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Spaghetti. No Meatballs.
I am anxious to write again, particularly because it gives my mind a chance to be creative and tap into some of the things that I really love doing: cooking, traveling, and sharing little pieces of inspiration that I find throughout my journey in life. I was sad devastated to see my previous blog erased and for awhile it really blocked me from getting back up on the horse, along with the fact that we do not live in Italy, yet. However, after some time reflecting and moving to a more calmer city from New York (Bahhhston – but I still love you New York!), I realized that we have been…
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New Year. New Pasta. Homemade Garganelli
We are just about two weeks into 2021 and by this point I haven’t flipped past March of 2020. Anyone else feel that way? It seems like 2020 blitzed past us in a complete blur and at rapid speed and for those of us here in the United States, we started the 13th month of 2020. This past week was very difficult, perhaps a cherry on top of what has rounded out a tumultuous 2020 already. If you have been watching the news you’ll know that the U.S. Capitol being overtaken by a mob of people on such an important political day. I know that in my last post I…
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A Classic Italian Panettone
Less than a week until Christmas?! It is insane to think but even crazier when you say it out loud given that the time has really flown by since March. Here we are in Massachusetts with curfews, stage 2b or 3 of a lockdown and a pandemic that is still sweeping through the world at an alarming rate. It’s a year that has most certainly been unlike any other and instead of focusing on all of the bad, I am choosing to think of the good – because that is what Christmas is all about. I’m thankful for the health of my loved ones and although we will not be…
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Giving Thanks with a Homemade Maple Apple Pie
It is that time of year again in America, where we start preparing all of the wonderful fall delights that accompany the Thanksgiving Feast, every 4th Thursday of November. This year things have been quite different and I’ve found myself cooking even more than before (not a bad thing) but also in awe at how fast 9 months in a quarantine lifestyle goes. It’s been one of the most tumultuous years by far and not easy by any means, but I still force myself to look at the brighter side of things because I’m thankful we still have our health, jobs, and a place to sleep at night. This year…
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Feeling Peachy – 5 ingredients for a Torta di Pesche
We are going to be creeping into 95 degree weather here in Boston this coming weekend and my afternoon treat lately has been gelato – a LOT of gelato (ice cream). Besides the cold creamy goodness, which is a summer staple here in America and also in Italy, fresh fruit that is in season is always in one of the two fruit bowls we have in our house. Fruit is nature’s candy and one thing that I have noticed here in the states is that fruit is expensive compared to Italy! Like, super expensive – ironic right? The price of fresh produce and fruit here in the U.S. is astronomically…
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Homemade Savoiardi – Because your Tiramisù has been missing these
It’s been a few weeks, but I haven’t left you here without creating new delicious creations in the meantime. You may have seen a few updates from me on social media, but my absence from writing was so that I could take time to sit back and take a few moments to educate myself and find ways to get more involved with the crisis of systemic racism that has been a problem for longer than it should be. I won’t go into many details on this post, but I will say that I will not be staying silent about this issue and I’ll be continuing to raise my voice on…
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Italian Margarita – for the love of Campari
Memorial Day weekend is finally here in the United State and it also officially means that it’s the start of summer – FINALLY – I mean, we just hit 80 degrees this week and it feels oh-so-good. I was really getting annoyed with waking up to a cold house and constantly living in sweaters and pants. I was born in Florida and there is ultimately one thing that will still remain in my blood, love of the warm sun. Not hot, but warm – perfect temperatures if I put it so eloquently. As Italy has been opening up little by little, I’ve been enjoying seeing spring blooms, clear sea water,…
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Caffè Innamorato – because espresso could always use Nutella and Panna
There’s nothing I love more than starting the day off with a tazzina (small cup) of caffè (espresso). Depending on the morning and my mood, I usually will choose between brewing up espresso in my Bialetti moka pot or in my second love of my life, the Gaggia Carezza – which is still one of the best birthday gifts Roberto got me and what has expanded my addiction even further. The morning espresso and after lunch espresso are the times of day that are what I’d like to call “markers”. One starts off the day and the other is the halfway point, or the point where I know that we…
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The Bidet – Self Care for “Down There”
I did a random poll a week ago on my Instagram page (insert link) and asked people what their initial thoughts were on the “Bidet” and I received some interesting answers… I’d say it was about half and half based on responses for “Gross” and “Best thing ever”. Let me just preface this post as being someone who had the reaction of “Gross” when I was a kid and would see this bathroom device in all of those luxury NYC apartments that you would see in the movies. I just assumed that they were dirty, for those who were affluent, and those that had no preference to use baby wipes…
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Chocolate Rum Mascarpone Bites – Un Dolce Facilissimo
I tend to have a pretty strong sweet tooth and besides cooking up a pasta dish or my new favorite thing to make, focaccia, I enjoy making/baking/eating sweets. Ever since I was a bambina (little girl) I was obsessed with chocolate – literally all things chocolate and I don’t think that has stopped now that I’m in my thirties. Fast forward to present day and now that we are shopping about once a week, I’m trying to be extra careful about letting food go to waste (especially the chocolate) What I have learned about the Italian lifestyle in the kitchen is that NOTHING goes to waste. There is always a…
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Our Easy Caprese Pasta to Welcome Warmer Weather
“Boston c’e’ la neve” is the beginning of a song lyric from one of my overplayed favorite Italian Artists, Eugenio Finardi, and after spending our first winter in Boston and in quarantine, there hasn’t been much snow but it’s still disgustingly cold with a few pockets of sunny and warmer weather. I’ll take whatever I can get right now, but I’m already daydreaming about pranzo in the backyard and flowers continuously blooming. We are almost there, I can feel it! For now, I’ve resorted to trying to throw on a tank top and a little extra bronzer on my face to imagine that I’m sitting outside feeling the sun’s warmth…
