Cioccolato e Caramello Gelato Affogato

What a big name for such a simple decadent treat! Serve affogato as a dinner aperitif—one won’t spoil your appetite. Or as an after dinner treat in place of dessert.Anytime you wish to experience the harmonious blend of coffee, cream and chocolate. Let your imagination run wild with the additions: Kahlua, chocolate fudge, sprinkles, Frangelico, caramel…

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Grandpa Louie’s Sicilian Stuffed Artichokes Carciofo

Few things ignite the deep flames of the fondest memories of my childhood than spending moments with Grandpa Louie and Grandma Lena at my parent’s cottage by the lake. If my siblings and I were fortunate enough, we would experience one of these three, rare occurrences; a sample of a freshly plucked purple fig from our…

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Pasta Sauce: The Nectar of the gods? a little history

Spaghetti or pasta with tomato sauce, also known as marinara, is a staple of southern Italian cookery or almost anywhere that southern Italians live today. However, spaghetti with marinara hasn’t always been a pillar of southern Italian cuisine. It’s actually a relative newcomer. Let’s briefly touch on pasta. Once upon a time every school child…

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Napolitana e Siciliano Easter Egg Lasagna: Italian Fare For New Beginnings

This is a quick and easy version of my Mama Carmela’s famous Easter Lasagna. The addition of hard-boiled eggs and sliced meatballs were influenced by her northern Italian background and make this dish extra delicious and one of a kind! I’ve adapted her recipe and made it “today” friendly for ease of preparation by using…

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Italy’s Easter Eggs & Easter Friday

In Italy, there are no Easter egg hunts, no marshmallow Peeps and definitely no jelly beans. Instead, there are chocolate eggs — massive, elaborately decorated, beautifully wrapped chocolate Easter eggs that fill shop windows across the country. The sweet treats are considered Italians’ food gift of choice at this time of year; each one comes…

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Braided Easter Ham Pepperoni & Cheese Bread with Tutorial

  My Mama always made this tasty bread for every religious holiday and if we begged, sometimes in between. Mom used to buy pounds of aged meats and cheeses and painstakingly cube every bit. Then she would mix fresh beaten eggs and finely grated Parmesan and fill and roll, what seemed like dozens, of loaves….

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Italia’s Easter Ricotta Rice Pie

  This Ricotta Rice pie recipe of my Mama Carmela’s and Grandma Lena’s is dedicated to the Camarata family and to the memories of Easter Sundays spent at our cottage by the lake. This is one of our family’s traditional Easter desserts and like many Italian dolces, it is simple and lightly sweet with just…

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“Festa della Primavera” A Spring Festival & Italia in Full Bloom

Spring and summer offer the most stunning flower festivals in Italy. The displays of fiori colori are breathtaking! Simply find a street “camminare lungo una strada” and you are enveloped in Italian spring… Today, on March 20th the celebration “Festa della Primavera” offer guests, of most every town in Italy, streets covered with gorgeous, multicolored flowers,…

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Italian Bacon & Egg Pasta with Tomatoes & Kale

Una Pentola (One-Pot) Bacon & Egg Pasta with Tomatoes & Kale Another perfect, simple, quick, easy and flavorful example of “Northern Italian Peasant” food at it’s finest! This recipe was inspired by my Mama Carmela’s love of fresh field greens. At the first sight of mustard greens, she would gather her tools and the hunt…

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