Potato gnocchi become good old-fashioned Calabrian comfort food when you use potatoes from La Sila mountains or eat them with a hearty tomato and Calabrian sausage sauce. We’ll get to that sausage recipe soon enough, but for now here is the recipe for the homemade potato gnocchi. Ingredients: (serves two) >> 3/4 cup all-purpose flour,...Read More
You know you are loved when you visit a home in Calabria and are served a generous helping of homemade lasagna. For many Calabrians, lasagna is a special meal and in the busy world we live in today-yes, even here in Calabria-it is hard to find time to prepare this dish the way you should....Read More
Carnevale has come and gone and the Lenten season is in full swing. In case you missed it, I told my Facebook fans about my plan, not to give something up for Lent, but to spend a little time each day doing something for someone else. So … if YOU need something, just shoot me...Read More
Ahhh … it is here. The day we’ve waited for … longed for … dreamed about. It is World Nutella Day 2010, so let me be one of the first people to say “Auguri,” and welcome you to the party. Those of you who know me well, know I’m an avid party planner. I don’t...Read More
There is nothing like a good homemade Bolognese sauce in the winter months to stick to your ribs and warm you up from the blistery weather outside. Yes, even in Calabria things get cold, and this Bolognese sauce is one of our old standbys. It’s Italian comfort food for the soul and when added to...Read More
I have a confession to make. A confession that could, in theory, get my Expat-in-Italy status revoked and have citizens from my adopted country kicking my country music listen’, Mexican food eatin’ butt back to Beaumont. You see, the first gazillion times I had lasagna in Calabria-with only one exception-I pretty much hated it. Gulp....Read More
My husband loves to reproduce our favorite restaurant dishes at home and well, this time … he might have outdone the chef. This tortellini recipe is soft. It’s flavorful. It’s delicious. And best of all … it is easy! All you need is the time to boil your water and refill that wine glass. Ingredients:...Read More
It is that time of year-just after the first good post-summer rain, when the air is fresher, the trees are brighter and the faithful edible snails, or lumache, as we say in Italian, are coming out to play. And this is serious business for people in my neck of my woods. You see, the French...Read More
Don’t you just love it when people come up with the excuse to mix good food with a good cause? I know I do. And once again, Michelle of Bleeding Espresso and Sara of Ms. Adventures in Italy have joined forces for the O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness. And I’d like to do...Read More
Before I moved to Italy cooking was somewhat of a chore for me … I was cooking for one, it wasn’t fun and I was trapped in an endless cycle of repeated recipes and take out (more on this later). Now that I am here in the bel paese, I figure I can spice things...Read More
