La Cucina Prima Donna

Dean and Deluca

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:32:00 +0000

I've lived in NYC my whole life and something I never have to worry about is a shortage of fantastic food and wonderful gourmet stores. Which brings me to Dean and Deluca, not only can you shop in person, but you can also shop online. Just a quick browse and you’ll be in food lovers’ paradise. For those who weren't brought up foodies or are still discovering their tastes, a big store filled with so many different types of delicious cheese, pasta, assorted oils, meat and so much more can seem a bit overwhelming, but luckily all of the items are listed with a detailed description and costumer written reviews.

Having Dean and Deluca is like having a gourmet chef at the drop of a hat. Let’s imagine that you’re throwing a last minute dinner party and just don’t feel like all the fuss, well, Dean and Deluca can take care of that! You’ll be able to buy beautiful already prepared appetizers, crackers, cheese, seafood and dessert. The dessert selection is enough to have me begging for more! Café crème torte, macaroons, even a selection of ice cream and gourmet popcorn!! I mean, you guys know me, I’m very big on preparing everything myself, but I’ll admit that sometimes a night will strike when I just want to be lazy and do something easy, Dean and Deluca makes that very easy for me.

There is really something for everyone here; the store is broken down into sections to make shopping a breeze: Butcher, Seafood and Shellfish, Hors D’oeuvres and Appetizers, Bread and Bakery, Cheese, Pasta, Rice and Grain, Salt and Seasoning, Coffee, Tea and Beverage, Desserts and Snacks, Jams, Syrups and Honeys, Oil, Vinegar and Condiments and last but not least, Kitchen and Dining. I challenge you not find something you’ll LOVE! I’m tellin ya, make Dean and Deluca your next stop for all things gourmet, you won’t be disappointed. You’ll be salivating!!

Filet of Sole and Shrimp Francese

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 22:27:00 +0000

Ciao il mio amici!! I love seafood. I have to admit though; I never actually cook with fish until very recently. As I've mentioned, I use to be a vegetarian and on top of that…this is going to sound childish, I hate touching raw protein. Fish, chicken, pork, you name it. I guess I had a certain idea of it that took some time to get over. Now…forget about it!! I love cooking protein, in fact, I love it so much, that not only do touching, butchering or cleaning raw protein not bother me, I actually LIKE it!! I know, it’s weird. Well, enough about my odd habits. The other night I wanted to try my hand at one of my favorite dishes..Filet of Sole and Shrimp Francese.

When I was little, my family would go to a local Italian restaurant and every time I got the same thing..Fillet of Sole Francese. Tender, flaky fish with a light coating of flour. Creamy lemon sauce. I mean, heaven right?!? So, this is my take on one of my favorite dishes. The sole and shrimp are made with just a light dusting of flour, I hate the idea of this dish made with so much of a coating that it just tastes like fried fish. You want the fish to practically melt in your mouth with all of the lemony, buttery goodness. Buon Appetite!!

Fillet of Sole and Shrimp Francese

6 tbsp. olive oil

6 tbsp. butter

5 or 6 pieces of sole (you can also use Tilapia)

1 pound of shrimp, cleaned, de-veined and butterflied

1 cup of flour

2 eggs

4 cloves of garlic

2 lemons, sliced

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup white wine

½ vegetable stock

Handful of chopped fresh parsley

Salt and Pepper (quanto basta!)

Start by preheating your oven to 300 degrees. Prepare a large skillet over medium heat, add 3 tbsp. of the oil and 3 tbsp. of the butter. Heat until foaming.

Pour your flour in a shallow dish or deep enough bowl. Whisk two eggs in a medium size bowl. Dredge the fillets in the flour, make sure you coat both sides and then dip the fish in the eggs, and make sure it’s evenly covered. Repeat with all of the fillets and add to your skillet. Cook each side for 4-8 minutes; you want the bottom of the filet to get lightly browned before you flip them. Transfer the fillets to a baking sheet and place them in the oven to stay warm.

Repeat the same exact process with the shrimp. The shrimp however will cook very quickly, around 1-3 minutes each side. Transfer to the same baking sheet with the fish. Once you are done with all of the fish, add the remaining oil and butter and garlic to the skillet. Wait for the butter to foam and add the sliced lemons. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice, wine and bring to a boil, cook until somewhat reduced. Add the vegetable stock; bring to a boil until the sauce is lightly thickened. Sprinkle in the parsley, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and add the fish and shrimp to the skillet. Serve immediately. Buon Appetito!!

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 03:34:00 +0000

Ciao!! I use to be a big believer in the more the chocolate, the better the intensity. I never thought recipes just made with cocoa could do the trick, I didn’t think they would give me that rich chocolate taste that I was craving. But clearly, I was wrong.

The other night I thought back to cookie I use to LOVE! It’s from a famous pastry shops that use to be on the Upper East Side, where much of my childhood was spent. Most weekends I would treat myself to a cookie; it’s just the way it was. I wanted to try to recreate that cookie, which I knew only use cocoa powder. I also wanted to add my own Italian spin, hence the hazelnuts and espresso.

Some of you may recall my Eggland’s Best “Your Best Recipe Contest” winning Baci Espresso Cookies; this recipe is similar, except that this is flourless and made only with egg whites. This cookie is incredible, it’s very rich, slightly chewy, but in a good way, almost like a meringue and surprisingly intense. The outside sets and cracks beautifully and the inside is a little gooey, the nuts add a great great. Try this cookie. You won’t be disappointed.

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Makes 9 medium size cookies

1 cup of blanched and roasted hazelnuts

1 ½ cups of confectioners’ sugar

¼ cup dark cocoa powder plus 1 tbsp.

1/8 tsp. salt

1 tsp. espresso powder

2 egg whites

½ tsp. hazelnut extract

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Coarse sea salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and treat with cooking spray.

Mix in a large bowl your hazelnuts, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, salt and espresso powder. Add your eggs whites, hazelnut and vanilla extract. Using an electric mix, mix until combined and wet for around 2 minutes. I like to use an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter out and make them all uniform. Top the cookies with a sprinkling of coarse sea salt. Bake for 15-17 minutes, you want the tops of the cookies to crack. Serve immediately and enjoy!! Buon Appetito!!

Death by Nutella Cake 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 23:40:00 +0000

Ciao a tutti!! Some of you may recall my Valentine’s Day Post…Death by Nutella Cake. Layers of nutella brownie, nutella mousse, nutella glaze, melted chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. I knew I was a mad woman already, this cake just proved it more so. But the madness didn't stop there. Due to the popularity of this cake recipe, I knew I had something, I knew I had to do more…..and so I did.

Death by Nutella 2.0. That’s right, another version of the “famous” Death by Nutella Cake, but this time, I 2.0ed it, making it even more extravagant. I kept the nutella brownie, nutella glaze and nutella mousse, but I went it even further with this recipe by adding a hazelnut meringue layer, candied hazelnuts and making this recipe into individual cakes. Now, you can very easily make this recipe into one large cake, the same way the original Death by Nutella Cake was made, I just figured by making them into little masterpieces, the deeper I could indulge my madness. So I give you, without further adieu, Death by Nutella Cake 2.0!!!!

ENJOYING MY CAKE!!!!

Death by Nutella Cake 2.0

Nutella Brownie

1 stick unsalted butter

½ cup cocoa powder

¾ cup sugar

½ cup nutella

3 ounces melted chocolate

2 eggs

½ cup flour

½ tsp. salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter a round cake pan (9 by 1 ½ inch pan) and set to the side.

Melt 1 stick of butter and ½ cup of cocoa powder in the microwave, very slowly. You will want the cocoa to completely blend with the butter until it is smooth. When it’s silky, add ¾ cup sugar, ½ cup of nutella and 3 ounces of melted chocolate. Whisk in 2 eggs, add ½ cup flour and ½ tsp. salt. Fold. Make sure there are no lumps!! Pour into your cake and bake for 30 minutes.

When it is done, take it out of the oven and allow to cool for at least two hours. In the meantime, prepare the nutella mousse….

Nutella Mousse

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. espresso powder

1 tsp. hazelnut extract

½ cup nutella

In a medium size steel bowl, add 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tsp. espresso power and 1 tsp. hazelnut extract. Whisk until the espresso powder is dissolved. Add ½ cup nutella and using an electric beater, whisk until soft peaks form, this should take around 2-3 minutes. Do not overbeat though. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for two hours. Prepare the nutella glaze now..

Nutella Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup nutella

3 tbsp. milk

Add powdered sugar, nutella and milk to a medium size bowl. Whisk together until smooth. You can now prepare your hazelnut meringues…

Hazelnut Meringues

1 ¼ cup blanched hazelnuts

2 egg whites, at room temperature

1 cup of confectioners’ sugar

Pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse hazelnuts until finely ground, almost like a flour. In a medium size heatproof bowl, combine eggs, whites and pinch of salt. Set your bowl over, but not in, a pot with 2 inches simmering water and cook, whisk constantly until warm to the touch, it will take around 3 minutes. Remove the bowl for heat and using an electric mixer, beat on high until very thick and glossy. Fold in your hazelnuts.

Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Grab a pastry bag, fit with a medium sized round pastry tip and fill with the meringue mix. Using the pastry bag, form the meringues into small circles, around 3 by 3, this mix should make around 6 meringues of this size. Bake until cracked on top, around 19 minutes. Allow to cool. Now make your candied hazelnuts…

Candied Hazelnuts

¾ cup blanched hazelnuts

2/3 cup sugar

¼ water

Begin by lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat your oven 350 degrees. In a medium size saucepan over high heat, combine hazelnuts, sugar and water. Cook, stirring constantly to prevent sugar from burning. Continue to cook until the sugar is caramel colored, around 7 to ten minutes.

Quickly pour the nuts on the parchment paper and spread out with a rubber spatula. Place in the oven for 3 minutes and then remove. Let the candied hazelnuts sit and cool until the sugar has completely hardened. Once it has hardened, break the candied hazelnuts into pieces, whatever size you like!

Assembling the Cake

Step 1- First start off with the cooled nutella brownie. Using either plating rings or cake rings (I use 3 by 3, you can of course use 4 by 4 or whatever size you like). Using a serrated knife carefully cut the brownie forms into two layers. Set one layer aside, leaving the other bottom layer right where it is!

Step 2- Take the nutella mousse out of the refrigerator and spoon onto the bottom brownie layer. It shouldn’t flow over the whole cake. Using a spatula spread over the brownie, leaving an inch or so of the edges of the brownie bare (when you put the final brownie layer on top, it will naturally push some of the mousse further.)

Step 3- Place one of your hazelnut meringues on top of the nutella mousse layer. Spread with another layer of nutella mousse.

Step 4- Carefully put the top brownie layer over the mousse layer. Pour some of nutella glaze over the brownie and top with some of the candied hazelnuts. Drizzle with a little more of the nutella glaze. Serve and enjoy! Buon Appetite!!

Italy, Beaches and Bikinis, Oh My!!

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 00:30:00 +0000

The pool at our hotel in Ischia

I spent the summer of 2011 in Italy studying opera. Most of my time was spent on the beautiful island of Ischia, just off the coast of Naples. While I was packing for my trip, I of course packed a lot of bathing suits. All of them were bikinis, except for one. I packed a black one piece with a matching skirt, in case, as I told my mother, I had a fat day. I had heard that Italians were different when it came to swimwear, but I had no idea just how different they really were.

The first day out in a suit was after a few days of binging in Rome. I felt a little more bloated than usual from all the bread and pasta, but I put on my favorite bikini anyway. A turquoise string bikini with wooden beads. I was just going to the hotels outdoor pool and was hoping most people would be napping. The pool was packed. And everyone, young, old, thin and heavy, was in a bikini.

You would think living in an environment where you’re always in a bathing suit would make you much more body conscious, but if anything, it seems to have the exact opposite effect. Here in America, going to the beach is such an event for most women; we usually spend two weeks planning. We revamp our diet entirely and work out extra hard, knowing that soon our bodies will be on display. Not in Italy.

Women walk around with their heads held high, it’s no big deal to them. You see much older women in bikinis, which in America would be considered taboo. Girls who are maybe a bit fuller walk around in two pieces.

Enjoying a nighttime stroll on the beach, not worrying about all the extra gelato I had!!

I am a healthy size, I'm 5’0 and around 100 pounds, but it just hurts to know that so many women are ashamed of their bodies. As a young woman, I have of course had my “fat” moments, but I have never felt bad about my body, because I am so grateful for everything that it can do.

Our bodies are not something to be ashamed of; they are to be celebrated. In Italy, almost all women wear bikinis. They’re confident and comfortable, to them it’s not even a second thought, it’s just a way of life. They don’t hide under a cover-up. They are proud of their bodies and not afraid to show it. It’s such a different mentality, one that I wish all women, young and old, in the United States would adapt. Going to a beach in America is much more difficult. I hate it when I see other woman looking at each other and sizing each other up. Once I saw the way it was in Italy, putting on a bikini everyday was no big deal. In the past, I would check my stomach just to see if it was a little puffy, but I never did that once in Italy.....because it didn’t matter.

No one was going to judge me and think I should do more crunches or look at the woman in her 70s in the bikini and think she looked stupid or tell the size 18 girl to cover up. We should all feel this proud. So ladies, this summer when you’re going to the beach with all of your friends, get excited for a day of fun and sunshine (wear SPF!!) and put on that bikini

And by the way? That one piece didn’t come out of the suitcase the whole trip.

Memorial Day BBQ- Italian Sausage and Peppers Burgers with Zucchini and Eggplant Chips

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Mon, 27 May 2013 12:19:00 +0000

Memorial Day has arrived!! Which officially means that beach season is here, I can finally enjoy a stroll on the beach in my best bathing suit and a nice, cold ice cream (ahem, gelato) cone in hand. Memorial Day weekend is also the PERFECT excuse to invite some friends over, blast some music and throw a party, but not just any party, a BBQ of course! Now, some of us don’t have BBQ’s. Maybe we don’t know how to actually work a BBQ in the backyard or if you’re a city girl like me, you can’t have one in an apartment obviously. But that doesn’t mean you can’t throw a wonderful mock bbq!! And because I always have to put my own twist on everything, I just have to throw an Italian BBQ!

Now, when I think of Memorial Day and eating in someone’s backyard or even on my own terrace (I’m in NYC, it’s as close to a backyard as I’m gonna get!!) I love the idea of getting my hands messy and nothing says messy to me like a burger, but not just any burger. My Italian Sausage and Peppers Burger!! A delicious burger made with sausage and beef, topped with caramelized peppers and onions and fresh fontina!! And of course, you need something on the side, right? Well what goes better with a burger than chips!!! But again, I have to put my own fun twist on everything, so I’m making eggplant and zucchini chips!!!! And to enjoy with these delicious treats, some garlic aioli!!

This is the perfect meal to enjoy over Memorial Day weekend! Buon Appetito!!

Italian Sausage and Peppers Burgers

The Burger Part

¾ pound ground lean beef

¾ pound sausage (you can use already ground sauce or around 2-3 links depending on the size)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

If you are using sausage links, start by taking the case off of each link. Add to a bowl with the ground beef. Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and Italian seasoning. I use my kitchen aid electric hand mixer with dough hooks to combine the meat, if you don’t have something like that; you can combine it gently with your hands, but not too much!! Once the meat is combined, form into patties. Prepare your pan, grill, BBQ, whatever you’re using, with some oil. Put the patties down. Since these are made with sausage, you have to make sure they are thoroughly cooked through; NO ONE WANTS TO EAT RAW PORK!! Cook for around 6-10 minutes on each side.

The Pepper and Onion Part

1 large sweet onion

3 cubanelle peppers

2 tbsp. oil

Clean your peppers, and then slice into thin strips, along with the onions. Prepare a medium size pan (or grill or bbq) with the oil. Add the peppers and onions and cook over low heat until they are nice and caramelized, around 40 minutes. I prefer cooking them on low heat so they don’t burn and get hard.

The Cheese Part

6 slices of fresh fontina

The Assembling of the Burger

Get yourself a nice fresh ciabatta or focaccia roll (like I did!!), slice it in half and put it on your grill or bbq for a minute or so to get a nice smoky taste. Take the bread off and add your burger, a nice serving of the peppers and onions and a slice or two of fontina.

Zucchini and Eggplant Chips

2 Japanese eggplants (I like to use them because of the size, they’re perfect for chips!)

2 zucchini

1 cup of oil (for frying)

3/4 cup of cornstarch

¼ cup of flour

1 tsp. of baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons of salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon of garlic powder

½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

½ cup of water

1 egg

Clean your eggplants and zucchini and dry them. Cut the zucchini and eggplant into very thin slices (You can make them however thin or thick you like, but they will fry better when they are thin and taste even crispier.)

Mix all of your dry ingredients, the cornstarch, flour, baking soda, salt, black pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Then add your water and egg and beat lightly.

Use a deep enough pan to fry. Set your stove on high heat and put the oil in the pan. You will want to wait for it to really heat up before beginning to fry. Once it is hot, dip your vegetables in the batter and carefully immerse in the oil. Allow each side to fry for at least two minutes. Take the vegetables and put on a wire rack to cool. Salt lightly and enjoy!!

Garlic Aioli

1 cup of real mayonnaise

¼ cup olive oil with roasted garlic

½ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. paprika

Simply mix and of the ingredients together in a food processor and pulse a few times until the roasted garlic is broken down. Enjoy on the burger or with the chips!!

Enjoy these crispy delicious treats with your burger and a nice cold beer (it is Memorial Day weekend, I think beer might be more fitting than wine), put on some music and have some fun with friends and family this weekend and let’s kick off the summer right!! Mangia Bene!!

