Goodwill hunting

I love going to the Goodwill store. I call it "going on safari," because it is like a hunt, and you never know what you will find.


My mother went to Goodwill this past weekend, and she picked up a cookbook for me. It is a fabulous, old-school Italian cookbook. All of the classics are there, but that's not the great thing about it.


There is humanity in the book.


The previous owner obviously used the cookbook, because there was a torn out recipe from a flour sack for a spice cake, an old business card for a realtor in Las Vegas, perhaps used as a place holder to get back to the pollo fritto recipe (fried chicken). Who wouldn't want to make that?


But I'm saving the best for last. This picture was also in the cookbook:

This polaroid was sandwiched between the recipes for Broccoli Florentine and Manicotti Tuscan Style. I wonder .... were they the cookbook owner's Nonni (Grandparents)? Did they perhaps send this to the owner, after moving to Las Vegas for the warmer climate? Did he ever remove that hat?


Were the cookbook owners Nonni like my Nonni? Did they accuse each other of cheating when they played cards or Rummikub? Did her Nonna hate onion? Did her Nonno do crazy things to make the famliy laugh? Mine did, and I am so thankful for the random memories.


On the back of the polaroid, someone wrote "Gess hoo" in phonetic English, just like my Nonna Rita would have done. So, I will keep the polaroid, comfortably nestled in the Tuscany section, between the Broccoli Florentine and the Manicotti Tuscan Style. I'm "gessing" that's where they would like to be.

Boot is off....gloves are on!

I am so so glad I can now wear a whole pair of shoes now, rather than a walking cast and a shoe. I feel liberated, although I am still careful about making sure my left calf muscle is adequately stretched before walking for any distance.

And I am so so happy that I can finally get back to cooking properly in my kitchen, although I have enjoyed the soups and panini I have made...I am now extremely tired of quick cuisine.

I have my first cooking class since my injury coming up this weekend, and I am completely looking forward to it. We're going to make some classics, and my kitchen is going to smell like heaven!

With the spring weather, I have been giving thought to bringing my herb garden to life once again. It is such a joy to go out to the patio and snip whatever herbs I need for cooking. After my class on Saturday, I plan on getting herbs and dirt, and shall transform my patio into something lovely with green sprouts. Can't wait!

Thankfully, although I haven't been able to properly cook, I had an arsenal of delicious, well-loved recipes to share on Examiner. Stop by if you haven't already!

Too busy cooking

I know ... I know. Shame on me for neglecting my blog. I've been busy cooking up a storm, and writing articles at examiner.com. There are tons of fantastic, and seasonal recipes posted in my articles. Please visit and enjoy!

I'm ramping up for another cooking class this weekend. I really love teaching people what I can about Italian cooking, and it absolutely feeds the extrovert in me. My kitchen smells gorgeous, and we always have a blast.

Okay confession time. Please don't think any less of me for what I am about to say. Truth is important, so I hope the following statement is not too shocking. Please sit down before you read any further.......

I sometimes dine at Olive Garden.

It's true. I really love their salad, and some of the dishes are not extremely bad. I'm not going to say that it is authentic by any means, but sometimes their soup and salad for lunch really hits the spot. So, on Saturday, I made a pot of their Zuppa Toscana. It consisted of the following:

1 pound hot italian sausage
2 russet potatoes, cut in half and sliced thin
2 cups of kale
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Served with crusty bread, it made a mightly fine lunch, and I will have the leftovers tonight!

So again, sorry for not posting, but you can always find me over at Examiner!

Pan Magic

This weekend it snowed, and boy did it snow! We got approximately 4 inches of snow. That is pretty much a blizzard in Nashville. It started just as I got to work on Friday, and then 2 hours later, my firm closed for the day, as did many businesses in Nashville.

This was a very good thing. My usual 25 minute commute took an hour. Once I got home that day, the car did not leave our driveway for a couple of days.

So, since I was home-bound, and itchy to do something that would result in a fabulous smelling house, I went to my kitchen.

I found a completely yummy recipe for a blueberry, walnut, orange zest bread in an old school cookbook that my mother gave me. So, since I had all of those ingredients, I made a loaf.

I have had a slice for breakfast every morning. It is divine.

That night, I made beef involtini. I always like to have a practice run on recipes that I will make with my class, even if I have made them many times before, just in case I get inspired to edit the recipe to make it more wonderful. Alas editing the recipe was completely unnecessary, but it inspired me to tell you about Pan Magic.

