Primavera means spring in Italian.  Artichokes, peas, and asparagus are spring vegetables.  These popular vegetables are prepared individually and combined in various Italian dishes.  My friend Gerry was kind enough to share his Sicilian mother’s spring vegetable casserole recipe with me.  The original recipe inspired me to create this Primavera means spring in Italian.  Artichokes, […]

A timballo or timbale as Sicilians call it, is a molded dish made of rice, pasta, or potatoes.  The timbale can be a layered concoction with cheese, vegetables, eggs, meat, and or poultry. Sometimes the filling is encased in a layer of pastry crust or thin fried eggplant slices.  It can be simple or as […]

Although this recipe is not traditional Italian cuisine; this family favorite is a quick pasta dish that I created and wanted to share with you.  It has a deep, earthy mushroom flavor that I like, and it is easy to prepare.  Best of all it can be prepared in 30 minutes or less.  Serve as […]

My cousin Pina, who lives in Detroit, shared this holiday recipe for rice dressing that can be used as a stuffing or a side dish.  It goes well with poultry and pork.  Pina’s Rice Dressing Difficulty Rating: EasyMakes 8 servings. Ingredients:1 1/2 cups rice cooked in 3 cups chicken stock2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut […]

Fall has finally arrived and that’s when I get excited about cooking with seasonal ingredients.  Butternut squash is one of my favorite choices to cook with.  I especially love butternut squash ravioli but, I don’t really like making them unless I have an army of helpers.  In my opinion, tortelloni are easier to make than […]

My family hails from a town called Castelvetrano, which is famous for its ancient Greek city Selinunte that lies along the city’s coast.  The name Selinunte came from the wild celery (selinus) that grew abundantly in the area. Perhaps it is sheer coincidence that celery went into almost every salad I ate as a child.  […]

Pasta with ricotta is one of the simplest Italian pasta dishes to make.  The only basic ingredients you really need are pasta, ricotta, salt and pepper.  Other added ingredients enhance the dish further.  You can really get creative. Try adding sauteed pancetta or diced ham, for example.  I love to add peas, but I have […]

Cauliflower is probably one of the blandest tasting vegetables around, in my opinion.  It always needs help to give it some flavor.  Toasted breadcrumbs are a staple in Sicilian cooking.  This staple came about because it was sacrilegious to throw away even a morsel of bread, bread being the staff of life.  Frugal housewives would […]

I’ll often ask people of different nationalities what they stuff their turkeys with. You would be amazed at the responses I get.  For instance, my family always used rice stuffing with chestnuts. My son-in law’s family from Mexico stuffs their turkey with potatoes and small olives.  Many Americans of different backgrounds have infused their cultural […]

While cooking rice for dinner last night, Nonna Serafina’s tomato basil rice came to mind.  I haven’t made her rice dish in years, but I recalled those large nutty grains of arborio rice, chunks of tomatoes, and an explosion of basil flavor in every mouthful.  I had to restrain myself from eating the whole pot. […]