A rustic but still decadent strawberry dessert for Mother’s Day? Shavuot? Just because? Yes, yes, and yes, please. Ever since seeing a photo last year of a strawberry cassata, a Sicilian-style ricotta cake, it’s been on my list to try. This year’s arrival of spring’s best strawberries motivated me to do it—to create my own recipe for this festive and […]
Calzones with Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper
March 6, 2017 · by
Calzones, like other turnovers, are comfort food that can be eaten on the run. But I’ve always found them to be too delicious not to sit and savor. And although they are often considered folded-over pizzas, they do pizza one better in giving you more of the tender crust, browned all the way around, that […]
Ricotta-Mascarpone Hamantashen with Mocha Glaze
March 18, 2016 · by
No traditional Jewish-Italian hamantashen exists. But don’t worry. One thing I learned early on and I see played out every year in recipe compilations is that these triangle-shaped pastries, like kids in their Purim holiday costumes, can be just about anything. Even deliciously Italian-themed. Hundreds of years ago, that would be hard to imagine. Hamantashen, […]
Spinach and Ricotta Pasta Rolls
February 26, 2015 · by
Although they are scrumptious, hamantashen aren’t the only thing to enjoy for the holiday of Purim, beginning sundown on March 4. After all, you need a little something to counterbalance all that sugar, right? According to culinary historian Gil Marks, one traditional Jewish-Italian dish for the holiday is the Venetian Spinach Pasta Roll. This is […]
Mini Banana Ricotta Cheesecakes
May 22, 2014 · by
Although I never need an excuse to enjoy cheesecake, now the time’s especially ripe for it. If you’re minding the Jewish calendar, you know the holiday of Shavuot (commemorating the spring harvest and the giving of the Torah) is coming up June 3-5. And for this holiday, we typically roll out our cheesiest, creamiest recipes, because celebrations […]
Ricotta
April 3, 2014 · by
Although I’ve been Italian all my life, it took becoming Jewish to motivate me to make my own ricotta. Passover, specifically, bears responsibility for sending me down this path. Even though you can find kosher ricotta, getting your hands on kosher for Passover ricotta is a challenge for most people. So if you want to […]
