Hummus and pita chips
2. french fries (I can’t enjoy them as much as I’d LOVE to)
3. Butter Snaps (Pretzels)
4. Bites of Leftovers
5. Anything dipped in cream cheese or peanut butter

5 Things you would do if you were a millionaire

1. Buy an apartment in my neighborhood in Brooklyn where’s we’ve been living for 4 years but will never be able to afford.
2. Buy a place in Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Bologna, Paris and London. (I think I need more money already!)
3. Buy a leg of Jamon Iberico for my kitchen in each apartment.
4. Travel and not worry about having to take off work – wait, I won’t have to work! YAY!
5. Volunteer in all different capacities all over the world.

5 bad habits

1. I bite my nails.
2. I don’t have any nails left (and never have) so I bit skin (please don’t stop reading my food blog b/c you know this… PLEASE!!!)
3. I throw my clothes on the floor still and then pick them all up and put them away on the weekend. My husband hates this.
4. I lick bowls and plates clean – sometimes even when no one is looking in certain restaurants.
5. I burp, loudly. This is something I’ve been very proud of since being a little girl but now I only save them for special people. ***should I be ashamed? am I loosing readers?

5 things you like doing

1. Anything outdoors – I love to hike, bike and especially do anything at the beach.
2. COOKING, EATING, DRINKING, DRINKING… duh.
3. Helping others – Which I’m finally doing for a living.
4. Exploring – I could be traveling to anohter country, another state or just another neighborhood in Brooklyn. I’ve always been very curious.
5. Seeing live music – I used to follow bands up until recently. NO I was not a groupie.

5 things I would never wear again

1. Lee Press-On nails. Oh, wait, I just wore them for my wedding, but NEVER again.
2. Acid-Washed anything.
3. Bangs/Fringe cut by my mother – looks like she cut it with a knife and a fork and this lasted till I was 11!
4. A training bra. If you met me, you’d know why this is impossible.
5. Iridescent Lipstick. (**Can you tell I’m a child of the 80′s?)

5 favorite toys

1. My Le Cruset that was too expensive for me to purchase myself – it was a wedding gift.
2. My food processor, Kitchen Aid bad-ass mixer w/ pasta attachment.
3. This blog. Ok, that doesn’t count… my i-pod.
4. My camera (same, Nuria!)
5. My frequent flier miles – I need to travel again soon!

That was actually quite fun!! THANKS NURIA FOR ASKING ME TO PLAY!

To read more posts about Spain, check out:

• The REAL Cocido of Spain
• Jamon, Jamon
• Fabada: A Mortal and Corporal Sin – But Worth It!
• Unusual Tapas We Ate in Madrid
• Tame Tapas We Ate in Madrid
• Cabrales Cheese: It’s a Bit of an Animal
• Vermut (Vermouth): Rediscovering an Old Classic
• CHORIZO, CHICKPEA AND POTATO SOUP