Browsing Tag

vegetarian

Fusilli alla Sorrentina

August 17, 2018
fusilli alla sorrentina

Every Tuesday, after preparing my breakfast, I sit down to read Rachel Roddy’s weekly online column in The Guardian. This has been my weekly ritual since her first article appeared in October 2015. In addition to being a gifted writer and an engaging cooking teacher, Rachel is an avid learner. Her Instagram feed regularly showcases books she is reading–many of them cookbooks and books on food writing. Thanks to Rachel, I have discovered many new-to-me cookbook authors and food writers who have expanded my knowledge of not just Italian cooking, but also food writing and Italian food history. Despite my decent cooking abilities, […]

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Potato Focaccia

July 18, 2018
potato focaccia

Buon giorno, friends! I am finally resurfacing to write on my blog again. Life has been busy, and since I’m already not a prolific blogger, my small corner of the Internet got neglected even more than usual. I took a break from this space to plan out my summer cooking class series at the Italian Cultural and Community Center. I taught my first class of the series at the end of last month and it was a delicious success! I’ve also been spending time in the kitchen cooking just for pleasure without the added pressure of capturing a photograph and jotting […]

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Spring Orzo Salad

April 30, 2018
spring orzo salad

Welcome to the April edition of Cucina Conversations! To welcome the arrival of spring, the longer days, and the warmer temperatures (finally!), we are featuring insalate (salads) as our topic. For the past couple of weeks, many of my friends and favorite food bloggers in Italy have been posting photos and stories on Instagram of their trips to the mercati (markets), where every stall is overflowing with an abundance of spring vegetables: fave, asparagus, radishes, agretti, peas, and the first zucchine. Shopping at my grocery store is decidedly less charming than shopping in one of Italy’s open air markets, but here, state-side too, spring […]

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Spinach Herb Pesto

March 22, 2018
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. […]

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Artichoke Croquettes

January 31, 2018
artichoke croquettes

Benvenuti to the first Cucina Conversations post of the new year! This month, our topic is bread, specifically what Italians call pane raffermo (stale bread). To an inexperienced cook, the phrase “stale bread” can have negative connotations as it brings to mind hard-as-a-rock, inedible bread that is past its soft, crusty, chewy prime. But in the Italian kitchen, pane raffermo becomes a valuable ingredient that was born of the cucina povera (“cooking of the poor”), where no ingredient was wasted and less-desirable parts of animals and vegetables were creatively cooked into recipes that continue to thrive in homes and trattorie across the peninsula. Bread […]

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