

When you need special equipment - cannoli
"Never buy a cannoli that’s been sitting ready-filled. The tubes should be piped full of sweetened ricotta for each customer on demand,...
Jul 16, 2022


I think I've said it all before - so let's try caponata
"There is no harm in repeating a good thing" Plato And there's no doubt that caponata is a good thing. But I was actually quite...
Jun 29, 2022


Sicily - too much for a lucky dip
"dinners for the rich and food for the poor" Guiseppe Pitrè It's time I dealt with my Claudia Roden The Food of Italy lucky dip. It's...
Jun 26, 2022


Too many Italian cookbooks
“While she loved the whole idea of cooking elaborate meals, her forte was in the reading of cookbooks.” Linda Wiken Yesterday I talked...
Jun 23, 2022


'A circuitous route to 'A word from ...'
"Indecision is a decision" Jason Evert I meandered to this post from a starting point which was going to lead elsewhere. However, as I...
Jun 22, 2022


Full marks for concept, middling for taste - an Ottolenghi recipe
"Whatever adaptations you may be making to the dish, follow the methodology" Ever Open Sauce Two days ago in my post about an ordinary...
May 28, 2022


The continental breakfast
"Nothing illustrates the British disdain for Europe like the concept of Continental Breakfast." The History Woman's Blog Inspiration for...
May 24, 2022


It's one of those days and I have a ricotta problem
"Ricotta barely makes it as a cheese. Traditionally made from the whey left behind after the curds that will become cheese are removed...
May 20, 2022


Pasta con le sarde
"I have never experienced this dish in its native country. Paolo Moelli (Il Ghiottone Errante, 1935) describes it as 'discordant but...
May 12, 2022


Scary carbonara
"A dish whose principal ingredients are eggs and bacon was always going to be a shoo-in for the British palate: certainly spaghetti...
Apr 23, 2022


Guanciale - so trendy you can't find it
"Guancia means cheek, and guanciale are the salt-cured pork jowls that hang like pepper-dusted paddles above salumerie (deli) counters in...
Apr 21, 2022


4 common leftovers - no.2 Bread
"These starchy staples are happy to soak up all manner of sweet and savoury flavours" Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Continuing with the...
Mar 8, 2022


Choosing somewhere to eat - a moment in time
"there comes a point when researching cool restaurants so you don’t ruin your holiday tips into, well … ruining your holiday by...
Jan 15, 2022


Spag bol and beyond
"playing with traditional flavours (rich braised meat and tomato)" Simon Tarlington of Doot Doot Doot My sources for this post are two,...
Oct 14, 2021


Arancini - Sicilian leftovers
"anything you can enjoy in risotto, you can make into risotto balls." Chef Paul (Paul Shufelt) - Edmonton Times We tend to think of...
Sep 24, 2021


Peppers from Piedmont - or Elizabeth David?
"This recipe is quite simply stunning: hard to imagine how something so easily prepared can taste so good." Delia Smith These are the...
Sep 18, 2021


Nduja
"you can—and probably should—be incorporating this stuff into almost everything you cook." Elazar Sontag - Serious Eats Not in this...
Sep 10, 2021


Cherry tomatoes and pasta - so many ways
"While the cherry tomato has been around in one way or another for centuries, its commercialization and popularization is thanks to Marks...
Aug 25, 2021


Parmigiana - an Australian love story
"don’t get too hung up on tradition here. The parma has undergone so much bastardisation it’s realistically an Australian dish rather...
Aug 5, 2021


Cassata - history on a plate
"'the sum' – of all Sicilian culinary adventures, a culinary palimpsest in which you can see the layers of influence – Phoenician, Greek,...
Aug 3, 2021

