As winter draws to a close in the MidAtlantic there’s still time to savor a hearty Italian winter stew – chicken cacciatore, or in English, hunter’s stew. It’s named because in its origins the dish was prepared in the wild using ingredients the hunters could forage while on an expedition improvised based on what was in season. It’s traditionally made with naturally lean game meat like rabbit with a savory mix of fresh mushrooms and onions and herbs. The stew is earthy and sumptuous, with deep flavor and herbal brightness. In the book we are reading in the Cook the... Continue reading

Simple yet luxurious, a baked pasta dish feeds a crowd and is rich with flavor Preparing pasta as the focus for family meals is core to our family’s heritage. My grandmother rolled her own dough, cut raviolis and made a red sauce to die for. Mom learned at her side, skipped the dough making, but made a mean red sauce too. And all the female relatives passed on their techniques to me which I dutifully recorded. When I have the luxury of a free Saturday afternoon, I do all those things too for nostalgia’s sake but I’ve come to relish... Continue reading

Italian Pizzelles make for a tasty holiday treat In my Italian-American family, holiday baking centers around traditional Abruzzo favorites. Rarely someone squeeze in a totally new recipe unearthed via a newspaper clipping but not me. For myself I like to focus the little time I have for baking on the tried and true. And easy to make I might add. My Dad who had a great deal more patience than I would slog through preparing Cajinettes or Giammelli which while delicious were very time consuming to make. Since he passed away I haven’t had the nerve to try making either... Continue reading

They say "when in Rome...." but here in the Mid-Atlantic at the height of apple season, it should be "when in autumn, bake apple desserts". And that's what I've chosen to do after reading the current selection of the Cook the Books group, "Cooking with Fernet Branca" by James Hamilton-Patterson. The quirky narrative chronicling the adventures of a lost soul living in Tuscany highlights the Italian bitters made with 27 herbs and roots whose aggressive flavor mimics bitter black licorice. It's referenced throughout the book including dishes made with it, but only one or two recipes using the herbaceous drink... Continue reading

Fresh garden produce in the height of season makes this baked dish special Audrey Hepburn once said “to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” I didn’t realize that she shared my own belief about gardens but it’s so true that cultivating plants, whether vegetables or flowers, yields so much satisfaction. Here in Delaware, we’ve arrived at the apex of growing season, replete with stunning colors, tasty produce and bountiful harvests, not to mention of course the neighbors gifting their tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, herbs and fruit, plus roadside farm stands offering corn just picked from farmers’ fields. It’s a... Continue reading

So enticing for a refreshing summer dinner, here's a twist on traditional Crab Imperial With the Summer Solstice just passed and the US July Fourth holiday screaming down on us, it's high time to think about serving fresh, light dishes. Here in the Mid-Atlantic, that usually involves crabs steamed in their shells, cracked at the table and devoured with a cold beer. And, our regional recipe books abound with cooked preparations too, some complex, yet many so simple as befitting a summer get-together. But despite the lure of crabs, other shellfish dishes can be equally tasty if not equally local.... Continue reading

Nothing beats fresh blueberries for a great Fathers Day dessert My father wasn’t particularly fond of sweets but he adored fresh fruit and grew many types in his enormous home garden including strawberries, raspberries, peaches and pears, but his absolute favorite was blueberries which we made sure to include as part of his Fathers Day or July birthday celebrations. He relished treats we prepared with them, which were a summer tradition for him until he passed away. These became a family tradition because, in our growing up years, our home in Northeast Ohio was near an overgrown blueberry farm. During... Continue reading