• Coconut Macaroons
  • Mushroom and Red Wine Risotto
  • Spicy Chocolate Sfratti (Jewish-Italian Stick Cookies)
  • Artichoke Bottoms with Spinach and Cheese
  • Zucchini and Corn with Dill

Coconut Macaroons

Delightfully chewy and just the right amount of sweet with coconut and vanilla, it’s no wonder these flour-free confections easily became a Passover favorite. Just a few ingredients come together pretty spectacularly, and I gladly enjoy these year-round. The chocolate drizzle makes an especially nice touch.

Mushroom and Red Wine Risotto

Mushrooms and red wine create layers of savory flavor in this creamy, irresistible risotto. Mushrooms appear in various Italian and Jewish-Italian risottos, and it’s no wonder. They produce an almost meaty taste, especially with the wine and onions, and wonderful texture. It’s all deeply and warmly comforting, and satisfying enough to be a main dish. […]

Spicy Chocolate Sfratti (Jewish-Italian Stick Cookies)

Bittersweet chocolate brings rich and extraordinary new flavor—and a new story—to the unique Jewish-Italian sfratti (stick cookies) in my brand new recipe. Sfratti, which means “evictions,” nod to a dark time in Italian-Jewish history in the Tuscan town of Pitigliano, when Jews were evicted and sent to ghettoes by stick-wielding authorities. Eventually allowed to return […]

Artichoke Bottoms with Spinach and Cheese

Artichokes were beloved by Italy’s Jewish community, and stuffing them was one of many ways to prepare the thistles, which were labor intensive to work with but delicious every way, from fried to added to soups and risottos. Spinach was also a favored ingredient of Italy’s Jews. This recipe aims to celebrate those two ingredients […]

Zucchini and Corn with Dill

Zucchini, corn, and dill form a summer all-star team in this easy saute, a recipe adapted from the Meatballs and Matzah Balls cookbook. While the recipe is most enticing during peak corn and zucchini season, it really works year-round (you can always get zucchini and use frozen corn) as a side dish with surprisingly delightful […]

Mint Julep with an Italian Twist

I like to think of bourbon as putting on its summer outfit with the mint julep, the warm weather libation that gets its kickoff with the running of the Kentucky Derby (where it has been the traditional beverage for nearly a century). And I love how a little Italian Limoncello elevates this drink. Although you are […]

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