It’s that time of the year: artichoke season! Suddenly, artichokes are everywhere in farmers’ markets, and even in supermarkets. Even Stanley Tucci is cooking with them. In a few weeks, just as suddenly as they have appeared, their short season will end. Of course, in supermarkets artichokes are imported from who-knows-where nearly year-round, but in…
SPRING!!! SPRING!!! SPRING!!! I thought it would never arrive yet here it is on our doorstep! (Apologies for yelling at you with all those exclamation points but I want to shout it from the rooftops!) The earth is vibrating as if it knows how much the promise of warmer weather means THIS year of all…
My sister Michele and I have been on a sensory journey lately–one of food smells and tastes that invoke fond recollections. Looking at old photos doesn’t even come close. Especially now with the pandemic forcing a long period without family get-togethers and holiday celebrations, reliving favorite memories through our favorite foods gives us hope for…
Things are looking up! 14 days until spring. The sun is setting after 6 pm (ok, 5:57 but close enough). And the week ahead promises to be warm here in the eastern US – woohoo! I feel like a kid waiting very impatiently for Christmas. The promise of spring has my pandemic-weary soul flying high…
Growing up, everyone we knew was of Italian descent. Our town was full of Italian immigrant families and our Roman Catholic church was full of Italian families (with a sprinkling of Polish and Irish immigrants) following many of the same traditions they had in Italy. No one was boastful about being Italian, it was simply…
Celebrating Valentine’s Day after almost a year into the pandemic will either leave you giddy at the thought of a quiet romantic dinner at home -or- shaking your head in dismay thinking that even your partner’s blinking is driving you batty. So, I have provided options! 🙂 If you fall into the first category…
Thinking back fondly to our last trip to Italy to visit my paternal family in Le Marche (due to COVID, not in 2020, but toward the end of 2019), I fondly remember meals we shared together that stretched for hours as we ate delicious food and drank excellent wine while we talked and laughed. The…
Don’t let the purple color of this chicken dish scare you away! The taste of the chicken after having marinated in red wine is divine. 🙂 This recipe was one of our Dad’s favorite meals and one our Mom made often. She made it at home. She made it for company. She made it for…
As a kid, I hated all cheese except grated parmesan. Growing up, our family didn’t have a lot of money and going out for pizza was a huge treat. But I wouldn’t touch my pizza slices until my Mom took every last morsel of cheese off the pizza – just tomato sauce and dough for…
Few things in life are more comforting than a steaming bowl of soup. Our mom’s legendary soups were the ones that waited for us after a frosty walk home from school; warmed us to our core after neighborhood snow angel contests; soothed our souls after the big breakups and graced our family table for holiday…
Anyone else feeling a bit weary with this pandemic cooking? Don’t get me wrong – I *adore* cooking and my kitchen is truly my refuge but good gravy, night after night, meal after meal, my creativity has been – let’s say – less than creative lately. I usually dread the end of summer but I…
Even though the weather here in LA is still plenty hot, this year’s home gardening tomato season is drawing to a close. Each year I learn a bit more about getting maximum yield from the plantable urban garden space we have. I had an abundance of cherry tomatoes (both gold and red) this year, so…
“There are places you leave. And places that never leave you.” A bunch of years ago, I was on a mission to visit as many islands off the coast of Italy as I possibly could. I was knocking them off as fast as I researched them – Sardinia, Elba, Capri, Aeolian Islands. (I had just…
The island of Capri, located in the Tyrrhenian Sea and off the coast of Naples, Italy, is one of the most beautiful spots in the world. Home to mermaid legends and the famous Blue Grotto, Capri’s delicious local cuisine relies on the waters surrounding it and on the amazing local garden produce, especially lemons. The…
Need a simple refresher for the upcoming holiday weekend? This simple summer sangria (which can be found in our e-cookbook Gatherings that you can download after subscribing to our blog here – shameless plug 🙂 !) is a keeper! Here we used white grapes, peaches, lime juice, mint and basil. Don’t get all worked up…
So…..how the heck is everyone doing out there? Hopefully everyone is weathering this crazy storm with a shred of sanity. I find myself oscillating between #wegotthis (woohoo!) and #getmeoutofherenow (like RIGHT THIS MINUTE); #Ilovecooking (Yay, let’s tackle a market run this morning!) and #Ihatecooking (french fries for dinner); #Ilovecleaning and….wait, those words have never ever…
