Browsing Tag

baking

Vegetable Plumcake

November 14, 2017
vegetable plumcake

I’m in love with the word plumcake. I came across it only in the last couple of years as I started to discover and read more Italian food blogs. It looks like it should be two words, but separating them would mean a cake made with plums which is delicious no doubt, but another thing entirely. In Italy, a plumcake (which Italians pronounce “ploom-cake”) typically refers to a sweet cake made in a loaf pan–what many of us refer to as a quick bread. But there is no rule that says a plumcake can’t be savory. They may not be as ubiquitous […]

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Focaccia Pugliese

September 20, 2017
focaccia pugliese

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know about my unending love of making dough, and after procrastinating for longer than I care to admit, I finally learned how to make a beautiful and delicious focaccia pugliese. The inspiration and motivation to learn how to make this came from my new friend Carla who teaches cooking classes in Rome, and whom I had the pleasure of meeting last December when we traveled to Italy for Christmas. Carla takes photos of the food she makes at every class, and focaccia pugliese is often on the menu for her students to […]

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Crostini

June 12, 2017
crostini

When I had the idea to share a post for crostini, I figured it might be silly to write about how to toast slices of bread in the oven. But the more I thought about it, the less silly it seemed since crostini feature heavily on the Italian antipasto table, and bread is revered in Italy (for good reason). Crostini are also on my list of “basics” recipes I want to share with you since they’re the foundation for many appetizers that can be made to suit the seasons. Although I make crostini year-round, spring and summer are my favorite seasons to set out a platter of crostini when […]

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Asiago Cheese Crackers

June 5, 2017
asiago cheese crackers

Crackers are my snack weakness. I never have less than three (or four) different kinds in my pantry. And while I limit buying and eating processed foods, I make an exception for store-bought crackers. I just love them too much. And let’s face it, they’re convenient to have around. Store-bought crackers are great as the trusted saviors of many a dinner party appetizer, but homemade crackers are special. I don’t try my baking hand at them nearly enough which is a shame because they’re so easy and fun to make. After seeing these on Marilena Leavitt’s Instagram feed a few weeks ago, […]

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Lingue di Gatto

May 26, 2017
lingue di gatto

Welcome to the May edition of Cucina Conversations! We are having some fun with this month’s theme: foods named after parts of the body, both human and animal. It might sound a little creepy, but I promise it’s anything but! You may remember when I wrote about occhi di bue cookies for Valentine’s Day, I also told you about a few Italian foods named after parts of the body. I had so much fun writing about this subject, that my fellow Cucina Conversations bloggers and I unanimously decided it had to be the topic for this month’s posts. My contribution are these […]

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