A Trip Down Memory Lane

   Sigh...gone are the days where we used to have big Italian lunches at our Grand Parent's house on Sundays. This is because sadly Nonno Raniero is no longer with us and Nonna Elisabetta has dimentia. I used to remember the delicious chicken and potatoes Nonna cooked in the oven. So I took a trip down memory lane while cooking Dolce Vita's Patate al Forno.

   I took David's suggestion and involved my Daughter Kayla in the preparations. Kayla peeled the potatoes and mixed them in with the remaining ingredients. Kayla is always better behaved when I have her help me in the kitchen. Maybe it's because she feels useful and gets extra attention from Mommy.

    Minutes later, the house smelled like heaven! These potatoes were delectable!

P.S Let me know if you ever get a Delivery Status Failure Notification e-mail when you comment here. Some people seem to get that message every time and I'm trying to figure out why.

I tried to avoid it!

     I kept putting off this next recipe, because I had never cooked or eaten artichokes before (other than the ones jarred in oil.) Since we are nearing the end of the Appetizer section of Dolce Vita- I couldn't avoid cooking with artichokes any longer because I had to make Carciofi Fritti.

    I was off to a good start though, as I noticed that  the lemon water really worked to keep the artichokes from browning.

 

     So I followed the helpful instructions very carefully and ta-da!!!! Doesn't it look good?! Well amazingly it tasted delicious too. It wasn't as bitter as I thought it would be. Phew! That's one challenge successfully completed, and now I longer live in fear of the artichoke!

Panzanella is Good for the Panza!

     Wow, I have almost completed all the recipes in the Appetizer section of the Dolce Vita cook book! I am amazed at how easy the recipes were, and and how quick it was to make them. I am also very pleased at how great everything tasted. So today I made Panzanella (Tuscan bread salad). The recipe calls for some fresh basilico (basil) and because it's not hot enough outside, I am ripping off the basil from my indoor plant. Once this plant is planted outdoors, it will grow like crazy and I will be able to make some pesto sauce. Thankfully there is a recipe for pesto in the cook book.

    I was worried I wouldn't like the taste of this dish because it included stale bread and store-bought tomatoes (because they aren't in season here). I was pleasantly surprised though, at how the bread absorbed all the wonderful flavors. I was also surprized at how fresh and  light this dish was. It calmed my panza down (belly) after an Easter weekend of stuffing my face. Seriously, I had to camp out in the bathroom all day today! Sorry, I know; 'Too much information!

A Drunken' Easter ;)

It's Easter weekend! At Easter time, some Italians have a tradition of making Easter Braids (as in the above picture). My MIL made these, and her version tastes like sweet bread. This evening we were invited to my Sister Julie's place for a nice lamb dinner.

My blog being mentioned by David -is all the buzz around my family! This meant the pressure was on, and I had to impress the family with an awesome dessert from the Dolce Vita cook book. So for Pasqua, I made two Tiramisu al Limone! I rushed around yesterday to buy some Mascarpone (this tastes amazing on bread) and some Italian lady finger cookies.

The recipe also called for Limoncello, (a lemon liquor) and thankfully I had some of my Dad's home-made Limoncello in my cantina. I have to say, I love lemon in cakes and cookies, so this looked really good. Normally Tiramisu is made with espresso.

I should have paid more attention though- to how much Limoncello I was sipping- as I prepared my cake! By the time the cake was ready, I was walking funny! Here I am- trying to pose for the shot- while trying not to bust a gut laughing. Let's just say it was a VERY Happy Easter celebration for me..hee,hee!

Needless to say, the Tiramisu al Limone was a hit! Julie's Mother in Law liked it so much that she wanted to know how I made it. We both agreed that it was a light and refreshing cake. It's perfect for the spring time! Thanks for making me look good in front of la famiglia David :)

Cooking is an Art Form

These days as I cook my way through Dolce Vita- I find that cooking is alot like creating art. Take the above altered recipe note book I made- for instance. I enjoyed working with the bright colours and lovely textures. Cooking has the added bonus of delicous smells,enticing sounds and delicious taste. When I am creating- I lose myself in the moment and I tend to lose the concept of time. I am finding that the same is true when I cook. 

Today I made Pepperoni di Zia Franca. I couldn't wait to taste this recipe because I am a huge fan of olives, walnuts and of course anchovies! This time I cheated though- and I used my MIL's jarred roasted red peppers.

