Making pasta is an Italian mother’s way of saying “Ti Amo”, I love you. Simple ingredients, flour and eggs, turn into a gift of love, especially at Christmas. Yesterday in cooking class, my students requested to make Tortellini, one of the most traditional pastas from Emilia Romagna. Tuscans buy tortellini, not make them. We make…
Culinary Notes- Pasta con le sarde
Sometimes recipes just need to be made, just because. I met a saffron producer online, who is also creating some facinating products from his farm in San Miniato. Toni’s site is Croco e Similace. Besides saffron, he grows rhubarb and thyme. He creates some very creative products which I can’t wait to try. Strawberry and…
Goat cheese crostini
Sometimes inspiration comes while I am shopping. We now have a local artisan “grocery” spot. Sort of like a pop-up. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; different organic artisans share a space to sell their products. Yesterday i was overwhelmed with choices. The Poggio di Camporbiano had incredible produce and GOAT CHEESE. We bought kale, potatoes, carrots,…
Tuscan Herb Recipe- Pancetta “Porchetta-style”
Tuscan herb blend, perfect for porchetta. You can make this and freeze it in a ziplock bag or let it sit out on the counter and dry. I often will make fresh and then infuse an extra virgin olive oil for an hour or so and pour on grilled or roasted meats or fish. Recently…
Old pasta– new to me
I travel a lot in Italy, often doing research and development for new trips. Discovering the regional pasta dishes and other specialites is like a treasure hunt. I was invited on a PR trip to discover the area outside of Naples, which makes one of my favorite liquore, Strega. The town of Benevento and the…
Porcini
Every class feels like iron chef, the market changes and we jump at the chance to use the seasonal best. I don’t repeat lessons week after week or I would be bored to tears. This week I was asked to make fresh pasta and show how to make ravioli, the porcini inspired a simple mushroom…
Tomatoes “Tonnati”
The horrible heat wave and drought we have been having has finally been broken but a couple of days of rain. Not really enough, but enough to drop the temps down to something more livable. As we feel summer slipping away, I am enjoying the last tomatoes. These huge tomatoes are more like a steak,…
‘A Pasta- Gragnano Pasta Festival 2012
Sometimes I get so overloaded with information I need to let it sink in to think about it. The pasta festival in Gragnano was one of those events. Traditionally, the festival is held the first week in September it is three days packed with music and food. I attended a pre-festival in collaboration with the…