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…
Specialty Italian Foods
Balsamic Vinegar
One of the favorite and most used condiments in Italy and abroad is balsamic vinegar. It’s used to dress salads, as an ingredient in many dishes and to drizzle on top of foods like strawberries and Parmesan cheese. There are dozens upon dozens of balsamic vinegar products on the market purporting to be IGP Balsamic…
Pasta, gnocchi & risotto: luscious Italian primi
Italy is characterized by starting off each meal with delicious first courses, or primi. Oftentimes a primo and salad can be enough for a whole meal. Rarely will you see Italians skip their scrumptious primo! Take a look at these wonderful first course ideas, most of which you’ll find in Italian restaurants, and also in our…
Italian Herbs & Spices
I use a lot of herbs and spices in my cooking, mostly what is growing on our property, both planted & foraged. Fresh is my preference; the flavor is richer and I love the colors of fresh herbs. I buy spices from all over the world at Rome’s largest market in Piazza Victoria to make…
How to Make Homemade Pasta
On our way home this morning we stopped to visit some neighbors and before we left they gave us a precious gift; five freshly laid eggs. So I decided to use two of them to make fettuccine for our lunch. How to make homemade pasta: The recipe for pasta is simple: 100 grams of flour…