Well lovely Ivy over at Kopiaste, who has a fabulous Greek/Cypriot Food Blog asked me to do the 5 Facts About Me meme. So I figured what the heck?! Could be fun! Then I thought, as always in true Jenn fashion, is there anything I can write about that would be beneficial for people to read, that is related to food – being that this is a food blog. Well I am not one to do rants generally, as I always steer my blog to positive things, but there are some things in the Food World that have been pestering me for several weeks now and I feel I should share this information and perhaps spread the word about the food we eat and things that you might not know about.

But first, the fun ones, the 5 facts about me!

1)I believe that the most powerful force in the universe is Love
2)When I was younger I had blond, poker straight hair (must be all that Olive oil!)
3)I believe in Fairies!
4)I once lived as a Shepard on The Navajo Reservation
5)I worked in the Alternative/Holistic Health field for many years, and saw first hand, day after day how foods help and harm us. It is from this knowledge and my hope to pass it on that I share these next 5 facts.

Now for my 5 Food Facts:

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The reason we are all gathered here today- at least in my corner of the universe, is because February 5th is
World Nutella Day 2008. This is the day that my buddies, American expats in Italy, Sara, Michelle and Shelley decided we should all sit back, relax and enjoy the Nutella.
This is a day to celebrate this delicious chocolate-hazelnut spread that puts smiles on faces young and old all across the world.

My first encounter with Nutella was when I lived in Norway, in 1994. Bread is a big thing in Norwegian cuisine. You eat it for breakfast and lunch with a wide variety of meats cheeses and spreads. My favorite was always Brunost (Brown Cheese) – I had it for breakfast and lunch, every single day. Of course, I was a foodie back then, too, I just didn’t know it yet, so I was addicted to going to the grocery stores there and seeing what kinds of products I could find that were unique to Norway. When I came across Nutella and realized you could eat it on toast for breakfast, I thought it was pure genius. I mean who doesn’t love the combination of Chocolate and Hazelnut? But for breakfast!? I thought this was a Norwegian invention and I was forever indebted, until I found out it was an Italian creation! Gotta love Italy. Anyway, I fell in love with the stuff. I discovered how good it went with waffles, another big treat in Norway. Well by that point I was hooked. When a Dutch friend of mine told me they eat chocolate sprinkles on their toast for breakfast, I began thinking we Americans are totally depraved.

Anyway, I digress. You are wondering about these wonderful pudding cakes I made. Well there is a story behind them too- I will try to be quick about it. Remember the Dolce Italiano Event back in November, where I, along with the geniuses behind World Nutella Day made recipes from Gina DePalma’s newest cookbook: Dolce Italiano: Desserts From the Babbo Kitchen? I made this and this.Well we were only allowed to make 2 desserts for that event (as if I was in any capacity with the impending holidays to make MORE than 2), but there was a third I was really wanting to try, her Chocolate and Date Pudding Cakes. I love dates and chocolate and pudding, so for me it was another match made in heaven. When I was thinking of a recipe to make for World Nutella Day, I immediately went to Gina’s cookbook to look for inspiration. I rediscovered these pudding cakes and decided to alter them to fit the bill for this fabulous celebration that I am sure Ms. DePalma would certainly sanction.

So what I did was instead of using the bittersweet chocolate and butter mixture, I decided to use Nutella. And in place of walnuts, I went for Hazelnuts, much more my liking and a much better match for the Nutella.

The verdict? These cakes are succulent. Yes, that is the word.

As Gina puts it : “The Medjool dates…contribute a deep caramel flavor that holds hands with the chocolate like a smitten teenager.”

Oh boy, does it. That with the warm taste of the hazelnuts underneath they are just pure heaven. I baked mine for 20 minutes and not minute longer. This made the centers perfectly moist and delicious. Bet you can’t have just one!
Happy World Nutella Day to everyone – get out there and get your Nutella on!

World Nutella Day: How you can participate.

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This is the first installment of Finest Foodies Friday. Every Friday, I will be featuring the BEST of the BEST – favorite blogs from the Foodie Blogroll. This is a way for all of us in the Foodie community to get to know the other bloggers and their blogs.

I have set up a place for nominations on The Leftover Queen Forum, here. The only qualification is that they are part of The Foodie Blogroll! If you are not yet a member, you are missing out on a great community of food bloggers! There is no time like the present to sign up, here!

I see at least over 10 new blogs a day, with people requesting to join the Foodie Blogroll all the time. So I must admit, I get over saturated with food blogs at times. However, a girl does have her favorites and there are blogs and bloggers that have a special place in my heart, and whose blogs I try to visit on a regular basis. But this is why I need this Finest Foodies Friday – so I can learn about all of your favorites too and find new favorites of my own!

This week I am featuring my
Top 5 Favorite Italian American Food Bloggers.
Of course I had to start with my peeps! Next week along with the nominated blog from the Forum, I am also going to feature, my Favorite Greek Food Blogs because as you all know, I may be Italian, but I have always had a passion for Greek food!

Jenn’s Top 5 Italian American Blog Picks:

Michelle from Bleeding Espresso
Michelle was the very FIRST member of The Foodie Blogroll and one of my first Foodie Blogger Buddies. She is an American who really started living La Dolce Vita when she moved from PA to her ancestral village in Calabria. Something I wish I had thought of! She features a What’s Cooking Wednesday, with lots of yummy Italian and especially Calabrian delicacies. She is a great writer and dog mommy. So if you want to learn more about Italy, go check out Michelle’s blog!

Candace from Italian Woman at The Table
Candace is a food and travel writer. She and I always joke about how we might have been separated at birth – since we both have similar jobs and are from a Calabrian background. She even spent an entire year cooking Calabrian foods! She waxes poetically about her travels and loves Anthony Bourdain and her posts are always entertaining.

Amanda from Figs, Bay & Wine (formerly Figs, Olives, Wine)
Amanda is married to a Sicilian American, so she is an honorary Italian American. I have always loved Amanda’s focus on not only Mediterranean foods, but also on eating locally. She usually gives an interesting history of the dish she is posting about, so her blog is very informative and encourages me to be more aware about where I am getting my food from and using ingredients from Farmer’s Markets that I am not very familiar with.

Jeni from The Passionate Palate
Jeni is the mastermind behind Passionate Palate Tours – food tours to Italy! How great is that? One day I really hope to be on these tours! In Jeni’s own words from her website: “She created Passionate Palate Tours in order to combine her professional experience and knowledge with her passion for travel and her desire to share these things with others. Through food and wine, Jeni believes that we learn something about ourselves and of the culture that we are visiting.” I couldn’t agree more Jeni!

Sara of Ms. Adventures in Italy
Another ex-pat in Italy who left her life in CA and pursued her life long dream of moving to Italy. She is currently living La Vita Bella in Milan and I enjoy reading her posts about her passion for food and learning about life in her Northern city. She also hosts World Nutella Day and The Tour del Gelato! Be sure to check out those great foodie events!

Speaking of great Foodie events – don’t forget, today is the last day for you enter The Royal Foodie Joust and get your personalized apron! This is the biggest joust yet, with 17 entries so far! Way to go participants!
Entries due 10 PM EST (USA).