all the recipes
This comforting dish definitely has the flavors of ITALY but isn’t Italian in its form nor presentation nor originally an authentic Italian dish at all from Italy but actually an adaptation of a dish by Italian immigrants in America in the early 20th century. And yet, like modern-day versions of lasagna and pizza, it provides complete...
I’m a “hoarder” by nature (but I prefer “prudent planner”) and I do have a comfort zone that consists of having a stock of stuff I use regularly and often, which has nothing to do with the present “lockdown” situation. But I may have overdone it with too many fresh products (becoming less fresh over time)...
It’s a comforting MINESTRONE soup with equal parts of everything : an initial 18 cups of the 6 different chopped vegetables and beans and crushed tomatoes and pasta (before partly reducing in volume to 14 cups), all simmering in an equal amount of 12 cups of prepared broth made with extra vegetables and scraps and 2 cups of pasta...
I know you’re feeling the cold temperatures out there (just like I am), so perhaps something hot & spicy (instead of a soup) can warm you up this weekend and get your blood boiling (or at least pumping) a little more ! The roasted red pepper & tomato sauce was an experiment, using a jar of roasted red peppers to transform a...
A delightful northern Spanish celebratory dish that’s involves rolling up 4 different layers and creating a multi-layered spiralling loaf, starting with a layer of freshly chopped tuna blended with onions, garlic, parsley, white wine, breadcrumbs and flour, then a layer of Serrano dry-cured ham slices, then an egg omelet layer, then the...
TRIPLE-EVERYTHING simply means 3 types of beans, 3 types of onions, 3 types of citrus juice, 3 dried spices, 3 fresh herbs and 3 additional flavors (olive oil, garlic and pomegranate syrup) to bring it all together into something nice and nourishing, in under 15 minutes ! And with this warm weather and the confinement pantry ready to explode with...
A small and simple dish with honest and readily available flavors, using a MIREPOIX base and the simplicity of BEER, but pushing it until it becomes not only its foundation of flavor but the actual structure of the dish, with no interfering extras. A “MIREPOIX”, just like an Italian BATTUTO and SOFFRITTO and a variation of Spanish...
I’m almost certain you all have APPLES ! Right ? Along with some citrus fruits and maybe bananas too … the basics in the world of fruits. Let’s make an easy and modifiable apple cake that’s perhaps a little bit healthier too, but that’s up to you and your taste buds, because I’m sure you’ve all become top...
Or the “1-2-5” COOKIE since all the main ingredients each weigh 125 grams and are easy to remember, even the little added extras measure 1¼ tsp each which is also 1,25 teaspoons right ? And the baking time is 12 ½ minutes too. I also tried baking them at 125°C and then let them sit in a turned off oven but...
HAPPY NEW YEAR wishes with a sunny brunch recipe to better kick it off and perhaps a few resolutions to at least try everything once in your life, before it’s too late, because until you do or try something yourself, you’ll never realize the efforts it required to achieve it and hence may never learn to appreciate it enough...
Did you make any BREAD during the “lockdown” or “partial confinement” period ? Did you have flour ? Did you have yeast ? Is everything almost back to “normal” where you are ? Are you all okay ? Is it ALL GOOD ?! If YES, have you tried quick-rise, normal-rise and slow-rise dough schedules ? Have you tried...
We’re living in interesting times. Everything seems backwards, topsy-turvy, inside-out, but life goes on and it’s my sister Stella’s birthday today ! Despite the worrying situation and anxiety, everything has slowed down and almost stopped for almost everybody. For me so far, it’s been 1 workless month of partial...
It’s an easier and simpler method to make this Greek LAGANA flatbread (quite similar to an Italian focaccia) that is both moist and airy on the inside and crunchy on the outside and much tastier than a traditional version too ! Why ? Let me explain … It’s a question of the dough hydration (or the ratio of the liquid...
It’s BEAN season (or actually the season for those dried beans that we should use up during the winter) and I don’t feel like I eat enough of them, which ideally would be at least once a week, whether they’re chickpeas or lentils or fancier mixes and my absolute favorite : giant LIMA BEANS (also called BUTTER BEANS in English and...
RETSINA is a Greek dry white wine with resinous flavors because of the wooden caskets it is aged in, that are sealed with Aleppo pine sap. In my opinion, it’s an ideal alternative flavoring for winter dishes, just like rosemary and pine nuts for savory dishes and mastic resin for sweets. Other years, I focused on warmer flavors like...