Ricotta Olive Oil Pound Cake

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:49:00 +0000

Ciao a tutti! I am so excited to share one of my favorite recipes with you…my Ricotta Olive Oil Pound Cake!! I don’t like to brag, but this pound cake is absolutely incredible! It’s light, moist and delicious. Some of you might be thinking “olive oil?!?!” but the olive oil just adds a lovely subtle fruitiness (if you use good olive oil) and along with the ricotta gives the cake a wonderful texture. I made mine in little individual cake pans, but you can use a standard pound cake pan. I also made a simple glaze to put on the top and served the cake with some roasted hazelnuts on the side, just because I look for any excuse to munch on a few hazelnuts. Enjoy!

Ricotta Olive Oil Pound Cake

¼ cup plus 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 ½ cups flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 ½ cups ricotta, at room temperature

1 ¼ cup sugar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

3 eggs

Preheat the oven the 350 degrees. Butter your cake pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Whip together the butter, ricotta, sugar, olive oil, vanilla and almond extract in a separate bowl with an electric mixer. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat until nice and airy. Add the eggs into the mix. Pour the batter into your pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until you put a toothpick into the cake and it comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for around 15 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool. While you are letting the cake cool, you can prepare your glaze…

Simple Glaze

3 ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar

4 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine the sugar with milk and vanilla. You can continue to add a little milk until it is the consistency that you like it! Pour over the pound cake once it is COMPLETELY cool. Buon Appetito!!

Chef Chat: Kimberly Zanni, President of Gelato di Babbo

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:49:00 +0000

Ciao a tutti!! I love gelato, but then again who doesn’t? I mean, on a hot summer day, is there anything better than that first lick of cold, creamy gelato. Heck, I eat it year round. It doesn’t have to be cold. In fact, I’ve been known to put a scoop of gelato in my cioccolata calda. So, when I heard about Kimberly Zanni, President of Zanni Foods Inc, DBA Gelato Di Babbo, I just had to try her gelato. Afterall, there aren’t a whole lot of gelato sold in supermarkets and when I get outside and I need my fix, this seems like the perfect choice!! Her gelato is delicious, creamy and made with pure, natural ingredients, as is evident in the taste. I had a chance to sample all of the flavors (while they were all INCREDIBLE, I have to say I just feel in love with the White Chocolate Hazelnut and Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel!!) I had the opportunity to ask Kim some questions about her company and her delicious gelato! Enjoy!

What do you think makes your gelato stand out from other products on the market?

It’s healthy; I gave all of the gelato Italian names and the fact that I import my nut pastes under my own company. I don’t use gelato supply companies. I have my own recipes made into pastes for my gelato in Italy and then labeled under Zanni Foods Inc and I sell to other gelato makers and chefs. The fact that I went to Italy and walked on volcanic rock of the farms in Bronte, Sicily to bring back the best pistachio in the world. My competitors don’t do that. They buy from a company that tells them it is "Sicilian pistachio". I know how a pistachio plant is grown; the region and so on. I am that crazy about my products. My products are made from scratch and I worked hard on designing authentic quality gelato that is healthy too. People on weight watchers eat my products. It’s a number 3 on the point value system.

Your gelato is all natural and low in fat, how can it possibly taste so good?!?

I am the pickiest person you will ever meet when it comes to food. So I would never put my name on something if it wasn’t great!

I'm sure this is a difficult question because they're all delicious, but what is your favorite flavor?

Of course they are all my babies so I love them all. But I can make anything you can think of into gelato or sorbetto. My current favorites are... pistachio, chocolate chip caramel sea salt,and banana and my organic lemon sorbetto. (Not sold in pints)

You started selling your gelato from a customized trike on Main Street in Lititz, Pennsylvania, what was the initial reaction from people? And what inspired you to take your gelato all the way?

People loved it. I had a line and people started to look for my bike on the streets. It’s the classic American business story. I hope I can keep growing. It will be the most humble beginning to remember.

For more information on Kim and Gelato Di Babbo, be sure to pop by Zanni Foods and her facebook page to say ciao!

Embracing Your Inner Sophia Loren Through Fashion and Food

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:01:00 +0000

To me, spring is the perfect time to come out of your shell. Think about it..fresh blooming flowers, spring cleaning, it’s all about a new start in a sense. Opening up. I don’t know about you, but when I think of a fresh start, I instantly think of fashion and of course, food. That might just be me, after all, my mother worked in the fashion industry for many, many years, I was pretty much born with heels on! And as far as the food, let’s not kid ourselves, I’m always thinking about food! But spring is a great time to have a little fun with fashion and explore some delicious new produce. So, let’s take a cue from one of my favorite actresses and my style and beauty icon, the one and only…Sophia Loren.

I have always loved Sophia; she is an incredibly talented, smart, beautiful and stylish women. She is the epitome of glamour.

When I was first in Italy the summer of 2011, I noticed instantly how glamorous Italian women are; donning fabulous stilettos, designer handbags, red glossy lips, full 50’s style skirts, fashion to the extreme. There is just something about these women that instantly grabs your attention, you can’t help but look. I have always loved that kind of style, in fact, that is usually how I dress. More specifically, I like to dress like an Italian movie star in the 50s and 60s, my main inspiration being Sophia. If you want to channel your inner Sophia here are a few of my tips:

1. Confidence. They key to owning an outfit is confidence. You won’t look your best if you don’t feel your best.

2. Embrace your figure. Sophia had an AMAZING body and she didn’t mind showing it off. It’s spring, so you don’t have to be too covered up. There are two levels of Sophia you can try out…If you’re new to this kind of fashion, try a beautiful fitted at the waist a-line skirt with a halter top or cropped sweater or go full Sophia and wear a fabulous white fitted dress or a floral halter dress with your best movie star sun glasses and heels and your best smile!

3. When shopping for vintage Sophia style clothing, there are many options. Mainstream stores like H&M, Zara and Forever 21 always have little hidden gems. Maybe a beautiful full skirt or a cropped sweater. You can also shop specifically at Vintage clothing stores or stores with an eye towards new vintage style, like one of my favorite stores, Bettie Page and accessorize with a fabulous pair of sunglasses and of course, some beautiful shoes. As you can see, I had a little too much fun taking the pictures for this piece!

4. Eat!!! Sophia liked to eat, as is evident in her famous quote, “Everything you see I owe to Spaghetti.” In honor of Sophia and her obvious love for spaghetti, I think it’s only fitting to share her recipe for Spaghetti al Limone…

If you’re going to prepare Sophia’s Spaghetti al Limone, you’ll need some fresh lemons, which is perfect, because the outdoor markets have finally come out of their cocoon just in time! Luckily, living in NYC there are a fair share of green markets in the area, the most popular of course being the Union Square Market. But, if you’re not in Manhattan, there are plenty of wonderful green markets to be found in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Forest Hills, Queens. These markets are a fantastic way to do a little experimenting with fresh produce..turnip tops, dandelion greens, baby zucchini, you’ll have so much fun discovering new and wonderful produce. I love how bright and fresh lemons are, they’re the perfect taste for this time of year. So, grab a few fresh lemons and get to work!!

Spaghetti al Limone

3 tbsp. unsalted butter

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

Zest of 3 lemons

½ cup heavy cream

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

1 ½ pounds spaghetti

Freshly grated parmigiana

Start by heating water in a large pot and salt the water. When the water is boiling, cook the pasta until al dente. In the meantime, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden, add the lemon zest and ¼ cup of the cream. Add salt and pepper. When the pasta is finished cooking, drain it and add to the saucepan along with the remaining cream. Toss well; making sure every piece of spaghetti gets covered! Serve with a little freshly grated parmigiana and your best Sophia dress!! Buon Appetito!!

Steak with Aged Balsamic Reduction, Garlic Mashed Citrus Cauliflower and Sauteed Broccoli Rabe

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Sun, 05 May 2013 20:00:00 +0000

When my mother and I were in Florence recently, one night we had a lovely dinner right off of Piazza della Repubblica. I went for the tortellini with mushrooms and my mother went for a classic Italian dish…steak with aged balsamic vinegar. I haven’t had steak that much, as I’ve mentioned, I use to be a vegetarian. But when I do have a craving for a steak….I want a really good one.

When the steak came to the table, I couldn’t believe how amazing it smelled. Sounds simple enough, right? Steak with aged balsamic vinegar, nothing too special. Think again. It’s always the simplest dishes that taste that most impressive I find the ones with the fewest ingredients. The steak was just perfect. Now, I’m a little weird….I don’t like my meat rare or medium, I like it medium well. I know, I know. A lot of people tell me that I’m ruining a really good steak cooking it that much and I do apologize to all of the meat purists out there, this is just my preference.

When I got back home, I was determined to make an equally satisfying steak. The key is having a good cut of meat and a really high quality aged balsamic vinegar. Lucky for me, I got quite a few bottles of the good stuff in Italy!! I served the steak with garlic mashed citrus cauliflower and sautéed broccoli rabe, this is my version of an Italian classic steak house dinner. Enjoy!!

