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Maxi's Kitchen
Five Unforgettable Meals from Around the World & What I Cooked Last Week

Five Unforgettable Meals from Around the World & What I Cooked Last Week

The Five Best Things I've Ever Eaten, Spinach & Artichoke Stuffed Shells, Thai Basil Chicken, Mom’s Sheet Pan Shrimp Fried Rice, Healthier Glazed Banana Donut Holes

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Maxine Sharf
Jun 20, 2025
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Maxi's Kitchen
Maxi's Kitchen
Five Unforgettable Meals from Around the World & What I Cooked Last Week
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Hi everyone,

Hope you’re having a great week! After a rainy, cooler May, it’s finally starting to feel like summer here in New York. And as soon as the weather warms up, I can’t help but start thinking about travel. Doug and I usually try to take a trip abroad around this time of year.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on some of our favorite past adventures. And of course, for me, the best part of traveling is always the food. So today, I’m sharing the five best things I’ve ever eaten while traveling.

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First, here’s a recipe for these luscious and creamy shells stuffed with spinach and artichokes. They’re so delicious, and I hope you love them too!

What I Cooked Last Week! ↓

Spinach & Artichoke Stuffed Shells

Creamy and delicious, these shells are nestled in a white sauce and baked until golden. Filled with a spinach-artichoke mixture, they’re rich and satisfying without feeling too heavy.

Spinach & Artichoke Stuffed Shells
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You can download the PDF recipe above and watch the video here :)

Mom’s Sheet Pan Shrimp Fried Rice

Jun 19
Mom’s Sheet Pan Shrimp Fried Rice

This is my mom’s new method for fried rice—it’s so much easier and just as delicious. You dump everything on a sheet pan and bake until the edges of the rice are golden brown and crispy.

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Healthier Glazed Banana Donut Holes

Jun 19
Healthier Glazed Banana Donut Holes

These taste just like the real thing but are secretly much healthier since they’re baked, not fried. Perfect for when you’ve got one lonely banana sitting on the counter.

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Thai Basil Chicken

November 7, 2024
Thai Basil Chicken

All the components of this stir fry melt into the rice, creating perfect saucy bites. The chicken is sweet, salty, and slightly spicy, with plenty of fragrant basil.

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The 5 Best Things I’ve Ever Eaten

5th place: Bún Thịt Nướng in Vietnam

Doug and I were supposed to go to Vietnam for our honeymoon, but we got Covid at our wedding and had to cut the trip short. So about a year later, we finally went on a make-up honeymoon to Singapore and Vietnam. We visited Saigon in the south and Hanoi in the north. Before the trip, we’d made a few restaurant reservations, but after doing an incredible street food tour early on, we canceled most of them. We realized the best food *is* the street food. Many of the stalls have been run by the same families for generations, and you can really taste the care and pride they put into their cooking. It was some of the best we’ve ever had.

Bún Thịt Nướng is a dish I love ordering back home, but having it in Vietnam was next level and so special. It’s a vermicelli noodle bowl with grilled pork, spring rolls, herbs, peanuts, and a nước chấm-style sauce. We had it at a tiny food stand run by three or four older women who only make that one dish. Doug and I each got a bowl and sat on little plastic stools to eat. It was incredible: the spring rolls were super crispy, the noodles perfectly cooked, the pork so flavorful, and everything came together with the sauce, herbs, and peanuts.

Here’s the street food stand! If you ever go to Saigon, you have to try it :)

4th place: Spaghetti Vongole in Florence

You’re going to notice a theme here… I really love noodles 😂 Italy has no shortage of amazing pastas, but this one stands out as my all-time favorite.

Three years ago, I went to France and Italy with my mom, my aunt Susan, and Doug. We ate so much pasta in Italy, but the spaghetti vongole at Osteria Santo Spirito in Florence is the one I still dream about. The spaghetti was handmade, super al dente, and just thick enough to soak up every drop of the briny clam sauce. They didn’t skimp on the clams either. It was salty, fresh, and full of flavor. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

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