Ricotta Toast with Pistachios
This ricotta toast is one of my go-to light meals when I want a quick healthy bite, usually for breakfast with a cappuccino or a mid-morning snack. A thick layer…
breakfast
Mary’s Cake
After Mass on Fourth of July weekend, our women’s club hosted a wonderful “Hospitality Sunday.” There was plenty of coffee, tea and juices to accompany the vast variety of home-baked…
Asparagus Ham & Cheese Strata
Whenever I am having family/friends over for brunch, I like to make a dish that can be prepared the night before and makes several servings. Quiche, frittata and strata are…
Sicilian Lemon Ricotta Cake
Fiori di Sicilia, meaning flowers of Sicily in Italian, is one of my favorite ingredients. I use it in biscotti, my Sicilian olive oil cake, and panettone bread pudding. It…
Zuppa di Colazione (Breakfast Soup)
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Soup for breakfast might sound a bit strange to you, but this is really very good. In the Lombardy region of Italy, there is a very old city called…
Ricotta Quiche with Balsamic Burst Tomatoes
Once a month after First Friday Mass, our women’s club meets, and we share a meal prior to the start of our meeting. I volunteered to prepare our lunch for…
Roasted Red Pepper & Asparagus Mini Frittate
If you have eggs in the frig and just about any vegetable, you can make a frittata. This recipe is easy to prepare and makes the perfect small bite. Baked…
Lavender Scones
After visiting Capay Lavender Farm, I knew the first thing I was going to make with lavender was going to be scones. It was a bit of a no-brainer as…
New Orleans Beignets
The Crescent City is known for many “sweet” things, such as, King Cakes, a brioche-type pastry, which is a huge part of Mardi-Gras traditions, Sfinci, creamy ricotta-filled puffs of…
Ricotta Omelet with Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette
Frittata is the Italian word for omelette. I often use the words frittata and omelette interchangeably but, technically they are different. A frittata is flat with the ingredients (usually) mixed…
Fresh Tomato & Cheese Tart
This savory summertime tart is a terrific choice to utilize the season’s bounty of fresh flavorful tomatoes. The flaky buttery crust compliments the luscious ricotta and Parmesan cheese filling.…
Citrus & Cheese Butter Toast with Fried Egg and Asparagus
“The Incredible, Edible Egg” is a marketing slogan that was created for the American Egg Board in 1976. I believe that this slogan is so spot on because eggs…
Granita alla Fragola
History tells us flavored ices date back to ancient China, but the first frozen dessert in Italy actually came from Sicily. Arabs brought an icy treat of frozen water,…
Ricotta “Cake Mix” Cake
Over the years, I have made various types of cakes with ricotta (even pancakes), such as, almond ricotta cake, blueberry breakfast cake and lemon ricotta cheesecake. This cake is…
Potato & Onion Frittata
Growing up, I remember my mother making a frittata of potatoes and onions. It was never served for breakfast or a fancy brunch, rather it was our evening meal.…
Asparagus Tart
Asparagus is my favorite spring vegetable! When tossed with ravioli it becomes a lovely light lunch and combined with lemony chickpeas creates a perfect picnic salad. If I’m in…
Handmade Cappuccino
In Italy, coffee is more than a beverage, it is an important part of everyday life, a social phenomenon, a religious experience. However, when at home, the Italian way…
Rustic Ricotta Biscuits
Ricotta is not actually a cheese, rather it is a byproduct of the cheese-making process. The creamy curds of ricotta are rich in protein, are an excellent source of…
Sicilian Sunrise
A colorful libation to begin a delicious day! Brunch is my favorite way to entertain. It can be casual or elegant, yet the atmosphere is always festive, friendly and…
Almond Ricotta Cake
Much of the baking my grandmother did (usually biscotti) included almonds in some way. The almond tree was brought to Sicily by the ancient Greeks, who considered it to…