Italian Steak Dinner

Steak with Aged Balsamic Reduction

Steak

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. grey sea salt (you can use any salt you want, I love the taste of grey)

4 steaks (you could go with any cut that you like, I went with filet mignon), at room temperature

Prepare a heavy fry pan over medium heat. Add canola oil to pan. Sprinkle the 2 tbsp. of grey sea salt over the pan. The salt is going to act as a base for the steak to sit on. It will add a nice crust to the steak as well. Put the steaks on top of the salt. Cook on each side for 2-5 minutes (depending how rare or well done you like your steak!). Take the steaks out of the pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes. In the meantime…prepare the balsamic reduction.

Aged Balsamic Reduction

¼ cup aged balsamic vinegar

Add the ¼ cup aged balsamic vinegar to the fry pan. It will mix with the leftover liquid from the steak. Cook on low-medium heat until the sauce is bubbling and slightly reduced. Serve immediately drizzled over the steaks.

Mashed Garlic Citrus Cauliflower

4 cloves of garlic

1 cup of olive oil

1 head of citrus cauliflower, if you can’t get citrus, you can use regular cauliflower

2 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. pepper

Prepare a medium size glass ramekin with 4 cloves of peeled garlic, pour the olive oil over it. Cook in the oven on 350 degrees for at least 45 minutes or until the garlic is roasted.

Chop your cauliflower, removing the base and any of the leaves. You don’t need to really cut it, just cut it enough so it fits in the pot. Put in a deep pot over high heat and fill with water. Add 1 tbsp salt. Cook until the cauliflower is soft enough to mash, at least 25 minutes. Drain the water and mash the cauliflower, I like to do a rough mash just using a fork. Add 1 tbsp. salt, pepper and the roasted garlic and olive oil. Using an electric hand mixer, mix. You want the garlic to break down a little in the cauliflower and you want to olive oil to mix as well.

Sautéed Broccoli Rabe

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. pepper

1 tbsp. crushed red pepper

1 bunch of broccoli rabe, blanched

Prepare a medium size pan over medium heat. Add olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Allow the garlic to brown slightly, around 5 minutes. Add blanched broccoli rabe, toss and cook for 10 minutes. You don’t want to overcook the broccoli rabe and end up with mush! You want to keep it nice and crisp!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 17:40:00 +0000

Buongiorno!! If you come from an Italian American family, odds are you have had your fair share of Sunday night dinners. The family gathering in the kitchen…laughing, having a good time, maybe having a few sips of wine and cooking!! A classic Sunday night dinner is of course, Spaghetti and Meatballs. Every family has their own recipe and that is one of the things I love about certain recipes. Ever family has their own and that is what makes them so special.

I like the outside of my meatballs to get a little browned, but I know that that’s just me. We always have a debate in my household because my family prefers them softer, usually soaking in the tomato sauce. I myself like the exterior a bit crunchier. So I usually end up making two batches so I keep everyone happy and satisfied, that’s just my nature. My secret ingredient in my meatballs is…..wait for it…..ricotta!!! It makes them so light, tender, moist and delicious!! I love my recipe for meatballs; they are as perfect as meatballs can get, in my humble opinion. I obviously have to serve my meatballs with spaghetti and my classic tomato sauce.

Sweet little story about these meatballs…when I made these the other night for my family, as they were frying, the smell really reminded me of what I remember my Nonna Nettie’s Meatballs smelling like. I thought maybe it was just wishful thinking…but then I made a little test meatball (which I always do and highly suggest!) and gave it to my mom to try. She said “wow, these taste like grandmas.” To have my mother say that my meatballs, which I still remember my grandma frying specially for me over the weekend, is the absolute best compliment I could ever get about my cooking.

So try this recipe and let me know how it compares to yours!!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Tomato Sauce

¼ extra virgin olive oil

1 clove of garlic, minced

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. red pepper

2 large cans of San Marzano tomatoes

Handful of fresh basil, chopped

Prepare a medium size pot over medium heat. Add your olive oil and minced garlic. Allow the garlic to soften, but not brown. Add your salt, pepper and red pepper. Add your tomatoes and cook them down a little. Add a handful of the basil. Cook for 30 minutes covered on low heat, occasionally stirring. You can start the meatballs now…

Spaghetti and Meatballs

1 pound of ground beef

1 cup of whole wheat bread crumbs

¼ cup parmigiana, grated

¼ ricotta

Handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Handful of fresh basil, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large egg

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

½ cup olive oil

1 box of whole grain spaghetti

1 tbsp. salt, for the pasta water

Crumble the beef in a mixing bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, parmigiana, ricotta, parsley, basil and garlic. Beat the egg with 1 tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper in a small bowl. Pour this over the meat. Mix the ingredients with cleans hands just until blended. DO NOT OVER MIX!! If you over mix, you will get really hard, tough meatballs. We don’t want that!! Shape the meatballs in balls. You can make them as big or small as you like, but make them roughly the same size so they cook at the same speed. Heat your olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Put the meatballs in the skillet and fry. Turn them when they are golden brown, around 10 minutes. Cook them for around 20 minutes. As I said, I prefer my meatballs well done.

Start salted boiling water in a large pot over high heat. Pour in half of the tomato sauce over the meatballs. Cook for an additional 30 minutes in the sauce as the water boils. You will want to cook the meatballs until there is no pink in the center.

Once the water is boiling, add the spaghetti and stir. Once it is al dente, strain the pasta and add to the remaining tomato sauce. Serve a portion of the pasta with the meatballs and sauce over it. Buon Appetito!!

Squash Raviolini in Brown Butter with Crispy Prosciutto

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 17:29:00 +0000

Ciao a tutti!! I eat pasta quite a lot, so I am always looking for new and fun things to do with it. When I tell people I have a few favorite pastas, they usually think I am strictly referring to the shape. But the truth is, there is so much more to pasta than the shape! Although, the shape has a lot to do with the flavor. Some just have that bite that I’m looking for, like my old friend orechiette! But, there are other times when I am going for something more classic, like ravioli. Or in this case, raviolini. Raviolis were my childhood favorite and I still absolutely love them. But, I don’t actually eat them that often. I like to have them once and a while to keep the memory special.

The raviolini I used in this recipe are made by La Piana which makes fantastic pastas (for the times that I’m too tired to make homemade!) These are Squash Raviolini. I made them in a simple brown butter sauce with sage and to add a little extra kick…wait for it….some crispy prosciutto. That’s right…crispy prosciutto. Here’s the funny thing…whenever I have prosciutto around, there is always one or two slices left and I’m never sure what to do with it. It’s like a cookie, you can’t eat just one!! So, I hate to just eat it as is, because then I’ll be sad that I have no more. What I like to do is find a way to incorporate it into a dish that stretches it. I fry it and crumble it in little pieces over the pasta.

You can use any type of pasta you want with this brown butter sauce and crispy prosciutto, but I love the combination of the slightly sweet, earthy flavor from the squash, the silky brown butter sauce and the smoky, crunchy prosciutto. It’s an amazing blend of flavors. Perfetto!

Squash Raviolini with Brown Butter and Crispy Prosciutto

The Pasta:

1 box of La Piana Butternut Squash Raviolini (or any type of pasta you like!)

Start by preparing a deep pot with water salt over high heat and cover the pot. While it is boiling, prepare the prosciutto and sauce…

The Prosciutto:

4 slices of prosciutto

1 tbsp. olive oil

Prepare a medium size pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and let it get hot. Add the prosciutto to the pan. Let it heat on one side for around 2-4 minutes and flip it and allow to cook for another 2-4 minutes. Take it out of the pan and let it sit. When it sites for a few minutes, it will really dry and crisp beautifully. In the same pan, you can now prepare the sauce…

The Sauce:

½ stick of butter

Sage (I find I only need a few small pieces since sage is strong)

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

Add the butter, sage, salt and pepper to the pan over medium heat and allow the butter to brown slightly.

By now, the pasta water should be boiling, so you can add the ravioli. Cook until al dente, around 5 minutes. The will soften a little in the sauce. Strain the pasta and add to the brown butter sauce. Now, using your hands, crumble the prosciutto over the pasta and very lightly toss. Buon Appetito!!

Chef Chat: Gina Rotundo, co-owner of Alloro in NYC

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 14:20:00 +0000

I've lived in New York City my whole life. There's an Italian restaurant every three blocks. Pasta. Chicken Parmigiana. Red and white checkered table cloths. Maybe a wine bottle on the table for decoration. Standard fare. What's so hard to find these days is an authentic Italian restaurant and even more than that, an authentic Italian restaurant adding their own unique twist. And that's exactly what Alloro has successfully been doing since they opened in June, 2008. I had the chance to sit down with the lovely Gina Rotundo, co-owner of Alloro (along with Chef Salvarote Corea, her husband) and talk about the restaurant.

