… actually, the Rustic Cherry Tart that I baked today was a *mostly* Rustic Cherry Tart.  It was also partly pear.  You see, we have a whopper of cherry tree that is currently chockers with fruit. Yesterday, we picked a bunch, and today, I thought I’d make some kinda sweet cherry tart, only to discover, […]

Although I’ve heard versions of this recipe called Zucchini Carbonara, I would agree with long-time Rome resident Rachel Roddy, that calling anything that is not your traditional carbonara, carbonara is to wander into dangerous territory.  Italians are very particular about their food, including its terminology.  Feathers are easily ruffled; noses are easily knocked outa joint. […]

Torta Caprese, Italy’s beloved flourless chocolate cake, from the island of Capri, is a super-rich, not overly sweet, intensely chocolatey cake.  Also, it’s a bit of a fave.  It turns up regularly dusted with icing sugar for family parties, and with cocoa for swankier occasions.   It’s flourless-ness, is attributed to a mistake, an omission […]

Talk of the south of Italy had me thinking about almonds. About various slightly doughy, soft centered almond biscuits collectively called pasticcini di mandorle.  In essence, they are a simple combo of ground almonds and fine sugar held together by an egg.  Their size and shapes are varied, some with plain tops, others cracked, piped, […]

You might have heard me mention that we have a food truck and that we sell fried fish.  It’s a pocket sized, Piaggio Ape (3-wheeler) and our menu is as equally small.  We sell calamari and anchovies –  the fish that our region of the Cinque Terre is known for.  For the most part, we’ve gotten pretty cluey when […]

You know that sinking feeling you get when a tv series that you have been glued to ends and you’re just not ready to say goodbye?  When that sentiment strikes, I find myself googling for more info, a pitch of sorts, to keep what we “have going” alive – filming location, the story’s inspo, and […]

Friday evening my husband, Massi took a stab at making the impressive, Ligurian Easter classic Torta Pasqualina or Easter Tart.  He also aced it. I’ll be honest, it is a time-consuming undertaking.  Major cheating is possible by using store bought puff or filo pastry, but the flakiness of the home-made variety is superb.  Also, the […]

A thick, slow simmered salsa from the south of Italy, peperonata or red pepper sauce is a hero of a dish.  A kinda cross between a chutney and a vegetable stew, it is fiery looking, and yet its flavour is surprisingly mellow and sweet.  How’s that for a sensory trick?  As a dish, it is mega […]

I know it’s truly outa vogue to talk about another season’s bounty, but a jolt back to colder weather today, had me thinking about baked, woodsy, mushrooms for lunch.  It is autumn (not spring) when the local forest is chock-full of mushroom foragers, and the market stalls are overcrowded with funghi.  But even today at […]

Sunday was the feast day of San Giuseppe.  Around here, it is a particularly big hoo-ha of a day as Giuseppe is the patron saint of La Spezia, and it is also Father’s Day.  The town celebrates in many ways, the key event being a 3 day fiera or fair/market with stalls selling food, clothes, toys, […]