My New Book!!!! (and other news too) from Elizabeth in Rome

Elizabeth Minchilli
EATING MY WAY THOUGH ITALY

March 2019 Newsletter

This is it!! My new book, The Italian Table, is out this month! The official birthday is March 12, but thinking about it now, and looking back at my original notes, I realize that the real birthday was on April 12, 2013. Yes. This baby has been rolling around in my head, on my desk and in my life for six years! On that day, I had lunch with an editor at Rizzoli. In theory it was just to chat and catch up. But then, between mouthfuls of chicken at Nomad I somehow pitched what would turn into this book. I hadn’t planned it. I didn’t even know it was a book I wanted to write. But it was, and I did.

Anyway, six years ,four editors and countless titles later I am finally giving birth to this gorgeous book. I am SO happy with how it’s turned out. I have to admit that way back in 2013 I would have never thought I would both write AND photograph a cookbook. But I have. And am so happy with the great job that Rizzoli has done in designing exactly what I envisioned.

If you’ve already ordered the book online, then it will magically appear in your mail box on March 12. Otherwise you can order it at your local bookstore. Or better yet? Come see me while I’m in the States!

I’ll be celebrating the book's birthday here in Rome, but am headed to the USA in April for about a month of book touring. I hope to see many of you along the way to help me celebrate in your town. You can see this page of my website for the places I’ll be going. I”ll be updating the list with a few more things we are putting the final touches on.

Ok, now what I’d really like you to do is go pour yourself a drink (a Negroni maybe? ) and have a toast for me!!! I'll be toasting you back for sure!

What's New

The biggest piece of news is the book, but we’ve covered that. After two months off, Sophie and I are starting up our Week in Italy tours this week, and I hope you’re following along as Sophie, Melissa Clark and I share our passion for offal with our gutsy guests. I realize offal is not for everyone, but we ourselves find it delicious and are super excited!! Melissa just landed and even though this week's tour hasn't even begun (we are about to head to the market to shop for tomorrow's welcome dinner) and we are already talking about doing a tour to Sicily next year (stay tuned). (Don’t worry, it won’t be offal!)

Next month Sophie and I will be taking guests on our first Week in Puglia trip April 7-13. We just had 2 last minute cancellations, so if you’d like to join us send me an email and I can offer you a 10% discount if you mention this newsletter. But if it’s too last-minute then I hope you can join us in 2020, in either April or October. We still have spaces open so just send me an email to find out more.

I also have the last 2 spots still available for the Week in Puglia with Elizabeth Gilbert (July 8-12). You can read about this amazing week here. (I still can’t believe I get to do this with Liz!) Let me know if you’d like me to send you the details.

In other tour news, Sophie has just started leading two new tours in Rome. She takes her passion for pizza to new heights in her Pizza Crawl and shares her love of our own neighborhood (and the newly revitalized Via Baccina Market) in her Monti Tour. Send her an email for more information. (FYI: the pizza tour is extremely kid friendly)

For our updated schedule of Week-long tours in Puglia, Rome and Umbria see this page

Where I've Been

I’m just back from a 10 day trip to South Africa and my head is still reeling. It was my first trip to Africa and so I expected it to be life changing. And it was. But in ways I hadn’t expected. When you travel for a living going to completely new places is important. I was just looking at my calendar from the last 2 years and barely a month has gone by where I spent 30 days in the same place. I cover a lot of ground. But that doesn’t necessarily mean I am traveling in the true sense of the word.

When I think of travel I still have that kind of romantic idea of discovering new places. You know, a beaten up old suitcase with labels it. Or the back pack I used to carry in college as I Eurail-passed my way from country to country. These days my travel is usually work related, which puts it in a totally different category. (even if I am going to gorgeous places) But this trip to South Africa was completely different. It had nothing at all to do with work and it was WAY out of my comfort zone.

First of all South Africa is a country I knew next to nothing about. While I know about Apartheid, Nelson Mandela and watch Trevor Noah that about sums it up. We spent a lot of our time in Cape Town and Johannesburg talking to people, which opened our eyes to the country’s recent, complicated and completely different history. Every story was different, unique and let us just barely glimpse a world that we didn’t know existed. Since the main language in South Africa is English you think that this will be a common denominator, but it is not. Language is one of the most loaded issues in South Africa.

I don’t even have words to describe the experience of being on a game reserve. Being surrounded by a herd of 40 elephants as they ran 3 feet past your open jeep on their way to the watering hole? Sitting next to a pride of napping lions, so close you could reach out and touch them? I"m getting shivers just writing these words.

I could go on and on. And will give all the details in a future blog post. But the main thing I took away (besides a severe case of Mal d’Africa and the need to return as soon as possible ) is the importance of travel like this. Going to a new place, one that pushes you out of your comfort zone, changes you. It turns things upside down, gives you new energy and makes you see your own world in new ways you couldn’t have imagined. Sometimes I forget this.

(PS: If I organized a trip to South Africa would you be interested in coming with me?)

What I'm Reading

Trevor Noah’s book of short stories was a completely amusing and at the same time, eye opening introduction to recent history in South Africa.

Is Cacio e Pepe turning into the Flavor of the Month?

A great list of where to eat in Rome, including most of my favorites.

Yay!! Something positive from the world of print journalism: the LATimes is reviving it’s Food Section!

Loved this list of Bacari in Venice from Stephen Raichlen. It has most of my favorites that inspired recipes in the Venice chapter of The Italian Table.

Recipe writing with long head notes and introductions or not? Of course I'm a big believer in telling stories about food. So is the author of this great article.

Here is a list of books that are lined up on my kindle, ready to go:
Nine Perfect Strangers, Liane Moriarty
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity and Love, Dani Shapiro
A Place for Us, Fatima Farheen Mirza

And finally.....

Yes. I’m actually featured in an article on ‘old people.’ But at least I’m called a “You Tube Star” so there’s that.

Thank you Forbes for including my blog as one of the top five to use to plan your next trip to Italy.

x,Elizabeth