Italian food, travel & lifestyle
Summer days have slipped away and although I always look forward to the season change and all that it brings, thoughts of long sun filled afternoons make me a tad melancholy. The flavors and smells of freshly grown summer herbs are difficult to capture once the time has passed. The perfume of the lavender fields are an iconic symbol of summer and what better way recapture that image than with Lavender & Chocolate Biscotti….
Keeping with the Thanksgiving theme, here is another of our family favorites adapted from the gifted Gina DePalma of Babbo in Greenwich Village. If you are not familiar with this recipe, you are missing something extraordinary. In it’s simplicity, Pumpkin Cake with Rosemary or Torta di Zucca delivers the essence of a fall evening in the Italian countryside – comforting, straightforward, and satisfying. The ingredients couldn’t be more Italian – olive oil, rosemary, raisins, Grappa, pine nuts; pleasantly evoking something typically prepared by a loving Nonna using only what she had on hand….
Castagnaccio is a classic late Autumn cake of sorts traditionally from Tuscany made from the flour of dried chestnuts. Generally a rather dense cake typically baked in low sided copper pans customarily including olive oil, raisins, pine nuts, a bit of rosemary or any combination of these ingredients. Castagnaccio, as with any dishes relying on the chestnut harvest typified cucina povera. Make no mistake, Castagnaccio has a distinct rustic flavor and is not especially sweet, definitely not for the faint of heart. Chestnut Cake is my adaptation of Castagnaccio inspired by two of the late Gina De Palma’s recipes; my attempt to make this Tuscan classic a bit more approachable….
Butternut squash remains a constant staple on our table, any of my regular readers are very much aware of my obsession. Seriously though, can you really find fault with trying to serve it in as many ways possible? Bruschetta with Butternut Squash is the latest addition to the La Bella Sorella butternut squash lineup and should immediately be on your must make list. Easy to pull together and satisfying, it is the ultimate fall dinner when served along with a green salad….
