Learning Pasta Making the Italian Way

Ravioli

My American Italian family has been making Ravioli as a tradition for as long as I can remember. As I child my grandparents would come over one day in the winter or fall and we would make ravioli together. I have one particularly good memory of my Grandfather picking me up from High School on “Ravioli Making Day”. He arrived in the front of the school on his motorcycle with a side car. I happily strapped on the helmet and climbed inside the side car and then drove off. I’m quite sure this elevated my “cool” status to unprecedented levels, at least in my mind. I mean, who has a grandpa as cool as that?!?

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Porcini Fettucini

Porcini Fettucini

There are some things I will really miss about living in Italy, such as the produce I will just not be able to taste again until I return. One is the Porcini. This mushroom is available in the spring and fall and is native to the forests in this part of Europe. It does not have “gills” like the large Portobella we are familiar with in America. But it is similar in size. It is medium golden brown and thicker than a Portobello. The flavor is intense and woodsy but not as intense as a truffle.

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Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Butter

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Butter

Autumn is gently rolling in and the late summer harvest of Pumpkins has arrived. I love when I start to see the pumpkins with their large spheres and pale pink skins start to show up at the farmers market. The pumpkins here are different than our American version that are orange skinned. The pumpkins in Italy have pale skin and dark orange interiors. They call them ‘zucca” and this is my favorite variety.

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Genovese Pesto

Pesto Genovese

Its the end of summer and those of us who planted those adorable little basil plants in early summer with dreams of fresh pesto and bruschetta now have basil plants the size of trees spilling out of our Italian balconies. But have no fear, a sizable batch of pesto will soon cut those basil trees back down to size.

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Cacio Pepe (Pecorino Cheese & Black Pepper Pasta)

Cacio e Pepe & Bisteccha Fiorentina

Last night Jeff and celebrated the conclusion of our one year anniversary living in Italy. It was over a year ago that I first started this blog and announced to the world that we were planning to move to Italy for a year. On August 28, 2017 we began our epic Italian journey and shortly after that we moved into our apartment in Nettuno by the sea.

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Lasagna Bolognese

When I returned home to California for a visit, my sister asked me to make Italian Style Lasagna. My sister is known for her very hefty and delicious “American” style lasagna that is full of different cheeses, sausage and ground beef and costs a fortune to make. So we had told her how simple lasagna in Italy is and she really wanted to try it. I don’t know if it will be a game changer for them but this is how they do it in Italy…

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Pasta Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara

Carbonara was a dish that alluded me before I moved to Italy. It flies contrary to the cooking style of Americans. We view all sauces as containing cream or tomato sauce but this is not true of Italian pasta. The sauce is usually very simple, so simple we can’t imagine it to be correct.

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