starch

tummy-warming piles of pasta, risotto, potatoes.

gnocchi. and why it is your friend.

01/03/2012 | 3 Comments | Topics: food., Italian food, starch

I have been teaching a lot of gnocchi-making classes lately. I adore traditional gnocchi made with waxy, yellow potatoes (nope: don’t use russets/baking potatoes). Though sweet potato gnocchi is wildly popular and the other day a plate of beet gnocchi made me smile—I am still a sucker for classic potato. Gnocchi lend themselves to a myriad of dishes, and are a fantastic candidate for… [more]

risotto. with winter vegetables.

12/10/2011 | Leave a comment! | Topics: Italian food, starch, vegetables

Living in Italy for a year meant I had a lot of time to focus on food, roam food markets and notice which foods ‘grew together’ at different times of the year. Right now any combination of winter vegetables would happily co-mingle on top of a plate of risotto. Kale and chard, carrots, brussel sprouts and onions… winter squash, yams, sweet potatoes. Toss in some raisins or nuts for… [more]

thanksgiving dish re-invented: sweet potato goes gnocchi

11/21/2011 | 9 Comments | Topics: holidays, Italian food, starch

I actually teach gnocchi-making, and sweet potato gnocchi is one of my favorite variations. The recipe is inspired by fellow Chef Iole. You pronounce it /ee oh lay/ and yes: she is Italian. You may or may not know this about me, but I have a great affinity for Italian food. It is one of my specialties; I like to tell people that living in Italy for a year… [more]

roasted sweet potatoes with blue cheese

11/19/2011 | Leave a comment! | Topics: food spotlight, starch

Just the other night friends came to dinner and I roasted carrots and turnips; often I roast new potatoes with shallots and wedges of fennel. Or under a big roasted chicken: fennel, onions, kalamata. You will see me lube up squash with olive oil, cut beets into uniform chunks and find thyme and fancy salts to sprinkle all over tomatoes, cauliflower or long, thick wedges… [more]

DaVinci Wine Cookbook: page 6 [of 10] PRIMI

10/06/2011 | Leave a comment! | Topics: DaVinci Wine, Italian food, starch

Primi. The ‘first course’ is generally a starch. Italians spread out their courses, so no two things go on a plate. Contorni are the sides, salad is separate and pasta stands alone. No piling multiple things—in Italy each course is deserving of its own plate. The Primi coarse includes everything from pasta (with ragu, seafood or just garlic and oil) to risottos, polenta, gnocchi and gnudi. Gnocchi are olive-size… [more]

Pesto Pasta Salad & Pesto Spinach Salad.

05/12/2011 | 5 Comments | Topics: salad, starch

I hope you had a lovely Easter, Mother’s Day and my oh my: are you gearing up for graduation like we are? My son Caleb is on the cusp of exiting the 8th grade, crossing off each of these last days as ‘mission accomplished.’ It’s almost mid-May! I think May and October might be my two favorite months. October is the thick of fall, full of crisp days and… [more]

Sicilian arancini

06/20/2010 | 5 Comments | Topics: Italian food, starch

Every so often, the boys and I trek to the Paperback Exchange—an English bookstore—near the Duomo in Florence. While their books are a bit overpriced, it remains a gem as it is full of paperbacks, cookbooks, school books and more. Plus you can turn in already-read books for pennies on the dollar (we are big fans of ‘recycling’ books—it is less about the pennies). On one such day, Anthony… [more]

make your own tortillas

05/14/2010 | 7 Comments | Topics: starch

I was super happy to find My Sister’s Kitchen via Twitter; and how lucky to land on Barb’s website when her recipe for homemade tortillas was front and center! In Italy, if we have a penchant for tortillas we end up buying overpriced American tortillas or too-thick-and-crumbly Italian ‘tortillas.’ The latter come with a caveat: although they appear to be tortillas, Italians use them to make sandwiches (think: replace… [more]

starch-fest in my kitchen

04/23/2010 | 3 Comments | Topics: starch

Geez, I didn’t realize I was in such a starch craze. Might trim off a few pounds if I start focusing on greens instead! Why the starch-fest? Well, 1. it is part of my culinary repertoire that I still want to master, and 2. it is cost-effective to make your own [bread, focaccia, pizza]. Therefore: starch-forays in the past two months: 1. Focaccia 2. Pasta dough 3. [more]

gorgonzola ravioli

04/20/2010 | 5 Comments | Topics: freezer, Italian food, starch

It makes me so happy that Erika and I (aka Gina and Gina) made ravioli. Pasta has been on my list of ‘things to make’ since I landed in Italy 9 months ago. I even bought a very cool ravioli tray in December (it is a tray where you lay the pasta sheet on top, place filling in ‘dips’ in the mold, lay on the top pasta sheet… [more]