As all the ingredients were simmering together, the crackling SOUND was so inviting, the SMELLS were heavenly, the COLORS were so vibrant, there was a crunchy and soft TEXTURE to it and the TASTE was so savory.  I never thought I would love capers so much! This dish satisfied my hunger as I ate it with some dried Italian bread. Today is Good Friday, so this meal came in handy- since we don't eat meat on this day.

Cooking on a Cloud

It's been a day since David Rocco wrote about my blog and I am still pinching myself! I even got an e-mail from Lauren at David Rocco communications- saying she loved the post about Emily and the beaver tails and that I should keep up the good work :) It made me light on my feet as I cooked the next dish in his Dolce Vita cook book. I made Arancini (rice balls).

I have to say I was pretty excited to learn how to make rice balls. My Mom used to make this all the time when I was a kid, and since then I would only indulge in them when I went to a Bakery that had a hot table.

In the cook book, you learn how to stuff the Arancinis 3 ways (tre modi) but I simply stuffed mine with fresh mozzarella. The rice balls turned out sooo good and they were surprisingly so easy to make! The kids liked the crunchy outer crust and I liked how the mozzarella stretched out of them. I'll be making this again soon!

P.S Does anyone know where I can buy some Carpaccio in Toronto? I need it for my next dish!

OMG!

Eeeeeek David Rocco read my blog and this is what he wrote on his Facebook profile:

DAVID ROCCO

And now it's time for a little shameless self promotion! My new pal Sandy is cooking her way through my first cookbook and blogging about it! Check out all the great work she's doing and if you want to give it a try you can order my book from Amazon.ca. Now tell me - what are some of your favorite cookbooks??http://sandy-cookingmywaythroughdolcevita.blogspot.com/

Cooking my way Through Dolce Vita

sandy-cookingmywaythroughdolcevita.blogspot.com
This is what I wrote:

• Cicogna-Camarda Sandy That's meeeee!!!! OMG thanks so much for mentioning my blog David! I love all of the recipes in the cook book and I can't wait to cook them all! When can you come over for dinner? We are throwing a 'Dolce Vita' dinner party soon and would love to have you show up and surprize our guests! Ciao! Sandy
  

    
• I am over the moon!!!!!!! 

No Measurements Required!

Mmmm I love Spinach and Rapini! I sometimes crave this and can eat 2 bunches easily! Today I was going to make Spinaci Saltate, but my Husband bought Rapini instead- so I made Salsiccia con Cime di Rapa.

Mostly all the recipes in Dolce Vita cook book don't have measurements. This is because our Italian ancestors never really measured their food. They would use a hand full, a pinch etc. When I asked my Nonna how much of an ingredient was required in a recipe, she would often say 'Quanto hai bisogno!' (how much is needed). This is probably the best way since I can add more of ingredient that I like better.

   

Spinaci Saltate is prepared with this recipe, except that we also add sausages.

This is a simple yet flavorful and healthy dish. It was a hit with our family!

Double Trouble

Yesterday I decided to try 2 recipes at once- since they were prepared almost the same way. First I made Salvia Fritta con Acciughe. I was a little hesitant in trying this because I wasn't sure about the sage leaves.

It was fairly easy to make but in the end I wasn't a fan of the taste. It tasted like an aromatic salty flower.

Then I made Zucchine alla Scapece. I make this all the time for my kids and they love the fried Zucchini.

I must say however, that without dipping the Zucchini in an egg mixture first, it didn't taste or look right. Hence the conclusion that it wasn't a good day in the kitchen today. I guess you will never know until you try though!

Marcellino Pane e Vino

Today as I inhaled the delicious aroma of fresh baked bread- at the local Italian bakery- I found myself singing, "Ricordare Marcellino: solo pane, solo vino..." There was an old TV series about poor Marcellino who lived in the Convent and only ate bread and drank wine. You will always find bread and wine in an Italian persons' home.

With a fresh loaf of bread, I made the Pane,Burro e Zucchero recipe. It was soft and crunchy and the taste was salty sweet. I never tried this before and it was really good.

Then with the left over I made Fettunta which is a favorite of mine. I always eat this when I go to my parent's place for some reason.

I'm Having an Affair...with Italian Food

Today I rushed home from work because I was so excited to start the next recipe in the Dolce Vita cook book. I am in love with cooking and I fall even more in love when the meals taste so delizioso! Today's dish was Pizza Fritta (fried). For this dish, I picked up some fresh basil from the Grocery store- since it's too early to grow it in my garden.

I also bought some fresh dough from the local Bakery.

I learned to make small fried pizza discs in a way I had never tried before. It was so warm, crunchy and flavorful. 

