Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 2 - 3   I love it when I can put everything in a container, shake it up and marinate for a few hours and then bake and have a complete meal once cooked.  This has so many sweet and savory flavours that combine well together.    Ingredients 4 chicken thighs, skin and fat removed 75 gr chopped carrots 130 gr sliced onions 145 gr canned pineapples – no juice 1 tbsp capers Green pimento olives to taste 2 tbsp honey 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp I

Scorri a basso per l’Italiano   Serves: 4   Today full chicken legs were on sale and I wanted to make a creamy style recipe that I could pair with a plain rice.  With Gianni’s diet that I have to mitigate as much fat as possible, I boiled the chicken for 15 minutes prior to making the sauce so I could easily remove the skin and fat.  This is also good because with bone-in chicken like this it takes a long time to cook on the stove.   I served with cheesy garlic focaccia.   In

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 2   With family coming to visit I made a big batch of my Turkey Cutlets for Freezer  which today made 36 cutlets. Therefore, I froze 32 of them and made this cutlet salad meal for dinner tonight.  Any type of cutlets are great to have in the freezer because we can easily make a full meal out of them by adding veggies and a salad.    Ingredients 1 bunch of asparagus tips 1 red bell pepper cut into slices Cauliflower florets to taste Garl

I love the custardy Portuguese Nata but I know the authentic ones are a lot of work.  Being in Italy, I have access to really good puff pastry therefore I created this recipe that is simple to make, not the authentic but still delicious.

I could buy brioche bread at Cobbs in Maple Ridge and made this vanilla toast as a treat.  This week is “France” week at Lidl, our nearby grocery store and they had the most delicious brioche bread I have ever tasted.   Therefore, I had to make this breakfast treat!

Scorri a basso per l’Italiano   Serves: 2   I made a big batch of homemade chicken cutlets and decided to make a cutlet sandwich with a side salad for dinner. Truly a delicious meal!   The store didn’t have turkey therefore I bought chicken and made the cutlets the same way I make my Turkey Cutlets .  Turkey or Chicken, cutlets are delicious!   Ingredients 1 tbsp butter 2 tbsp vegetable broth, plus as required        2 or 3 chicken cutlets Juice from 1 lemon Juice from 1 oran

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 3   Last night I made Potato Taco Bowls  for three of us and purposely made extra meat mixture so that I could make a pasta meal with the leftovers today.  I’ve made this Italian Mexican pasta dish that is absolutely full of flavours.  If you don’t want to make the taco bowls, you can easily just make the meat mixture to make this delicious pasta.    Ingredients 350 gr dried pasta Leftover taco meat mixture Shredded cheddar cheese to ta

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 2 – 3   Chicken breast stuffed with herbed cream cheese and sausage, baked with potatoes and onions and served with a simple Caprese salad; this is a perfect meal any time of the week.    Ingredients 140 gr sliced onions 500 gr sliced potatoes – cleaned but skin on Olive oil as required Garlic salt to taste Dried oregano to taste Hot pepper flakes to taste (optional) 380 gr chicken breast Herbed cream cheese to taste 125 gr sausage meat

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 2   Tonight, I had tomatoes, zucchini and peppers in the fridge and felt like comfort food therefore I created this soup and added couple of slices of cheesy focaccia to dip into the soup and it was a perfect combination.  Very easy to make.   Ingredients 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp vegetable broth 3 garlic cloves cut into half 60 gr diced onion 210 gr diced red pepper 350 gr diced tomatoes 270 gr diced zucchini 350 ml vegetable broth ½ tsp

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 2 - 4   I love a good stracciatella soup and really you can put anything in it then finish it with eggs/panko/parmigiano mixture that gives it a next level of flavour.  Comfort food at its best!    Ingredients 100 gr diced onion 150 gr diced carrots  30 gr diced celery (mostly leaves if possible) 3 vegetable bouillons 350 gr meatballs ( My Recipe ) 3 eggs 20 gr panko ( My Recipe ) 40 gr grated parmigiano cheese   Directions Preheat oven

