This was my first-ever solo attempt at making piada, an unleavened Italian and San Marinese bread. It took me until 2008 to go solo for the first time on this because I’d lived in the same house as my Dad before that! He usually holds the oven mitt on the traditional foods.

San Marino and Italy share many styles of cuisine but since my family roots are in the little country within Italy, we often differentiate between the two, especially when it comes to traditional cooking.

Credits: A Stitch in Thyme by Ambowife Designs


Journaling:

Okay, so Nanas Kitchen is actually a very good Italian restaurant in Chicago. I ate there a couple of times with Mom when we were hoping to get into harry Caray’s after a Cubs game. After a Cubs game is the busiest time at Harry’s and definitely when you’d want to be there with fellow Cubs fans, but a bad time to go there when you have plans to be back in Michigan before 2AM!

The first time we tried Nana’s was after a Cubs game when we decided that a 2-hour wait just wouldn’t do to get us home at a reasonable hour. Nani’s is right next to the upscale restaurant that embraces baseball fans. Nana’s Kitchen caught my eye because my toddler at the time nieces called me Nana.. Nana’s is more casual and classic Italian from the crusty bread to the gnocchi! Ah, we need to get back to Chicago!

Today, Nani’s Kitchen is the one in Toledo and the fare may seem Italian, but it’s 100% San Marinese! I used the San Marino cookbook that Pop got for me and once again added my own memories of cooking with Noni to make my own piada for the first time! In a family of excellent cooks, it’s the true test of one’s cooking ability when you cook family classics alone. Today was all me and nobody else and th