White beans, tomato and rosemary soup What makes almost all Italian dishes so delicious are two simple things: first, fresh seasonal and good-quality ingredients. Second, the use of very few ingredients so that each ingredient has a chance to participate in the luscious flavor of the dish. White beans, tomato and rosemary soup is a…
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Oven Roasted Fresh Figs, Gorgonzola and Walnuts
It’s a chilly beginning of January and I just devoured bruschetta with scrumptious oven roasted figs, Gorgonzola and walnuts. It might strike you as odd that I have figs in January but my passion for figs drove me to devise a wonderful way to have figs year-round. In mid-summer, and then again in September, when…
Gianduia Peanut Butter Cookies
“Most of life’s problems can be solved with a good cookie.” Ina Garten We all know that peanut butter and chocolate are a marriage made in heaven. If the chocolate is chocolate then the marriage is nirvana. Gianduia chocolates are Italy’s best: a Piedmontese mixture of creamy chocolate and ground hazelnuts. For those of you…
Glazed Cinnamon Rolls
Glazed Cinnamon Rolls When I was still a young girl, somewhere between seven and nine years old, my passion was already cooking. If our parents went out for the evening I’d pull out a cookbook (that my mother never used, by the way) and pick out a recipe to make. It was my only opportunity…
Panettone
Christmas is around the corner and once again it’s time to make panettone, the Italian classic sweet bread loaf that you find on every Italian table during the holidays. Panettone requires a full day including three risings, so if you decide to make your own panettone be sure to allot the necessary time to bake…
Corn bread and muffins
Corn bread and muffins are one of my favorite accompaniments to a meal, at breakfast, or anytime. I love them slathered with butter and drizzled with honey, or just on their own. Corn bread and muffins took on a new dimension several years ago when I began using a mill attachment for my KitchenAid. I…
Creamy Asparagus Soup with Poached Eggs
There’s nothing better than a one dish meal and this soup certainly satisfies everything you’d look for: fabulous taste, protein, vegetables, and warm creaminess. I first made this recipe with a group of culinary aficionados who get together twice yearly to experiment with new recipes. Originally the recipe appeared in an Oregon-based newspaper, the Oregonian,…
Apple Pie
Apple Pie Apple pie is at the very top of my comfort food list. Add a scoop of ice cream or, better yet, a drizzling of fresh cream and it moves a step higher into culinary nirvana. Apple pie is delicious year-round and is dead easy to make. Two pieces of equipment that make apple…
Fennel, Sliced Orange & Olive Salad
Fennel, Sliced Orange and Olive Salad There’s nothing like the fresh crunchy flavor of fennel bulbs and they’re a perfect ingredient in this fennel, sliced orange and olive salad. I put fennel in just about any kind of salad; use a mandolin to slice fennel paper thin for your salad. Fennel tend to turn…
Supplì al Telefono: Roman-style Stuffed Rice Balls
Roman-style Stuffed Rice Balls, known in Rome as Supplì al Telefono are a classic of Roman cuisine…the roman version of street food. These luscious rice balls are stuffed with meat and cheese. As you bite into the supplì the melted cheese stretches out and resembles a telephone cord; hence the name “al telefono”. Originally the meat used to…
Chicken with red peppers and tomatoes
Chicken with Red Peppers and Tomatoes Traditionally chicken with red peppers and tomatoes is a summer dish; it’s one of the wonderful ways to use the abundance of red and yellow peppers from the garden. It happens to be great just about anytime of the year…warm & hearty, it falls squarely into the great comfort…
Nocino: Walnut Liqueur
Recipes that stem from the intertwining of tradition, harvest times, annual festivals and holidays…like this nocino liqueur… are by far my favorites. So often it’s people’s lives, the seasons and history that establish culinary tradition. Nocino isn’t prepared only in Italy but it’s at the very least one of its places of origin. Like many…