“Food is the only form of art that will involve all five senses.” ~ Chef Fabio Viviani
I believe life, especially when it comes to the arts, is built on a series of connections — relationships between people, surprising sensory experiences, simultaneous interactions and threads that tie one subject to another. One passing acquaintanceship will lead to a relationship will lead to a friendship or a marriage…or a handful of ingredients in combination and baked at a set temperature will lead to a cake…or an acute observation plus a strong emotion plus a “what if” question will lead to story.
(*pictured right: Fabio Viviani and me with our books – my 3rd novel, A Summer in Europe, and Café Firenze, one of his many excellent cookbooks*)
I spend a lot of time thinking about such things because, well, one thought leads to another and, soon, a full-blown theory has appeared. I like theories and, typically, they’re easier for me to follow than recipes. So, I could jabber on and on about connections…or, I could just tell you a story.
It all started with the Nutella Biscuits…
One day I was reading Ciao Florentina’s cooking blog, where I’ve often found delicious recipes (LOVE her dips and salsas!), when I came across some pictures of Nutella Biscuits (http://ciaoflorentina.com/2011/07/16/chef-fabio-vivianis-nutella-biscuits/), the recipe of which she happened to pick up from Top Chef Finalist Fabio Vivian
i.
Now, you have to understand (insert critical backstory here), my addiction to Nutella goes WAY back, about 25 years, when I first tasted it in Europe. (These were in the days before you could find it at Walgreen’s. Other people brought home bottles of wine from our college dance tour…I brought home giant jars of Nutella. No kidding. 
) So this recipe was a love-at-first-sight experience for me. I clicked over to Fabio’s page to get the details (http://fabioviviani.com/recipes/nutella-biscuits/), was delighted to see that it required only a few ingredients and, later that w
eek, bought what I needed to make it.
With a little help from my son, we mixed everything together, kneaded the dough, flattened the biscuits and cut them into fall-leaf shapes before baking. I am not, as I’m sure many of you have gathered, the most skilled person in the kitchen. I was, however, very motivated to give these biscuits a try, and they were well worth it!
When they came out of the oven, we let them cool and then decorated the tops with an extra swirl of Nutella and, finally, tasted them. Delicious!!
Having just had this exciting culinary experience, it set me off on a quest to seek out more great recipes by both Florentina and Fabio, and it eventually led me to their Facebook pages as well… Knowing the way social networking can make people’s lives criss-cross, you won’t be surprised to hear that one clicked link led to another clicked link which led to my mom (a fantabulous cook in her own right, btw) getting tickets for us to see a live cooking demonstration by Fabio himself!
The show was held in Dubuque, Iowa at the Diamond Jo Casino — my first visit to the building but not to the city. In fact, one of the many coincidences that led to me driving across all of Illinois to get there this past Saturday was that Dubuque is the city my heroine (from my upcoming novel, A Summer in Europe http://tinyurl.com/3d3kuz4) is from, along with all of the American secondary characters in the story. I hadn’t seen it since I’d written the book, so I was excited to go back to visit. And since that same heroine learns about love and is awakened to a more passionate life, thanks in part to the delicious food of Italy, I couldn’t have concocted a more perfect weekend adventure.
I left home not knowing what to expect or what I’d find, certain only that some interesting experiences would await. One thing I learned right away: My two perplexing hours at a slot machine was proof enough that I don’t have the internal fortitude of a gambler, but there were shimmery moments of excitement that, likewise, convinced me addiction to the game would be easy. The puzzle-loving side of my brain kept watching the symbols spin by, trying to figure out a pattern. Trying to mold something random into something ordered. (I suspect the tall strawberry margarita you see sitting beside the machine assisted a little in this endeavor, too. Tequila helps you find connections everywhere, LOL.)
And then Fabio’s show started and I had brand new thoughts to puzzle over. He made us laugh (“Use fresh herbs. Using dry herbs will give you the same pleasure of kissing somebody with a helmet on…”) and shared a humorous but very true distinction between “common sense” vs. “knowledge.” He said, “How many of you know that a tomato is a fruit?” Most of us in the audience raised our hands. “Knowing a tomato is a fruit is knowledge, but you wouldn’t make a fruit pie with tomatoes. That’s common sense!”
