Browsing Tag

vegetarian

Spinach Herb Pesto

March 22, 2018

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

October 31, 2017

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, […]

Focaccia Pugliese

September 20, 2017

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 […]

Asiago Cheese Crackers

June 5, 2017

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, […]

Rice-Stuffed Tomatoes

August 23, 2016

The last time Peter and I were in Rome, we rented an apartment on Via Caulonia just off of Piazza Zama in the IX Appio Latino neighborhood, a few blocks up the street from my zia Franca, who lived in an apartment on Via Centuripe. She has since moved into her late sister’s apartment in another neighborhood to be closer to her nieces and nephews, but her former neighborhood will always be one of my favorite areas of Rome. It’s home to the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano and the catacombs of San Callisto, but it’s mainly a residential neighborhood with one apartment building after another […]

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