From the category archives:

Recipe Index

Fava Beans at their Best

October 10, 2011

there were some blanched, peeled favas left over and they went into a quick sauce for homemade tagliatelle, sautéed in butter with a hunk of prosciutto ground very fine and whipping cream.

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Tiramisu: The perfect pick me up dessert

October 3, 2011

Tiramisù literally means “pick me up” so it’s important to use richly flavored Italian coffee, which is easily made in a stovetop Moka. One of the key ingredients in Tiramisù is mascarpone, and we add it, one third at a time, incorporating it into the mixture taking care not to over-whip it. Finally, whip the cream until it is firm and carefully fold it in.

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Spaghetti with Melon: A Luscious Summer Pasta

June 29, 2011

My mother-in-law, Marcella Hazan, started making this cantaloupe pasta dish at home and now Giuliano often makes it when we have friends over. Once it is cooked, the melon is mostly unrecognizable and it’s great fun seeing if people can guess what the sauce’s “secret” ingredient is. The freshness of the dish is soothing on a hot evening and takes full advantage of the bounty of summer.

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Spaghetti alla Norma Recipe

May 13, 2011

This is a recipe we have taught in our home cooking class and is delicious. This dish was named after Vincenzo Bellini’s opera, Norma. It is a typical Sicilian pasta recipe, flavorful, fresh, and even vegetarian. It is exceptional with fresh farmer’s market produce.

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A Sexy Side Dish: Potatoes with Truffle Salt Recipe

April 21, 2011

We prepared them simply, boiled with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and a dash of truffle salt. They were delicious and tender, I looked at Giuliano and said,“ It’s a pity that potatoes don’t get more respect”. I know I will never take a potato for granted again.

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Pesto: The Taste Of Spring

April 13, 2011

The beauty of pesto is that it is easily freezable which makes it available at anytime. But to me, it is the quintessential spring dish. We tend to eat it in the traditional manner, just the pasta with a few boiled green beans and sliced potatoes; however, it is great as a primo, first dish, during an Easter Feast.

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Chocolate Cookies and a Thank You to Fire Fighters

April 4, 2011

These are fun and easy cookies to make. Even the smallest child can assist. The greatest challenge is to get them to actually make the cookies rather than just eating the yummy dough.

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Barley and Tomato Salad Recipe for a Potluck

March 29, 2011

Cooking barley is just like rice, yet the grain has a nutty flavor that gives depth to the dish. Add the tomato, parsley and onion to the dish and you are set with an easily transportable dish that all will enjoy.

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Carrot Almond Cake Recipe

March 22, 2011

here are equal amounts carrots and almonds in this cake recipe, and both flavors are present and not covered up. It doesn’t have that heavy, oily, overly sweet flavor that is sometimes present in store bought carrot cakes. We’ve found that it doesn’t need to have a cream cheese toping; instead we serve each with a dollop of simple homemade whipped cream

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Italian Custard Pie Recipe: Torta Della Nonna and a review of two new google rich snippets recipe plugins

March 16, 2011

After all the discussion of the new google mandates and just trying to figure out what a rich snippet is and figure out which google recipe plugins we should use, we will all need something sweet to pick us up. Since our girls are very much into baking, I thought it would be good for them to make one of the Sorelle Simili, the Simili sisters, fabulous treats, their Torta Della Nonna, or Grandmother’s cake. Long ago the sister’s had given their recipe of this homey and comforting pie to Giuliano. I thought it was a perfect chance for the girls to learn how to make custard and to roll out pie dough.

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Short Ribs Braised with Tomatoes and Potatoes Recipe

March 8, 2011

These fork-tender, succulent short ribs are the perfect antidote to a cold winter’s day. By the end the potatoes become partly mashed, and together with the tomatoes form a wonderful thick sauce.

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Marcella Answers a Question about Risotto

March 4, 2011

A recent letter to Marcella and her answer: Here is the recipe for squash risotto. Dear Marcella I thought of you watching Top Chef these last couple of weeks. One chef used cream in his risotto, to make it creamy, and clearly that would make any student of yours upset. Then Tom Colicchio said that [...]

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Grilled Endive Recipe

March 1, 2011

A wonderful way of preparing endive is to grill it, which gives it a deep, nutty flavor and sweetens it. Last week Giuliano grilled some and the children liked it so much it was gone in an instant.

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Bolognese Lasagne

February 21, 2011

Lasagne makers are often judged on how many layers than can create. Five or six layers are considered the minimum for acceptability. Ooh’s and ahh’s occur the higher they go. For my birthday celebration, Giuliano created a spectacular 9-layer lasagne!

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Valentine’s Day Strawberry Gelato Recipe

February 13, 2011

In Italy, il giorno della festa degli innamorati or Valentine’s day is considered to be an imported American holiday. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t celebrated, particularly with chocolates, roses, or in this case, Strawberry Gelato!

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Classic Bolognese Meat Sauce

February 7, 2011

In classic Bolognese, the sauce and the pasta are in symbiosis and enhance each other. This is one of those sauces that is best with homemade egg pasta, and is a delicacy that, in my family, we could eat weekly.

