Seasonal Recipes

It is nice — and unsurprising — to know that in this period of reflection and prayer, Italians have never quite forgotten about their kitchens. And so, we learn that the  first Easter chocolate eggs were created in Turin in …

As summer draws to a close, most of us have cleared out our garden beds either to let them rest for the winter months or turn them over for fall crops.  But many of us still have that one huge …

Christmas time is usually associated with special recipes that quite often are traditional to our family. Along with Christmas cake and Christmas pudding, mince pies are an essential part of my Christmas celebrations. Mince pies are part of a type of …

Easter is around the corner and there are plenty of Italian traditions that go with it. I would say that for Italians, Easter is the second most popular holiday of the year next to Christmas. In my mom’s Calabrian hometown, …

I knew I had become truly Italian once I had mastered shopping for food on a daily basis (every morning) as opposed to a large once-weekly supermarket shop. Food shopping Italian style means encompassing the fundamentals of an Italian diet, …

Making your own pasta isn’t difficult, and I was reminded whilst making these ravioli just how satisfying, relaxing and therapeutic it can be. I realized I seriously don’t make pasta often enough and so I hope to make an effort …

A friend recently brought me the precious gift of a jar of Sicilian pistachio cream made from the pistachios of Bronte. Almost as soon as she was out the door, I had a spoon at the ready to taste this …

Up to 1963 the proud region of Abruzzo was not a region in its own right, but cohabited with Molise, even if Frederick of Swabia had already, in 1233, created the Giustiziere d’Abruzzo, identifying the region’s territory.   Abruzzo became …

I was re-arranging my pantry recently and found a package of Sardinian fregola. Memories came flooding back of my trip to this wonderful island back in 2008 and, as importantly, to the amazing food of the island.   I had …

I tend to shy away from making meatloaf at home. Growing up, my mother made meatloaf a lot.  In fact, she made it almost every Wednesday. Now, she was an amazing cook but truth be told, her meatloaf was simply …