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Growing up, my mom never made us eat Brussels sprouts. Back then, I knew all of my friends hated them: they were too green, they stank, they tasted bad. I bragged about the fact that I didn’t have to suffer them (although we did eat lots of broccoli), but secretly, I was kind of attracted to them. I loved their petite shape, their bright color, their little leaves that you peeled like petals, and the beautiful gradation from green to yellow their insides revealed. I always thought, they’re so cute, they must taste good, right? But then again, if everybody says they’re bad, why should I risk a taste?
So I spent over 30 years without eating Brussels sprouts. Shameful, isn’t it? It’s not that I didn’t see them once in a while at the market; they just remained these little green balls of mystery to me. But my curiosity and
Continue reading Brussels Sprout and Pancetta Pizza
 I’ve recently noticed that when I think back on my recent trip to Rome, of all the amazing food I enjoyed, it’s pizza I remember best. Well, maybe it shouldn’t come as such a surprise given the city’s pizza-making notoriety, but I didn’t expect it to be the dish that would stick to my mind. During our stay in Italy’s capital, E and I had pizza at many different trattorie, but the one pizza I remember best and still long for, months after, was the one served by weight at a take-out counter. Forno di Campo di Fiori was always packed: keeping my place in line without being passed by locals used to the place’s chaotic ordering and check-outing process was always a bit of a sport, but the prize was absolutely worth the struggle.
Forno’s pizza is cooked as 6-foot long pies and is served with different toppings, but the
Continue reading Rome’s Forno Campo de’ Fiori Pizza, At Home
Through years of reading Italian novels, cookbooks, and travel guides; attending Italian cooking classes; traveling through Italy; and watching cooking shows featuring Italian chefs, I’ve come to believe that making fresh pasta is a remedy for a boring and depressing life in the kitchen. Pasta-making aficionados consider it therapeutic, relaxing, calming, meditative, deeply satisfying, sensual even. Of course, I have often enjoyed the goodness of fresh pasta—made by others, thank you—but until this year, I had yet to understand what it is to knead your own. Something always seemed to prevent me from trying my hand at it. I don’t have a pasta-rolling machine, I thought. That’s why I can’t do it.
This past January, a pasta-rolling machine appeared in my kitchen. My parents probably grew tired of hearing me say I wanted to make my own pasta if only I had a pasta-rolling machine. So they gave me one for
Continue reading Making Fresh Homemade Pasta: Spicy Spinach-Ricotta Ravioli with Light Tomato Sauce
I drew a bit of a blank while trying to decide on this year’s Valentine’s Day menu. Browsing through the thousands of chocolate recipes published on my favorite blogs and food photography sites, I was feeling compelled to do a chocolate dessert as well—and at the same time, it didn’t inspire me at all. We love chocolate; in fact, most nights of the week, our dessert is a simple square of dark chocolate. Once in a while I make brownies. Because it’s such a part of our daily life, chocolate didn’t feel so special for Valentine’s Day.
Then I figured, instead of trying to reinvent chocolaty classics, shouldn’t I just make something we love? A sure shot that’ll make us happy? To be honest, I’m not such a romantic kind of girl and so Valentine’s Day doesn’t equal flowers and a restaurant to me. However, I have great memories of February
Continue reading Eat What You Love: Lemon & Olive Oil Cake With Italian Meringue
The ambition of making my own Nutella spread was running through my head ever since I brought a little jar of Le Grenier à Pain’s own version from Paris. While waiting in line at the boulangerie, I was eying the rows of homemade jars they sold. All the jam varieties seemed delectable but when I saw their chocolate-hazelnut spread, I knew I had to try it. Nutella is part of my daily routine: every day for breakfast, I slather half of a toasted banana bread slice with peanut butter and the other half with the very popular chocolate-hazelnut spread.
Back home I abandoned Nutella for a couple of weeks while I enjoyed its homemade Parisian counterpart. It was as smooth and velvety as the original, pretty much the same color, but the nutty taste was a lot more intense, something I liked very much.
When I was reminded that World Nutella Day was to
Continue reading World Nutella Day: Italian Hazelnut Torta with Homemade Nutella
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