Owning a restaurant is a full time job. On top of that, your husband is the head chef and you have kids. How do you manage?

I am a woman. I will say unequivocally, my family comes first. Women typically define themselves first through their family and secondly through their work and I am typical. Salvatore and I are full on partners, so he and I support each other both here at Alloro and at home. Also, Alloro is a chef’s restaurant; guests are here for the food.

When we first opened, our regulars were happy to see both of us. But, my children were younger then and didn’t need me as much as they do now. When I do work here at the restaurant, it is at night. That means I am still with our girls all day. I’ve always chosen, and will always choose a lifestyle that allows me to be a stay at home mom. My first job is Stay at Home Mother, and then Alloro is what I do to earn an income.

Homemade Fettuccine in white veal sauce
Courtesy of Michael Radassao Photography

I oversee the marketing of Alloro, the organizing of events, and the booking of private parties. I can do all of this from home while the girls sleep. That’s how I create the balance; it’s not too bad. The restaurant business involves a lot of hours, but I’d say Salvatore feels the brunt of the restaurant hours.

Living close is also helpful. When Salvatore worked downtown, he wasn’t around for the kids as much, but now he comes home in the afternoon, he’s there in the morning to see them off to school, he comes home between lunch and dinners. He does all of his prep early in the morning when the kids are in school, then he comes home in the afternoon when they get home. So, we’ve figured out a way to carve that normalcy of a family life.

We’ve dedicated every Sunday to “Family Day” so 99% of the time we don’t work. Of course, tomorrow’s Easter so that’s an exception. However, we first come here and eat with our family. The kids really like being the owners of this restaurant. They like tasting all of the new food. They are our internal litmus test. If they like something, we know it’s going to sell. My oldest daughter Giada is never wrong about something! If she says that something is mediocre, it’s not going to be our biggest seller. She and her sister both have sophisticated palates.

There are hundreds of Italian restaurants in NYC. What do you hope makes Alloro stand out from the others?

Firstly, Alloro is a family run business. We set out to make it different in a few ways – It is family-run, small and creative. Salvatore puts a spin on classic Italian dishes. Our idea, especially in this neighborhood, with lots of Italian restaurants, is that our menu is completely different from anybody else’s menu. Alloro is a destination place.

Salvatore also doesn’t cut any corners in the kitchen. He uses high quality olive oil, tomatoes, balsamic – you name it. All of the pasta is homemade; all of the ingredients are fresh. We get deliveries on a daily basis, hope to run out by the end of the night and get it fresh the next day.

With the menu design, he tries to achieve portions that are appropriate so that you can eat 3 or 4 courses and not feel like someone has to roll you home, which is often the way you feel after eating Italian.

Chef Salvatore and his crew
Courtesy of Michael Radassao Photography

Food can transport me to another time and make me remember something wonderful. I am always talking about my Nonna's fried cauliflower and what beautiful memories I have of her making it for me. What are some of your favorite food memories?

Growing up in an Italian-American family of immigrants, always meant Sundays were about food and about getting around the table, so that stands out as a memory especially because I see it disappearing and that saddens me. I always make a point of sitting down with my kids and we all eat the same food. A lot of the moms I know are always on a diet, so they're feeding their kids something delicious and healthy and they're not eating anything and not setting an example themselves, which is kind of weird and hypocritical at best, so I don't do that. I always make sure we're always eating together and enjoying the same food.

I guess my first memories would be my great grandmother's house. She always wore her hair in a bun, I remember the first time I saw her really, really long hair. It was almost to the floor, but it had always been in a bun. She spent so much time cooking, I saw the same thing in my mother, my grandparent's...grandmothers, because the men didn't cook at the time. But an interesting thing happened when I reached the age that my mother thought I should start learning to cook; I couldn't get out of the house fast enough! I wanted no part of it. It seemed like an enslavement to me. I've always enjoyed cooking from the other side, from the receiving end. I don't like cooking; I don't interfere with Salvatore's kitchen; I go nowhere near it. When I prepare meals for my kids, that's what it is- a simple preparation of food, nothing more.

Another fond food memory....my roommate in Rome was trying to set me up on a date with Salvatore. I said "No more Italian guys, they're all mamas' boys." She said, "But this guy lives by himself, he cooks, he's a chef and it's amazing." And I said "Well then, maybe he's gay." She convinced me he wasn't gay but was an exception to the rule and that I should at least give it a shot. I agreed. The first time she took me to the place he was cooking, he made me straccetti with arugula and parmigiana, which us a very straightforward dish, but it was perfect! The balance of flavors...everything...it was the best I'd ever eaten. And he gave me an enormous portion because he's from the south and you pour out your love with food and the bigger the portion, the bigger the love.

Then, meeting his family was all about food, because we went down south to meet his family whom welcomed us with a huge lunch. I had never in my life eaten spicy food, ever. I was raised to behave in someone else's house. This meant you eat what's put in front of you, you eat it all and give lots of compliments. Well...I thought I was going to die, it was so spicy! I finished my plate and his mother said "una bouna fochetta"- she's got a good appetite!! And she gave me a whole other portion and I thought I would die again, but I've loved spicy food ever since. It was a blessing in disguise, because she got me turned onto the spice and the food of southern Italy, Calabria in particular, which is where Salvatore is from. And, just seeing that passion-they harvest their own grapes and olives and tomatoes; they make all of their own stuff. All of my food experiences are fantastic, from the receiving end.

For someone coming to Alloro for the first time, what would you recommend they order?

Lamb, herb cous cous, laurel reduction
Photo by Michael Radassao

One of the things that stays on every single menu is Salvatore’s eggplant…it’s fantastic. It’s simple, it’s his mothers red sauce recipe, it is the best eggplant parmigiana you will ever eat and that’s just a classic dish. So, that’s my first recommendation if you’ve never been here before. The other thing I recommend is to not skip the pastas. Pasta is his forte - the boy can cook pasta! They’re all homemade, and the recipes are just incredible. A nice bottle of wine…his food has to be paired with wine. I would say, look at the menu, the way it’s set up and realize it lends itself to eating Italian style. Start with a glass of prosecco, get an appetizer, his soups are also amazing. He has a different one on each menu. You get an appetizer, a half order of pasta, an entrée and then save room for dessert, this way you taste a little bit of everything. That’s always my recommendation – eat like an Italian!

People think of Italian food as just “Italian food”, not realizing that there are many different regions and regional specialties. Is your menu a combination or do you try to showcase a specific region?

That’s a good question. My husband was telling me that somebody recently said people don’t realize the wealth that there is in Italy in terms of ingredients.

We don’t highlight a particular region; he’s basically all over the map. People will ask if it’s more northern or southern, they don’t know. But we don’t do the regional thing. He takes his inspiration from all over and he likes to celebrate the richness that Italy has to offer. It’s not just tomatoes. It’s not just pasta. It’s everything. And you see that in his menus.

Are any of the recipes from your restaurant family recipes? And if so, who are they from?

Summer Panna Cotta
Photo by Michael Radassao

Like any good Italian boy, when people ask him who his first teacher was, he will tell you of course it was his mother. So a lot of the recipes come from or at least have been inspired by his mother’s cooking, especially the eggplant. The red sauce he makes is identical. It’s always the basic stuff, the staples and the staple of any kitchen is a good red sauce. My kids eat it with a spoon, like soup.

What do you want your guests to take away from dining at Alloro?

We set out to open a place that was an extension of our home, so we want them to feel like they’ve come to a great dinner party, like, we went to Gina and Sal’s and it was fantastic and that they had a culinary experience. We want them to enjoy something that they couldn’t necessarily replicate themselves. I say to people all the time, every Italian restaurant you go to, you get the same exact food and it’s stuff you can make at home, really what’s the sense? It’s like going to a movie theatre and they pop up a big screen TV, you paid for the movie, right? You paid for the big screen. And here, we expect that people pay for the experience. It’s not just a meal, it’s an experience.

Be sure to stop by Alloro and say ciao on facebook! And if you like the beautiful pictures you've seen here, you can contact Michael Radassao.

Mocha Fudge Brownie Pie in a Whole Wheat Crust

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 13:28:00 +0000

Who doesn’t love pie? No one raised their hands, right?!?! I didn’t think so! The other night, I really wanted a piece of pie. But…I also really wanted a brownie. What to do? Well..Brownie Pie of course!! But not just any brownie pie, I’m talking about my Mocha Fudge Brownie Pie in a Homemade Whole Wheat Crust. I know it seems funny to make the crust whole wheat given that I’m making a very intense brownie filling, but as I’ve said in the past, I try to make healthy alternatives where I can, so every little bit counts.

This brownie filling is insane…it’s fudgy, rich, chocolaty and incredible. If you bake it the right way, the inside is creamy, like a baked pudding and the top is set, just the way I like it. You can easily make the same crust using all purpose flour; it’s a very basic crust, it’s not sweet, but trust me, you don’t want it to be because the filling is sweet enough!! I also make the crust using my Vitamix, but you can certainly use another food processor or pastry blender. The crunch from the crust is a great contrast to the creaminess of the brownie. If you love chocolate and you love pie, this is the dessert for you!! Enjoy!!

