Italians have a silly expression for ‘yummy’ that always makes me giggle – GNAM, GNAM. The first time I heard it was from my (wonderful) Italian instructor – I thought, ‘what the hell does that mean?!?!’. Feels like it belongs in a Pac-Man video game (uh-oh – dating myself!) Go ahead – try to say it. I betcha you will giggle too.

Back to the recipe at hand! I have been testing out a few recipes for the upcoming Thanksgiving day feast and spotted some cipolline onions at the local market and remembered having had them once at a restaurant roasted with a balsamic glaze.

Continue reading GNAM, GNAM – Balsamic Roasted Onions at Our Italian Table.

The local farmer’s market is beginning to fill to the brim with spring’s fresh bounty – tender asparagus, baby peas, young lettuces and my favorite – tiny juicy sweet strawberries. Those tender joyously red berries never fail to put a smile on my face.  At the market this morning, the moment I saw their little sweet faces staring up at me, my mind turned to the fact that we are featuring the region of Emilia-Romagna on our blog this month.

Continue reading Spring’s Sweet Bounty: Strawberries with Balsamic and Black Pepper at Our Italian Table.

I am still on a ricotta kick over here.  So when I spied beautiful little early season strawberries at the local farm market, dessert was born.  The beautiful little berries bathe in an oddly yummy marinade of balsamic vinegar and freshly ground black pepper (trust me on this one – it is delicious!)….mixed with the creaminess of the ricotta – heavenly.  You, of course, can eat the berries alone or substitute marscapone cheese or vanilla ice cream for the ricotta.

Continue reading Balsamic Peppered Strawberries with Vanilla Scented Ricotta at Our Italian Table.

I have a love affair with radicchio. Its spectacular wine-red color always draws me closer whenever I spot it in the market and its unusual bittersweet flavor, especially when paired with sweet balsamic, always satisfies the crowd. If you are lucky enough to find the tapering version from the Treviso region of Italy, snap it up.  But either version, whether grilled or roasted, and paired with this dressing makes a terrific side dish or antipasti. 

Continue reading Balsamic-Marinated Radicchio at Our Italian Table.