Veal with tuna sauce (vitello tonnato). A classic dish of Italian cuisine and my home

I just finished arranging the decorations on the veal with tuna sauce, capers, and fresh parsley leaf when I take a picture and send it to my mom. The reply is quick. She write me that I made her think of Christmas. She refers to Christmas lunch, veal with tuna sauce never missed, and many other festive moments. This…

ByMonica11 March 20242Comments

Herb-stuffed pork loin recipe: ho to make it

Christmas COURSES INGREDIENTS Main Course Meat OCCASIONS RECIPES Sunday Lunch

Herb-stuffed pork loin recipe: how to make it

Loin, tenderloin, and loin with bones are three distinct parts from the same part of the pork. The tenderloin is the part near the thigh, the loin with bones is the part with the ribs, and the loin is the final part of the back of the pig. The pork loin is a lean and valuable cut…

ByMonica6 December 20230Comments

Cheese Christmas COURSES Gluten-free INGREDIENTS OCCASIONS RECIPES Soups Sunday Lunch

Homemade Parmigiano stock recipe (with rind)

In Italian kitchens, the stock is a staple recipe with several uses. All the broths share the same main ingredients and preparation method: water, vegetables (almost always the base is one stick of celery with the leaves, one skinless white onion, and one whole carrot), and salt. Then, there is the ingredient that gives a specific taste. Again,…

ByMonica20 November 20230Comments

COURSES Fruits Gluten-free INGREDIENTS RECIPES Sauces and Pâté

Homemade plum ketchup

This plum ketchup is lightly spiced and sweet and sour. It is a versatile sauce that works well with roasts, cheeses, salads, burgers, and chips. Transforming and preserving is something I enjoy. I guess it is the little girl who grew up in a home with a peasant grandmother skilled in making sweet and savory preserves who…

ByMonica31 October 20230Comments

COURSES Desserts OCCASIONS RECIPES Sunday Lunch

Pumpkin pie recipe (from scratch): All Saints or Halloween?

For the first time, I made an American pumpkin pie to celebrate Halloween and All Saints' Day. In Italy, although Halloween related festivities are increasingly celebrated, the real holidays are All Saints Day (Festa di Ognissanti) on November 1 and All Souls Day (Giorno dei Morti) on November 2. Not an Italian pie but the American pumpkin…

ByMonica17 October 20220Comments

COURSES First Course

Chestnut flour tagliatelle and old cookbooks

Grandma's cooking was very homely and substantial. While seasoning chestnut flour tagliatelle with mushrooms, she said the wood's flavors call to each other. It's so simple. But her repertoire changed during holidays, events, and Sunday lunches. At that time, even religious precepts affected the family menu. Reading and studying old cookbooks, I see that the women of my…

ByMonica3 February 20220Comments

Bologna Food Cakes and Cookies COURSES Gluten-free INGREDIENTS OCCASIONS RECIPES

Fave dei Morti cookies for Halloween. Italian tradition

Fave dei Morti cookies are typical of All Saints' Day. And when I was little, I didn't like them. Cemeteries, family, and biscuits. What I did enjoy was the traditional cemetery tours and visits to relatives we never saw. The tradition of the annual visit to the loved ones’ graves is almost lost. When I was a child,…

ByMonica28 October 20200Comments

COURSES First Course Gluten-free INGREDIENTS RECIPES Rice and Grains

Rice casserole with potatoes and mushrooms. Pure comfort food

When I think about comfort food, firstly, I guess steaming dishes like this rice casserole with potato and mushrooms, a revisitation of a famous Italian dish from the South, rice, potato, and mussels tiella. But what exactly does comfort food mean anyway? However, I suppose it changes for each of us, above all today, with…

ByMonica2 October 20200Comments

COURSES Desserts Fruits INGREDIENTS RECIPES

September, The Month of New Beginnings And Fig Crostata

I look at the bowl on the table and can't wait to make the fig crostata, an appointment I look forward to every year in September. September has always been the month of new beginnings. And while I indulge in the memory of the beautiful things of summer, with the arrival of September I change step. In…

ByMonica7 September 20200Comments

Fruits INGREDIENTS OCCASIONS Preserves RECIPES

How to Make Homemade Old-Fashioned Preserves

New post from my kitchen pantry on how to make homemade old-fashioned preserves like an Italian nonna. But keeping in mind today's needs! If you're in the mood for jams and marmalades, even cooked-and-eaten, but a genuine, old-style taste, you might need a post with Grandma's advice. What I've learnt. There was a time when at home many…

ByMonica30 May 20200Comments