He talked about what made a dish good. He said there were really only three things a person needed in order to cook well:
1. a recipe
2. good appliances
3. common sense (ahhh!)
And I laughed because, yes, I’m sure he was right about these things when it came to being in the kitchen (I’d fallen short on #3 more than once while baking something…), but it was also a moment of connection for me between cooking and writing because I saw a similarity that I couldn’t deny.
For a novel you need:
1. a strong plot/characters
2. working writing tools, like a computer
3. common sense, which is knowing the difference between school-like knowledge and what will actually work in real life…or, in this case, in believable and compelling fiction. (Like the difference between real conversation — with all the “ums” and “hmms” left in — versus good dialogue, which is not a replica of real conversation, but it’s an impression of it — one that leads the characters toward an action or a decision.) I don’t think common sense is something we’re all born knowing — not in cooking or in writing or in life (I live with an adolescent, so I’m sure his is still in development!) – but I think if we’re paying attention, we do tend to learn that skill over time with the help of some expert guidance and hands-on experience.
Thanks for the cooking lesson, Fabio! And to all of you, what’s the best cooking (or writing) advice you ever got? I’d love to hear your thoughts. 
I love nutella, too, Marilyn. Will definitely try that recipe. Have you ever made Nigella Lawson’s nutella cake? (http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/nutella-cake-158) Hmmm mmm. I’ve made it lots of times. Very yum.
Michelle Diener`s last blog was …Guest blogging at author Cynthia Eden’s blog
Thanks, Michelle!
And, no…I didn’t even realize there was Nutella Cake out there!!! How did I live this long without being aware of such things?! I will check out Nigella’s recipe right away — thank you so much for the link.
Marilyn Brant`s last blog was …Romantic Love Books
Marilyn, you’ve got me salivating! Great post!
On a blog called Food 52 I saw a recipe for Nutella pudding which also sounded pretty amazing. All these Nutella recipes. I may have to succumb to temptation and go buy a jar or three!
-Laura
Laura,
. I used up my jar making a double batch of the Nutella Biscuits, so now I’ll need to get more! Thank you so much for visiting me here — can’t wait to talk to you again soon!! xox
Nutella Pudding?!!! Oh, my goodness… I am in such trouble
Marilyn Brant`s last blog was …Double Blogging: Blake Snyder & Magical Musings
You had me at Nutella!
As you know Marilyn, I love to cook, bake, and especially EAT! I’ll have to try those recipes — Nutella biscuits and Nutella cake — YUM! I think the 3 things Fabio mentioned that are needed to be a good cook are spot on! I realized a long time ago that I get the most enjoyment out of cooking when I stray from recipes and put my own creativity into the process. When I first moved out on my own as an adult I was a little bit afraid of cooking, but I enjoy it soooo much now. And common sense is definitely helpful! 
Brett!!
. And I do know that I’m not the only one with a Nutella addiction, LOL! I think that really good cooks bring creativity and a sense of adventurousness to the kitchen — you have both, so I know you must have created some wonderful dishes up in WI!
As I recall, you’re an excellent cook
Marilyn Brant`s last blog was …Double Blogging: Blake Snyder & Magical Musings
I’ve never had nutella! what does it taste like? Is there anything you can compare it to? I admit, I’m interested!
As for advice… maybe… don’t be afraid to trust your instincts and try something new! Not that I follow that, but it sounds good. lol
Ohhh, Lori…squeee! I’d love to introduce it to you! Okay, Nutella has the consistency of a freshly opened jar of good chocolate frosting, so it’s easily spreadable. It’s made of milk chocolate and ground up hazelnuts, so the flavor is kind of like a hazelnut truffle, if you’ve had those in a box of chocolates (or at Godiva
). In Europe, they spread it on bread as part of breakfast, the way we’d spread peanut butter on toast. You can get it everywhere now, at just about any grocery store, so if you like the taste of hazelnuts, give it a try. And I like your cooking/writing advice, too!!
