Carpaccio Where do names of dishes come from? Well, This is a painting by Vittorio Carpaccio, Venice, 1465-1525. Look at those vibrant reds. Red was a color depicting wealth. It was derived from a small bug which lives in a cactus, the cocciniglia, Dactylopius Coccus.In Florence, it is also used to color the liquore Alkermes which…
Summer Rosso
We were hit with more rain and cold weather again! BASTA! Finally Summer has arrived. It felt like we were going to have a long wet summer with all the rain we have had. The cold which hit earlier in the year but so much agriculture at risk. I will be walking down the hill…
Finally Sunshine!
The constant rain was a little too much. It did turn the hills a beautiful green. The seasons are changing now in the markets and just in time. Now red is coming into season! My favorite time of year, both food and drinks! We see the poppies in the wheat fields in the hills as…
Put an Egg on It!
Are you burning out on what to fix ? Here in Italy, many of us are still out of work and at home cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner. Both my husband and I have been vaccinated now, He gets his second pfzier next week. But work won’t start for me until Italy opens up to…
Spring is here
Nothing can stop Spring from coming. We may be blocked in our homes, going out just to shop for essentials, but life goes on. Italy is just really opening up the vaccinations, there have been so many holdbacks. We are still in red zone until after Easter and then in orange zone until the end…
Spaghetti alla Nerano- Searching for Italy, One dish at a time
There couldn’t have been a better time to release CNN‘s new show with Stanley Tucci, Searching for Italy. Everyone is going through travel withdrawl and missing Italy so much. I hear it daily in messages from friends and clients waiting to come back. I think trip planning is almost as much fun as the trip…
We Have a Winner- I Love San Marzano DOP
Congratulations to Denise Gudger! She sent in her family recipe for Carmela’s Eggplant Pie. I made the recipe and it is a keeper! It is like an eggplant parmigiana with sauted peppers and onions between the layers. A real celebration of Summer. Eggplants, Peppers and San Marzano dell’Agro Sarnese – Nocerino DOP . I made…
You Say Tomato, I Say San Marzano- Contest
This year I am participating in a promotion of @TheGreatestTomatoesFromEurope and @IloveSanMarzanoDOP. Stop by my Instagram page @divinacucina to participate in a give-away. More information at the end of the blog. Summer in Italy ends with a mad rush to preserve as much of summer as you can in a jar. Mostly tomatoes. You can…