Mocha Fudge Brownie Pie in a Whole Wheat Crust

Whole Wheat Crust

1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour

¼ tsp. sea salt

1/3 cup butter

5 tbsp. cold water

Place flour, sea salt and butter in food processor. Blend until butter is cut throughout the flour and the mix almost looks like crumbs. Slowly add the water until the dough forms a ball. If it doesn’t form a ball, you may not to add a little more water, eyeball it. Roll out your dough on a floured surface. Place your pie pan or tin on top of the crust and carefully flip it over. If there is dough hanging off the sides of the pan, I like to fold it over and crimp it. Poke little holes in the crust with a fork, you don’t want the pie to puff. Bake in the oven on 350 degrees for ten minutes and then take it out of the oven. Let it set. You can now prepare the filling…

Mocha Fudge Brownie

6 tbsp. unsalted butter

4 ounces milk chocolate

4 ounces dark chocolate

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

3 eggs

1 cup of sugar

3 tbsp. espresso powder

½ tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup flour

¼ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter slowly in a bowl over simmering water. Add all of the chocolate and stir until all of the chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, espresso powder and vanilla until light and fluffy, around 3-5 minutes. Stir in the chocolate. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Fold the flour mix into the batter until combined. Pour in the pie shell and bake for 30-45 minutes depending on your oven. You will want to top to set, but it is okay if the inside is soft, you want it that way!!! Once the pie is done, take out of the oven and let it sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Slice and enjoy with a dollop of homemade whipped cream! Buon Appetito!!

Eggplant Parmigiana

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 01:44:00 +0000

Ahh, eggplant, the things you do to me. I love to cook with eggplant, it’s so versatile. I can just grill some with a drizzle of olive oil and pepper, puree it with some garlic, fry it, the possibilities are endless. Plus, I love to sneak some eggplant into meatballs or burger, it adds great texture and taste and saves some calories!! Now of course, there is the classic Italian dish…Eggplant Parmigiana. Not parmesan, PARMIGIANA!!!

I absolutely love eggplant parmigiana, it’s just….it’s so good, that is, only if it’s made well. I find that it is easy to make a bad eggplant parmigiana, it can be too salty and the eggplant can get so mushy, you don’t even have a clear sense of what you’re really eating. There has to be a perfect balance, not too mushy, not too crispy, not so much sauce that it’s drowning in it and not so much cheese that it’s overpowering. It’s all about balance. I find that my recipe is just right. If you like more cheese and sauce, by all means, add it!! You should make it the way you like it!! But, I promise you, if you try my version, you’ll never go back to the over-sauced, over-cheesed version!!

Eggplant Parmigiana

1 very large eggplant

1 cup of flour (you may need to eyeball it just to be safe)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 eggs, beaten

10 ounces tomato sauce (recipe below)

3 ounces mozzarella

3 ounces parmigiana

2 tbsp. olive oil

Tomato Sauce

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 cloves of chopped garlic

1 tbsp. onion powder

2 cups chopped tomato (I always use San Marzano)

Handful of fresh basil

For the tomato sauce:

Heat a small pot over medium heat and add 2 tbsp. olive oil, salt, pepper and chopped garlic. Allow the garlic to roast a little, around 6 minutes. Add the onion powder and mix. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for around 10 minutes. Add a handful of chopped basil and turn the heat to low and cook for another 25 minutes. In the meantime, you can begin the eggplant preparation…

For the eggplant:

Prepare a deep pan with 4 tbsp. olive oil and put over medium heat. Clean the eggplant and cut into very thin slices. Add flour to a flat, shallow bowl and add salt and pepper. Dip the slices in a little flour and then the beaten eggs. Fry in the hot oil for around 3 minutes each side; be careful that they don’t burn. When they look done, drain and dry on a wire rack. Finish frying all of the eggplant.

Get out a casserole or lasagna dish and pour a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish. Then, add a layer of eggplant slices. Sprinkle a little parmigiana on top, pour a little more sauce, a little parmgiana and another layer of eggplant, and continue in this order until you’re finished with all of the ingredients, but the layer has to be of the eggplant!! Top the final layer with tomato sauce, a sprinkle of parmigiana and the mozzarella. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until the top has become a beautiful golden brown. When it appears to be done, take it out and let it cool and set for at least 20 minutes. Slice and serve immediately! Buon Appetito!!

Mushroom Ragu

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 15:40:00 +0000

Ciao a tutti!! I love a really hearty ragu. Something rich, intense and meaty. But sometimes, I don’t actually feel like eating meat. I know, shocking right? It’s true. The fact is, I used to be a vegetarian and even though I do eat meat now (and I absolutely love it!) I don’t eat it that often. I probably have it a couple of times a week. This Mushroom Ragu is so amazing; you will not even miss the meat. I promise. In fact, I first made this sauce for my family and my brother (a big meat fan) said he couldn’t believe how incredible the sauce was. He didn’t need the meat! The mushrooms get nice and tender and all of the herbs add a wonderful depth of flavor, trust me. You will fall in love with this ragu. I served it over fresh tortellini, but of course you can serve it over whatever pasta you want, you could also serve it over polenta for something a little different.

Mushroom Ragu

2 ½ pounds fresh mixed mushrooms

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 sprig fresh sage

¼ cup olive oil

4 tbsp. butter

2 cups of shallots, finely chopped

½ tsp. salt

1/3 cup tomato paste

1 cup dry Marsala

Black pepper

4 cups vegetable broth

Put the oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the butter melts, add the shallots and ¼ tsp. salt, stir well. Cook until they’re shiny and wilted, but don’t let them brown!

Pour all of the mushrooms into the pan and toss them. Sprinkle another ¼ tsp. salt, drop in all of the herbs, raise the heat a little and cover the pan. Cook covered for about 3 minutes.

Uncover and continue to cook over faily high heat, stirring for around 5 minutes. When the pan is dry and the mushrooms begin to brown, drop in the tomato paste and mix it in with the mushrooms.

When everythign is sizzling, pour the Marsala all over. Stir as the wine thickens and evaporates. Pour in 4 cups of vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cover the pan. Cook for about 20 minutes, occassionally stirring and adding stock to keep the mushrooms covered in liquid.

Uncover the pan and cook for another 20 minutes and adding stock as needed. When the mushrooms and tender and sauce is relatively thick, take the herbs out. Serve over some nice fresh pasta. Buon Appetito!!

Chocolate Cake with Espresso Glaze

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:38:00 +0000

Sometimes life just calls for a big slice of rich and fudgy chocolate cake..right? We’ll the other day I got a real craving for it; I mean…I got it bad. So, what to do? Well, make some cake of course!

This is a simple and classic chocolate cake. The secret is that it is made with sour cream to keep it nice and moist and instead of making it with boiling water; I make mine with brewed espresso which adds a real depth of flavor. The cake is then topped with an espresso glaze. I mean, chocolate and espresso, does it get any better than that? Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (plus 1 teaspoon melted)

1 cup plus 1 tsp. cake flour

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

½ tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup of brewed espresso

½ cup sour cream

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Heat 2 ounces of chocolate in the microwave on 30 second intervals, until smooth and melted.

Lightly coat a 9 by 1 ½ inch cake pan with the 1 teaspoon melted butter and flour with 1 tsp. cake flour. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a sifter. Sift into a bowl and set aside.

Combine the brown sugar and butter in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low for 2 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on high for another 2 minutes. Add your eggs, one at a time and beat for two minutes. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla. Beat for 30 seconds.

Slowly add the flour and sour cream into the chocolate/egg mix. Mix for 30 seconds and add the brewed espresso. Mix for another 30 seconds or until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes. Allow it to cool for at least an hour before adding the espresso glaze….

Espresso Glaze

½ cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp. cocoa powder

1 tbsp. espresso powder

4 tsp. hot water

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Stir together the powdered sugar and cocoa in a small bowl. Dissolve the espresso powder in hot water, add to the sugar mix and stir until blended. Pour over the entire cake once it has cooled. It should flow over the entire cake, but feel free to use a spatula to spread it over the cake and allow it to drip a little over the sides. Enjoy!

Capogiro Gelato: Chef Chat with owner Stephanie Reitano

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:35:00 +0000

Cioccolata Scurro and Burnt Sugar

Ciao a tutti!! I think I have made my love for gelato pretty clear, so when I first heard about Capogiro Gelato in Philadelphia, I knew I had to get there someday and lucky for me, this past week I got there!! Not only did I get to have the best gelato I’ve had since Italy, I also had the chance to interview Stephanie Reitano (co owner, along with her husband John Reitano)

The lovely Stephanie Reitano

I have to tell you…this was real deal gelato. Smooth, creamy, rich, velvety and pure. One of the signs to tell if gelato (or ice cream for that matter) is better quality is how quickly it melts. When it melts quickly, that means it is made with a lot of air. I had my gelato each time for a good 25 minutes and there was no sign of melting.

