Homemade Cavatelli are one of the wonderful homemade pastas so typical of the poorer areas of southern Italy, like Puglia. In the past eggs were scarce, so farmers and home cooks made do with eggless pasta dough. Cavatelli are made with a semolina flour and water rather than with all purpose, or “00″ flour that’s used for…
Equipment & Gadgets
All About Gnocchi – Flavor of Italy Podcast Episode 4
You may already know and love these delicious little pillows of heaven or you may know nothing about them. Either way today’s Flavor of Italy podcast episode 4 tells you All About Gnocchi from its history and tradition to how to make this luscious dish – and more. Check out these useful links from the…
Radicchio Ravioli with Chestnut Cream, Sizzled Pork Jowl and Fried Sage
When fall rolls around it’s time to make dishes that bring together some of the season’s best ingredients. Radicchio Ravioli with Chestnut Cream, Sizzled Pork Jowl and Fried Sage is one of those dishes! This recipe was adapted from a La Cucina Italiana recipe. Since these delicious ravioli can be made in advance and frozen they…
Homemade Blackberry Jam
The first year we made homemade blackberry jam Maurizio picked the berries and I did the cooking and canning. Blackberries have so many seeds which we find unpleasant in jams and tarts so I decided to remove them. It’s a laborious, time consuming task and I cursed myself the whole way through making the jam…
Lemon Lavender Cake
Lemon Lavender Cake Serves 8-12 This cake is a great way to use fresh, seasonal lemons and lavender. You can never go wrong with a lemon cake and the delicate hint of lavender adds something unique and magical to this dessert. It also makes a beautiful presentation when topped with a few sprigs of fresh…
Corzetti Pasta
What are corzetti? I love making unusual pasta shapes and forms and one of my favorites are corzetti, a disk shaped pasta with an imprinted design; the below corzetti have a giglio fiorentino (fleur de lis) design. The Encyclopedia of Pasta, by Oretta Zanini de Vita and masterfully translated into English by Maureen B. Fant, dedicates a…
Neapolitan coffee maker
Giulia will be having her baby any day now so while we are all waiting I’ve started doing a little nesting myself. For a long time now I’ve wanted to go through Nonna’s hope chest; it’s nearing a decade since she passed away at age ninety. She was an amazing woman: frugal, organized, efficient, as…
Olive oil containers
In Italy we buy our oil in large containers of from one liter to five liters, and quite a few containers at a time, just following the olive harvest in December. We estimate that we consume about 30 L and sometimes up to 50 L a year. We use olive oil for everything: to drizzle on…
Handcrafted Wine Bottle Stoppers
Outside of San Francisco’s ferry building I often find more artisanal creations of interest than within. Yesterday, my only day in town on this visit, I ran across some beautiful woodworked items ranging from vases to bowls to cutting boards to wine bottle stoppers. I enjoy taking a bottle of wine to a dinner at…
The Arrotino or Knife Sharpener
This special bicycle was used by the arrotino to sharpen knives, throughout neighborhoods in Rome. The box on the front carries the tools of the trade, and the stone disk (center of the bike) is the sharpening device, powered by the arrotino’s bicycle pedals. I used to love seeing the arrotino in our neighborhood, but…
Wood Burning Kitchen Stoves
I’ve always loved my elderly neighbor’s wood burning kitchen stove. On the left is where the wood that Lina chops daily is placed. On the right is the oven and above that, the cook top. The unit has a lever allowing the heat to be channeled to either the cook top or to the oven….
The Bialetti Moka Espresso Maker
I couldn’t live without my Moka coffee maker! These days everyone wants an espresso machine that uses pods and produces every variety and flavor of espresso. They want to be able to heat and froth their milk. I confess I have one of these too, albeit not one with all the bells and whistles some…