All posts filed under: recipe

summer tomato tart with ricotta and pesto

I know summer is officially over, but I didn’t want to leave this gorgeous tart behind with my never-published blog posts of 2021 and not share it with you. Bookmark it and make it next summer if you don’t have any ripe tomatoes around. Or, if by some miracle you still have some, do give this a try. The recipe is by Alexa Weibel. I stumbled upon it on the NYTimes Cooking website, the day I suddenly found myself with the most generous gift: a bag full of ultra sweet, organic, homegrown tomatoes left at our doorstep by my friend, mother-in-law, and expert tomato grower, Pat. You can put together the dish pretty quickly (which always gets points from me), and it looks beautiful on the table (perfect for when you have friends over). Serve it as a light lunch with a green salad, or make it your side dish at dinner time. When you are ready to eat the tart, make sure every bite you take has a little bit of each ingredient. The …

Zucchini dish

carpaccio di zucchini inspired by our family dinner at cucina

Cucina is one of our favorite restaurants. Slowly, it has turned into our go-to place for birthday dinners, especially when they fall in the middle of the week and we don’t have enough time to cook something special. Our order typically includes pizza and pasta. Bombolotti al Sugo is a favorite, and we all like to share the Frito Misto as our starter. We rarely order dessert, since the cake and presents are typically waiting for us back at the house. A few weekends ago we were there again to celebrate Patrick’s parents’ wedding anniversary and got to try some new dishes, including Funghi Ripieni, Carpaccio di Zucchini, Insalata con Bettole, and Donna’s Amazing Almond Cake.  I liked the Carpaccio di Zucchini so much, I had to try to recreate it at home. And guess what? It turned out pretty good. So, I’m sharing my recipe with you. But before I do that, I need to highlight that the key to getting this dish right is to move quickly. And, to make the salad look as pretty as the one …