The Art of Italian Living
For lovers around the world, Valentine’s Day is a giddy time to celebrate shared love with hearts and flowers, candy and candle-lit dinners. But what about those of us who are love-less? The ones who lost love, were betrayed in love, or for whom love never even bothered to show up. You know, the kind…
Brrrr, it’s cold outside. The perfect time to make a big pot of Ribollita, the iconic Florentine soup that appears on every restaurant menu in Tuscany and beyond each winter. In fact, it’s so popular that the entire Tuscan region has adopted it as its own. Ribollita is the queen of la cucina povera Toscana—Tuscan peasant cooking—and…
How do I love thee? Let me count the ravioli. Seriously, there’s no better way to say “I love you” than with a plate of handmade pasta lovingly crafted and offered as a token of your affection. After all, you put a little bit of yourself into every bite by kneading, rolling and shaping the…
It’s often said that patience is a virtue and good things come to those who wait. This is especially true when it comes to Hachiya persimmons, an obscure and misunderstood winter fruit known as kaki to the Japanese and cachi to Italians. These persimmons are often confused with the flatter Fuyu variety that is eaten firm…
Most Italians would agree with me when I say that it wouldn’t be Christmas without Panettone. This golden dome-shaped sweet bread studded with raisins, candied orange peel and citron, that traditionally makes its appearance for Christmas and New Year, is a must to celebrate the holidays in Italy. You see them everywhere from artisan bakery windows to specialty stores and supermarkets, wrapped in…
When I lived in Tuscany, autumn’s arrival each year was heralded by a sudden flurry of activity in the countryside. The spell of summer’s lazy lull was broken by a revived energy as locals awakened from their sleepy trance eager to return to normal routine. One of the first signs of this risveglio was the annual wine harvest called la vendemmia. As if beckoned by the waving of a flag at the starting…
Today, October 17, is National Pasta Day! To celebrate, I’m honored to partner with premier Italian cookware maker Lagostina for my first ever giveaway. I’m giving a Lagostina Martellata Hammered Copper Pastaiola, like the one you see in this post, to one of lucky readers/followers (a $249.99 retail value!!). Lagostina gave me one of these beautiful pots to make my recipe for pasta day…
THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED! CONGRATULATIONS TO WINNER LACRECIA AND STAY TUNED FOR MORE GIVEAWAYS ON THE BLOG… Happy National Pasta Day! I’m excited to be celebrating by partnering with premier Italian cookware maker Lagostina for a giveaway of one of their prestigious products. This gorgeous Lagostina Martellata Hammered Copper Pastaiola will look great in your kitchen. Better yet, you…
A funny thing happened last week while I was thinking about writing this recipe post: my friend Dorothy invited me to an impromptu dinner at her house. I jumped in my car and headed down the hill before remembering her mention that the fig tree in her garden was particularly bountiful this year. So I turned around and went home to grab…
When I was a little girl, I used to play a secret game at the dinner table. I would identify my favorite food on the plate and save a bit of it off to one side to enjoy last. I wanted the special taste to linger in my mouth—and in my mind—after the meal ended. When dinner was almost over,…
Everyone knows the world famous Pasta all’Amatriciana. You’ve most likely eaten it at your favorite Italian restaurant or (if you were lucky) during a trip to Rome, the city that adopted it as its own. But you probably didn’t know that this pasta dish—one of Italy’s greatest—originated in the ancient, hillside town of Amatrice located in central Italy 140 kilometers from Rome….
When life gives you peppers, you make Peperonata. Then you make Peperonata Crostini to accompany a pre-dinner glass of wine to tease the taste buds and get the party started. That’s exactly what I did this summer in Italy. We invited last minute guests to dinner and I needed bite size appetizers to serve with the aperitivi. When my friend…
No sooner did I set foot in Italy last summer than the entertaining began. We just arrived in Tuscany and there was already a huge bash happening that night at the villa to celebrate Gianni’s niece’s 18th birthday. A gran gala complete with all the trimmings of an A-list affair had been in the planning…
It was almost midnight when the loud ping of my cell phone announced a message had arrived on WhatsApp. Must be from Italy, I thought, since all my friends here in California were probably asleep. I clicked open the phone, unprepared for the emotional surprise it held. “Gallena vi aspetta!” read the exclamation beneath a photo,…