Pan Magic is what happens when you discover something delicious that can only be made when one ingredient melds with another, making something indescribably weak-in-the-knees fantastic.

I discovered this to be the case with my beef involtini. The beef bundles, once seared, simmer in tomato sauce (home made of course). One of the completely gorgeous ingredients in the beef bundles is a thin slice of mozzarella cheese. The cheese got a bit melty, and oozed out the sides, into the tomato sauce.

Y'all, it was the bits of mozzarella that hit the tomato sauce on the corners of the beef bundles that was the most scrumptious bite.

So that got me to thinking of other dishes that lovingly simmer in sauce....lasagna, manicotti, chicken parmesan.....I am making myself hungry.

March is going to be pasta pasta pasta for my cooking classes, but for April I'm thinking we need to do an old school, smack-me-with-a-cannoli-good, classic chicken parmesan. I think this is necessary because one must pay its respects to the classics, and people just need to know the love that is Pan Magic.

Pizza Memories

I grew up in East Meadow, New York, and I absolutely loved it. I was a short bike ride away from Eisenhower Park in one direction, the library in another, and the grocery store, Italian bakery, and fish market were right down the street.

Perfect.

The pizza place was also close by. I remember it well. We never called in an order. We would drive to Pizza Kings, place our order, and wait. I would look at the frescoes of idillyc Italian vistas and chubby waiters and cooks on the walls, or count the tiles that were everywhere.

But still we waited. The restaurant smelled like pizza, and you could feel the heat radiate from the ovens that lined one wall.

If us kids were lucky. There would be one regular cheese pizza, and one Sicilian pizza. A real Sicilian pizza is a divine experience. Thick, crusty, and square....the corner pieces were the most coveted.

I want one right dang now.

Transporting the pizza home was a two-person operation. One of the parents would drive, and one of us kids would hold the pizza perfectly level on our lap. This involved lifting the pizza ever so slightly on the end closest to our bodies, and the other end was on our knees, that would get progressively warmer and warmer as the journey towards home progressed.

It was worth the heat. Even if I happened to be wearing shorts.

The perfect slice of cheese pizza is foldable, and if it is the right temperature you should slightly burn the roof of your mouth. You know, so that a tiny part in the middle of the top of your palate, right behind your two front teeth, burns and blisters.

Gross I know, but again it is part of the perfect pizza experience.

If there was leftover pizza (usually unheard of) it turned into the perfect cold breakfast the next morning.

When chains started popping up in the late 80's (like Domino's) we thought it was just nuts. Commercials for pizza on TV? Delivery? It can't be good. And boy it wasn't. There is just no comparison to the neighborhood slice.

January cooking classes

I met some wonderful ladies this month!



The first class consisted of Kimberly, Vanessa, Jill and Amy. They were delightful, and really enjoyed the class.





The second class consisted of members of the Nashville chapter of the Little Black Dress Club. What a fun group! I am a member, but my schedule has never aligned with the fantastic events that they put together. I am sure that someday I will indeed go to their events! Angee, Marla, Ruth and Cat were just lovely people, and I look forward to seeing them again, and meeting more members of the club.


We made the same dishes for both classes. The menu was as follows:


White bean dip with vinegar spiked pita chips
Caprese skewers
Braised chicken with red potatoes and artichoke hearts
Sweet frittura with marscarpone and blueberries


Students not only saw the technique involved in making the dishes, but they went home with copies of the recipes, and they were all very excited about creating the dishes at home. Hooray!

I am pleased to say that February is filling up nicely. If you would like to take a class, please contact me! The menu for February will be:


Stuffed roasted red peppers with pesto
Involtini with polenta (savory beef bundles)
Green beans with almonds and lemon
Fresh orange granita


Looking forward to February!

Saturday bread

It did not snow last Thursday. Nashville got what I like to call "snow dust." Snow dust is enough to send the town into and absolute panic though, because once the snow dust melts, it quickly turns to ice, and it did. My side roads were very slippery, and rather scary.

We did receive a very pretty snow on Saturday, and it lasted the entire morning and afternoon.


It was necessary to make bread, at least in my mind.





I was not wearing makeup. Please don't be frightened! Here I am kneading the dough. Such a great workout for the arms!




Behold the finished product! I had some trouble actually making the braid, since I've never done a four strand braid before, but I can assure you that it was delicious! Since it is not my original recipe, it can be found at this link.

The bread was sliced for lunch that very day, and we enjoyed panini filled with genoa salami and fresh mozzarella. A delicious feast!