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Grappa is only fruity because its made from grapes. You can add herbs or fruit to give it flavor, but just plain it doesn't taste like much of anything accept BURNING.

Thank you SO much, Kenji. I'd ramble on about my own personal experiences with vegetarianism/veganism but that would seem oddly self serving. I just want to make sure that you know how important your experiences have been to my own lifestyle and look at my produce isle in a different way. I bought fennel for the first time, yesterday. I still really don't understand how to cook it (I HATE boiled fennel...), but I'm willing to try. I also bought turnip greens for the first time two weeks ago. And Daikon Radish. After reading about your experiences this month I feel like my understanding of vegetables isn't complete and maybe I should be exploring further. I've experienced failure, too. Thanks for putting yourself out there, Kenji.

Oh wow, Annie! Thats a great recipe! Thank you VERY much!

In Italy anyone under the age of 25 has this TERRIBLE habit of using their cell phone at the dinner table like their life depended on it.

My husband has two cousins, girls ages 15 and 22. At every family dinner (Christmas, Easter ect...) They do NOTHING but text, show eachother their text messages, use facebook, and use their cellphones to create things for them to talk about that don't involve the rest of the people at the table. When my husband and I invited his family to our house for Thanksgiving the year before last I made a no cell phone rule and you know what happened? The older cousin took her younger sister out for kebab while their parents came over and had to apologize for them. Italians are documented to be the most cell-phone addicted populous in Europe, seconded in the WORLD only by Korea.

I had salame cacciatorino, ricotta di capra, pane integrale, and a glass of bracchetto from Castel Vetro for lunch.

Wow Max, great advice. And you take 'constructive' critisism so well.

An interesting story; Our favorite pub outside of Cento, Italy is called Old West Saloon. We've been going there since I got here because they play country music and classic rock (makes me think of being back home in Oregon), they have all kinds of civil war memorabilia, the owners are bikers who've biked across the USA ect ect... They're great people. The owner has a jar filled with Habanero 'juice' and sugar cubes. He likes to walk around the pub offering these sugar cubes to the patrons. He knows that my husband and I are big fans of the sugar cubes so he always comes to us first so that the other patrons can watch two people who can handle it say 'Ooooh! Yummy! Thank you! How delicious! Hot? Pffff...' So that some guido d-bag who thinks he can impress his hoochy girlfriend by eating one will step up to the fire and get burned. Its HI-LARIOUS.

But to me Habanero is easier to handle than, say, a Jalapeno. Jalapenos burn slow and long and for me Habaneros are super hot in the beginning but burn out quicker. I dunno. Maybe its just me.

Bone Marrow, Good Toast, and wine. Stop. If you insist on serving it with something else, I'd suggest something with crunchy vegetables in it to cut the richness of the marrow. Maybe some oven roasted leeks and/or brussels sprouts.

Tuna and Onion and Radicchio pizza, Coke Zero, and a BIG slice of apple cake.

Tuna and Onion is a very popular and traditional pizza here in Italy. If you want authentic, Pepperoni isn't the way to go! LOL

I've always wondered how most American beers I've tried (a lot... I'm from Oregon after all...) are more bitter on the swallow than German/Austrian/Slovenian beers.

Blue Boar... I've had it once, I REALLY liked it, I'd like to try others like it, but I can't remember what kind of a beer it is.

Leek Fried Rice!

Traditional Carbonara is so easy to make I don't understand how anyone would pay for it!

I wish she had chosen a better side of Portland. Well, I guess deep SE would have been worse but seriously...

Who do you think you've managed to educate the most in this process? Is there a person who balked at the idea of being Vegan but has been completely blown over by your experience? Do you hear 'Oh, sorry Kenji' a lot when people forget and offer you thinks your diet doesn't allow? Or does that even happen?