When I told Daughter that the cook book said you could also put sweet ingredients over top of the pizza, my Daughter Emily said; "Let's put Nutella on it!!" Nutella Hazelnut Spread is a staple we always have in our home. When the kids want a snack, they spread Nutella on fresh or toasted bread.

So I honored Emma's request and made her pizza with Nutella on it. Emily's response was: "Yummy, yummy, in my tummy! It tastes like Beaver Tails!!" Spoken like a true Italian-Canadian!

The house smells....soooo GOOD!

Today I made Finicchio al Forno (carmelized fennel). We eat fennel all the time and my kids say that their friends have no idea what it is. We usually slice it up and drizzle olive oil, black pepper and salt over it and it has a wonderful licorice/fennel seed taste to it.

One thing we always have on hand is Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese. When a recipe calls for this cheese, never buy it already grated and make sure it's Parmiggiano and not Parmesan. Parmesan is no the real thing and it doesn't taste as good as Parmiggiano. We grate this on our pasta, eat it on it's own with bread and sometimes add the rind to our sugo (tomato sauce). 

I have never cooked fennel before, so I couldn't wait to give this a try. The fennel was nice and crunchy and it tasted a bit bitter-almost like eggplant- when it's cooked. One thing is for sure; my house smelled soooo good when I baked this dish!

Good Morning!

When I was little, I used to love sleeping over Nonna and Nonno's house on the weekend. I remember that for breakfast, Nonna would give me a bowl of warm milk that had sugar in it and pieces of toasted bread. It was a comforting breakfast. This morning I cooked an egg dish from the Dolce Vita cook book.

Since freshness is key-when preparing a meal- I headed over to a local farm to pick up some fresh eggs first.

You wouldn't believe the difference in taste when you eat fresh eggs! The yolk itself is a brighter orange than the eggs you buy at the store. Only when I get fresh eggs- do I make Zabaglione. It's made by simply pouring sugar over the yolk and beating it until it's creamy. Most people add Marsala wine to it as well. It tastes sooo good!

This morning I made a Frittata di Verdura. This is the perfect cold-weather dish. It was so tasty and filling. For lunch, I'm going to make a frittata sandwich with my left-overs. Yum!

That's so cheesy!

Oggi, I went to Grande Cheese to pick up some fresh cheese for my next dish. I was in awe of all the cheese hanging over top.

They had every variety of cheese you could think of.

I picked up some FRESH soft mozzarella cheese. When creating an Italian dish, I can not stress enough- the importance of using only the freshest ingredients. It will provide a burst of flavor and not to mention that it is healthier than the processed stuff.

I also picked up a jar of anchovies. I know most people don't like anchovies, but I grew up on it and have an appreciation for the salty taste.

I made David Rocco's version of a grilled cheese sandwich; Mozzarella in Carrozza. The cheese was soft and gooey and the anchovies gave it a slight crunch and saltiness that was needed. I ate 2 of these for lunch. I just couldn't stop. However, this time I remembered to make some for la famiglia!

 Then I made David's Frico parmesan crips for my side salad. It was incredible!! Salads are no longer boring when you add these to it.

Buon Apetito!



No More Boring Meals!

 I was thinking about how thrilled I am -to be on this journey- because I was so bored with the same dishes we were cooking week after week! This is what we ate every week: pasta with sauce, veal and broccoli,  pepperoni pizza and salad, chicken soup, bbq'd marinated chicken and potatoes, salmon and green beans. It was so boring to me that I would skip eating the meals myself and would have cookies or cereal later that night. That's not a good thing! 

On Saturday afternoon, I made Antipasto di Ricotta for lunch. This is a starter dish, but for me it was enough for a meal. I never ate ricotta on it's own before. I usually put it in my pasta with some olive oil. I am watching my weight and am pleased to find that all the dishes in Dolce Vita are very low in fat- not to mention that we are using fresh and home-grown ingredients.

I looked around for Ricotta di Pecorino (made from sheep's milk) and found only a hard version. I was pleased to find though, that some cheese factories will sell steaming hot fresh cow's milk ricotta on Sundays.

I love ricotta, so I couldn't wait to try this. The lemon zest surprisingly went well with the ricotta. I served it with fresh Italian bread- that I picked up at a local Italian bakery.

I'm sure some of you are wondering if my kids are enjoying the dishes- because kids can be picky! As you can see in the above picture, my 9 year old really enjoyed the ricotta dish. Fortunately for me, my children grew up with Italian food and are always eager to try new things.