AND THEN, THIS HAPPENS! 

"You should write a cookbook!" "When is the cookbook coming out?" "Are all of your recipes in one place?"

These are the questions most asked from my culinary students. They like the ease of my recipes, the straightforward language used, no laundry list of ingredients. My philosophy to cooking is, well, you're in the kitchen and you're out, because, well, there's life outside of cooking and eating. 

I have been cooking or learning recipes all of my life. I stood next to my mom's side as she prepared sauces, soups, braciole and sweets. Boy, did she bake while I was growing up! My school bag was always filled with treats for my 'merenda' or mid-day snack. The tables have turned a bit now and I bake for her! She says she no longer has the patience for it, I don't know about that though, I think I just spoiled her! "Yours are better than mines anyways!" she claims, I don't know about that either! 

I started collecting recipes when I was 9 or 10 years old. The way some girls collect Barbies, I collected recipes. We lived in Italy at that time, so perhaps it's not much of a surprise. I have notebooks filled with mom's recipes, family recipes, tested recipes, made up recipes, great recipes, crappy recipes. My notebooks are rather crusty from years of spilled food on them. Some of the ink is smudged. Many of the pages, well, they're stuck together. Some day I will organize all of the thousands of recipes. That's what I tell myself. But that day hasn't come, in fact, I don't think it ever will. I rather like the crustiness on the pages, it reminds me of when I made a given dish. 

​And then, there was my father. He was a greengrocer, so our home was always filled with delicious and seasonal produce. The meals my mom turned out with some very humble ingredients were amazing, food for the soul really. It is for sure those memories that shaped my desire to be in the kitchen, to feed people, and to teach folks some culinary skills, because I want them to also have those memories with their families. 

After years of feeding friends and co-workers and having people tell me I should open a restaurant (no thanks!), I decided it was time to indeed, start my own business. But it would not be a restaurant. 

My business certainly had to include cooking, but also include my other passion, traveling to Italy. It had to include writing, writing about food and travel, of course. But the recipes couldn't be complicated or time consuming, because, well, even this Italian doesn't like those! And just as my luck would have it, much of Italian cooking isn't complicated or time consuming!  

And so, in time, the cooking classes took off, with lots of repeat students. And the culinary tours took off. And I started writing about food and travel for several notable outlets. 

But the students wanted more. They wanted a cookbook. And that's how The Five Ingredient Italian Cookbook was born. 

Italian cooking isn't complicated, isn't always fancy and is rarely loaded with an exaggeration of ingredients. Italian cooking bases its flavor on quality ingredients, not quantity. Italian cooking is seasonal, fresh, family-friendly and loved by all.

This book wouldn't have been possible without my mom's help. But she helped far more than providing some recipes and ideas. She instilled in me an appreciation for home cooked meals and family time that I never could have learned in any cooking school. And for that, I am thankful.

Pick up your own copy of The Five Ingredient Italian Cookbook: 101 Regional Classics Made Simple by clicking here. 

For the past few years, my mother has become my (unofficial, and unpaid!) proofreader for all my recipes for my cooking classes and my blog posts on this site. I do this for a number of reasons, which ultimately help me, but also help the students in my cooking classes and also you, my dear reader. For one thing, she has what I call “beady little eyes.” I swear she will spot a typo a mile away!  It’s not unlike her to snoop around this website, find a typo in a 2-year old post and call me out on it! Now, I know better and send her everything before it's posted here or printed for the students! 
 
Secondly, well, since she has always been my culinary educator, instructor and teacher, and many of the recipes I use in my cooking classes and what you see here are hers, I find it only fair that I let her read and review them, just to make sure I have everything just right and approved by her! 
 
Recently, I handed her a batch of recipes to proofread before photocopying for the students in a cooking class, and this was her reaction:

“Sauce? You’re teaching them how to make sauce? But it’s so easy and quick, doesn’t everybody already know how to make sauce?” Oh, the things we take for granted living in an Italian household. I had to break it to her slowly, that no, unlike our household, not everyone prepares several batches of sauce a week! She was saddened to learn of this. 
 
