Our Favorite Family Recipes
T’s Homemade Cannoli – Cannoli look complicated but the truth is they’re one of easiest dolce (sweet treats) to make especially if you use a good quality store-bought cannoli shell.
T’s Pasta Primavera – This impressive, colorful and healthy dish is simple and easy and can be made for a crowd.
Rosie’s Famous Olive Salad – A recipe handed onto me from my Italian Mom, Rosie, who received it from another wonderful Italian Mama, my father’s mother Paolina.
Teresa’s Meatball Recipe – Flavorful meatballs using beef, pork and veal, create an amazingly delicious dish to serve with spaghetti, on sandwiches, or featured by themselves!
Mama Mary’s Italian Stuffing – This is my mother-in-law Mary’s stuffing, oozing with two cheeses and Italian sausage. A holiday favorite for everyone in our family.
T’s Tomato (Marinara) Sauce – What I love about pasta sauces in Italy is the freshness & simplicity. This is our sauce recipe, combining all the best of our family history & experience.
Frittata – A frittata is basically an Italian deep dish omelet or egg pie cooked on the stove top, often finished under the broiler to help complete the cooking and obtain a nice bubbly topping with lots of melted cheese.
The Amazing Food Of Italy
Spaghetti Vongole (Spaghetti with Clams) – A great dish to make any time of year, but especially for a New Year because it is so festive, quick, and easy to make!
Joan Lewis’ Limoncello – My good friend, EWTN’s Rome Bureau Chief Joan Lewis, has an amazing recipe for homemade Limoncello! She has a couple of secret tips in her video to make it the best ever!
Zeppole of San Guiseppe – Zeppole, is a fried dough pastry that can be sweet or savory. The sweeter kind are a staple treat for Father’s Day, celebrated on March 19th, the feast of St. Joseph. They’re filled with a rich custard and topped with fruit
Polenta – It’s great to see Italian staples such as polenta appearing on the menus of the restaurants in Italy and across the U.S. It’s reputation has certainly come a long way. Polenta is porridge-like food made with fine cornmeal. It has been a staple food in Italy for centuries.
Calamari – Keep summer in your mind all year long with one of Italy’s favorite foods from the sea. And it is super easy to prepare at home, with common kitchen ingredients and frozen, prepared calamari!
Spumoni – This classic Italian dessert is usually made with gelato in Italy, but ice cream in the U.S. Learn more about Spumoni and how to make it. Click here.
Fettuccine Alfredo – Only Italians could rustle up so much controversy about food especially when it comes to the origins of well-known pasta dishes. And that is certainly the case with Fettuccine Alfredo. Learn more about it’s origins, Click Here.
Dolcetto Grape – The Dolcetto grape, grown in the northwest of Italy for wine, is less well-known but just as delicious.
Alba White Truffle – Tartufo Bianco, are some of the most expensive truffles in the world.
Everything You Need to Know About Balsamic Vinegar – SeriousEats. The surprising history, and all the details, of Balsamic Vinegar. Who knew there were so many kinds!
Olive Trees and Olive Oil have a deep history. Traced back to 12,000 BC, olive trees and their products have always been considered special. They were used as food for Egyptian pharaohs on their trip to the afterlife, wreaths were awarded to Ancient Greek Olympic winners and Roman winning generals, and olives were used for food, medicine, fuel, perfume, and cosmetics. Italy today produces nearly 470,000 tons of olive oil a year, second only to Spain, and grows over 3 million metric tons of olives annually. The most prominent olive growing area is the Apulia region (the heel of the boot) accounting for 45% of the total olive growing in Italy. And olives are mighty tasty too!
Recipes
Pizzoccheri: Italy’s debated buckwheat pasta recipe, Liz Shemaria, BBC.com – Meet Pizzoccheri, an amazing buckwheat dish! Made in Teglio, Italy about 80 miles northeast of Milan, not far from the border of Switzerland. Delicious and a source of pride to its makers. It is good to know Italy is offering a lot of specialty products and pastas catering to dietary needs, as well as being delicious.
Fava Bean, Asparagus, and Arugula Salad with Shaved Pecorino – Italy springtime is not only about the feasts for the eyes in terms of the fiori, but a feast for the stomach as well, in the fresh vegetables that abound, especially asparagus. In Rome, you’ll often find it in a delicious salad with beans, arugula or rocket as they say in Italy, and topped with pecorino. Simply fantastico. Here is a great recipe I found from Epicurious. Dolce Primavera, indeed. Godere!
Ribollita
– An amazing Tuscan bread soup you have to try. This easy to make soup includes crusty day-old Italian bread. With a glass of wine, you will leave the table very happy!
Aperol Spritz – One of the most popular mixed drinks in the world, the Aperol Spritz is my favorite and while I love drinking it in Italy, I love making it at home, which brings lovely memories of bella Italia! Here’s the official recipe.
10 Traditional and Authentic Italian Recipes — Passed Down Within my Family — (Cucina Povera) – ChristinasCucina.com. I grew up with a lot of these wonderful recipes that I’m sure your family, and your budget, will love too.
Limoncello – Giada de Laurentiis. This amazing liqueur is amazingly easy to make at home. It’s guaranteed to impress your friends and makes a fantastic gift.
Authentic Italian Sfogliatelle Recipe – Nonna Box. A delicious puff pastry, usually shaped like a shell, and containing a special custard or almond paste filling.
Photos: Teresa Tomeo, Pixabay/Harry Axalant, christinascucina.com, nonnabox.com, Wikimedia Commons, Shutterstock/OneInchPunch