Recipes, style ideas, and tips for living a beautiful life the Italian way. La Dolce Vita!
I can eat this satisfying and oh-so-simple dish any day of the week anytime of the year. And so we do. It helps that my boys crow for it, too. The creaminess of the beans highlights the subtle crunchiness of the sausage and shrimp, and the smoky paprika rounds out the savory party...
Read MoreAn authentic Florentine T-bone steak is cut from a Chianina cow and aged for about a week. Though Chianina beef is lean, it's prized for its rich flavor and balanced texture (perhaps due to the Chianina's grazing locale in Siena, Arezzo and environs). Since we do not breed pure Chianina cattle in the United States, purchase the best steak you can find. The meat should be 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick and weigh 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 pounds. Ask for a porterhouse steak as this is the larger of the T-bone steaks. It's essential that the steak is grilled over very high heat (charcoal is best) but a cast-iron grill pan works, too...
Read MoreI have a horror hangover. Fueled by the unnuanced vitriol of the Republican Convention to the killings in way too many places near and far, I wrestle with the weight of my heart, the stones in my soul, and the unanswered questions crushing my brain. All of which magnify the allure of the kitchen and cooking - and this risotto...
Read MoreCan food ignite memory? During the painfully infrequent visits to my dad (but that’s a story for another day), I contemplate him in his dementia-swathed solitude. I wonder what goes on in his brain. Is it a sunny place with clear visibility to the memories that enriched his life and that he is now keeping secret from us? Or is it a snowy landscape with flickering images that occupy his time to discern...
Read MoreGalavanting around the Cape, we pass all manner of farm stands. Some are simple; a lone gray wood stand at the bottom of a gravel driveway with an "honor jar" in which to place our coins and dollars. Others burst with local fruits and vegetables, and flowers, too. Black-Eyed Susans, Queen Anne's Lace, and the neon blue hydrangeas that the sandy Cape Cod soil nourish. Still others up the "eat local" ante with beach plum jam and...
Read MoreA bevy of red peppers can’t go unnoticed. At once loudly gorgeous and gratifyingly utilitarian, they beckon me to turn to them from the green lettuces and yellow squash I am admiring among the farmers market stalls. Red bell peppers. Dew-moistened in the cool morning and engorged by the brilliant mid-day sun. How can I – anyone – turn away? Red bell peppers...
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