briciole

pâté di olive con fichi e menta / tapenade with figs and mint

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] a nice couple ready for the table A tall woman and a French man were preparing a chicken for roasting, while conversing amiably. She wiggled her hand into the space between the bird's skin and the flesh, something I had never seen anybody do before. I could not quite figure out to what extent the two in the kitchen were serious. My mother-in-law was watching this on her television when we arrived for a visit and we watched it with her for a while. It was my introduction to Julia Child and... Read more →

spirali (pasta fatta a mano) / spirals (handmade pasta)

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] small ridged bites of pasta dough When I need some quiet time to relax and let my thoughts fly away quickly before weighing too heavily on my mind, I make a batch of pasta dough and allow my hands to take the helm. Sometimes follow a well-rehearsed set of steps to make a familiar pasta shape. Other times, they explore a new path. When they reach a place worth describing in detail, I tell the story here. If you have been following me for some time, you know that making pasta by... Read more →

Weekend Herb Blogging #441: il raccolto / the roundup

As host of last week's edition of WHB, I am pleased to present the set of posts submitted. For each contribution, I will give you the official information (author, blog name and post title) and, if the post is in English, a short quote or brief description that summarizes it, a teaser that invites you to follow the link to read the relevant post. Follow me: it will be an interesting tour. Come ospite dell'edizione di Weekend Herb Blogging della scorsa settimana, ho l'onore di presentare dei bellissimi post. Per ognuno, specifico i dati ufficiali (autore, nome del blog e titolo... Read more →

cobbler di pesche, frutti di bosco e rabarbaro / peach, berry and rhubarb cobbler

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] serving cobbler for breakfast A light, crisp crust draped loosely over a deep layer of tender, juicy fruit: this, in a few words, is a cobbler. It is usually served as dessert with a dollop of ice cream, but I like to serve it for breakfast (colazione), by itself. My cobbler — originally inspired by a recipe for apricot cobbler from Gourmet magazine — is rich in fruit and light in everything else, sugar in particular. It calls for the best fruit you can get. I have made it with various types... Read more →

annuncio / announcement: Weekend Herb Blogging #441

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] This week I have once again the honor of hosting Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and Brii of briggishome. I hope you'll join this illustrious event that week after week brings together food bloggers from around the world. The rules for participating are detailed on this page. You can download the logo to add to your post. I will be delighted to receive your contribution to the event. You can submit your post by using... Read more →

pierogi con ripieno di verdure / vegetable pierogi

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] a cheerful plate Pretty half-moon pillows sprinkled with a stardust of cheese, each a circle of light dough enveloping a heart of flavorful filling. A galaxy of colroful vegetables to accompany them. These are my pierogi. After a year and a half of travels, our tour of the European Community one country and one culinary tradition at a time has reached its final stop: Poland (Polonia). Even before we arrived there, I knew that I would make pierogi, the traditional pretty Polish dumplings. My rendition, pierogi with carrot zucchini and ricotta filling... Read more →

semifreddo alla fragola / strawberry parfait

sweet elegance Parfait, which means perfect in French, is used to describe two different types of desserts: a dessert consisting of layers of ice cream, fruit, etc., served in a tall glass a rich cold dessert made with whipped cream, eggs, and often fruit American readers will be more familiar with the first meaning and French readers with the second. When I received the suggestion to create a strawberry parfait, I immediately consulted my favorite resource Frozen Dessert by Caroline Liddell and Robin Weir, and under its guidance, I created a dessert in the French tradition. Their basic recipe for parfait,... Read more →

broccoli al vapore con salsina al miso e noci / steamed broccoli with walnut miso dressing

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] fresh from the farmers' market When vegetables are this fresh and pretty, it is almost a pity to cut them up and cook them, so I try to treat them gently. In this recipe, I steam them until tender to my liking and accompany them with a nut-based dressing. just steamed I save the water at the bottom of the pot where I steam the broccoli and use it to blend miso and lightly toasted walnuts. red miso, walnuts and the dressing Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for steamed broccoli with walnut... Read more →

spaghetti alla farina di castagne fatti a mano / chestnut flour handmade spaghetti

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] with creamy crescenza cheese How old was I when I learned to roll spaghetti around my fork and bringing it cleanly to my mouth? I don't remember, so it must have happened early in my life. Eating spaghetti is probably the first complex task an Italian child is expected to master at the table. the fork at work Spaghetti nowadays generally refers to a factory-made kind of pasta. Spaghetti alla chitarra is one exception: it is handmade and cut using a special tool, a wooden frame with metal wires, called chitarra, which... Read more →

Wortelstoemp

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] comfort food from the farm The country we are currently visiting in our virtual European Community tour is Belgium (Belgio). To celebrate our stop, I came up with my version of a popular dish: Stoemp, a mixture of mashed potatoes and vegetables. The version with potatoes and carrots (patate e carote) is called Wortelstoemp. smiling for the camera I am giving you the quantities I used, but this is really a dish where you improvise with what you have, which is what I did. My immediate inspiration was not a recipe, but... Read more →