Carrots in Marsala

Consider this: you have a table laden with turkey, gravy, truly-heart-stopping-clogging mashed potatoes, salads, pumpkin bread, wheat rolls, apple-sausage stuffing and the first thing to go are the carrots.I began to think "Claudia, you're on to something." The recipe hails from Sicily and the secret star  is Sicily's Marsala wine. The...

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Tuna-Potato Pâté

So here it is two days before Thanksgiving and I am posting a recipe that really doesn't have a "wow" factor. In fact - it's downright humble. But it is - fun. Remember fun? For my daughter, "fun food" is preparing "puppy chow" and settling down with a blanket, a cat and Gilmore Girls. For her mother, it's curling up on the sofa with Italian...

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Ricotta Sformato

I think my New Year's resolution will be to make every Sformato recipe I can find. This recipe came via Deborah Mele who was trying to recreate the ricotta sformato she had at Il Cibreo in Florence. It's a warm, pliable, gentle mass of cheese. I decided it's perfect as an appetizer, as a savory dessert, a light meal with a salad and...

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Ariosto Seasonings for Pot Roast, Meatballs and Salmon

I mourn the end of herb season. I still run outside every day and snip whatever new shoots have survived the latest frost. I hoard little leaves in baggies - and wonder - who decided which of these wild leaves were edible? Was it trial and error? And what were the repercussions of the error? When an inquiry came from Ariosto Seasonings...

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Warm, Soft, Chestnut Pudding

I may be a water sign but when autumn comes, I am from the earth. I remember bags of roasted chestnuts bought for me on city streets in New York as a girl. My feet were decidedly marching on cement and asphalt but as I munched on the now soft, pliable chestnuts, the earth's crust was never far from me. I still look at piles of fallen leaves...

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Farro-Bean Soup from Lucca

I know I just posted about soup. But bear with me. This isn't just soup - it's a calling card, an invitation, it brings people together. While it may not be world peace, it certainly would entice people to linger together at the bargaining table and get things done. This soup should be served in Washington D.C. It's hard to bicker while savoring...

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