Holiday baking is one of the cornerstones of the holiday season and many of us have recipes for traditional Italian Christmas cookies and desserts that stem from family and local traditions. Almost every single town and region throughout Italy has fabulous holiday recipes and many of these have been adapted by Italian Americans and Italian...
Christmas
Pumpkin Bread, or Muffins
This recipe is the only Pumpkin Bread recipe that I have been using for decades without changing a single thing in the recipe. I make it any time of the year, but especially around the holidays when pumpkins are in season. Now that we are in lockdown I’m using up a lot of the frozen...
Easy Chocolate Truffles
My sister made these Easy Chocolate Truffle for a recent cookie exchange party and as she described them to me I knew they were a winner! Then when I saw a picture of them I was completely sold. The flavor is so rich and delightful, and incredibly chocolatey, you think you're eating truffles. And so...
White Chocolate with Dried Fruit & Nuts
White Chocolate with Dried Fruit & Nuts is so easy to make: A guest brought this to a party at our home: white chocolate with pistachios and dried fruits. Tasty and gorgeous! So easy to make: Melt 300 grams of white chocolate over double boiler, then use a metal spatula to spread thinly on oven...
Holiday Gift Guide - Top Gifts for the Home Cook!
It's the time of year when everyone is scrambling for that last minute perfect gift for friends and family. If you have an aspiring chef or an avid home cook in your family or among your friends here's my Holiday Gift Guide - Top Gifts for the Home Cook. It's my go-to list of absolute...
Christmas in Rome 2019 - what to see and do!
Christmas in Rome 2019 is all about sharing time with family and friends and enjoying wonderful food! The city is increasingly filled with lovely holiday decor interspersed with beautiful nativity scenes. If you’re here over the holidays make a point of strolling around and tasting all the seasonal goodies. Here are some of my favorite...
Panettone French Toast
It happens to be the last holiday of the season here in Italy...the Befana...so I feel compelled to add a little festivity to the day and that usually means a food treat. So we're starting the day off with some Panettone French toast which, as they say in Italian, è la morte sua (its best...
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...
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...
Cranberry Hazelnut Biscotti
Cranberry Hazelnut Biscotti are something I make year round; a great dessert to have on hand...especially for dipping in sweet dessert wines! When I think of Christmas dishes in America I think of cranberries...they appear in sauces, breads, stuffings. And in Italy hazelnuts are a common Christmas dessert ingredient: nougat torrone, chocolate torrone and many...
Christmas Season in Rome 2015
Here are a few pictures of Rome during the Christmas 2015 season. Nothing lifts the spirit more than shimmering Christmas lights, beautifully decorated Christmas trees, lovely shops and gorgeously packaged panettoni and other holiday treats! Piazza Venezia... The iconic Hassler Hotel at the top of the Spanish steps... Via del Babuino... These boxed panettoni are...