Brunch is one of my favorite meals. And although I love meeting friends out for brunch, it is those loooong, lazy mornings loafing around in your PJs, whipping up a dish or two to be enjoyed over long conversation and a pot of coffee that I love. Ok, maybe not so much the long conversation, more like complete silence while pouring over the Sunday paper or favorite blogs. But you get the picture.

With ‘ole man winter firmly implanted on the east coast, the snow keeps on coming.

Continue reading Weekend Brunch: Eggs, Italian-Style at Our Italian Table.

It never ceases to amaze me how different the breads of Italy can be from region to region.  Emilia-Romagna’s bread is no exception. Unlike the saltless bread found in Tuscany or the crunchy paper thin wafer known as pane carasau in Sardinia, the tasty unleavened flat bread, piadina, is made throughout Romagna. Although a bit time consuming, they are simple and relaxing to make and can be eaten plain or stuffed with a few simple slices of prosciutto or flavorful veggies such as broccoli rabe sautéed in a bit of garlic and oil.

Continue reading Soul Food Italian Style: Piadina Romagnola at Our Italian Table.

The house is decorated for Christmas and the presents are piling up!  Christmas carols have been blazing from the ipod all week and the holiday cheer has already begun to flow. I have been busily planning the menu for our Seven Fishes feast on Christmas eve as well as a few other meals for the houseful of company I am expecting in a few weeks. (I will post the 2012 menu for our Feast next week!) With no travel for work this week, I have been cooking up a storm and giving some of the recipes a dry run in advance of the holiday. 

Continue reading From My Little Test Kitchen: Fig Tart with Gorgonzola and Caramelized Onions at Our Italian Table.

Wow – this hot weather has sent my zucchini and tomato plants soaring! I had to take out one zucchini plant this weekend because the little monsters are threatening to overtake my entire garden.  And do I have zucchini already – see the photo below! Time for zucchini bread!  I found this yummy decadent chocolate zucchini bread on the Joy of Baking website.  I tripled the recipe, and substituted dark chocolate cocoa powder. They came out stupendous – moist and chocolatey with gooey chocolate chips floating throughout.

Continue reading When life gives you too many zucchini, make Chocolate Zucchini Bread…. at Our Italian Table.

I must say I hate baking. It’s not really cooking, it’s a chemistry experiment. So follow this recipe to the letter and even with that, you odds of success are 50/50. But with that said, this is one of my most favorite breads to be eaten around Easter. It originates from the Italian region of Le Marché. Have a warmed slice for breakfast with a little butter.

Makes two loaves.

Ingredients and Equipment

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast (1 package of RED STAR yeast)
• 1/4 cup of warm water (See note below)
• 1/4 cup of warm milk (See note below)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of butter, softened by leaving at room temperature or putting in the microwave for 20 seconds)
• 7 large eggs
• 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 1/2 to 7 cups all-purpose flour
• Olive oil
• 1 pound of Swiss cheese
• Pastry brush or paper towels
• 2 loaf pans
• Cooling rack
• Optional: Stand mixer

Note: For the warm water and milk in the ingredients list, place the liquid in a Pyrex measuring cup.

Continue reading Crescia: An Easter bread at Our Italian Table.

Aquacotta – literally ‘cooked water’.  But the best darn cooked water you have ever had!  According to the Academia Barilla, the herdsmen and coal men of the Maremma region of Tuscany were accustomed to frequent journeys and routinely traveled with stale bread, oil, garlic, onion and herbs in order to prepare this rustic soup.  There are many variations of this soup but on my recent trip to Tuscany, I found a simple and mouth-watering version of this soup in Dario Castagno’s book ‘Too Much Tuscan Wine’.

Continue reading Dario’s Aquacotta: The best ‘cooked water’ you have ever had at Our Italian Table.

My Italian family can eat like the best of them. And those low-carbohydrate diets would last about 5 minutes in our kitchens. My cousin, Mia and I joke that we are on the ‘Anti-Atkins diet’ – all carbohydrates, all the time. Bread and pasta are our staples. This delight of a dish from the region of Gallura allows us to stick to our diets. Zuppa Gallurese isn’t actually a soup (although it does use broth) but a cross between a lasagna and a casserole, perhaps. 

Continue reading Zuppa Gallurese: Sardinian comfort food at Our Italian Table.