Cauliflower and balsamic dressing is a wonderful way to serve this delicious winter vegetable.For those of you who live in Italy, or have visited Italy, you will surely have noticed how delicious the vegetables are on restaurant antipasto tables. The vegetables are served at room temperature...the ideal temperature for flavor to come out to its...
Winter
Pasta with Wild Boar Sauce
Pasta with Wild Boar Sauce is my favorite dish on cold winter days! If you don’t have pappardelle on hand then use another pasta like rigatoni or fettuccine. There are many dishes that I love but make infrequently because they just take too much time to prepare. I found that a pressure cooker or instapot allows...
Pasta and Bean Soup - Pasta e Fagioli
Pasta and Bean Soup - Pasta e Fagioli I don't know why I never posted my mother-in-law's delicious recipe for pasta and bean soup – pasta e fagioli – but there you have it: it slipped through the cracks somehow.It was just when I made it the other day that I realized I had never...
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...
Deep-fried Artichokes
Carciofi alla Giudia, or deep-fried Roman globe artichokes, are one of winter's most delicious side dishes. As the artichoke fries it opens up like a flower and yields a gorgeous golden-brown artichoke. The leaves are crispy and delicious and the inside flesh is tender and wonderful. Deep-fried artichokes are easy to prepare; the most important...
Pumpkin Gorgonzola Risotto
Pumpkin Gorgonzola Risotto is the perfect blend of flavors for a creamy and delicious risotto! I love just about all cheeses but if I had to pick one as my favorite it would be Gorgonzola. Gorgonzola has a long history dating back to around 880 A.D. Its exact origin isn't certain and there are many theories...
Sautéed Purple Cabbage with Fresh Coriander
Sautéed Purple Cabbage with Fresh Coriander What I love most about this dish is that it's downright beautiful. Pantone has established that purple, and all its tonalities, are the food color for 2018 and I concur wholeheartedly. There are so many wonderful purple foods from purple cabbage to beets to eggplant and each one is...
Roman Style Stuffed Artichokes
Roman Style Stuffed Artichokes are delicious served with a few slices of lemon and some calamint leaves. All winter long the market is full of globe, or Roman, artichokes. There are so many delicious ways to prepare them, but the best way is Roman style stuffed artichokes, or Carciofi alla Romana.I usually buy artichokes that...
White beans, tomato and rosemary soup
White beans, tomato and rosemary soup is hearty and delicious, and lifts your spirits on gray days. What makes almost all Italian dishes so delicious are two simple things: first, fresh seasonal and good-quality ingredients. Second, the use of very few ingredients so that each ingredient has a chance to participate in the luscious flavor...
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 hadn't 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...
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...
Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts
It's winter vegetable season again and Oven Roadted Brussels sprouts are one of my favorites! There are many wonderful ways to prepare them but they all stem around some variety of roasting which gives them their nutty, delicious flavor. Boiling and steaming are a no-no as this brings out a metallic, unpleasant flavor. Stick with...