She is right though, as she always tends to be, and a simple, basic and straightforward tomato sauce is perhaps the easiest thing you can cook, and it’s by far the most versatile recipe you will ever use. The ingredients are few, and the prep takes five minutes at most, the cooking anywhere from 20 – 25 minutes. And the use? Well, this sauce can be used in hundreds, if not thousands of dishes.
 
To give you an idea, at its most basic form, this sauce is used for preparation of basic “pasta al pomodoro,” or just pasta with tomato sauce. Add some parmigiano and peperoncino from my native Calabria, and you have a delicious first course. But it obviously does not stop there.  I use this as pizza sauce over the dough, as opposed to uncooked (thus unflavored) sauce. This is the base for pasta fagiola (pasta and beans), and this is the sauce used to cook my meatballs. This sauce is used for the base of stuffed shells, parmigiana (both the chicken and eggplant type), and I don’t prep any soup without adding a ¼ of a cup of this sauce. This sauce is used for eggs in purgatory, as a dipping sauce to fried foods such as cutlets or fried meatballs and also goes great over steamed green beans and other veggies, especially the bland cauliflower. Pasta and ceci, or pasta with chickpeas is also made using this sauce. Add a few tablespoons of this to your chicken soup, and you have a delicious soup, with a broth that takes on a much more appealing color. And braciole? Those beloved beef bundles are also cooked in this sauce.
 
You get the picture right? Master this and open the door to hundreds of dishes!
 
A batch of this sauce is always in my fridge. Because it’s meatless and simple, it refrigerates well for up to 4 – 5 days. The non-negotiable ingredients are garlic, onion, parsley, basil, olive oil, salt and good quality canned crushed tomatoes. A few add ons that you can include are finely diced carrot, celery or sweet bell pepper. Personally, I rarely add those, as I tend to find that the fewer the ingredients, the more versatile it is.
 
As for the brand of crushed tomatoes? You’re going to want to taste a few on your own and find a favorite. San Marzano are obviously delicious, but costly if you make this as often as I do. Other tested brands that I enjoy include Muir Glen Organic, Whole Foods brand, Cento and my everyday go-to: Pastene. 

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ small onion, diced (3 – 4 chopped scallions can be used as an alternative)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, stems removed
2 - 3 garlic cloves, minced 
1 28 oz can of crushed peeled tomatoes
Salt to taste – about 1 teaspoon 
1 ¼ cup of water
 3 - 4 basil leaves

Directions
1) In a medium saucepan, take the first four ingredients and bring them to a simmer over medium heat, mixing them around with a wooden spoon so they don’t burn. 
2) Add the can of tomatoes. This will splatter about a bit as it hits the hot oil, mix everything with a wooden spoon. Add the salt, the water and basil leaves. (Basil burns quickly so I add it with the sauce and not before, in the oil. You can also add the basil in the middle of the cooking process.) 
4) Reduce the heat to low, cover with lid and let that simmer for 20 – 22 minutes, mixing a few times during the cooking time. The longer it simmers, the thicker and darker the sauce will become.
5) Remove from the heat and use to dress your pasta or to complete any other dish you had in mind.
* Refrigerate leftovers up to 4 – 5 days. This actually freezes really well. Freeze any unused portion (or make one pot on purpose to just freeze) in a glass container with a lid and defrost overnight in the fridge.

***************************************************************************************************************************
Ready to make your 2019 Italian Travel Dreams come true? Consider joining us in one of our Culinary Adventures! We have three planned!
​
TUSCANY: MAY 1 - 8, 2019. Click here for all trip info and to sign up!
PUGLIA: SEPTEMBER 1 - 8, 2019. Click here for all trip info and to sign up! 
SICILY: SEPTEMBER 10 - 18, 2019. Click here for all trip info and to sign up! ​​

There are times when only a decadent treat will do. During the holiday season, those times are many! There are office parties, open houses, the cookie swaps and many other festive gatherings throughout the entire month. It's no wonder by the time the new year rolls around, we all resolve to eat healthier!

I love to bake and this is definitely the time of year where my mixer goes into over drive! It seems that a pound of butter is always sitting on my counter, because, well, you never know when you're going to need some "room temperature" butter, so, best be prepared!

