Hello everyone, I am interested in learning some new marinara sauce recipes. The one that I make involves browing some garlic in olive oil, adding tomatoes, basil, oregano, bay leaf and simmering. I would like to know other variations of this v
Here is a really nice little fritatta recipe that I like to make quite often. Its quick, easy, and can make a great dish for dinner or brunch. It goes great with a tossed salad.Preheat Oven to 350Combine 4 eggs beaten, 1 sliced red pepper, 6-8 c
Last weekend, I visted the Greek festival which takes place in Columbus, Ohio each Labor Day weekend. I bought a recipe book and made the following recipe...it was delicious. I am a vegetarian so I made it as my main dish, but its possible to m
Ciao! September is almost here and with it comes the wonderful grape harvast known as vendemmia in Italy. I have a question regarding Italian wines...I love wine and consider myself to be somewhat of a foodie, but I would love to know if anyone
Hello, I am Debora and I live in the United States. My great-grandfather to the US in 1914. He was from Calabria/Catanzaro/ Iacurso. My father was named for him as keeping with Italian traditions.
Gala, that looks like a wonderful recipe..I think I will try to make a vegetarian version of it. It seems very similiar to spanakopita which is a wonderful Greek version of the spinach pie.
I have another quick little sandwich that I like to make for myself from time to time. Its delicious and like many of the dishes that I make, it has numerous variations and the combinations are endless. Here is the sandwich:sliced olive oil and rosemary bread ( you can purchase at any grocery in the artisan section-but you can use whatever type of bread you like..a nice crusty Italian bread can also be used and it is delcious.1 eggbread crumbs for dusting (I use progresso seasoned Italian, but they are easy to make if you do not wish to buy them) All purpose flower for dustingprovolone cheeseolive oilrosemary sprigssun dried tomatoesYou can also add a bit of basil pesto which also tastes great on this sandwich. I first dredge the bread slices in the flower, then the egg and then the bread crumbs, add the bread slices to a pan with olive oil and rosemary..assemble my sandwiches..cheese sun dried tomatoes...and cook them in the olive oil until they are golden. The breadcrumb flower mixture gives the sandwhich a nice texture and it looks really gorgeous when you are finished. You can serve the sandwich with a soup or salad. I have also added Italian ham for non vegetarian friends and it worked nicely. Buon Pranzo! I hope that you make this sandwich and enjoy it. Its easy, effortless, inexpensive, and delicious!
Today I was really in the mood for artichokes dipped in butter. I have had them before and love the taste of them I bought an artichoke and placed it into a pot of water with a little bit of vinegar so that it will not discolor. I boiled it for about an hour and turned it every so often so that it would cook evenly. The outer leaves seemed to fall off of the choke so I assumed that it was finished. When I placed it onto a plate and tore the first leave...it still tasted like a hard leave. I had trimmed it and removed the outer most leaves prior to cooking it. The artichoke tasted awful. I made a hollandaise sauce and melted some butter to go with it.. I ended up purchasing frozen artichokes. Does anyone know the proper way to prepare artichokes? I would love to make them at home and not purchase frozen ones.
Ciao Gala, Thank you so very much for your interesting post regarding the history of Calabrian wine! I will follow your suggestion and ask the members of my Italian club. Wines can be intimidating if one is a beginner. I want to develop a great palate, but I am afraid currently my palate may not be so sophisticated. I have started reading about wines. I have purchased wine guides and just overall books explaining the production of wines. Perhaps the best way to learn is by tasting. If anyone has any favorite Italian wines that are available in the US, I would love to hear about them.
Stefanaccio, Thank you for the information. I have never tried that wine, but I see that it was profiled in Wine Spectator magazine. I will look for it ! :)
Alma, I LOVED that book! I borrowed it from our local library some years ago and then purchased it because I loved reading it so much before I went to sleep at night. Its a wonderful book!
Recently, I read a book called Stolen Figs by Mark Rotella which was excellent. The premise of the book is based on the author's experiences as he travels to Calabria to see his father's family and to gain a sense of what day to day life is like in the small hilltowns of Calabria. The author twists a clever phrase and illustrates that his adventure is both humorous and moving. I found the book to be an excellent read and I enjoyed it very much!
The tradtional basil pesto is amazing when one adds roasted red and yellow peppers and serves it over pasta., but roast them yourself and do not use the ones from the jar packed in oil for this dish. Those peppers are great for antipasti, but I do not like them with pasta. You can even make a sundried tomato pesto which is also amazing with a little bit of cheese! Artichokes also make a great pesto. I would like to know which type of wine to serve with pesto and pasta?
