Narrations, anecdotes, talks about food, and short stories of a lesser known Italy by SeveDB
THE BLOOMS I truly love zucchini blooms, though there are many ways to consume them, my all time favorite is fried. They can be found and harvested in the spring / summer period, although greenhouse production makes them available every season of the year. The zucchini flower are male and female, easily distinguishable from each […]
ITALIAN WINES Italy is a world leader in the production of wines, especially quality wines. It is difficult to talk about a definitive ranking because in Italy the tendency of wine producers is to continuously improve, day after day and even the rankings we often see new wines come to the fore. HOW TO MOVE […]
I only use a few Apps for cooking, drinks, and food, even if some are very nice indeed. Like the NYT Cooking, or the Jaime Oliver Apps, and others. For Cooking The one I use is Pepperplate, and I use it per my own customized purposes. It is practically a log of all my foods, […]
Before bidding farewell to this elegant vegetable, I wanted to make one more dish. I can count at least 20 different ways to present asparagus. From the more elaborate such as soufflé to the common with eggs, or rolled in prosciutto. Perhaps because I’m nursing a sore throat—spring changed it’s mind and cooler temperatures were […]
After visiting Cinque Terre it is impossible not to have pesto in mind. You can’t really go by without seeing it publicized, on the menus, for sale, or even seeing classes offerings on how to make the real pesto! Of course it can be made with a blender in a few minutes, but how about […]
There are plenty of good things we can do with eggplants. My favorite ways include the Parmigiana as described here: Dressing Up an Eggplant, and here: Nothing Like Eggplant Parmigiana to Kick the Season. While on a more international vision, once I learned how to make Baba Ganoush—I do not like the store bought ones […]
The 25th of April is an important date for Italy and the Italians that still remenber the year 1945. Liberation Day 🇮🇹 It is the anniversary of the liberation of Italy (also called the Liberation Day) is a national holiday of the Italian Republic which occurs on April 25 of each year. This day marks the […]
Torta Pasqualina (the name is a reminder of Easter = Pasqua in Italian); is a light wrapper of puff pastry containing beets, eggs and ricotta cheese to celebrate Easter and spring. It is typical of Ligurian cuisine, but appreciated in every region of Italy. Typical of Spring and its products: eggs, herbs, new onions, marjoram, […]
Ready for Easter? I am! Easter in Italy is a big affair because we have also Easter Monday as an holiday. It once was my favorite day because of the traditional picnic that take place that day—often ruined by rain though. 😕😌 But I also loved Easter because as a child I (likely, … if […]
Sicilian Caponata I’m talking again about another of Montalbano dishes. For one because there are new episodes on National TV; and then because of the season that is bringing good eggplants (and other vegetables) to enjoy. The Sicilian Caponata is one of the side dishes with a capital S (and D), which is often misinterpreted […]
Not Only Balsamic: all types of vinegar to use in the kitchen In Italy a salad is “dressed” exclusively with olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Some ready made “dressings” can be found on the supermarket shelves, especially the ones that carry international items. But for an Italian nothing beats the simplicity of the OIL […]
For quite sometimes I wanted to make this nostalgic dish, which is not quite your ordinary “grilled cheese sandwich,” but a more elaborate and fulfilling version. I wanted to be the first one to give out this recipe, but I recently saw an article on the New York Times, where it is described quite accurately […]
