Jul

23

Let’s party with some grilled pizza!

July 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment

What took me so long to discover grilled pizza? Years ago I  watched Christopher Kimball on America’s Test Kitchen explaining how to make the perfect grilled pizza. I was amazed by it and decided to give it a try as soon as possible. I wrote down the recipe and instructions, then I filed the recipe away and forgot about it. A  few days ago I found the same recipe online and this time though I made it right away.

It was a pretty intense experience, if you consider that the temperature outside was 35° (95°f) and the BBQ was hot. We did it, though, and the pizzas were so good that we completely forgot the  effort and sweat it took us to prepare them. The recipe called for four large pizzas to cook in a round grill. I happen to have a rectangular one, so I prepared smaller pizzas, and I should say that I prefer the smaller size. I don’t have a lid for my grill so I used the lid of my wok, which is pretty big and worked perfectly. Read more

Jun

28

Bacon and tomato dip

June 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Summer is finally here and for me it means barbecues with friends and family. With my husband being American we like to alternate and organize  either American or Italian barbecues though sometimes we mix up our traditional meals.

In Italy we usually like to grill sausages, salamelle (thicker but shorter than a sausage) pancetta, capocollo (pork neck chops), pork ribs, hot dogs or kebabs (alternating pieces of sausage, chicken, pancetta and bell peppers). The meat is often accompanied with grilled vegetables and grilled polenta, big salads and while the meat is cooking bruschetta is often chosen as an appetizer. We absolutely don’t put any sauce over the meat but we sometimes marinate it with olive oil and fresh herbs before grilling.
I personally like to grill some sausages, my favorite are with fennel seeds, but I also like chicken flavored with thyme, rosemary and sage. Read more

Jun

14

Orange-lemon cake

June 14, 2010 | 2 Comments

I was cruising  on the  internet when I stumbled upon one of Molly’s recipes for a “Marmalade cake“. I bookmarked it and made it with only some little changes a few days later because I couldn’t wait to try it. I fell in love with this recipe. I had a similar recipe but it was made with butter and also had considerably more  sugar so I never made it. Hers was my dream cake,  it had olive oil instead of butter so it was perfect for dairy intolerant people like myself  and it was not packed with sugar.

The cake came out just like I expected when I read the recipe. I don’t know about you, but when I read a recipe I often “taste” the dish before actually making it. The cake itself doesn’t overwhelm by its looks. It appears as a simple soft cake but as soon as you bite it you’re immediately captured by its citrus-almond texture, softness and the complexity of flavors. I couldn’t stop eating it and the funny thing is that every time I make it for friends or family the result is always the same. They all start with a small slice as they are uncertain by its appearance, but as soon as they taste it they keep asking for more. One evening two friends of mine liked it so much that after the fist few servings they asked me to hand them the knife. They kept cutting pieces of it until they finished it all. They were so embarrassed about it, but I was more than happy because they don’t usually like cakes that much. Read more

May

27

Turkey roll-ups with paprika and garlic sauce

May 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment


Years ago I was following the South beach diet  so to have a wide selection of alternative meals, I bought most of the books written by dr. Agatston. I really liked the recipes and I still make a lot of them. I found the recipes very simple and appetizing, and certainly not fat if you follow a certain eating regime.

I’ve always liked the snack ideas most and turkey roll-ups became my favorites. Hard to say why maybe because they’re so different from typical Italian snacks. The recipe I liked has cilantro mayonnaise and seeing that I don’t find cilantro very often in my store I changed the recipe and substituted the cilantro with paprika and garlic powder. Read more

May

11

Crostini with fava bean spread

May 11, 2010 | 1 Comment

Fava beans also known as broad beans, Windsor beans or English beans just to name a few are one of the first spring legumes to appear on our tables. They have been a beloved food for centuries in Northern Africa, Asia and Europe. During the Roman empire favas were eaten by the plebeians and consumed in different ways. They were dried then grounded into flour, and used to make puls a grain mush, the ancestor of polenta prepared mainly with farro flour. They were also eaten raw which is still common or cooked together with lard.

In the last few years there has been a growth of new recipes and a re-elaboration of classic ones using this legume.  The recipe I prepared is a re-elaboration of one of the classics, “Fave e pecorino” (Pecorino cheese with fresh fava beans), typical from the Lazio region. Fava beans are eaten raw, when they’re still small and soft, accompanied by slices of Pecorino cheese. Read more

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