Everybody Loves Tuscany

Italian Crostata A crostata is an Italian baked tart or pie, also known as coppi in Naples and sfogliate in Lombardy. The earliest known use of crostata in its modern sense can be traced to the cookbooks Libro de Arte Coquinaria (Art of Cooking) by Martino da Como, published circa 1465, and Cuoco napolitano (Neapolitan […]

The Cake Boss’ Mouth-Watering Ricotta Cheesecake Recipe Buddy Valastro, Italian American celebrity chef, also known as The Cake Boss, shares his aunt Nina’s recipe for ricotta cheesecake. See how this mouth watering cheesecake is made on the next page

How to Make Garlic Knots Garlic knots are a good addition to any meal and so simple to make.  It is also fun to make with your kids. Join us on the next page for the video recipe

Crispy Fried Artichokes Simple and delicious! Here’s a video by Italian American celebrity chef Buddy Valastro and his mother in law cooking up some crispy fried artichokes. Join us on the next page for the video recipe

Dim Sum After many months in Florence, I was craving Chinese food and especially dumplings!  So, I headed over to Dim sum located at 37R Via Neri. The restaurant is small so reservations are a must.  I’d also recommend calling at least 3 days ahead as we had a hard time reserving a table before […]

Porchetta Panino Con Crusta Usually salted heavily and stuffed with garlic, rosemary, herbs, porchetta is moist roast pork that is usually served from a van, like a street food truck, as a panino (sandwich). Though popular all throughout Italy, it originated in Ariccia, a province of Rome, hence the name porchetta romana. It can also […]

Chocolate salame INGREDIENTS: 3 ½ oz sugar 3 ½ oz butter 3 ½ oz unsweetened cocoa powder 3 ½ oz almonds, or hazelnuts 7 oz dry biscuits 1 egg Before you begin to make the chocolate salame, remove the butter from the refrigerator and allow it to soften for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, crush […]

ARTICHOKES ALLA ROMANA   INGREDIENTS 8 Roman artichokes Igp (the so-called ‘violets’) 2 cloves of garlic parsley, to taste Mint, to taste (If you find you can use fresh mint) extra virgin olive oil, to taste Salt, to taste                                 […]

Bruschetta with Figs and Prosciutto Recipe for Bruschetta with Figs and Prosciutto: 6 slices of ciabatta bread (or other bread of your liking) 4 well ripe fresh figs cut in halves 6 thin slices prosciutto 6 ounces of white cream cheese 3 ounces of goat cheese (soft) 8 stalks of chives (finely chopped) + 4 […]

Panzanella (bread salad) – Italian cuisine Ingredients • 1day-old ciabatta loaf, crusts cut off, cut into cubes • 300 mlextra virgin olive oil • 100 mlbalsamic vinegar • 1garlic clove, crushed • 5ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped • 1small red onion, finely sliced • ½ bunchbasil • salt and pepper Cook’s notes Oven temperatures are for […]