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Welcome Back Nonna Maria |
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Ciao a tutti,
Pack your bags and start up your donkeys, we're heading back to the dripping mountains of Molise -- and what luck -- Nonna Maria Nibaldi just so happens to have the perfect meal for us to fill up on before we leave! In Nonna Maria's town of Frosolone, in the old days, it was difficult for the freshest of fish to be transported from the seaside, so they decided to take a page from the vikings and
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use dry fish in order for it to travel the long distances as well as maintain that just-caught flavor. This week, we're highlighting the ages-old Pasta con Baccala` (Pasta with Baccala`). The "Baccala`" itself is simply a codfish, and Nonna Maria will show us how to go from thin, dry and salted to plump, moist and delicious in record time!
To make our Baccala`, we're going to prepare our star fish two ways, then combine them at the end for a sweet and savory finale. First, we're going to make a tomato sauce base with some Kalamata olives to give a really unique compliment to our fish which we're going to throw in as well. While the sauce is being infused with those flavors, we're going to fry up some of that extra baccala because, hey, who doesn't like fried fish? The "Pastella," or batter, is a medley of garlic, parsley and parmigiano cheese, and is so incredibly delicious that when all the fish is battered, I like to make little pastella cakes with the leftover batter (trust me, they're AMAZING!) If you're feeling adventurous, I recommend taking some of the fried baccala` and adding it to the sauce just before it's finished for that extra special crunch after every bite.
We've been bouncing all over Italy this season, and I don't know about you at home, but I'm ready to head home for the holidays! So get ready, because next week I'm back in the loving arms of my ancestral hometown of Mola di Bari, and of course, the warm kitchen of my very
own Nonna Romana. Stay tuned for holiday recipes that are sure to light up your holidays!
Tanti Baci,
Rossella
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Welcome Back Nonna Caroline |
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Ciao a tutti,
We're Basilicata bound this week! That's right -- we're heading back to pay a visit to the CineCitta starlette herself, Nonna Caroline! She'll be showing us how to make the Basilicata special: Pasta con Noci (Pasta with Nut Sauce). Because this recipe contains a lot of nuts, there will be an allergy issue, so please, be careful. If you're in the clear, let's get to it!
The recipe itself, as Nonna Caroline tells us, was the product of good old fashioned ingenuity.
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Looking for an alternative to the traditional ragu, Nonna Caroline's nonna would fashion different types of sauces to please her son, and thus the recipe was born! This tomato-based sauce is comprised of anchovies, olives, hazelnuts and walnuts, giving us four, count them FOUR different kinds of light, flavorful oils swirling around in the pan and providing one of the most delicious smells ever produced on the show! When capped atop a mountain of pasta, this thick, crunchy sauce will electrify your taste buds and always leave you with a smile on your face.
Thanks once again to our lovely starlette, Nonna Caroline, for sharing with all of us her grandmother's wonderfully unique recipe!
Tanti Baci,
Rossella
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Cooking with Nonna Maria |
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Ciao a tutti,
Happy December everyone! It is officially the holiday season, which means that just about the only gift you can't run out to the store and
buy is time. Since I know how valuable that commodity is, this week's recipe will not only provide a fantastically delicious meal for you and your family, but will leave you plenty of extra time to catch up at the end of the day. To find this week's recipe, Nonna Maria Nibaldi will be taking us to Frosolone, a town nestled in the mountains of the Molise region to show us how to make the Frosolone favorite: Pasta Frittata (Fried Pasta).
It could be argued that the old saying, "necessity is the mother of invention" was coined shortly after the first time this dish was made.
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The idea is that it uses leftover pasta (the more variations the better) and gives it one final starring role as the main course. To make our pastas sizzle in the pan, we're adding a combination of eggs, cheese and parsley that will allow the pastas to bind together while cooking. The real fun begins when the bottom turns a crispy brown. In order to get that perfect crust on both sides, we have to - you guessed it - flip it over! If you're feeling less adventurous, you can slide it onto a plate and gently turn it, but as you'll see on today's episode, it's far more enjoyable to try your luck our way!
I'd like to thank Nonna Maria Nibaldi for coming on my show.
Until next week, stay warm!
Tanti Baci,
Rossella
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Welcome Back Nonna Ann Marie! |
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Ciao a tutti,
Another Monday, another stop on our culinary train ride! After being in sunny Basilicata, it's time to head back to Abruzzo to check in on Nonna Ann Marie and see just how much she's missed me meddling in her kitchen! Today, she's personally caught a wonderful seafood medley (by hand, she says -- I'm not arguing) made from some of my favorite bi-valves and crustaceans. Brodetto di Pesce (Fish Stew) is
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on today's menu, so let's see what Nonna Ann Marie has in store for us today!
Brodetto di Pesce is a rich tomato-based stew that best utilizes the fish of the Pescara area. The composition of clams, mussels, and everybody's favorite (except those deathly allergic): lobster. Because of the literally 2,000+ recipes for brodetto that exist from the heel all the way to the top of Italy, there are always going to be slight, or sometimes significant variations on the type of fish, but as always we strive to bring you the traditional recipes from the respective regions, and Nonna Ann Marie's enthusiasm for this combination is overwhelming. It's easy to understand once you've had a taste of this truly spectacular dish, so get in those kitchens and see what we mean!
All of us at Cooking with Nonna would like to wish you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. Buon giorno di ringraziamento a tutti!
Tanti Baci,
Rossella
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Cooking with Nonna Caroline |
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Ciao a tutti,
As promised, we're in sunny Basilicata! With a crystalline Ionian coast to the front and endless swaths of mountains and hills to our back, the geographical layout of natural wonders never ceases to awe.
Of course, it also plays a major role in how the local cuisines are shaped. And though we're in the south this week, it's chilly, so I have Nonna Caroline here to warm us up with one of her local favorites, Costate di Maiale alla Lucana (Pork chops with soffritto)!
There is no real standalone ingredient here -- a full orchestra of flavors rather than a quartet -- though if I were to pick one aspect, it would be the soffritto. Rather than the traditional soffritto of carrots, celery, etcetera, Nonna Caroline's is made with vinegar peppers, garlic, and onion.
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There's something about the vinegar peppers that add a sultry, piquant flavor to the pork chops, and really makes this meal stand out as something other than your pedestrian applesauce pork chop combo. Listen to our starlette Nonna, the peppers will make the recipe!
I'd like to thank our Cinecitt
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