Happy February! I’m a few days late because my blog was getting a much-needed facelift and I had to hold off on publishing new posts while my web developers worked behind the scenes. I am thrilled with the changes and I hope you like them as much as I do! I can’t believe how quickly January went by, although I may be in the minority of people who feel that way. Last month, I saw many people complaining about how January seemed to drag–as though the month was like one long Monday. I know that feeling because I have felt that […]
savory
Baked Rigatoni with Zucchini and Ham
How have we already arrived to the end of the year?! I’m always surprised once the holiday season arrives despite knowing that it is approaching. I’ve never been one to begin preparing for Christmas mid-year, but I’m starting to think that isn’t such a bad idea. I started this month feeling under the weather for two weeks straight which put me behind on everything I have wanted to do for Christmas, including publishing more blog posts. As much as I love the holidays, it is also the time of year that I feel the most overwhelmed. The pressure is completely self-imposed […]
Olive all’Ascolana
Welcome to the July edition of Cucina Conversations! Our group recently decided to publish quarterly instead of monthly due to our busy schedules, but the quality and creativity of our posts will stay the same, and we have some exciting topics for upcoming editions. This month, our topic is “stuffed”, a cooking preparation Italians are especially adept at, and includes a wide range of foods: stuffed pastas such as tortellini, ravioli, and agnolotti; seasonal vegetables hollowed out and filled with a savory meat mixture; involtini, cutlets of beef, pork, or veal rolled around a filling of prosciutto and cheese; and pastries such as krapfen, airy doughnuts […]
Spinach Herb Pesto
Happy spring everyone! It’s been a flurry of activity here at Casa Scalzitti for the past few weeks. After finally recovering from the miserable virus we caught in Italy, Peter and I sprung into action and tackled our household “To Do” list. The first day of spring may have been a couple of days ago, but here in Houston, we’ve been enjoying beautiful spring weather since the beginning of March and it’s been glorious (North-Easters, please don’t hate me!). The start of spring this year is especially exciting for us because we finally had our front and back yard re-landscaped. […]
Pesto Abruzzese
Welcome to the October installment of Cucina Conversations! This month, we are talking about one of my favorite topics: preserving. I am still very much a canning and preserving newbie and have not yet ventured far into the endeavor, but the little I’ve done had me hooked from the start. The very first canning recipe I made was this beautiful and delicious Tropea onion jam from Domeinca Marchetti’s most recent cookbook, Preserving Italy. I returned straight back to Domenica’s lovely cookbook to make my contribution for this month’s recipe, pesto abruzzese. Preserving gets the spotlight mostly during the spring and summer months, […]