Sicilian Girl

Tweet The tradition of nibbling on salty snacks while sipping a glass of wine or aperitivo (cocktail) and sharing a plate of appetizers with friends is not a recent phenomenon. This custom is deeply rooted in Italian history. Ancient Romans spent many an hour in country osterie (inns) and smoke-filled taverns doing much the same [...]

Tweet I have been making this tart since 1990 and it’s no coincidence that’s the same year Alice Medrich’s cookbook, Cocolat, came out. For those of you who don’t know Alice, during the 1970′s, she had a chocolate dessert shop of the same name (Cocolat) in Berkeley, California. The chocolate truffles alone, which were sinfully [...]

Tweet This slowly braised, melts-in-your-mouth tender and falls off the bone with very little persuasion dish, is one of my favorites. The original version was seasoned with cinnamon, allspice and bay and garnished with Gremolada, (a mixture of lemon zest, garlic and parsley). The modern version incorporates tomatoes, giving the dish a richer flavor. Ossibuchi [...]

Tweet Gorgonzola is a straw-white soft cheese with greenish streaks. It’s derived from a process called “erborinatura”, in Italian, meaning creation of molds. This is an ancient cheese and was first produced in Milan, Italy in 879. As enabled by tradition and law, only two Italian regions produce Gorgonzola cheese, and the following provinces only: [...]

Tweet This recipe started out as zucchini and ricotta fritters. Well, I have to tell you, it was more like fritter failure because the almond flour I used in the batter just didn’t work. But the flavor was there, so I foraged through the refrigerator to see what I could come up with. Abstaining from [...]

Tweet   With the exception of sugar beets, carrots have more sugar than any other vegetable. During the middle Ages, when sweeteners were scarce and expensive, Europeans used carrots to add sweetness to cakes. These cakes were perceived as healthy. (I guess they didn’t have any Cheesecake Factory’s). It’s believed that the origin of  carrot [...]

Tweet Did you know that Oreo was the best selling cookie of the 20th century? They have sold over 461 billion (with a “B”) Oreo cookies since they were introduced 100 years ago. I say, on their anniversary which is March 6, 2012, let’s all celebrate this iconic biscuit by eating Oreo’s … or a [...]

Tweet   I love how sweet cauliflower gets when it’s roasted. Quite a different taste from a flowerette on a crudite platter. I’m not a fan of this vegetable in it’s raw form. It’s like it’s not even the same vegetable, I don’t care how much dip you swirl it through. But when it’s cooked, [...]

Tweet You might not recognize this salad the way it’s presented but I’m certain many of you have eaten it before. The tomatoes and mozzarella are usually sliced and arranged by overlapping alternate slices of tomato and cheese. Drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with with salt and pepper, you only need a [...]

Tweet My mother was not a huge fan of fish, so our meals during Lent consisted of vegetables, beans and legumes and of course pasta. The meal that I associate most with this season is Bell Peppers and Eggs. It was never my favorite, in fact I don’t think I cared for it much at [...]