There are many Italian Americans traditionally celebrate Christmas Eve with the Feast of Seven Fishes. Cooking seven seafood dishes can be an onerous task, especially if one person is responsible for cooking the entire meal. In my opinion, seven courses for dinner is a crazy amount of food. So, over the years I have paired […]
Pina’s Sicilian Rice Dressing
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 […]
Butternut Tortelloni with Browned Butter Sauce
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 […]
Sicilian Almond Cookies with Cherries
These intense almond flavored cookies are slightly crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. They are very easy to make and only require five ingredients.
Easy Chickpea Soup
This is a simple recipe that my mother makes frequently. It requires only a few ingredients, but it’s surprisingly tasty. It is best served with crusty Italian bread. Easy Chickpea Soup Difficulty Rating: EasyMakes 4 servings. Ingredients: 1 pound dried chickpeas (garbanzo) beans½ teaspoon baking soda3 stalks of celery, chopped1 small onion, diced2 bay leaves1 […]
Quince Paste – Cotognata
My daughter Amanda had given me these beautiful antique Sicilian ceramic molds she had purchased. I immediately fell in love with the designs on them. They have been used since medieval times to make quince paste, considered a luxury food at that time because only the rich that could afford sugar. Most quince paste (membrillo […]
Fennel and Celery Salad
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 Pasta, Peas, and Walnuts
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 […]
Wine, Anise, and Black Pepper Biscotti
Italians are partial to hard cookies (biscotti). They enjoy dunking them in coffee and wine. Although technically not a cookie, these rustic, savory biscotti are meant to be enjoyed with wine and cheese. They are spiced with black pepper, anise, and sesame seeds. Italian Wine Taralli, which are shaped and boiled briefly before baking, are […]
Cauliflower with Lemon Garlic Crumb Topping
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 […]
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