I was in Philadelphia for a week, so I took the opportunity to try as many flavors as possible. One of the things that will strike you about Capogiro are the unusual flavors that they offer, like Cranberry and Heirloom Apple, Thai Coconut Milk, Chestnut and so much more.

One day I went with a double scoop of Cioccolata Scuro. The Cioccolata Scurro tasted exactly like a flavor I had in Ischia that I have been on the lookout for, but alas, no one in the states seemed to offer a flavor like this….until Capogiro. It’s an intense, deep, chocolate gelato. It’s practically black. It was incredible. Over the next few days I also tried the Burnt Sugar, Pecan, Cashew, Sea Salt, Pistachio Siciliano and Cappuccino Stracciatella. All of these flavors were exceptional, I mean it. One of my favorite flavors is Pistachio but a big pet peeve of mine is that half the time pistachio flavors are made with almond extract, not the one at Capogiro. This gelato is made with the best pistachios for Sicily and you can taste it. So please….take a look at my interview with the lovely Stephanie Reitano and get to Capogiro as quickly as possible to experience bliss!

What inspired you to start Capogiro?

Cashew and Sea Salt

In September 2001, John and I went to Italy, our first vacation minus our three children. Needless to say, we were dizzy with possibilities due o all this sudden free time. After landing in Rome, we immediately hopped a train to Naples, then a boat to the island of Capri. While on our way to the hotel, we crossed La Pizzetta, the square at the heart of Capri and stumbled upon Buonocuore, a little gelato shop with a walk up window. In a warm handrolled cone made to order, I chose nocciola (hazelnut) and gianduia (chocolate hazelnut). In a way, that very cone led us to the next part of our marriage. Right then and there, John and I began our business by wondering why we could not find this flavor and this quality in the USA. After all, Cappuccino is here, so why not gelato? Creating that possibility became our mission.

Did you have a favorite gelato flavor as a child and has it since changed?

Gelato was not around when I was a child. My favorite ice cream flavor was Toasted Almond from a place called Hoffmann's. I have not changed much, as nut flavors are my favorite. Nocciola, Bacio and Pistacchio are my favorite gelato flours. I love sour sorbetto flavors.

What makes your gelato stand out from the rest?

Our ingredients. I am not a professionally trained chef, so when I started making gelato I used the same attention to quality ingredients as though I were cooking for my children. We are lucky to live in Philadelphia with access to some of the country's finest growing land. Not only is the soil fertile, the traditions are rich with much of the farming done by Amish and Mennonite families who have worked the same way for generations. Certified organic will never beat traditional organic when farmers livelihoods are a result of the way they choose to live. We use milk from a closed herd of grass-fed Scottish Ayrshire cows located 50 minutes outside of Philadelphia. Adhering to the rules of "artigianale", as defined by Italians, dictates that everything must be made in-house, the base as well as flavorings. There are no allowable shortcuts. If you want almond gelato, you have to roast and grind quality almonds to create the paste necessary for flavoring. Nor can anything be outsourced. Even if it is a Capogiro recipe, it sill must be made with Capogiro hands to qualify.

Any favorite or special memories that involve gelato?

My first gelato in Capri.

What are some of your more unique flavors and where do you get the inspiration for them?

I get inspiration from traveling, my kids, farmers, specialty cocktails...everywhere. Unique flavors are Rosemary Goat's Milk, Honey Cumin, Lime Cilantro, Mangosteen, Mamey Sapote, Salted Bitter Almond....

Pistachio Siciliano and Cappuccino Stracciatella

Where did you learn to make gelato?

I trained in Italy, with Italians here in the states, and with a French pastry chef.

After going to Capogiro a few days in a row and seeing that you offer different flavors everyday, how do you decide which flavors to serve daily?

We make certain flavors every day at every cafe. Pistacchio, Nocciola, Thai Coconut Milk, Scuro, Fior di Latte..etc. These are our core flavors that must be made and are available year round. Everything else depends on what is available seasonally and how ripe it happens to be. Additionally, certain stores have favorites. Our employees drink the Capo Kool Aid, so if they request chocolate peanut butter (a staff fave), the kitchen obliges. This applies to certain regulars. We like to keep our peeps happy.

Any plans to open a Capogiro in the New York City area?

We would love to open in the New York City area. We ship a lot of gelato to NYC and we got a ton of compliments from that geographic area, as well as requests to open. It is definitely on our radar once we open up out of our current market.

Valentine's Day with Death by Nutella Cake

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 02:18:00 +0000

Buongiorno a tutti!! Happy Valentine’s Day. Whether you’re spending today with your boyfriend, spouse or just a group of friends, I have the perfect treat to share. It involves nutella and chocolate. Do I have your attention now? I thought so. I am making my Death by Nutella Cake for tonight’s festivities (and no, I’m not telling you what they are!!). This cake is incredible. I made it the first time a few weeks ago and brought it to some friends who went nuts over it!

This is a layer cake made with a nutella brownie, nutella mousse, nutella glaze, melted chocolate and roasted hazelnuts. It’s insane. If you aren’t in love, you will be!! And if you’re looking to seal the deal with some tonight, I think this cake will do the trick. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be around you more if you keep baking cakes like this!?!? This cake is a lot of steps, but believe me…it is 100% worth it. Enjoy!!

DEATH BY NUTELLA CAKE

Nutella Brownie

1 stick unsalted butter

½ cup cocoa powder

¾ cup sugar

½ cup nutella

3 ounces melted chocolate

2 eggs

½ cup flour

½ tsp. salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter a round cake pan (9 by 1 ½ inch pan) and set to the side.

When it is done, take it out of the oven and allow to cool for at least two hours. In the meantime, prepare the nutella mousse….

Nutella Mousse

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. espresso powder

1 tsp. hazelnut extract

½ cup nutella

Nutella Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ cup nutella

3 tbsp. milk

Add powdered sugar, nutella and milk to a medium size bowl. Whisk together until smooth.

Chocolate Drizzle

3 ounces of 70% chocolate

Prepare a double boiler filled with an inch of water and melt chocolate slowly until smooth. Set aside.

Toasted Hazelnuts

½ cup of blanched and toasted hazelnuts

After blanching and toasting the hazelnuts, roughly chop them and set aside.

Assembling the Cake

Step 1- First start off with the cooled nutella brownie. Using a serrated knife carefully cut the brownie into two layers. Set one layer aside, leaving the other bottom layer where you will fully prepare and present it when it is done.

Step 2- Take the nutella mousse out of the refrigerator and spoon onto the bottom brownie layer. It should flow over the whole cake. Using a spatula spread over the brownie, leaving an inch or so of the edges of the brownie bare (when you put the final brownie layer on top, it will naturally push some of the mousse further.)

Step 3- Drizzle 1 ounce of the melted chocolate over the mousse layer.

Step 4- Carefully put the top brownie layer over the mousse layer. Drizzle the rest of the melted chocolate over the top layer. Pour the glaze over the top brownie layer and spread evenly. Let is drip over the sides of the cake.

Step 5- Last but not least, sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts over the top of the cake. Buon Appetito!!

Valentine's Day Eve: Breakfast in Bed, Ricotta Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 14:42:00 +0000

Well, it’s Valentine’s Day Eve and you’ll need something to prepare for breakfast in bed, right? Look no further…Ricotta Pancakes!! These ricotta pancakes are moist, light, fluffy and delicious. Imagine the most amazing Italian cheesecake in pancake form…this is what you’ll get. Serve with a pat of butter, a little maple syrup and a cappuccino and you’re sure to start Valentine’s Day right!!

Ricotta Pancakes

2 large eggs, separated

½ cup flour (for a paleo version, use almond flour)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tbsp. buttermilk powder

½ tsp. salt

1 cup ricotta

2 tbsp. brown sugar

½ tsp. vanilla

Start off my beating your egg whites until there are stiff, but not dry. In a serperate bowl, whisk your flour, baking powder, buttermilk powder and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolk, ricotta, brown sugar and vanilla. You will want to whisk for a few minutes so everything is smooth and creamy. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Next, very gently fold in the egg whites. Do so carefully!!

Prepare a griddle over medium heat with 2 tbsp. of butter. Spoon the mixture out into whatever size you like. The batter is pretty dense, do not be alarmed! It is not a loose batter. Cook on each side for at least 2-4 minutes. I like my pancakes pretty golden. Serve and enjoy your Valentine’s Day morning. Come back tomorrow for your Valentine’s Day evening treat…Death by Nutella Cake! Buon Appetito! Xoxo

Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Parmigiana and Hazelnuts

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 06:57:00 +0000

Ciao a tutti!! Okay, so I know I may be alone here, but I LOVE Brussels sprouts. I mean, I really love them. I have a dear family friend to thank for that. A few years back we went to her house for Thanksgiving and one of the sides she served was sprouts with garlic. My first thought was “Brussels sprouts? For Thanksgiving? Uhhh.” But, I am never one to be rude and insult someones effort in the kitchen, so I gave them a try. Wow. She made them so crispy and delicious, I was shocked. Since then, I've been hooked and I look for anyway to have some fun with them.