Scorri a basso per l’Italiano   Serves: 10 or more   Finding a turkey large enough for our big Christmas dinner is hard to find in Italy.  Yes, there are small ones in different supermarkets, but if I want one over 5 kg then I have to go to my local butcher shop and order one, one week ahead of time.    Today I got a 7 kg turkey from the butcher and am putting together this post for my Italian followers that asked to see what a Canadian turkey looks like and if it is truly ju

Scorri a basso per l’Italiano   Serves: 8 – 10   These Brussel sprouts are roasted and tossed in a sweet and tangy glaze which are sure to be a huge hit on any dinner table.   Ingredients 200 gr slices of bacon cut into 1/2-inch pieces 600 gr Brussel sprouts – cleaned, sliced in half and parboiled ½ tsp garlic salt or salt & pepper to taste 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp honey 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp Dijon mustard   Directions Sauté bacon in a skillet over medium heat until c

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 12   Because Gianni can’t have chocolate and our traditional Italian tiramisu, I’m coming up with different options. I’ve been on a coconut kick lately and decided to try to make a tiramisu incorporating this ingredient and of course we can’t have raw eggs therefore there are none in this recipe.   I can’t find roasted coconut flakes; therefore, our first step is to make some.  I used 2/3 rd of the coconut to make a lighter roasted coc

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Makes: 12 polpette, baby meatballs & enough meat for a small meatloaf Spaghetti dinner for 2   I’ve been making spaghetti and polpette (meatballs) since I was seven years old, when my mom would be working long days.  The great thing about meatballs is that you can make them with anything in them.  Today, I made a big batch so I could have some for this spaghetti and meatballs recipe, and for the freezer; six meatballs, baby meatballs for soup a

Scorri a basso per l’italiano   Serves: 6, plus rice for next day   I love stuffed peppers and this recipe with sausage, veggies and rice then infused with scamorza cheese is absolutely delicious.  Served with some sautéed green beans and cheesy garlic bread makes this a complete meal.    Note: I purposely made twice as much as I needed for the peppers as I put the rice with some mozzarella cheese in the oven and we had a new meal the next day.    Ingredients 350 gr basmati

Scorri a basso per l’Italiano   Makes 12 mini cheesecakes   Mini cheesecakes are always loved by everyone, and I made this one for a special friend who loves cheesecake and can’t get it here in Italy.  Simple to make and absolutely delicious.   These are best made the day before you need to serve as they will set and absorb all the wonderful flavours.   Ingredients 250 gr ground Biscoff cookies 95 gr melted butter 1 tbsp sugar 450 gr softened cream cheese 135 gr Greek yogurt

Scorri a basso per I’italiano   Serves: 4 Today I let my good friend and neighbour in Arona, Loredana, make this incredible meal. She wanted to learn something new and after we cooked our full meal, our husbands Luciano and Gianni sat down for a delicious dinner. This easy and delicious layered eggplant brings eggplant parmigiana to the next level.  Served with rice, makes it a full hearty meal that everyone will love.  If you want to make it vegetarian, don’t add the roast

Scorri a basso per l’italiano Serves: 4 - 6   Green beans are so good for us because they are packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They can contribute to heart health, digestive health, and even help with weight management because they are low in calories and high in fiber.    This cold green bean salad is a great side dish to any meal.   Ingredients 1 kg green beans, cleaned, cut into pieces and boiled until cooked 115 gr thinly sliced pancetta 1 large shallo

Scorri a basso per l’Italiano   Serves: 3   My granddaughter Ariana loves to help her nonna bake and cook and at 2 years 8 months old, she is a great little helper and understands the baking and cooking process.  I love having her help me.   Today she made this simple red sauce pasta, which is delicious for little ones.  She is our little pasta monster and got to love her hair!!!   Ingredients 210 gr crushed tomatoes 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp garlic salt or salt and pepper to ta

Scorri a basso per l’Italiano   This funny looking Christmas tree is a great appetizer during this holiday season.  It is simple to put together, and it cooks up in 20 minutes.  I used a Thai Hot Chili Sauce as the dip, but you can use whatever your favourite dip is.   Ingredients 2 rectangular puff pastry dough Herbed cream cheese, to taste 4 – 6 large ham slices Sliced pimento stuffed olives, as required 2 egg yolks, beaten Thai Hot Chili Sauce   Directions Roll out the fir