Yes, once again I am baking from Gina De Palma’s book Dolce Italiano. This may be the first cookbook that I actually work my way through-cover to cover. To be perfectly honest, I have a real sweet tooth and usually go for lots of chocolate and I never complain that a dessert is too [...]
Archive for April, 2009
From The Pages Of: Dolce Italiano
Posted in cookbooks, cooking, food, recipe on April 30, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Italian Wine At A Great Price
Posted in Italy, food on April 28, 2009 | 3 Comments »
There are so many things that I love about Italy and their red wine is right there on the top of my list. Here on the west coast we can’t always find Italian wine at decent prices, especially during the past year with the poor exchange rate. Everything from Italian pasta to olive oil to [...]
Biscotti Al Parmigiano E Alle Noci
Posted in cookbooks, cooking, food, recipe on April 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I’m always searching for a little something to nibble on with a glass of wine before dinner, be it on an everyday weeknight or for a dinner party. These savory biscotti are perfect since you can make them ahead of time, they keep for a few days and to top it off, they’re easy to [...]
A Taste Of Spring In Ravioli
Posted in cooking, food, recipe on April 27, 2009 | 6 Comments »
Ravioli are probably my favorite form of pasta. I suppose it has a lot to do with the memories of my grandmother’s ravioli that I grew up with. Those were very traditional of the area where she grew up (Campania) filled with creamy ricotta cheese and topped with tomato sauce. I have carried on the [...]
Seeking Italy In San Diego
Posted in California, Italy, friends on April 24, 2009 | 7 Comments »
This morning I closed my eyes and almost believed that I was in Italy. I was sipping a perfect (and yes, I mean perfect) cappuccino. An Italian radio station was playing on the stereo and all around me were the sounds of people speaking in Italian- Italians speaking in Italian, not Americans struggling to be [...]
The Vasari Corridor
Posted in Italy, travel on April 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Yes, this photo is of the famous Ponte Vecchio crossing the Arno River in Florence. It’s a bustling place lined by jewelry shops and crowded with tourists during most of the day. My landlady in Arezzo is the owner of the shops on the bridge and unfortunately I did not get to visit it [...]
Living And Working The Dream In Le Marche
Posted in Italy, Restaurants/Hotels, food, friends, travel on April 22, 2009 | 5 Comments »
A little over a year ago I was planning a trip to visit the Le Marche region of Italy. Not being at all familiar with this locale, I was unsure as to what areas we should visit and where we should stay. I knew we wanted to make a stop in Urbino, but decided to [...]
A Little Piece Of Umbria
Posted in Italy, friends, travel on April 20, 2009 | 2 Comments »
The entire time I spent in Italy last year the dollar was probably the weakest it had ever been against the euro. Every time that I thought about making a purchase, (besides food-if I wanted a food product or meal I just forged right ahead!) I would stand there trying to calculate what the [...]
La Locandiera-Ascoli Piceno
Posted in Italy, Restaurants/Hotels, food, travel on April 20, 2009 | 2 Comments »
A few nights ago while out for a celebratory dinner, I started reminiscing about a dinner we had exactly a year ago in the lovely city of Ascoli Piceno. It was J.’s birthday and we were lucky to get a recommendation from Valerie and Bryan who were living there at the time. They mentioned a [...]
Let’s Drink Some Red Wine
Posted in California, Italy on April 17, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Looking at this photo I tried to remember where we had been. Was it Tuscany? Was it the day that we left Montalcino and drove with no real destination in mind and were happy to wander aimlessly down country roads lined with towering cypress trees? Maybe it was somewhere on the lane between Bevagna [...]
