Recent Posts

Dessert

Pumpkin Pie

 

 The recipe is courtesy of the Beckett family, passed down from mother to daughter to date. Last year when Colleen (my daughter-in-law) spent her first Thanksgiving in Italy, she asked her family to send the recipe for the famous “Pumpkin Pie” of her Great Aunt Grace, a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch […]

Dessert

Pumpkin Gelato

 

 Gelato is irresistible. When I was little my mother always had to hold me back every time we passed a gelateria. It did not matter if it was morning and I just had breakfast, simply seeing the list of flavors stimulated my craving for it.

Pasta

Chestnut Gnocchi with Autumn Sauce

 

 I made this recipe as an entry for CONTEST “Castagne al Desco”, organized by La Cucina Italiana and Il Desco. Chestnuts more than other fruits take me back to my childhood and a vanished world when things were more simple, a time that would be nice to rediscover. My family […]

Appetizers, Salads

Prosciutto and Pear Salad

 

 This salad is a specialty of my sister Flavia. We often use it as an appetizer when we organize a meal together for many people. The dish is a triumph of the products of Friuli. The salted pork is from Sauris, Red Williams Pears from Pavia di Udine, 60-day aged […]

Buying Guide

Cavolo Nero

 

 I discovered this variety of cabbage for the first time in Poggio Capanne (Saturnia) in Tuscany at trattoria “Bianchina”. The crostini with cavolo nero were a real treat. Cavolo nero is perhaps one of the oldest varieties of cabbage, now mainly grown in Tuscany. A few years ago it became […]

Garden

Berries

 

 This month you can begin planting new trees in the garden or terrace or at the edges of the garden. If you enjoy color in the winter months, I recommend planting shrubs that produce colorful berries in autumn. This way you will be able to collect useful elements to decorate […]