We spend time in Portonovo along the Conero Riviera every year, usually for brief weekend trips of a few days. Some of our closest friends live there and an additional benefit is the spectacular beauty of the area: the lush mountains of the Monte Conero spill dramatically into the Adriatic Sea. The beach is covered...
Vegetable
Arugula Ravioli
At yesterday's cooking class we made arugula ravioli and frankly it's a brilliant use of this bitter green that is used most frequently in salads. Give them a try, they're marvelous! INGREDIENTSFor the pasta:600 grams (1 ⅓ pounds) durum, hard grain wheat flour6 eggsFor the filling:300 grams (11.5 ounces) ricotta100 grams (3 ½ ounces) grated...
Risotto with Fennel
Fennel is one of my favorite vegetables. It's great raw, sliced in salads or braised and then baked with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Fennel hints at a licorice flavor; odd that I love it because licorice is just about the only flavor I abhor. When you cook with fennel don't throw away the fronds....
Beet, arugula, goat cheese and toasted walnut salad
Before you even take a bite of this beet salad you'll be impressed. Just the colors alone make it wonderful. The paper thin sliced beets, walnuts, cheese and arugula create a flavor combination that works in spades. Ingredients (for two people): Procedure: Sometimes the simplest ingredients that can be put together in two seconds produce some...
Pumpkin & Amaretto Ice Cream
Who says ice cream is just for the summer? I love it all year round! There are so many fruits, veggies and treats that you only see in the fall and winter that lend themselves beautifully to ice cream. One winter flavor combination I love is pumpkin and amaretto. They're used together in the Lombardia...
Wild Spinach (Lambsquarter) Pappardelle
The fields behind our house are a veritable forager's dream. Last weekend we spent all day Saturday enjoying the prolonged Indian summer we've been having in Rome this October. As we walked along we managed to pick a variety of greens for a misticanza salad. We also picked bunches and bunches of wild spinach...
Zucchini Ice Cream
I've been making a lot of ice cream recently and experimenting with different flavors. The best one I've made so far is zucchini ice cream. It's also the ice cream that everyone, across the board, loves. This is what I gather in my basket every day: I love to make all my favorite sweet things...
Pea Soup topped with Crunchy Guanciale
I love pea soup in the winter, and in the spring when peas are fresh and in season, and what really makes it tasty is the addition of crunchy guanciale on the top.So what exactly is guanciale and what differentiates it from pancetta? Guanciale is pork jowl or cheek: guancia is the Italian word for...
