briciole

pear sourdough bread / pane al lievito naturale con le pere

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] homemade bread and cheese: a favorite couple (Italian linen from La FABBRICA del LINO) Point Reyes Sheriff's Calls by Susanna Solomon1 is a collection of short stories set in West Marin, one of the most beautiful areas of California. The title of the book comes from the Sheriff's Calls section of the local newspaper, the Point Reyes Light2. Each story starts with an entry from that section. For example, the story that inspired me, "Dressed Only in Jeans," starts with this: From the Sheriff's Calls Section in The Point Reyes Light, November... Read more →

carrot sourdough bread / pane al lievito naturale con le carote

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] homemade bread with homemade cheese: a winning combination Eilish Eam, an Irish child alone in the world, survives in London by playing a glass harmonica1 on the street. Erin Rushton, an American young woman plays the same instrument in concert halls. They are the protagonists of the novel The Glass Harmonica by Louise Marley.2 In 1761, the path of Eilish's life changes dramatically following her meeting with Benjamin Franklin, who lived in London for 16 years between 1757 and 1775. Erin's story is set in 2018. Eilish is deeply attached to a... Read more →

cuchaule: Swiss saffron bread / pane svizzero allo zafferano

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] golden bread in the golden hour The twelfth stop of our World Culinary ABC1 is Switzerland (Svizzera), a country I have visited a number of times. An area we particularly like is Engadin (Engadina). The photo below shows an example of the traditional decorations that grace the façades of buildings in the valley, called sgraffiti, from the Italian graffiare (to scratch)2. traditional decoration called sgraffiti To celebrate this stop, I made my version of cuchaule, a traditional bread from Canton Fribourg that includes saffron among the ingredients. As usual, I took the... Read more →

scone alle fragole / strawberry scones

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] not your typical strawberry scones In The Feast Nearby by Robin Mather, the current selection of our Cook the Books Club, the author tells the story of how she built a new life for herself in a lakeside cabin in Michigan after back-to-back divorce and lay-off. Following the seasons of one year, she describes her food sources, meal plans and preservation efforts, and provides some recipes. I already do a fair amount of food preservation in the form of freezing and fruit preserves. I also bake bread, make cheese, kefir and broth.... Read more →

crostata di arance / orange tart

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] a flavorful flower (place mat from La FABBRICA del LINO) Cara Cara oranges1 from the farmers' market and an invitation to a potluck inspired this crostata. The success led to encores. Citrus season (la stagione degli agrumi) is the perfect time to make this tart, which brings the sun to your table, regardless of what the thermometer says. Choose sweet, flavorful oranges. Their juicy freshness contrasts the buttery crust. The peach preserves offers another layer of flavor and texture. There is enough sweetness to please the palate without overwhelming it. In the... Read more →

grunt ai frutti bosco / berry grunt

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] version with raspberries served with homemade vanilla ice cream (napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO, Seta decor collection) The fifth stop of our World Culinary ABC is Canada and finally I can say: I've been there — though my visit was limited to a few days in Toronto for a conference. The dish I chose to celebrate our virtual visit comes from the eastern part of Canada and New England. It is called grunt or slump, depending on the area, and is similar to the cobbler, but cooked on the stove rather... Read more →

skorpor: crostini svedesi / Swedish rusks

crisp skorpor up for grabs on Double Creek Pottery plate on La FABBRICA del LINO placemat In the kitchen of the house in upstate New York where I spent a few days at a retreat last September, there was a bookshelf of cookbooks. My right hand pulled out Favorite Swedish Recipes by Emmie Berg and while I paged through it, the recipe for Round Rusks (Brutna skorpor) locked my attention. Skorpor are popular Swedish rusks and a rusk is a light, dry biscuit or a piece of twice-baked bread. There is a version of rusk in many other traditions: for example,... Read more →

torciglione

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] it's sweet — once you go past its fierce look Every region of Italy has specific Holiday food traditions. Torciglione is a sweet treat from Umbria, the region in central Italy where I was born and grew up. As my parents were originally from another region, making torciglione was not part of my family traditions. I started making it some years ago and I am presenting it again here (the earlier post is here). As a child, I was intrigued by its snakelike shape and loved its crunchy texture and intense almond... Read more →

crostata con crema all'aceto / vinegar tart

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] Italianized vinegar pie on Italian linen (from La FABBRICA del LINO) Bob Dollar, the protagonist of That Old Ace in the Hole by Annie Proulx, which is the current selection of our Cook the Books Club, is a shy man confused about his place in the world, who finds himself transplanted in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, a place full of interesting characters and rich in local customs and stories, a sliver of America in space and time. The states of Texas and Oklahoma stacked like dirty pots in the sink, their... Read more →

focaccia alla zucca con formaggio / pumpkin and cheese focaccia

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] homemade focaccia and cheese on Hawaiian board on Italian linen (from La FABBRICA del LINO) In the fall, I hoard pumpkins and winter squashes: they keep well and are a source of nourishment and inspiration for months. One specimen, once roasted, yielded enough pulp for several dampers (Australian bread) and focacce (Italian plural of focaccia). I got the general idea from this recipe, then mostly followed my taste and my recent recipe for pear and rosemary focaccia. The pumpkin (zucca) gives the focaccia a nice golden color, the cheese offsets the pumpkin's... Read more →