Mussels are in season again. This recipe is so simple that it is hardly worth calling a recipe, but it sure is a delicious way of preparing mussels and so I’m sharing it with you anyway. It was Alice of … Continue reading Mussels with Pepper (Impepata di Cozze)
When we visited the Adriatic beach town of Roseto degli Abruzzi to eat at Vecchia Marina, Lucia, the charming hostess of the B&B we stayed at, pointed out to me that Roseto degli Abruzzi was also the home town of Antico … Continue reading The Quality of Pasta and Gold versus Bronze Drawn Spaghetti
Crostata is a very popular Italian fruit tart that is eaten both for dessert and breakfast. When we visited Jo of My Home Food That’s Amore, she gave us some goodies to take home including two jars of homemade apricot … Continue reading Apricot Jam Tart (Crostata alla Confettura di Albicocche)
Fish soup is prepared all along the Mediterranean coast. There are many varieties such as bouillabaisse from France and zarzuela from Spain. Cacciccuo alla Livornese is a fish soup from the Tuscan coast that has three distinguishing features: it is made with … Continue reading Cacciucco (Tuscan Seafood Soup)
This dish doesn’t look all that great, but it sure was tasty! I got the idea for polenta (or grits) with corn from Mimi. When I saw her post, I responded that I had never seen local fresh corn on … Continue reading Double Corn Polenta with Ham and Pickled Chipotles
One of the questions I get asked most is where I find the time to cook. Although I do spend a lot of time cooking (and shopping for ingredients), I also make a lot of very quick dishes. This delicious … Continue reading Pistachio-Crusted Guinea Fowl
Eggplant and shrimp is a combination I had never tried before, but I did try thanks to Marina of Le Ricette di Baccos and it was wonderful! The eggplant is first turned into what the French call caviar d’aubergines (i.e. … Continue reading Jumbo Shrimp with Eggplant Dumplings (Gamberoni con Gnocchetti di Melanzane)
As a good patriot I’m looking for ways to eat more tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers. And so I thought of a wonderful solution: gazpacho. This is a cold soup from Spain that is made from tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, … Continue reading Gazpacho
In most cases I plan what I am going to prepare for dinner and shop accordingly in advance, but for tonight I wanted to finish some leftovers I had in my fridge and created this dish. I had some Chinese … Continue reading Rice Noodles with Shrimp, Shiitake and Cabbage
After enjoying pigeon with cherries at Povero Diavolo, I thought it would be nice to create my own version of it. I made a sauce of pureed cherries and reduced pigeon stock. For some more cherry flavor I deglazed the … Continue reading Pigeon with Cherries
The idea for this antipasto came from ChgoJohn from the Bartolini kitchens. It was served to him in a restaurant in Florence, and he blogged about it. It is simply two sage leaves with anchovies in between, dipped in batter, … Continue reading Fried Sage with Anchovies (Salvia Fritta con Acciughe)
One of the goodies I brought from my trip to Italy was a new pasta shape: soqquadri or a square version of mezzi rigatoni. (If you can’t find the square version, you can also make this recipe with the usual … Continue reading Soqquadri Pasta with ‘deconstructed’ Eggplant Parmigiana
The idea for this rice salad with seafood came from Biba Caggiano, my favorite Italian cookery book author. This salad is brimming with tender morsels of tasty seafood, crunchy vegetables, a nice zing from the dressing, gherkins and capers, and a … Continue reading Rice and Seafood Salad (Insalata di Riso e Frutti di Mare)
We have lots of mint growing in our garden, and I love mint ice cream (especially when combined with chocolate). So why not make mint ice cream from scratch? Mint ice cream is very refreshing and perfect for the summer. … Continue reading Homemade Mint Ice Cream
Panzanella is a perfect dish for the hot weather we’ve been having, as it is refreshing, makes good use of the summer’s bounty, and the basic version doesn’t require any cooking. Originally it is an Italian peasant lunch prepared to … Continue reading Panzanella
We love risotto and I’m always trying to come up with new recipes. This spinach risotto turned out really nice, and it was even nicer with the garnishes of pancetta and sous-vide egg-yolk. But the risotto is delicious by itself, … Continue reading Spinach Risotto (Risotto agli Spinaci)
Vongole veraci are Italian clams and they are just so flavorful. The best thing is, they come with their own sauce (i.e. the juices they release when they are cooked) and so it takes very little effort to turn some … Continue reading Vongole alla Marinara (Clams in Tomato Sauce)
Octopus cooked sous-vide and then finished on the grill is one of my favorites. Octopus and squid go well with bell peppers. It is so hot that I wanted to serve something refreshing, and so I thought: “Why not make … Continue reading Grilled Octopus with Roasted Bell Pepper Ice Cream
Clafoutis is a flan-type cake from France, usually stuffed with cherries. I’ve stayed very close to the recipe of Stéphane’s great grandmother, which he posted on his wonderful blog My French Heaven. It is quite easy to make and it … Continue reading Clafoutis
After all the decadent restaurant meals, it is time for something very simple. This plate of pasta takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish. The list of ingredients is very short: pasta, zucchini, parmigiano, salt, pepper, olive oil. … Continue reading Quick Pasta with Zucchini
In 2010 we ‘discovered’ Piazza Duomo of chef Enrico Crippa in Alba, at that time still relatively unknown (although it already had two Michelin stars), thanks to the Gambero Rosso guide, in which it already had tre forchette. We liked it … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Piazza Duomo***
The next stop with tre forchette in our culinary tour is Casa Vissani, by lake Colbara on the road between Orvieto and Todi in Umbria. Because the restaurant is located outside a town, it is very convenient that it also … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Vissani**
When I prepared a Bistecca alla Fiorentina in January to celebrate Conor’s board, there were two things I put on my to do list: (1) to try this with real Chianina beef from Tuscany, and (2) to try to ‘warm age’ … Continue reading Sous-vide Warm Aged T-Bone Steak
Reale is the restaurant of chef Niko Romito and his sister Cristiana in the mountain town of Castel di Sangro in Abruzzo. I had been curious about this restaurant with tre forchette from Gambero Rosso for a while, but it was always … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Reale***
The next stop in our culinary Italy tour is the beach town of Roseto degli Abruzzi, on the Adriatic coast in the region of Abruzzo. There are only 15 trattorie in all of Italy with a tre gamberi (3 ‘shrimp’) … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Vecchia Marina
When I made my first batch of ravioli with a cauliflower stuffing some weeks ago, I contemplated whether I would make it with red wine or with white wine and ended up making a delicious red wine version with great depth … Continue reading Cauliflower and Lemon Ravioli
Is there a good reason to go to Torriana, a small village half an hour inland from the Adriatic beach town of Rimini? Yes there is, and it is chef Piergiorgio Parini of Il Povero Diavolo. It is not the … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Povero Diavolo*
Our favorite restaurant guide for Italy is that of “Gambero Rosso”. It is available as a book, but also as a handy app. The best restaurants are awarded one, two, or three forchette (forks), and the best trattorie are awarded … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Locanda al Gambero Rosso
Enrico Bartolini is one of the rising stars in the Italian restaurant scene. For his restaurant, located in the Devero hotel by the autostrada just outside of Milano, he recently received his second Michelin star and his third fork (forchetta) … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Devero**
We love fajitas, Tex-Mex flour tortillas stuffed with chicken or steak, bell peppers, onions, salsa, and cheese. At least that’s how I like to prepare them. We usually have them with chicken, but I was curious to try them with steak. … Continue reading Sous-Vide Steak Fajitas
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