There are a lot of recipes to celebrate Saint’s days. In Florence, June 24th is Saint John the Baptist, San Giovanni, is the patron Saint and there are parades, a historic soccer game and fireworks. In the countryside people gather the green walnuts to make Nocino, which I have written about several times as I…
Sicilian Swordfish Polpette – Fish balls
What do you call meatballs made from fish? Fishballs? Italy simplifies things, polpette are small balls of minced anything, bound with an egg, seasoned and fried. When I am in Sicily, we tour the Capo food market in Palermo and stop and enjoy lunch at a small trattoria run by a fish shop. As part…
Old School Italian- Octopus: Polpo
I was never a fan of octopus. My mom never prepared it and whenever I did try it, I found it like eating rubber bands, too tough and chewy. When I was in Greece, probably 35 years ago, I had a revelation. Sitting at the port on the island of Paros, I was served…
Summer Salads from Sicily
Each trip to Sicily makes my head spin. It was impossible to decide what to write about for a blog post, so I just let it sink in for awhile. At home, I am cooking octopus, but you probably don’t care about that, but my husband loves it so much he keeps asking for more….
Saffron Sausage Pasta- Simply Divina
I am the queen of quick. When it is time for lunch, my husband wants to eat. In the time it takes to boil water, you can have a fabulous sauce ready at the same time. One of my first jobs in Italy was waitressing, as kitchens were small, not a huge staff was needed…
Artichoke Season
One of the things I love most about living in Italy is eating seasonally. It isn’t always easy waiting, but we are always rewarded with exceptional flavor and joy. Spring comes in with a bang, artichokes, asparagus, fava beans and peas. When you get the first products, we tend to enjoy then raw. Raw Artichokes?…
Diva on the road
I am just ending a USA trip and ready to head back. I began with the IACP culinary conference in Washington, DC. Always great to catch up with my collegues. Then flew up to New York and met my assistant Erica for her first trip to the USA, fabulous to show someone around, you see…
Out of the Kitchen into the World- Sicilian Artichokes
I began my culinary professional life in the kitchen of a 5 star hotel in San Francisco, the Stanford Court Hotel. They were open to training me for the position when I told them I wanted to be a pastry chef. While traveling, I always found a job in a restaurant, either waiting tables or…