This cake carries beautifully into this century, deeply chocolate-y but also unexpectedly light for a chocolate cake, the perfect foil for the rich buttery careful-or-you-might-eat-the-whole-batch caramel icing poured over the top, sprinkled with a handful of crunchy pecans, while we're at it. Bonus: if you leave out the frosting, this cake is also vegan -- no butter, no eggs.
Read More
Simultaneously fluffy and crisp, salty and olive oil-y and downright addictive — bring a little bit of Italy to your kitchen with this homemade pizza bianca.
Read More
The alchemy that is cheese, tomatoes, basil, and eggplant, baked together in the oven. Yummm.
Read More
Blondies, all grown-up — here we have coffee and dark chocolate to replace the usual super sweet, milk chocolate blondies of your youth.
Read More
This sauce is genius, both for its simplicity and ease but also its incredible depth of flavor. The onion here infuses the tomatoes with a subtle sweetness, and the butter rounds off and softens their usual acidity, all the while giving the whole thing an incredible richness.
Read More
An upside down cake made with fresh sweet plums, at their peak this time of year, tucked in to a honey tinged, butterscotch topping and flipped over on to a tender cinnamon-y cake that takes in all the lovely plum juices.
Read More
Pure aperitivo fare, bite-sized and appetizer-like, packed with sharp salty Pecorino, mellow eggplant, and lots of fresh bright parsley, then fried until crisp and deep gold on the outside and cloud-like and pillow-y on the inside. A few of these plus a glass of wine (or, in my case, Prosecco) will get your appetite going guaranteed.
Read More
This is one of those salads that defies the boring-pile-of-lettuce-stereotype, a salad that I do (and you could) eat happily. We've got salty rich prosciutto, peppery arugula, summer-y basil, smoky crunchy hazelnuts, heavenly mozzarella di bufala, and glorious, radiant figs, the star of the show, all tied together with a a sharp-sweet mix of honey, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.
Read More
A classic Roman dish with chicken and bell peppers as the stars, and tomatoes, white wine, and fresh herbs as the supporting actors. It makes the best of bell peppers -- late Summer is the start of their season -- and is packed with flavor, the sweetness of the tomatoes and peppers intensified with all the slow cooking, the chicken perfectly cooked and superbly juicy, the herbs waking the whole thing up and adding a little freshness.
Read More
Flaky, buttery, whole-wheat pastry wrapped around candy-like caramelized onions, juicy tomatoes, sweet corn, emerald green coins of zucchini, and lots of melted cheese, with a bit flowery basil thrown in for good measure.
Read More
Breakfast perfection: tender and fluffy waffles thanks to all the sour cream, cinnamon scented to boot, studded with tart sapphire-like blackberries and scrumptious when served with maple syrup and extra berries on top. I loved them and I think you will too.
Read More
This is just what a cobbler should be -- simple and straightforward, peach-centric and downright delicious, plus it is a cinch to make and will be in the oven before you know it. Because when you have a dessert this good, the last thing you want to do is have to wait too long to eat it, right?
A look at a weekend in Venice, not to mention the most beautiful wedding I’ve ever been to (can’t go wrong with a wedding in Italy!)
Read More
This recipe here brings a little bit of America to my kitchen in Rome, and, as the name implies, is truly the best hot fudge sauce I've ever had, addictive-ly, this-might-not-make-it-from-the-stove-to-the-jar good, deeply chocolate-y and just sweet enough, and takes just 10 minutes to whip up.
Read More
Pasta with lots of juicy summer tomatoes, creamy mild eggplant, and substantial, steak-like swordfish, all tied together with a sprinkling of bright fresh parsley. This dish is extremely easy to throw together, and a nice change of pace from the usual spaghetti alle vongole that is so popular here in Italy June-August.
Read More
A couple of days off out of Rome — a look at what we did (and where we ate) in Naples and Sperlonga.
Read More
This dish is simple and straight-forward, no nonsense -- the rice is intensely tomato-y, allowing the Summer tomato to show off a little, the basil is bright and flowery, and the potatoes are seasoned with nothing more than a little olive oil and salt, which is all they ever really need.
Read More
A heat-free dish, light and refreshing and lemon-y, filling enough for dinner, and good for you, too, which gives it extra brownie points. Its just what you want for dinner in your air conditioning-less kitchen in the middle of a boiling Summer, and takes about 5 minutes to make.
Read More
Blueberry pie goodness in a portable, compact square, no fork, spoon, or plate required.
Read More