Not to be confused with lasagna, le sagne are homemade pasta noodles that are sometimes cut like tagliatelle and other times cut into what is called tacconelle – basically a diamond shape. Now, all homemade pasta is not created equal. Yes, the standard recipe calls for 1 egg per every 100 grams of flour. And [...]
Posts under ‘Flavors’
Chocolate Overload
Easter has come and gone but it has left behind more than just memories. At our house it has left behind an overload of chocolate. Now I admit that I did buy a couple of chocolate bunnies because they were cute, but the majority of the chocolate came as gifts. Cute wrapped chocolate eggs with [...]
Orzotto with Broccoli Rabe
In a never-ending quest to eat more healthily, I have recently started to add some more grains to our diet – namely barley and faro (or spelt), although I have also started using more brown rice since it is now available in my local grocery store. The easiest way to use them is in a [...]
Pieces of Lamb
Just about every town in Italy has it’s special dish. Most of the time it’s shared with other towns in the area, but often each town has its own version of the same dish. That can make things interesting when it comes to trying to figure out a recipe for something you’ve tasted. Yes, you [...]
Pizza cookies
Luigi, like most toddlers, likes to snack throughout the day. He eats only a little at a time, but he eats often, which is actually quite challenging since I want him to eat healthy things. Most snack-type foods don’t even qualify remotely as “healthy”, so what’s a mom to do? Luigi’s favorite all-time food is [...]
Not your ordinary chicken a la king
It is a chicken dish and it’s named after a king, but that’s about all it has in common with the chicken a la king that we’re used to seeing. I found this recipe in a book called “I sapori di Abruzzo e Molise” (the flavors of Abruzzo and Molise) that I picked up here [...]
Sausage Ragù
Usually when I make pasta it’s fairly light, with vegetables or tomato sauce and without meat. But, every once in a while a good stick-to-your-ribs meaty sauce (ragù) like this one hits the spot. Of course, these kinds of sauces also take more time to make since the longer the cook the better they taste. [...]
Sage Risotto
I have this amazing sage plant growing on my balcony. It’s not your typical sage with the pointy leaf, but the flavor is the same and it’s growing like mad. While I’ve always loved the taste of sage, this plant is spurring me to try more and more things made with sage. Beer battered sage [...]
Pollo alla Cacciatore – Hunter’s Style Chicken
I’ve found that cooking chicken can be challenging here in Italy. The Italians don’t have the same fondness for chicken breast that Americans seem to have. At least O doesn’t. He’d rather have the legs or thighs. I have to admit, if not cooked well, chicken breasts can be dry and tasteless, but despite the [...]
Macedonia
Macedonia was an ancient Greek kingdom. Today’s Republic of Macedonia was once part of Yugoslavia. But, what in the world does that have to do with fruit? I have no idea why, but Macedonia here in Italy is a type of fruit salad. And no, it’s nothing like the canned fruit cocktail with the mushy [...]