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Nutella Semifreddo in honor of World Nutella Day

February 5, 2011

This is a sweet and creamy dessert that the kids love, yet is sophisticated enough for adults too. Lorella made it as a semifreddo in a glass for the adults, she then surrounded it with chocolate and created popsicles for the kids. Semifreddo in Italian means half frozen, and this recipe had the airy chewiness of meringue mixed with the sweet flavor of Nutella. A fun dessert for the entire family.

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Salmon in a Pouch Recipe and a hands on Cooking Class

January 25, 2011

Although salmon is not a native Italian fish, and is rarely seen on restaurant menus in Italy, it lends itself well to Italian preparations. In this recipe, it is baked in a pouch, which is an easy and forgiving way to cook fish, ensuring it will turn out moist and flavorful. The presentation is impressive and your guests will ooh and ahh both when the y see it as well as when they taste it.

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Classic Tuscan Ribollita Soup

January 17, 2011

Now when your local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm delivers a mountain of kale, you’ll know what to do with it. Both of our girls enjoyed this soup. In fact, our oldest, 11 year old Gabriella, brought it to school in her thermos for lunch and said that all of her friends were jealous. It is very easy to make and freezes well if you’ve made more than you need.

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Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Potatoes

January 10, 2011

Roasted potatoes are perhaps the ultimate comfort cold weather food.. What makes this dish Italian are the seasonings. The combination of garlic and rosemary is the distinctive aroma of Italian roasts. Breathing it is as one enters the house makes one’s mouth water in anticipation. For me, it is the smell of tranquility.

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Italian New Year’s Tortellini Recipe

January 3, 2011

In the Italian region where our family is from, Emilia Romagnia, a traditional New Year’s dish is Tortellini or Cappelletti: small filled pasta that is shaped, according to some, like a Bishops hat. Cappelletti means little hats, and New Year’s, Capo di Anno, is the hat or head of the year so it is an obvious pairing. They are at their best in a homemade meat broth but they are also delicious served with a cream sauce. However you choose to enjoy them, they are a delicacy to look forward to all year long.

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How to Make Homemade Pasta

December 28, 2010

Making pasta dough by hand is simple. Do not be discouraged by the length of my instructions. I have tried to describe as clearly as possible the method. With a little practice it will easily become second nature and you will have finished dough in less than 15 minutes.

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Easy Holiday Cookies

December 20, 2010

The recipe is so easy that, other than putting the cookies in the oven and taking them out, the kids can do most of it themselves. This is something the kids can make to give as a “gift”, and they are so tasty that even the most discriminating grandparent will be pleased.

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Panettone: The story of Italian Christmas Cake

December 16, 2010

As in all recipes Italian, everyone believes that either they or their mother makes it the best. In the case of Panettone the competition almost came to blows in the 1930’s. Trying to out produce each other, two Milanese bakeries Motta & Alemagna, learned how to make the cakes industrially. Because of the competition, the price of panettone, once only eaten by the wealthy dropped and became inexpensive enough for everyone to enjoy it at Christmas. As Italians immigrated to other parts of the world, they brought panettone with them and it now can be found everywhere.

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A Chocolate Cake with Diplomacy

December 13, 2010

Happily for Giuliano, one of our favorite holiday desserts does not need to be baked… Called diplomatico, it is a rich and creamy chocolate mouse cake that is foolproof, hence the name. It is frosted with whipped cream, providing a perfect canvas for decorating, which is, of course, the children’s job.

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Holiday Rack of Lamb Recipe

December 6, 2010

This elegant rack of lamb is delectable yet easy to prepare. It is an ideal recipe for when you want to impress your guests without being chained to the kitchen for hours.

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Sautéed Mixed Greens

November 29, 2010

Usually prepared and served out of a small shack that may have a few plastic tables, piadina is a flat bread that is chewy but tender. Until not very long ago it used to be the everyday bread of Romagna. It is baked to order on a griddle (traditionally made of terracotta) and served with a variety of salumi, cured meats, and cheeses. One of our favorite toppings is sautéed mixed greens using a combination of mild and slightly bitter greens. It is both savory and soothing. Even without piadina, it is a side dish Giuliano often enjoys making. Made with Savoy cabbage, Swiss chard, and broccoli rabe, it appeared most recently on our Thanksgiving table.

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Yellow Squash with Grape Tomatoes: A great Thanksgiving side dish

November 22, 2010

Not only do the ingredients look good together, the flavors complement each other perfectly. The simplicity of using only onions and marjoram, and patient sautéing to bring out the sweetness of the squash and grape tomatoes, makes this recipe distinctively Italian.

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Leek and Chickpea Pasta Soup

November 15, 2010

The leeks give a soft, sweet taste to this hearty soup and the chickpeas add an earthy balance. The prosciutto lends a savory flavor and Gabriella, our oldest, picked out the pieces to eat them by themselves. It is a perfect comfort soup, it takes less than an hour to make from start to finish, and most of the dish can be made ahead of time.

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The secret to making cardoons tender and sweet, a quick and easy fall recipe

November 8, 2010

Of course, most children won’t like anything remotely bitter, but I’ve discovered how to eliminate that bitterness, and our kids, who love artichokes, also love cardoons.

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