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Cantaloupe and Campari Pops

Posted July 10, 2012 By Adri

Ghiaccioli fatti in casa

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It’s summer. It’s hot. Want an ice pop? Or perhaps an aperitivo – maybe some Campari over ice? The truth is you can have both. Try a Cantaloupe & Campari Pop, a remarkably refreshing Aperitivo on a Stick (sorry, I couldn’t help myself on that one.) And all the credit goes to the just released book People’s Pops, published by Ten Speed Press. Read more… »

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Mirtilli Mandorla Pops

Posted June 30, 2012 By Adri

Blueberry Grappa Pops

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I was inspired to make these pops as I looked through my copy of People’s Pops by Nathalie Jordi, David Carrell and Joel Horowitz. The authors are the owners of New York City’s People’s Pops. They manufacture thousands of Pops per week, but it was not always that way.

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Like so many artisanal producers, they started out small using the very same home pop maker I do. Although their equipment has been upgraded, their Pops are the same. They are still made from best quality fresh fruit, vegetables and liquor and sweetened with simple syrup just as they were on Day One. Read more… »

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Funghi e Zucchini Trifolati

Posted May 30, 2012 By Adri

Mushrooms and Zucchini with Nepitella and Italian Parsley

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I love growing herbs and vegetables, and my garden offers quite a wonderful bounty. It must be in my DNA. As a youth in Abruzzo, my grandfather, Gaetano Crocetti was a farm laborer. We Crocettis’ have been at this for a very long time.

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If you read my post on Nepitella and are still wondering how to use it, try this take on the classic vegetable dish, Funghi trifolati. “Trifolati” is a style of preparation in which vegetables are sliced very thinly, as one would slice truffles. Often mushrooms, particularly porcini, are prepared in this fashion. In the classic method, the vegetables are sauteed in olive oil and garlic and tossed at the end of their cooking time with chopped parsley. I have upped the ante with earthy Nepitella, a natural match for mushrooms. Read more… »

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Creme Caramel from Bouchon

Posted March 9, 2012 By Adri

By way of The Los Angeles Times

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Well, this is getting to be a habit around here – making recipes from the Los Angeles Times Food Section. Last week the Times ran a recipe for Creme Caramel from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon restaurant. I just had to try it – I am a sucker for custard desserts and creme caramel is my fave. I can never resist the combination of caramel and creamy custard. But this one is different; it is by far and away the finest, most sophisticated rendition of this dessert I have ever eaten. Not too sweet and made with only milk, you’ll find no ½ & ½ or heavy cream here, it has an utterly seductive texture that is silky and light. Just the right ratio of eggs and egg yolks to milk and a low cooking temperature ensure a most elegant set, a custard that jiggles just a bit on the plate and melts on your tongue. I have five words for you: Do try this at home.

Click here for the LA Times recipe.

I have no affiliation with any product, manufacturer, or site mentioned in this article.

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Cucina Povera by Pamela Sheldon Johns – A Book Review

Posted October 7, 2011 By Adri

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Cucina Povera: Tuscan Peasant Cooking

 

Let us pause in life’s pleasures and count its many tears,
While we all sup sorrow with the poor;
There’s a song that will linger forever in our ears;
Oh hard times come again no more.

“Hard Times” Stephen Foster (American songwriter 1826-1864)

 

I was bowled over when I received a copy of this cookbook to review. Its subject is Tuscan peasant cooking, and true to its folk, the Mangiafagioli (beaneaters), pictured on the cover is a bowl of Roasted Tomatoes, Beans and Onions – peasant food if ever there was. This is a simple dish, economical and easy to prepare, but more than that it is representative of the soul satisfying fare within. This dish like so many others in the book can be put together without fuss, yielding flavor greater than the sum of its parts.

Throughout history the working class of Italy has been no stranger to hard times. Read more… »

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My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino with Janet Fletcher

Posted September 11, 2011 By Adri

A Book Review

My Calabria Cover
My Calabria: Rustic Family Cooking from Italy’s Undiscovered South

 
I have mentioned it before. I am a cookbook addict, an avid collector. I love the genre, and my shelves are overflowing. Positively, absolutely overflowing. The truth is the books have begun a slow walk across the library floor, down the hall to the side of my bed. Ask anyone who knows me, and they’ll tell you. It is only fitting that the books have made their way to my bedside since cookbooks are my preferred bedtime reading. But with all those books I have had to become highly selective with my purchases. This one, however, was the proverbial no brainer. As soon as I heard that Rosetta Costantino had written a book on the cooking of Calabria, I knew I had to buy it. Ms. Costantino was born in Calabria, and at the age of fourteen came with her parents to the United States. She and her family live in Oakland, California where she teaches cooking. Her book was released late last year. I apologize to you all for keeping it to myself. Its 416 pages are filled with the food and culture of Calabria, all from the very personal viewpoint of Ms. Costantino. This collection of recipes, reminiscences and cultural background will have you reaching for your Post-It Flags. Read more… »

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