It is hard to believe that in less than two months we’ll be packing up to head back to Umbria for the 2012 season but now that we have booked our flights and started to sort things we want to pack to take with us, it is a reality that is quickly approaching. One chore that I need to accomplish every year before we close up and head to Umbria is to empty out our freezer and pantry. Somehow I ended up with three packages of almond paste after Christmas that didn’t get used as planned,... Read the whole entry »
I have been meaning to post a few of my favorite panini recipes for months, but never seemed to get around to it until now. This sandwich, or variations of it, has been a personal favorite of mine for the past couple of years. I was never a huge fan of mortadella for many years as I considered it to be an Italian version of bologna, and I outgrew bologna when I hit my teens. When we bought our Umbrian farmhouse though, I tried many local cured meat specialties since Umbria is famous for its... Read the whole entry »
Growing up, I thought of a sandwich as being two slices of white bread with a slice or two of meat and cheese between them. We may have gotten a little fancy from time to time and slathered on a little mustard or mayonnaise, but we certainly never thought of a sandwich as being a “gourmet adventure in dining”. As I grew up, I did learn to improve my sandwich making skills to some extent, but it wasn’t until I came across an amazing panini store in down town Milan over 20 years... Read the whole entry »
My refrigerator is always full of vegetables although carrots are one vegetable that we seem to eat raw much more often than we do cooked. I’m not sure why this is because I have nothing against cooked carrots as long as they are cooked properly, but I guess we just prefer them raw in salads or as snacks. In my kitchen exploration this week my goal was to work on a few new side dishes that would be great for an amazing Easter menu and I decided I needed to add a carrot recipe, because we... Read the whole entry »
Easter in Italy is a Christian based holiday, which begins on Palm Sunday, and culminates the following week on Easter Sunday. Although all of Holy Week is important, it is Easter Sunday when the real festivities begin to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Easter week, or Holy Week is celebrated in many diverse ways across Italy, reflecting regional differences, and originating from religion, peasant lore and even pagan influences. Easter Sunday often begins with morning mass, and then much... Read the whole entry »
Easter is just around the corner, and I’ve been working on some new side dishes that will work well with any main entree you may choose. I personally love green beans even though many folks seem to think they are pretty boring. If properly cooked, I think green beans can be the perfect side for almost any special menu. The secret to preparing great green beans is to blanch them first until tender crisp, then drop them in ice water to stop the cooking process and keep them bright green.... Read the whole entry »
You may be asking yourself exactly what is a Stromboli and how is it different from a calzone, but to be honest they are really pretty similar. A calzone is more of a one person serving stuffed closed pizza, somewhat like a pizza turnover, while a Stromboli is usually a multi-serving rolled stuffed sandwich. Both do use pizza or bread dough, and both are stuffed with many of the same toppings used on pizza. The origins of the Stromboli are uncertain, but it is a 20th century invention that... Read the whole entry »
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