Now, if you were like me and thought you hated Brussels sprouts, that’s probably because you've had plain steamed or boiled ones. I promise you that this recipe will definitely change your mind. I shave my sprouts using a mandoline so they get really browned and crispy. It is more time consuming, but it is worth it. I also fry them in bacon fat. I know, I know, not the healthiest thing, but hey, why not?!? I also add hazelnuts, parmigiana and bacon. Yes, bacon. I mean, crispy Brussels sprouts, hazelnuts, parmigiana and bacon. Who wouldn't love that? So, please give them I try. You won’t regret it.

Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Parmigiana and Hazelnuts

1 pound of bacon (I like applewood smoked, but you pick whatever you prefer)

1 clove of garlic

1 pound of Brussels sprouts

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. black pepper

½ cup of roasted hazelnuts

½ cup of grated parmigiana (good quality!!)

Start off by cooking your bacon in a large pan over medium heat. Let it cook long enough to get really, really crispy, for around 15-20 minutes. Take the bacon out of the pan and put on a paper towel to soak up any of the excess oil. Allow to dry. You will be using the same pan you cooked your bacon in to prepare the sprouts.

Mince your one clove of garlic and add to the pan, allow to roast slightly.

Trim all of the sprouts, removing any bruised leaves and cutting off some of the hard root end. Using a mandoline, shave your Brussels sprouts one at a time. Add the sprouts to the pan, along with salt and pepper. Toss the sprouts and make sure they are completely coated in the bacon fat. Cook for 30-45 minutes depending on how crispy you like it. I like my Brussels sprouts VERY crispy. When they are done cooking, move them to a bowl.

Chop your bacon in 1 inch pieces and add to the spouts. Add ½ cup of roasted hazelnuts and ½ cup of grated parmigiana and toss. Buon Appetito!!

The Dark Side of Nutella - Nutella Zeppoles

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 05:13:00 +0000

It happened again. I woke up this morning, my hair a mess, half off the bed, memory blurred and my hand clutching a spoon like it was a teddy bear. What happened? What had I done? And then it all hit me. The familiar scent of hazelnut, the rich taste of chocolate in my mouth, the sticky fingers. I hit the nutella….again. Real bad too. How could I keep doing this? It was so unlike me. There was just something about the way nutella smelled and tasted, the smooth and creamy texture, all the versatility, the things I could do with it.

Never mind that now, I had to figure out exactly what got me here. I looked to the right side of the bed and saw a few half opened jars of the stuff, to the left there was a plate full of crumbs. Crumbs. Okay, I didn’t just eat out of the jar then. They texture of the crumbs didn’t make sense. They weren’t brownies or cookies, they were too crispy for that. I needed to investigate further. I got up and walked into the kitchen searching for more clues. A large mixing bowl sat on the counter, whisk still in it next to a used container of ricotta. A frying pan with a fresh layer of oil on the stove. Frying pan? Ricotta cheese? I clearly wasn’t making cheesecake, so what could I have possibly done with a frying pan, ricotta and nutella? Oh no. I remembered. It all came back to me. I made my great aunt Carmella’s Nutella Ricotta Zeppoles. But how? My mother kept the secret recipe hidden, I didn’t even know where it was. I checked my phone, seeing that I had called her four times last night, she must have spilled. Obviously, what else could explain the zeppoles? I certainly didn’t know how to make them. Only my mother held the key.

I went back to the bedroom searching desperately for more clues and there it was. Placed neatly on my desk. The recipe. The recipe for the most amazing, crispy and crunchy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside, Nutella Ricotta Zeppoles. Glancing over the recipe, it wasn’t hard to see why I had ended up like this.

Nutella Ricotta Zepploes

1 ½ pounds ricotta

½ cup of nutella

2 cups of flour

¼ tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. sugar

4 eggs

1 cup of neutral oil for frying

First, mix together your ricotta and nutella. Then add your eggs. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the nutella ricotta mix. Let the batter sit for around 20 minutes.

Prepare a deep pot for frying over high heat and add your oil. Drop batter by large tablespoons into the oil. Each zeppole should take roughly 4-6 minutes to fry, so please stand by and watch them. They should also float to the top!! Don’t get nervous if when they are done frying they look dark, the nutella makes the batter a mocha color! When they are done, take them out and put on a wire rack so any excess oil drips off. I like to serve these the traditional way with a light dusting on powdered sugar! Boun Appetito!!

For more intense Nutella cravings and recipes, be sure to take a look at Ms. Adventures in Italy, Bleeding Espresso and World Nutella Day!!

Insalata Caprese

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 14:33:00 +0000

Ciao a tutti!! When I’m in Italy, something that I really look forward to eating is a beautiful, fresh Insalata Caprese. It’s just a perfect meal. Milky and creamy mozzarella, plump, juicy tomatoes and sweet fragrant basil with a drizzle of beautiful olive oil and sprinkle of salt.

I certainly eat Insalata Caprese in America, but……they’re just not the same. The big thing for me…the tomatoes. Tomatoes in Italy are just amazing. The oil, air, water and sun in Italy all contribute to the extraordinary quality and taste of the tomatoes. When I was first in Ischia the summer of 2011, we brought some tomatoes at the local market, took them home and cut them in half and ate them with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Bliss. We had never had such good tomatoes. Honestly, they just taste different then what we have back home.

So..one day while wandering around Rome, literally, just wandering and seeing what we found, we weren’t looking for anything specific, just taking in all of the beauty, we came across a little trattoria and decided to give it a try. I ordered the Insalata Caprese and did not regret it. Another key to making a fantastic insalata is getting REAL mozzarella. Not the kind packaged in the supermarket. You need to find a place that sells fresh, milky mozzarella.

I know this may sound like the most, simple, easiest recipe ever and it is…but that’s one of the reasons I love it so much. You’ll be amazed at how something so simple, can taste so incredible. Buon Appetito!!

Insalata Caprese

3 vine ripe tomatoes (cut into ¼ inch thick slices)

1 pound fresh mozzarella (cut into ¼ inch thick slices)

1 bunch fresh basil

Extra virgin olive oil (to drizzle)

Salt and Pepper

Layer alternating slices of tomatoes and mozzarella, adding some basil between. Drizzle the top of the salad with the olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper (quanto basta!). Enjoy!!

"Breakfast in Bed: The Valentine's Day Edition...so the second you wake up, you know your sweetheart remembered!!"

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:47:00 +0000

Okay guys...I want you to decide what I'll be making for "Breakfast in Bed: The Valentine's Day Edition...so the second you wake up, you know your sweetheart remembered!!" Head over to my La Cucina Prima Donna Facebook page and cast your vote today!! It's between Tiramisu Pancakes and Cannoli Pancakes...who will win in this epic battle? You decide. The poll will be pinned to the top of the page!! May the best pancake win!!

Cappuccino

noreply@blogger.com (carolina chirichella) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 01:19:00 +0000

Ciao a tutti!! My Cioccolata Calda post was such a success, I figured we were due for another delicious Italian drink! So, what better than a cappuccino? Cappuccino is an Italian coffee prepared with espresso, hot milk and steamed milk foam. Mmmmmm….foam. If you’re feeling adventurous you can add a sprinkle of cinnamon or cocoa, like I often do!

In Italy, Cappuccino is traditionally consumed early in the day as part of breakfast. So, if you are traveling to Italy and you don’t want to stand out as an obvious tourist, drink your cappuccino before noon!! You’ve been warned.

I loved starting my mornings with a nice, hot and foamy cappuccino. Our hotel prepared fresh cappuccinos to order which was a real treat; I really looked forward to them. Now that I’m home, I prepare cappuccinos as well. It’s not the same as drinking them in Italy, but until I return at the end of the year, it will just have to do! I've prepared two versions for you. Neither is prepared with a cappuccino machine, because while I have a cappuccino machine, I understand that most people don’t because they’re not as food obsessed!! One is traditional cappuccino and one is a paleo cappuccino. Buon Appetito!!

Traditional Cappuccino

1 cup of milk

1 tsp. sugar

1 ½ cups of strong brewed Italian coffee (I like illy)

Add milk and sugar to a microwave safe mug and heat slowly until nice and hot. Take it out of the microwave and using an electric whisk, whisk until it is frothy.

Pour heated coffee into a separate mug and top with the foamy milk.

Paleo Cappuccino

1 cup of almond milk

1 ½ cups of strong brewed Italian coffee (I like illy)

Cinnamon

Add milk to a microwave safe mug and heat slowly until nice and hot. Take it out of the microwave and using an electric whisk, whisk until it is frothy.

Pour heated coffee into a separate mug and top with the foamy milk. Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon if you like!!