Well here we are… the beginning of May… locked down and staying safe. But thankfully we have cooking to keep us sane. Fortunately, I also have the garden to keep me occupied. What started off in January as my annual ritual to plant fava bean seeds has morphed into my “victory garden.” With all that…
March 2020 will be one for the history books. Three quarters of Americans are stuck at home and the world has been turned upside down. If there is a bright side, it’s that everyone seems to been cooking at home! Mark and I have faced a few particular challenges that have made this time even…
And suddenly – boom – we have all become full-time home cooks, forced to figure out what the heck to make for dinner for ourselves and our families almost every single night. Some friends are making epic meals, others using up those pantry staples. For me, the kitchen has always been my refuge at the…
I adore lemons. And lemon trees. And the smell of lemons blossoms. Their sunny little faces can brighten a dreary winter’s day. Over the years, I have attempted to grow lemons indoors as my climate is too chilly to leave the little guys outside all year. My first attempt, years ago, resulted in nothing but…
Winter is a wonderful time to hunt for interesting fresh fruits and vegetables. Cabbage, its cousin kale, and cauliflower are all over the markets. All manner of root vegetables, including multi-colored carrots, potatoes, and beets catch the eye. Citrus is at its peak, and if you can nab persimmons for salads and desserts, do it!…
Truth be told, I have gotten a bit carried away over the years in making antipasti for dinner parties – at times, spending way more time on preparing the antipasti than the actual meal. I always worry there is not enough food for the guests (the apple does not fall far) so better to err…
As we wrap up our 3-month stay here in the region of Marche, Italy, I’ve become sad. Sad because I will miss Christmas here, which will be a wonderful family-oriented affair; sad at no more afternoon walks along the olive groves; sad that taking a walk along a beach, so easy here, would be an…
The year was 1921, the place Ellis Island. My maternal grandmother, single, arrives into port from Napoli on the ship Patria to be with her sister Concetta, living in Brooklyn. My grandfather, who had come to America in 1911 from Marche, had recently lost his young wife to the 1918 flu epidemic and needed a…
Late October in central Italy means that summer vine crops are finally giving way to autumn’s earthy vegetables. Chard, cauliflower and potatoes are replacing the big summer harvests. The air is crisp and daylight savings time will soon end. Autumn in Italy is such a different experience from this season in Los Angeles, where summer…
If you have been following us for a while, you know how much we love eggplant – stuffed, fried, baked…you name it. And you might also remember that our maternal grandparents are from Sicily AND that I had a boyfriend who lived in Sicily. (Cliff notes: I got divorced, went to my mothers’ village in…
As Mark and I settle into life in Italy this Autumn, the rhythm of food and changing seasons is unmistakeable. Ingredients from the waning summer, like sweet cherry tomatoes, near their end just as beautiful Borlotti beans and young chards are getting started. To me, this mirrors the announcement of springtime by fava beans. These…
All things have a season. In this case, we’re talking about basil! If you are lucky enough to have a giant basil plant at the end of the summer, it won’t last long as the weather starts to turn colder. During a recent visit by Joey to Michele’s riverside Pennsylvania home, a large behemoth of…
I received an e-mail this week from a reader looking for a Steak alla Pizzaiola recipe. It turns out that Michele wrote a post 9 years ago accurately capturing my Aunt Mary’s version of this dish. It’s a dish I remember so well from my childhood! And it’s a dish anyone with a heritage involving…
Summer is in full swing here in the Eastern US with heat wave after heat wave rolling on through, punctuated by gusty thunderstorms – a summer made in heaven by my standards! I adore the heat (truth be told, living on a river helps when it gets crazy hot) and adore a good ‘ole thunderstorm….
It’s summer and it’s time to grill!! In Italy, grilling in the summer is just as popular as here in the U.S.A. While grilling chops and sausages are standard fare, you can create something really interesting by grilling rolled beef with different stuffings. But first, let’s get our “lingua” straight!! “Braciol” is not an Italian…