I received an email from one of my students, asking for my biscotti recipe. Outside the wind was blowing hard, bringing in rain clouds and it seemed like a perfect day for baking. I wanted to attempt to do something a little different and instead of almonds , used toasted hazelnuts and bittersweet chocolate chopped…
Fat Tuesday!
Martedi Gras- Fat Tuesday or in Italy, Martedi Grasso. What is the perfect food to celebrate? Something fried of course! All over Italy, someone is frying up sweets. Often with the same shape, but a different name. Here in Florence, we have Cenci, which means rags, like the shape they have, which looks like torn cloth. In Liguria and…
Comfort me with chocolate
When I was 10 years old, funerals became a huge part of my life. Our family was not large to begin with. My mom had one brother. He was the first to die prematurely, followed by my mom losing a baby at birth. My brother and sister and I were sent to live with other…
Market to Table – Certaldo- Francesca’s Figs
Spending more time out in Certaldo, most of my best new recipes come from Francesca at the Certaldo weekly market. She only sells from her own farm and that of an aunt, so what you see is what you get. Today I saw the first figs! We picked up a whole tray of them when she…
Christmas Sweets- Simply Salami
I adore figs. I have always heard about the Salami di fichi made in Le Marche region of Italy and this year decided to make it! This is such a simple recipe everyone can do, anywhere. Traditionally the liquid in the recipe is called Cotto di Fichi, like Vin Cotto, it is a reduction of…
Getting Ready for Mother’s Day
My mom loves anything Rose…perhaps because she was born in Portland Oregon. It was odd as her parents lived in Shanghai! The story goes that my grandmother got on a steamship at 9 months pregnant and had my mom in Portland and 10 days later was back on the boat to Shanghai. This is my…
Virtual Cookie Swap
I love Cookies! So when I saw this Sugar High Friday on Domestic Goddess I saw a woman after my own heart! She and Alberto of Il forno are having a virtual cookie swap! Perfect timing for the holidays. When they post all the cookies they are having a contest, Vote for your favorite three…
Granita di Caffe
Summer in Italy wouldn’t be summer without Granita! Besides fruit flavors,such as watermelon, as I mentioned before, or lemon, made with lemons from Sicily or the Amalfi coast, coffee granita is one of my favorites. I am very lucky as I can get it here in Florence at my Sicilian gelateria Carabe owned by Antonio…