Classic tomato sauce

Spaghetti al cartoccio with sea food

Paccheri alla Napoletana

Bucatini All'Amatriciana

Bigoli with duck sauce

Tagliatelle al Radicchio e pancetta

Lemon sauce

Pappardelle alla Siciliana

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Putanesca sauce

Horse sauce

Ragu di Salsiccia

Pasta al forno

Bigoli alla Montanara

Ragu alla Bolognese

Peposo

This recipe dates from the Renaissance. The kiln workers who made the tiles for Santa

Maria del Fiore, the cathedral in Florence (the Duomo), allegedly made it.

The rest of the story is that Filippo Brunelleschi, in order to get more work done, had the dish sent up to the workers instead of allowing them to come down for lunch. It wasn't long before the workers realized that they were losing their lunch break and a chance to meet friends, play cards, and relax. The first strike in Florence resulted!

The pepper in the stew requires lots of wine to be drunk. Here's to happy workers...and cooks!

Ingredients

• 1 kg (2 lbs) beef chuck
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 tbsp butter
• 20 whole peppercorns
• Salt, preferably roughly sea salt, to taste
• 1 bottle red wine, preferably Chianti
  1 tbsp flour or potato starch

Directions

1. Cut the beef into large chunks, along the natural muscle separations where possible.
2. Lay the beef chunks into the bottom of a pot or big baking dish and insert the garlic cloves interspersed among the beef chunks here and there. Sprinkle the whole peppercorns and salt over everything.
3. Pour over enough red wine to cover the beef.
4. Cover the pot and place in a slow oven, pizza oven or barbecue grill (160C/324F) for 4 hours or more, until the beef is falling apart tender and the red wine has reduced into a rich sauce. If the dish is still too liquid and you're ready to eat, remove the cover, which will allow it to reduce more quickly. Although unconventional, just before serving you can also add a spoonful or two of potato starch or flour mixed with an equal amount of water to give the sauce some liaison.

Bigoli alla Montanara

1lb Italian sausages (in Italy, Salsiccia sfusa that means 'Regular Sausage')

1 chopped onion

4 cloves of garlic

1 cup  Swiss chard chopped on big pieces or Radicchio di Treviso.

1/2 cup walnuts

1 cup red wine

1 cup tomato pure

1 tbsp oregano

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

500 grams Bigoli, Tagliatelli, Pappardelle or any long pasta that is not Spaghetti! 

Smoked ricotta

Start with a good pouring of olive oil on the pan, fry the onions and garlic. Add the sausages, when the sausages are brown add the wine and let reduce in half. Add the tomato sauce and oregano and let cook for 10 minutes. Turn of the fire and add the greens. 

Sauté the pasta with the sauce and add walnuts and smoked ricotta to serve.

Garganelli with peas and ham

Olive Oil
1 cup ham cut in cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup white wine or cognac
1 chopped onion
Parsley or oregano to taste
Salt & Pepper

500 grams of Garganelli, Penne, Fusilli or other short pasta.

In a pan, brown the onion with the olive oil. Add the ham and peas until brown. Add the white wine or the cognac. Let reduce a bit and add the cream, salt, pepper and parsley.
Sauce the pasta with the sauce and serve with Parmiggiano cheese on the top.

Amaretti and Chocolate Mousse

Apple Strudel

Lemon Sorbet

Strawberry tiramisu

Pere al vino

Cheese Blintz (Jewish pancakes)

Cannoli

Semifreddo all'Amaretto 

French Crepes

Coconut custard

Tiramisu

Panna cotta

Ricotta pie

Quinoa, Poppy seeds and lemon muffin

Salami di ciocolatto 

Fritelle 

Polenta cake

Chocolate and lime Brazilian trifle

I am not sure why, but breakfast in Italy is sweet. Cake is a traditional breakfast food, and so are cookies and brioche (an easy croissant). I'm always a bit stunned when I hear Americans making fun of the concept of cake for breakfast, mostly because that’s the norm for us!

The typical Italian breakfast is made of a hot beverage, like cappuccino or caffe’, with something sweet to eat- cake, cookies, pastries, brioche, croissants, or toast and jam.

Eggs? Ham? Bacon? THOSE ARE DINNER FOODS! (It seems to hear Nonna!)

Brioche (Italian Style)

Pumpkin Cappuccino

Apple Cake

Polenta Cake

Cannoli

Strawberry jam

Beer bread

Focaccia alla Genovese

Focaccia Pugliese

Italian Breakfast

I am truly not sure why, but breakfast in Italy is sweet. Cake is a traditional breakfast food, and so are cookies and brioche (an easy croissant). I'm always a bit stunned when I hear Americans making fun of the concept of cake for breakfast, mostly because that’s the norm for us!
The typical Italian breakfast is made of a hot beverage, like cappuccino or caffe’, with something sweet to eat- cake, cookies, pastries, brioche, croissants, or toast and jam.
Eggs? Ham? Bacon? THOSE ARE DINNER FOODS! (It seems to hear Nonna!)

Apple cake

Apple cake

 This recipe comes from the pastry kitchen of the hotel Sofitel. A French chef was very unfriendly and always kept in secret his recipes. This Apple cake was one of my favorites so I made a plan to stole the recipe. One day I stayed working at the hotel during the night to prepare the next day breakfast so I had the keys of his kitchen, around 3am I entered there, got his recipe book went to the reception and friendly asked the receptionists if they could make a copy in exchange of some Belgium chocolate. They did and now we can all have this easy delicious cake. The chef was so mean that still makes me feel good about outsmart him and share this recipe as much as I can!

2 Apples (Honey crisp is the best option)

2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
7 oz flour / 200g
1 tbsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup of walnuts
1/2 cup of raisins (you can soak them in your favorite alcoholic drink if you would like)

1. Grate the apples and reserve it.

2. Mix the eggs and sugar until you have a creamy texture. Add the oil and the flour on the mixture. Add the baking powder, salt and cinnamon and mix a little more.

3. When all the ingredients are homogenised add the apples, walnuts and raisins.  Bake on the oven for about 30 minutes on 350F. Each oven cook different, so keep your eye on the cake!

4. The cake will be ready when golden brown and when you can stick a toothpick inside and the toothpick comes clean.

5. The good thing about this cake is that keeps getting better and better with the days, does not gets dry and you can freeze if you wrap very well in plastic.