Foodie Friday with Marissa

Thank goodness Friday is finally here! Lots of fun for my weekend ahead. To kick things off for the weekend I have another "Foodie Friday with" for you. This week, I introduce you to Marissa. I'm slightly jealous of Marissa's life in Italy. Her daily posts on The Boot keep me coming back for more, and her tasty sounding (and looking) recipes are just the icing on the cake. 

Hometown (and where you currently call home): Medfield, Massachusetts and now Barletta, Italy

Story behind your blog and what got you into cooking/baking: The blog was originally a place for me to catalog my new Italian life for friends and family back home. I had moved to Manu’s (my fiancè) hometown after graduating from college and the next day I started the blog. This August that will be five years ago - it feels like an eternity! I would write little stories about how amazing and new everything was. Slowly but surely, the years went by and I began blogging every day. I noticed that my real passion was food, and I always wanted to do food posts! It wasn’t until March of this year that I announced to the blogosphere that the boot was officially a food blog. It’s been amazing so far and definitely what I am most passionate about. My food roots run deep, so you can read more about that here.

Favorite recipe you have made to date: These cupcakes were absolutely the most fun. The best part was seeing my Italian girlfriends try them - they had never had a cupcake before and the looks on their faces were priceless!

Favorite recipe to cook for guests/take to a party: My Italian friends love fruity drinks, so this sangria was their request at every party this spring! The flavors are unexpectedly awesome and it’s so refreshing!

Favorite go-to weeknight meal: In Italy we eat a big lunch, so we always have something light for dinner. I love these baked falafel with lime yogurt for something fast and wholesome on a weeknight!

Favorite thing to bake or have baked for you: I just made these madeleines on my own after a lifetime of having my mom bake them for me. I don’t know if it was the peacefulness of my kitchen, or the fact that they came out so good, but I made them with so much love and they came out amazing!  

Kitchen gadget you could never live without: My hands. There’s no better gadget to see if meat’s done, to feel the right consistency of dough, or any number of things. It’s a sense that we overlook sometimes in the kitchen!

One of your daily foodie reads: Lottie + Doof. Such good writing and amazing recipes!

Thank you so much for participating this week Marissa! Of course everything you shared looks delightful!