When Skye McAlpine was six years old, her family decided to move from London to Venice for a year.  More than 25 years later, they’re still there.  They fell in love with the city, and, now, Skye, her husband and young son live in the same house where she grew up, overlooking a sleepy canal in a quiet corner of the city.

Her blog FromMyDiningTable.com is a love letter to her adoptive city and a beautiful meditation on food, family and la dolce vita. Her new cookbook A TABLE IN VENICE, offers a varied collection of dishes that she and her family enjoy, alongside some absolutely gorgeous photos of the floating city.

Skye came to my kitchen to make a simple yet delicious dish called Tagliolini con Scampi, Zucchine, e Zafferano.  We ended up with spaghettini instead of tagliolini, but Skye assured me that any long, thin pasta would do.  She talks about her daily life in Venice, how she learned how to cook Italian food, some of her favourite Venetian dishes, and she offers some great tips on making great pasta.

Coincidentally, Skye and I are both in the latest Cherry Bombe magazine- the Home Cooks Rule issue!  What an honour!  If you don’t know Cherry Bombe, check them out.  They rock.  Here’s their mission statement:

“Our mission is to support women in the world of food by sharing their stories and to build a community of people making the world a better place through food. We also encourage everyone to cook for themselves and their loved ones; to be confident, curious, and creative in the kitchen; and to sit down for meals with others whenever possible.”

You can find the podcast episode with Feist and Adrienne Amato HERE.