Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan

A good friend is moving soon, and I recently hosted a going-away dinner for her. Eggplant parm is her favorite meal, so I wanted to make a truly superlative one. After crowd-sourcing recipes and tips from trusted foodie friends, I came up with this recipe which I would absolutely, enthusiastically make again.

Read More

Tomato and White Bean Soup

Tomato and White Bean Soup

Tomato soup is the ultimate in comfort. Much of the time, I prefer it to chicken noodle soup because of the thick, hearty factor and because I am a mad tomato lover. Plus, you can't dunk a grilled cheese in chicken soup, but life is better when you do so with tomato.
I love the subtle notes of hot pepper, lemon and saffron in my recipe, and after once adding white beans to get my sons to eat more soup, I decided I really loved their inclusion too.

Read More

Eggplant Involtini (+ Basic Tomato Sauce)

Eggplant Involtini (+ Basic Tomato Sauce)

This is Mario Batali's recipe. He says, "it would be better to overcook them by 5 minutes than to undercook them by one." In addition to my two small augmentations -adding lemon and mint- I think toasted pine-nuts would be a great touch. Simple, delicious!

Read More

Summer Ribollita with Basil-Pinenut Pistou

Summer Ribollita with Basil-Pinenut Pistou

This is a marvelous way to use up many of the veggies that have accumulated in your fridge. The foundation for this recipe is a soup from winneab, a Food52 cook, as well as my sister's Tuscan ribollita.

Read More

Our Favorite Meatballs

Our Favorite Meatballs

In 2009, Gourmet published an Italian-American issue. The cover recipe was this one: the most spectacular meatballs ever. This is the sort of recipe that will make you feel like an Italian grandmother; you will mix and shape and fry and simmer for hours. Really, you need to dedicate a half-day to these meatballs and their sauce. But, if you do, you will be rewarded many times over

Read More