Hi everyone,
Hope you had a great week! Doug and I just got back from Rome, where we spent the week with my whole family, and it was so much fun to all be together. Since everyone had been to Rome before, we didn’t over plan or schedule too much. Our meals, of course, were the exception. We made a lunch and dinner reservation every day and basically ate our way through the week. In between meals, we saw some of the sights, including the Pantheon, a few of us checked out some art museums, and we did a little shopping. It was such a fun and relaxing way to experience the city.
We had such a great lineup of meals, and today I’m sharing our absolute favorites so you have a list of spots to hit next time you’re in Rome.
First, here’s a recipe for a cheesy spinach dip that’s such a winner. It’s creamy and cheesy but perfectly balanced, with plenty of spinach and lots of flavor from onions and garlic. Doug and I could not stop eating it, and I can’t wait for you to try it!
As always, my cookbook Maxi’s Kitchen is now available for purchase at your local bookstore or online:
Thank you so much for your support 🤍
What I Cooked Last Week! ↓
Cheesy Spinach Dip
This dip is so creamy and perfectly balanced, with spinach, onion, and garlic under a golden, cheesy topping. It’s perfect for game day or whenever you’re hosting a crowd!
You can download the PDF recipe above and watch the video here :)
Michelin Star Mashed Potatoes
This is how Michelin star chef Thomas Keller makes mashed potatoes, and it does not disappoint! They’re fluffy and creamy and some of the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever had.
Where We Ate in Rome 🇮🇹
One thing to know before you go: in Italy, everyone eats later than we do in the US. It’s funny, because my family has always eaten on the early side. When I was growing up, we ate dinner at 5 pm! But in Italy, everything skews later. We had breakfast at our hotel, lunch around 1 pm, and dinner around 8 pm. It was a great cadence, and that’s when the restaurants start to fill up and have a lively atmosphere anyway.
Our favorite dinner: Hostaria Romana ✨
Our favorite dinner of the whole trip was at Hostaria Romana. It’s not a fancy place at all, and it was filled with locals. My mom has actually been there multiple times. She first got the recommendation from a shoe store owner while she was trying on shoes and asked where they liked to eat nearby. I loved that it was full of Italians. When I’m traveling, I don’t love ending up at a restaurant full of Americans, so this felt like the real deal.
I think the pasta here was the best we had on the trip. They have all the classic Roman pastas, so we ordered the carbonara, cacio e pepe, and the amatriciana. We also got the crispy fried Roman artichokes and prosciutto and melon, and the melon was so fresh. The staff was so sweet to us and even brought over a few extras, like fresh ricotta and a delicious marinated grilled eggplant.
For the secondi, we shared a bistecca alla fiorentina, a huge bone-in cut of steak that they slice for the table. One tip: Italians tend to cook their meat more rare. We ordered it medium rare and it came out quite rare. We still enjoyed it, but next time I’d probably order it medium, since their scale skews a little rarer than ours.
Everyone there was so kind to us, it felt like a true local spot, and the food was fantastic. I can’t recommend it enough!