La Buona Tavola

Tuscan cuisine is known for its simplicity typically using only four to eight ingredients. “La cucina povera”, or peasant cooking is the origin of all Tuscan recipes. In Tuscany, the elaborate preparation of dishes is not popular. Instead, Tuscans take …

Baby, it’s hot outside! Summer is in full swing and when the heat rises, you need some refreshing treats to cool you down.   What better way to do so but with a few Italian-inspired creations.   The first treat, Roasted …

Sardinia is Italy’s second largest island, and like so many islands, its culture has developed in relative isolation from the surrounding land masses.  In the case of Sardinia this holds especially true for its cuisine.  Along with a multitude of …

Limoncello Panna Cotta, an easy and delicious dessert for all seasons.    6 Servings 1 1/2 Cups Heavy cream, 1 1/4 Cups whole milk, 1/2 Cup Limoncello Liqueur, 1/4 Cup Sugar, 2 1/2 Tsp Powdered gelatin, 1/2 Tsp Lemon extract, 1/4 Tsp Vanilla extract   Directions/Steps …

These little pasta squares, known as tacconi, hail from Italy’s Mezzogiorno, and are particularly well known in Molise and Abruzzo.  Toothsome and with plenty of corn flavor, they are made with a blend of finely ground wheat and corn flours, …

I remember paddling a dinghy off the beaches of my mother’s native Sardinia when I was a girl, looking for sea urchins in the transparent blue-lavender of the Bay of Cagliari. Aside from diving equipment, the only things my cousins …

As I wrote in my last column, we are on the road traveling Italy’s nooks and crannies this summer en route to my cooking school in Umbria. Rome was our first stop but despite her spell, the sweltering heat drove …

This is one your Sicilian nonna used to make.  Also known as maccaruna di casa, busiate are made of durum wheat and water, and are perhaps Sicily’s most famous pasta lunga.  The deft hands of the Sicilian women can turn …

Having just returned from a tour of Puglia, my thoughts linger on that region’s table in this week’s “Buona Tavola.” I will soon be on the road again traveling from Abruzzo to Lazio, Tuscany, Umbria, and back to Puglia. Beginning …

I’ve been on an eggplant kick lately. It’s summertime and eggplant are everywhere in the farmer’s markets and grocery stores. People seem to be terrified of eggplant, probably because they don’t know how to cook it. The beautiful thing about …