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…
Recipes
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…
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…
Penne with sizzled garlic & hot pepper, anchovies and parsley
Olive oil, garlic, a touch of hot pepper, a few anchovy fillets and fresh parsley are all you need to make this scrumptious pasta dish, in just three minutes! Well, a few more if you include the ten minutes it takes for your pasta to cook. Penne with sizzled garlic & hot pepper, anchovies and…
Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons
My favorite Maroccan dish by far is Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons. It’s wonderful because the tagine cooking technique yields a tender and flavorful chicken, while the preserved lemons add a tangy touch to the dish. To cook with a tagine you place all of the ingredients inside the tagine at the same time, cover and…
Banana Nutella Bread
If you love rich banana flavor and a dessert that’s full of chocolatey flavor then Banana Nutella Bread is the dessert for you! It just so happens that chocolate and banana are a heavenly match; the addition of Nutella takes this banana bread to a new level! If you’re looking for intense banana flavor then…
Homemade pasta: easy and fun to make!
No dish is more quintessentially Italian than homemade pasta. It can be long, short, filled or cut small to use in soup. There are also pastas that use a variety of whole grain flours, water instead of eggs, or hot water and butter instead of eggs. Despite innumerable variations, this classic homemade pasta recipe is perfect as the…
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Grated Parmesan Cheese and Toasted Walnuts
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Grated Parmesan Cheese & Toasted Walnuts is a delightful winter salad and a great way to serve this winter vegetable! I’d never thought of using brussels sprouts raw in a salad but it’s one of the easiest and tastiest ways to use them. Brussels sprouts are an odd vegetable. Their…
Roman Style Artichokes
We’re fully in the season of Roman, or globe, artichokes. There are so many delicious ways to prepare them, but the best way is Carciofi alla Romana. I usually buy artichokes that have already been partially cleaned at the market, in other words all the tough outer leaves removed, plus the outer layer…
Broccoli Rabe Gnocchi with a Gorgonzola Sage Sauce
Have you ever tried to convince children to eat leafy green vegetables? It’s no simple task and honestly I’m not a champion of forcing children to eat anything against their will no matter how nutritious the food is. It’s a sure fire way to turn children against the pleasure and passion of eating. The trick is to incorporate…