Osso Buco with gremolata over creamy polenta

Valentine’s Day has just come and gone but there are plenty of evenings to cook a great meal for that special someone.

Osso buco is a dish that comes from the Lombardia region of Italy; the region surrounding Milan. It’s really simple to prepare. You just need to find a good source for the veal shanks and have some patience to let them do their thing in the oven.

Continue reading Osso Buco for Valentine’s (or any other special) Day at Our Italian Table.

Montalcino may be best known for its splendid Brunello but it has some lesser known gems as well. Amongst its rolling hills fly amazing honeybees, silently working their magic amongst the vines. Each visit to my home there has me shipping cases of the nectar back to America.  And once my treasured package arrives, it is play time!  My most recent shipment contained deep dark chestnut (castagne) honey, gentle sunflower (girasole) honey, herb infused rosemary (rosemarino) honey – each flavor so different and exquisitely reminiscent of the plants and flowers that cover the land.

Continue reading Risotto with Sausage, Green Apple, Pecorino and Honey too! at Our Italian Table.

I tend to get emotional at the farmer’s market in spring. The colors at the market turn from the winter beiges to the vibrant glorious hues of spring. Fresh picked asparagus. Fresh glorious peas in a pod waiting to be shelled. Little tomato plants waiting to feel the warmth of the sun. You can almost feel the earth vibrating with the arrival of spring. Gone are those root vegetables; the earth unfolds with spring; the new season is here – let it begin!

Continue reading Buona Primavera! A Spring Vegetable Risotto at Our Italian Table.

A few years ago I finally got around to reading Michael Pollan’s decade-old book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma. I loved the entire book, but as I read Chapter 19: Gathering: The Fungi, he lost me. I am a pretty adventuresome cook, but I doubt I will ever feel comfortable roaming around in the forest collecting mushrooms and then chowing down on them. No amount of field identification guides and training is going to get me there.

Continue reading “Wild” Mushroom Risotto at Our Italian Table.

We have arrived in the hilltop town of Scapezzano, where my grandfather grew up and our cousins still live, in the Marche region of Italy. Spring has arrived in full force here in Marche, and the vegetable stands are overflowing with every variety of spring delight! I’m determined to eat food grown as locally as possible—my one purchase, soon after we arrived, of tomatoes from Sicily and rapini from Puglia I will try to make my last.

Continue reading It’s raining artichokes! – Baby Artichoke Risotto at Our Italian Table.

Risotto alla Milanese is one of Italy’s most famous dishes. I once was at a dinner party where someone started playing that silly game in which you name what you’d request as your last meal on this earth. An Italian friend of mine responded without hesitation – Risotto alla Milanese.

There are plenty of restaurants that make this famous dish, but few include what is perhaps the most important ingredient: beef bone marrow.

Continue reading Risotto alla Milanese – The Real Deal at Our Italian Table.

Risotto—rice cooked with broth to a creamy consistency—is a blank canvas, perfect for creating a dish that has your unique fingerprints. But with all the things I can imagine adding to risotto, I can think of nothing better than DUCK: duck legs, duck breast, and DUCK FAT! Even better than truffles or squid ink or butternut squash.

Duck is slightly tricky to cook, but a classic risotto makes matters easy. Duck legs need to be cooked long and slow (think duck confit).

Continue reading Duck Duck Risotto! at Our Italian Table.

Tomorrow, I begin my 2 week food cleanse – Italian food blogger style! (Look for healthful Italian recipes throughout the coming weeks!)  Half of Our Italian Table, the east coast half  :-), is foregoing some vices (vino, caffeine, grains, dairy) for a few weeks to give this little ‘ole body a break from the excesses of the holiday season and get revved up for the year ahead! I know you are probably thinking – ‘yea, good luck with that!’  (But seriously, join me if you can and send me your favorite recipes and we will post them!

Continue reading Artichoke Risotto with Fondue (Risotto ai Carciofi con Fonduta) at Our Italian Table.

Sometime life calls for a simple recipe – or at least one based on what’s in the fridge. So, with the bacon, chicken stock and cubed butternut squash in the fridge, I was inspired to make this risotto. With arborio rice always on the shelf and Parmigiano-Reggiano always on hand, this makes the perfect post-Christmas meal!

Serves 4.

Ingredients and Directions:

• 2 cups butternut squash – peel and dice (1-inch cubes)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 4 slices of American-style bacon – preferably with a smokey taste like Applewood smoked bacon
• 1 medium onion – diced
• 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
• 1 cup white wine
• 6 cups good-quality chicken stock (preferably homemade)
• 2 ounces butter
• ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (some reserved for sprinkling over the finished risotto)

 Special Equipment:

• Potato masher
• Roasting pan covered with aluminum foil
• Heavy-bottom pot for cooking the risotto

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and place the chicken stock in a pot and heat to a simmering boil.

Continue reading Butternut Squash Risotto at Our Italian Table.

Italians, like many cultures, have some fun and interesting traditions to ring in the New Year. One has been tradition in our family for as long as I can remember – lentils absolutely must be served for New Years, most often with sausages (but in a pinch, my mother just made lentil soup.) Lentils (or lenticchie in Italian) are believed to bring good luck and prosperity throughout the year due to their round shape, signifying money.

Continue reading New Year’s Eve: Get that Red Underwear Ready! (And A Sparkly Citrus, Beet and Fennel Salad) at Our Italian Table.