Ciao a tutti! My name is Debora and I enjoy reading many books regarding Italy. My interest is the mostly in the Southern regions since my family is from Iacurso. One of my favorite books is called Seasons in Basilicata by David Yeardon. Its about spending one year in an Italian hilltown and his descriptions of the land as well as the people are rich and wonderful. I would love to start a book group, but this is my very first post and I do not know how...but I adore books!
Comments posted
Gala, that looks like a wonderful recipe..I think I will try to make a vegetarian version of it. It seems very similiar to spanakopita which is a wonderful Greek version of the spinach pie.
I have another quick little sandwich that I like to make for myself from time to time. Its delicious and like many of the dishes that I make, it has numerous variations and the combinations are endless. Here is the sandwich:sliced olive oil and rosemary bread ( you can purchase at any grocery in the artisan section-but you can use whatever type of bread you like..a nice crusty Italian bread can also be used and it is delcious.1 eggbread crumbs for dusting (I use progresso seasoned Italian, but they are easy to make if you do not wish to buy them) All purpose flower for dustingprovolone cheeseolive oilrosemary sprigssun dried tomatoesYou can also add a bit of basil pesto which also tastes great on this sandwich. I first dredge the bread slices in the flower, then the egg and then the bread crumbs, add the bread slices to a pan with olive oil and rosemary..assemble my sandwiches..cheese sun dried tomatoes...and cook them in the olive oil until they are golden. The breadcrumb flower mixture gives the sandwhich a nice texture and it looks really gorgeous when you are finished. You can serve the sandwich with a soup or salad. I have also added Italian ham for non vegetarian friends and it worked nicely. Buon Pranzo! I hope that you make this sandwich and enjoy it. Its easy, effortless, inexpensive, and delicious!
Today I was really in the mood for artichokes dipped in butter. I have had them before and love the taste of them I bought an artichoke and placed it into a pot of water with a little bit of vinegar so that it will not discolor. I boiled it for about an hour and turned it every so often so that it would cook evenly. The outer leaves seemed to fall off of the choke so I assumed that it was finished. When I placed it onto a plate and tore the first leave...it still tasted like a hard leave. I had trimmed it and removed the outer most leaves prior to cooking it. The artichoke tasted awful. I made a hollandaise sauce and melted some butter to go with it.. I ended up purchasing frozen artichokes. Does anyone know the proper way to prepare artichokes? I would love to make them at home and not purchase frozen ones.
Ciao Gala, Thank you so very much for your interesting post regarding the history of Calabrian wine! I will follow your suggestion and ask the members of my Italian club. Wines can be intimidating if one is a beginner. I want to develop a great palate, but I am afraid currently my palate may not be so sophisticated. I have started reading about wines. I have purchased wine guides and just overall books explaining the production of wines. Perhaps the best way to learn is by tasting. If anyone has any favorite Italian wines that are available in the US, I would love to hear about them.
Stefanaccio, Thank you for the information. I have never tried that wine, but I see that it was profiled in Wine Spectator magazine. I will look for it ! :)
Opps...I meant harvest :)
Alma, I LOVED that book! I borrowed it from our local library some years ago and then purchased it because I loved reading it so much before I went to sleep at night. Its a wonderful book!
Recently, I read a book called Stolen Figs by Mark Rotella which was excellent. The premise of the book is based on the author's experiences as he travels to Calabria to see his father's family and to gain a sense of what day to day life is like in the small hilltowns of Calabria. The author twists a clever phrase and illustrates that his adventure is both humorous and moving. I found the book to be an excellent read and I enjoyed it very much!
The tradtional basil pesto is amazing when one adds roasted red and yellow peppers and serves it over pasta., but roast them yourself and do not use the ones from the jar packed in oil for this dish. Those peppers are great for antipasti, but I do not like them with pasta. You can even make a sundried tomato pesto which is also amazing with a little bit of cheese! Artichokes also make a great pesto. I would like to know which type of wine to serve with pesto and pasta?
Ciao a tutti! My name is Debora and I enjoy reading many books regarding Italy. My interest is the mostly in the Southern regions since my family is from Iacurso. One of my favorite books is called Seasons in Basilicata by David Yeardon. Its about spending one year in an Italian hilltown and his descriptions of the land as well as the people are rich and wonderful. I would love to start a book group, but this is my very first post and I do not know how...but I adore books!