I love seeing dreams come true. My friends Guiliana and Marco wanted to open a Swedish Brasserie. They asked me to help them work on recipes and consult on the project. Things all fell into place. I found them a young fabulous Swedish chef, Mattias Sjöblom. He is supervising the menu and creates the new…
Naples—- home to pizza!
There has been a huge protest in Naples, a new guide book came out on pizzeria’s and Naples wasn’t mentioned as having the BEST pizza— but rather someone in northern Italy. We of course based this Slow Food Kansas City trip on the quality ingredients which make the pizza here so special. But ingredients alone…
Wordless Wednesday— From the garden and market
Rianata- Trapani style “pizza” – Calvino
When I was in Trapani last month, I took my friends to a favorite pizza spot I discovered a couple of trips ago, Calvino. Their pizza’s are different. Instead of sauce, they use tomatoes. My favorite is their classic Rianata pizza which is made with the cherry tomatoes, anchovy, pecorino cheese and oregano (rianata- oreganata)….
Simple Pleasures- Fresh Hazelnuts
A few summers back I saw my first hazelnuts growing on trees just outside of Gragnano, near Naples. This year I was blessed with finding a tree on my friends property up in the hills outside of Florence. the nuts on the tree, the grow in clusters of three The above shot was from a…
Summer treats – Granita di Cocomero
I can’t get enough of watermelon while it is in season. Mostly I just eat slices– it is the perfect fruit, even with the seeds. No seedless watermelon here. Watermelon has two Italian names, cocomero or anguria. When I have time, I like to make a watermelon granita. Simple and fun. I learned how to…
Edible Florence- Obika’
Living outside of Florence now, I don’t get back into town as much as I would like to explore and relax on my own. Often I am down to do a market tour or meet up with someone for an event. My husband and I had some things to do and managed to be free…
Divina Cucina on the Road- Aosta
I felt a little like Heidi when I arrived at the lovely Hotel Village in Aosta. My friends Giuliana and Marco had invited me up to cook for a small party for their friends, presenting the renovations which they did on the hotel. The hotel has a few rooms in the hotel itself, but also has…