In addition to butter, which makes me feel somewhat guilty when I use 2 sticks per recipe (hello butterballs!), I also love baking with olive oil. As a native of Calabria, we always used what we had most available in the kitchen and growing up, olive oil was definitely more prominent in our kitchen as oppose to butter. There's Mom's famous S cookies, orange and olive oil cake, and our limoncello cake that all call for olive oil. 

But there are times in which the decadent treats are best left for guests or special occasions, and there are times in which you just need a simple, light, unassuming treat to go with your tea or espresso. A casual treat, light and tasty but one that will not leave you feeling full or guilty, and these anisette toasts are just perfect for those occasions where you need a little 'something something' without downing 500 calories.

​I love anisette flavor as it reminds me of my upbringing in Italy. During the holiday season, my dad would always have his morning espresso "corretto," meaning with a tiny bit of anisette liquor in it. This was usually reserved for the holiday season, or the cold winter months, when starting the day with a drop or two of liquor was needed to warm up the body! I can close my eyes and smell the aroma now. Sometimes he'd leave behind a little bit in his cup for me to taste, just enough to wet my lips with it. Best not to go to school smelling of espresso and anisette at age 10! 

A word about the fat used in this recipe. I have found that I prefer baking with extra light tasting olive oil best, and that is my preference and what I use for baking when it calls for any oil. Light tasting olive oil is very subtle, and as such, your finished product will not have the taste of olive oil at all. If you prefer the flavor of oil in your sweets, by all means, substitute the healthier extra virgin olive oil. Just be conscious of the fact that it will change your final product's flavor. True, extra light olive oil does not have the healthy qualities of EVOO, but keep in mind that we're baking here, the sugar and white flour used also don't have any healthy qualities! 

​After all, we can always start being good in the new year! 

The ingredients used in these anisette toasts are very 'every day' and you likely already have everything you need on hand. I use about 2 teaspoons of pure anise extract, this is a bit much and the flavor is strong but that's what I like, but feel free to use just one teaspoon if you prefer a lighter taste.

A word about the pans used. These are not like traditional biscotti. You will not be rolling these into logs, the dough is far too soft for that. So in order to get them all the same shape and size, these are baked in loaf pans. Regular loaf pans that you use for say, banana bread or meatloaf will do, just spray them well with non-stick cooking spray. 

They are however, double-baked like traditional biscotti. This gives the light sponge cookies the toasty crunch that we're looking for. The longer you leave them in the oven, the toastier they will become. Just place them on a cookie sheet and toast anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes per side, depending on how crunchy you would like them. 

Anisette Toast
Makes 2 loafs

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup extra light tasting olive oil (see note above) 
1-2 teaspoons anise extract or Anisette liqueur

Additional granulated sugar for the top. (Optional) 

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray 2 loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. 
3. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer or hand-held mixer, beat the eggs for several minutes on medium speed until light and frothy.  
4. Slowly add the sugar and mix well for 1 -  2 minutes longer. 
5. Add the oil and extracts and blend well. 
6. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and mix just until combined, do not over mix. The batter will be soft. 
7. Divide the mixture in the prepared loaf pans and sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar on top.  Bake for 25 minutes. 
8. Remove loafs from the pans and allowing cooling for 10 minutes. 
9. Using a bread knife, gently slice cookies to desired thickness. At this stage, the cookies will be soft and spongy, so be delicate with how you slice.  
10. Place the anisette cookies sliced part down on baking sheets, and bake for about another 5-10 minutes per side, depending on how crunchy you like your anisette toasts. 

​***************************************************************************************************************************
Ready to make your 2019 Italian Travel Dreams come true? Consider joining us in one of our Culinary Adventures! We have three planned!
​
TUSCANY: MAY 1 - 8, 2019. Click here for all trip info and to sign up!
PUGLIA: SEPTEMBER 1 - 8, 2019. Click here for all trip info and to sign up! 
SICILY: SEPTEMBER 10 - 18, 2019. Click here for all trip info and to sign up! ​​