Stuffed capon from Bologna, a home recipe for special events

The Christmas menu was a puzzle that, year after year, took shape and changed. Some dishes were untouchable dishes and others went in and out of the composition each time. Stuffed capon, in our house, also called galantina, was a Christmas dish of the second group. And if it did not take its place on the Christmas lunch…

ByMonica12 December 20240Comments

COURSES OCCASIONS Preserves RECIPES Sauces and Pâté

Homemade tomato passata and the season of preserves

I clutch a bottle of homemade tomato puree and travel through time. Memories flow like the hands of a clock gone mad until the mechanism uncovers the right one. I remember summers in the countryside and the giant cauldrons where bottles of tomato passata cooked. Not everyone knows that Emilia-Romagna is a northern Italian region where preparing…

ByMonica22 August 20240Comments

COURSES Desserts OCCASIONS RECIPES Sunday Lunch

Melon panna cotta to celebrate Ferragosto

This melon panna cotta was born by accident and necessity. Now I tell you. From the weekly trip to the local market for fruit and veg shopping haul, I returned with a sweet white onion that, by itself, weighs a kilogram, lots of tomatoes since, at last, I can eat them again, and then a tiny…

ByMonica11 August 20240Comments

Bologna Food COURSES Main Course OCCASIONS RECIPES

Bolognese eggplant cutlets (baked or fried)

I think I have already written this, but I want to reiterate: I love the month of August and, above all, Bolognese eggplant cutlets even though, since it is a recipe from Italian peasant cuisine, I am sure that, with few or many variations, there are sister recipes in many regions. I was before plunging into…

ByMonica6 August 20240Comments

Christmas COURSES Gluten-free INGREDIENTS Main Course Meat OCCASIONS RECIPES Sunday Lunch

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 20240Comments

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

COURSES First Course RECIPES

Potato and tuna tortelli seasoned with black olive sauce

Before introducing you to the potato and tuna tortelli recipe, I would like to share with you some food memories. I kept a memory related to food for almost every vacation I took. In some cases, it was related to the purchase, in others to the preparation, or, finally, to the tasting. Recently, I asked my husband…

ByMonica3 August 20230Comments

Drinks Fruits INGREDIENTS OCCASIONS RECIPES

Peach leaf liqueur recipe. An old fashioned aromatic wine

Over the centuries, men and women who have chosen to live in monasteries have created a cuisine that reflects the simplicity and composure of their lives. The recipes from the monastic tradition celebrate much of what we have lost these days as the seasonality of produce and natural processes. The cuisine of the convents Monks and nuns…

ByMonica4 July 20230Comments

COURSES First Course OCCASIONS Sunday Lunch

Creamy zucchini and basil lasagna

I remember the taste of that creamy zucchini and basil lasagna from when I was a child. Grandma created this dish from just a few eggs of pasta dough and zucchini from the garden, which she cooked slowly with lots of basil until they were almost mushy. It is a summer and vegetarian version of lasagna.…

ByMonica28 June 20230Comments

Fricandò recipe, a fresh vegetables stew

COURSES Gluten-free INGREDIENTS RECIPES Salads and Sides

Fricandò: the vegetable stew recipe from Romagna

The Fricandò recipe is a kind of rustic ratatouille and a typical recipe from the peasant tradition of Romagna. The Italian dictionary reports that the term is an Italian graphic and phonetic adaptation of the French fricandeau. This dish's ingredients are cooked in the same pan as a stew. The name, however, also has a…

ByMonica17 June 20230Comments