briciole

annuncio / announcement: Presto Pasta Nights #280

This week, I have once again the honor of hosting Presto Pasta Night, edition #280 to be precise. Pasta comes in a myriad shapes. Recently, I have started a journey into pasta shapes from southern Italy made by hand using an eggless dough: strascinati, orecchiette, maccheroni al ferro and gnocchetti sardi. I am having so much fun that I am planning to continue teaching my hands to make new tricks. Week after week, Presto Pasta Nights captures snapshots of the countless realizations of pasta dishes by food bloggers around the world. I will be delighted to receive your contribution to this... Read more →

infiorescenza di aneto / dill flower head

fireworks! Another lovely specimen from my garden. I planted a dill seedling a few years ago, then let it go to seeds and every year I get a few plants here and there. I use dill in the kitchen and also enjoy its firework-y umbrella flower heads. Beneficial insects like those too. This is my contribution to edition #48 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. The photo was shot in color and then converted to sepia. On this page, you can find out who is hosting the current and future... Read more →

zuppa di zucchine e cipolle rosse arrosto / roasted zucchini red onion soup

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] with pretty garlic chive flowers We are approaching the end of zucchini season. Pretty soon we will switch from summer squashes to winter ones, marking the transition to a new fall season. But before that happens, try this nice soup with zucchini and fresh red onions. The recipe makes a fairly large batch: if you have some leftover soup, you can freeze it for enjoyment later in the year. The idea for this soup came to me one day that I had three rather large zucchini that would be a bit too... Read more →

annuncio / announcement: Weekend Herb Blogging #349

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] This week I have once again the honor of hosting Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, and now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once. I hope you'll join this illustrious event that week after week brings together food bloggers from around the world. The rules for participating are detailed on this page. You can download the logo on the left to add to your post. I will be delighted to receive your contribution to the event at simosite AT mac DOT com. Please,... Read more →

gnocchetti sardi al sugo / Sardinian gnocchi with tomato sauce

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] malloreddus (Sardinian gnocchi) Another cool type of handmade pasta! You can tell I am having a lot of fun with my recent explorations of traditional Italian pasta shapes. As the Abbecedario culinario d'Italia (Italian Culinary ABC) crossed the sea to reach the shores of Sardegna (Sardinia), I knew this would be my chance to explore the traditional small gnocchi (gnocchetti) that are made on the island, called malloreddus. Although I have been to Sardinia once, a trip from which I have a lot of fond memories, my connection with malloreddus comes from... Read more →

mele e peperoni al mercato / apples and peppers at the farmers' market

from the new crop Among thousands of California apple varieties, the heirloom Gravenstein is widely regarded as one of the best eating and baking apples. A fine balance of sweet and tart, its full-bodied flavor intensifies when made into sauce, juice, cider or vinegar. The apples also hold their shape beautifully in pies and tarts. [source] The Gravenstein is here! As the text quoted says, this is a versatile variety, prized by apple lovers. While I like to bite on a freshly picked Gravenstein from time to time, my favorite use for them is to make apple sauce or a galette.... Read more →

insalata di mais con pomodori ciliegia, avocado e cetriolo limone / corn salad with cherry tomatoes, avocado and lemon cucumber

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano] Take some fresh sweet corn, put it in the oven (husks and all), and roast it. can you smell the aroma? Then, take some sun-ripened cherry tomatoes plus a couple of other ingredients and make a beautiful salad. the colors of summer Last year, I made two variations of this colorful, deeply flavored, and light corn salad. This year, after preparing it the same way a couple of times, I decided to make a small change substituting the hearts of palm (cuori di palma) with a ripe avocado. The tendency avocado has... Read more →

imparare a fare un nuovo tipo di pasta / learning to make a new pasta shape

exploring various shapes In learning to make maccheroni al ferro, I saw the possibility of using the same simple tool to create another type of pasta shape. Slightly different hand movements result in different shapes. this is the one I liked best Next steps: achieving consistency of result and showing you how to make it (plus how to call it). Update: The pasta is called fusilli al ferro and you can read all the details in this post. The photos above are my contribution to edition #46 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of... Read more →

challah fatta in casa / homemade challah

my six-strand challah When you cut my challah, the knife cracks the lightly crisp crust, then glides through the soft, sweet-smelling, pale yellow crumb. You don't necessarily need something to go with challah: eaten by itself is quite satisfying. soft crumb (mollica) If you pick up my copy of Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day, it will open on page 94 where there is a folded sheet of paper as bookmark. A small cloud of flour will rise from the page, a consequence of its frequent use close to the mixing and kneading area. I have tried a couple of other... Read more →

pasta veloce per cena numero 277: il riepilogo / Presto Pasta Nights #277: the roundup

It's Friday and time to share the pasta dishes that I have received as contributions to edition #277 of Presto Pasta Nights, the popular event created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. For each contribution, I will give you the official information (author, blog name and post title) and a short quote or brief description — a teaser that invites you to follow the link to read the relevant post. Sarah of La Cuisine de Sarah prepared Truffle & Mushroom Ravioli A series on TV inspired "to dust off the old pasta machine. To honour its outing I decided to... Read more →