Marilyn Brant`s last blog was …Double Blogging: Blake Snyder & Magical Musings
Ah, Bella! Italian girls don’t get rattles in the crib, they get mini wooden spoons. My first delightful cooking lessons where while standing on an organge crate. My mother, her sister and sister-in-law were great cooks and bakers. I loved to follow them around the kitchen, watching and learning.
The best cooking advice I ever got was from my father, who was also a great cook. He told me that when you “love” what you do, you put a pinch of that love in everything you cook. Great post, wonderful pics and delicious food … what more can an Italian born and bred in Brooklyn ever want for in a post? Thanks
florence fois`s last blog was …Read to write …
Florence, I *love* it when people speak Italian to me!! Thank you for your lovely comment, and I adore your father’s advice
.
How cool it must have been to grow up with so many great cooks and bakers! My mom, my grandma and my aunts are all excellent cooks and many times I’d stay in the kitchen to be with them as they were creating their delicious meals. However, I wasn’t nearly as attentive as I should have been to the cooking itself. I liked to eavesdrop on the family gossip too much and that distracted me, LOL. Plus, these are not women who *ever* measured anything! When I’d try to make one of the dishes later, my mom would say, “Well, you know…you put in a handful of (name the ingredient), and you taste it and you can just kind of tell if it’s enough…” I’d just shake my head because I was really, really hoping for a precise number of tablespoons!! My dishes never turn out as well…sigh…but I do try hard.
Marilyn Brant`s last blog was …Double Blogging: Blake Snyder & Magical Musings
Marilyn,
I loved this! Yes, putting a book together is much like perfecting–and bringing your own unique tastes–to a terrific recipe. And now you’ve got me craving Nutella on ice cream (I’ve been looking at your Sundae covers…). Probably the best writing (and cooking) advice I ever got was that when something isn’t right, toss it out. All writers hate cutting scenes, but some just don’t work. All cooks hate to admit that they need to toss a dish, but if something isn’t right, it’s better to toss than serve it to the diner. Don’t serve it up to diners or readers unless you think it’s wonderful!
Amy, that it fabulous advice — you’re so right! — for both cooking and writing. There are some dishes (and some scenes) that just can’t be saved…and there’s always a point when we realize it. I have a hard time tossing things, but it does have to be done sometimes. At least with cut scenes, we can still save them in a folder or something for possible use later. I totally couldn’t do that with the disastrous and overly dense muffins I made one time…
My husband still laughs about those. He called them the “hungry man” muffins because you had to be *really* hungry to eat them! 
Marilyn Brant`s last blog was …Double Blogging: Blake Snyder & Magical Musings
Marilyn, I gain five pounds everytime I read one of your books. Now you’re blogging about food too. I blame my diet failure all on you!
I’m a baker but I enjoy cooking as well. New recipes, tried-and-true recipes, finding that perfect mix of ingredients…love the surprises and the successes. One of my favorite things is seeing my kids and hubby’s faces light up when they a new concoction for the first time.
I grow my own fresh herbs and keep oodles of real butter sticks in my fridge. I’m a Julia Child fan and adore Julie Powell’s quest to recreate all her recipes. Wish I’d thought of that! But I’m better off recreating Rachel Ray’s then JC’s. LOL.
And I have to admit, one of the reasons I love cooking is because I can use my cool set of kitchen knives. It’s the suspense writer in me, I guess. I get some of the best ideas when I’m chopping vegetables. hehehe
Misty,
I need to get a set of knives like that!!
My husband and son are good with gardening, and they’ve supplied me with a few herbs as well as a fair amount of veggies. My son gets really excited when I managed to cook something that involves some of his homegrown produce, so I’m trying to gather more easy recipes… I definitely need EASY, though!
xo
Marilyn Brant`s last blog was …Another Bad-Dog Book
Edie, on the TV commercials, they promote Nutella as a “healthy” breakfast food…and I’m sure it’s fairly respectable in small servings, much like peanut butter. I, however, am not satisfied unless I get a ginormous spoonful, LOL! And Fabio was incredibly sweet. When I told him about my novel and how the beauty of Italy and Italian food played a part in it, he asked me to sign a copy for him
. He couldn’t have been more gracious or charming. And anyone who inspire me to want to cook more is kind of a miracle worker!
Marilyn Brant`s last blog was …Romantic Love Books