The story behind the Peaches Cookies. I grew up in a family from the South of Italy, with Zia Lavinia calling Italy the “mainland” like Hawaiians call Usa (unless it’s 2500 miles far away). She had slightly rigid traditional menus for holiday, and not one recipe was written down (this thing has
The Meatballs. Polpette in Umido.White Wine Meatballs. ‘E Purpett’!
The Meatballs. It’s not the new Scorsese movie, but the article is needed here because these meatballs are the stars of all the meatballs. These meatballs are cooked in white wine and broth. Mamma called them Polpette in Umido. The word “umido”- that these days could sound exotic like umami, umeboshi, it’s
Cauliflower Patties. Le frittelle Napoletane di Natale di mia nonna Carmela.
Pancakes di Cavolfiore I should have known that writing about Neapolitan cauliflower pancakes I would have thought and missed to my Nonna Carmela. Entering the house, you were welcome by dancing tiles under most of your steps. Black and white-ish with a greek meander to delimitate the perimeter of each
Lentil Miso Soup with Mushrooms and Hazelnuts
And some meal planning and Unagi. You need to add this Lentil Miso Soup to your box of recipes. I am an advocate for old traditional dishes but always looking for new flavor combinations and pairings. Most of the meals I cook are the result of experimenting with what I
Classic Italian Tiramisù
How many Tiramisù an Italian eats in her whole life? I tried to make up a number thinking that I eat at least 10 Tiramisù a year between parties, eating out and un-birthday celebrations. The number is around 350 (I think I ate way more, but I feel shy today).
Roasted Pears with Brie and Pistachios
The perfect recipe for Friendsgiving. These roasted Pears with Brie and Pistachio make me think to my friends. Not because they are nuts or cheesy (they are both actually, but so am I), but because I like making this dish when I have people coming over. Being an immigrant or
How to make the Sicilian Spezzatino like my mamma.
U’ Spezzatinu Aggrassato Chi Patati. Spezzatino Agglassato is the quintessential comfort food. A weekend project for those days when all you need is a blanket, genuine family food, and a glass of wine. Which is what I crave for the most part of the year. Except in Summer when I-eat-only-Gelo-and-Caponata
How to make the Tarallucci al Vino. Italian Sweet Wine Taralli.
A great Roman classic. Tarallucci is a traditional crunchy cookie from the Castelli Romani area (the Roman countryside) where every fraschetta – a cheap genuine rustic roman tavern – serves them at the end of the meal to be dunked into wine. They are also common in the rest of Italy with
Sicilian Stuffed Mushrooms
Sicilia stuffed mushrooms are mushroom caps filled with breadcrumbs, Pecorino cheese, parsley, Pine nuts and garlic, then baked until golden brown
Yuzu Hot Sauce Pound Cake
This Yuzu Hot Sauce Pound Cake will drive you into an “acid” trip and blow up your taste buds. It’s pretty common here in Us to find baked goods with lemon and poppy seeds, and I am a sucker for this combo. But I also love experimenting. So when I
