Our Italian Table

My Italian teacher in Parma mentioned this classic summer dish a few weeks back and I remembered how often our mother used to make it…time to put it back in the summer rotation! 💫

It has been on repeat over the last few weeks … with tuna, with hardboiled eggs, with peak tomatoes.. summer in a bowl! 😎

Rexipe on our blog! https://ouritaliantable.com/italian-potato-green-bean-and-tuna-salad/ Or head on over to the link in our bio 🥰

It is hot, hot, hot out there ☀️!! For an unusual but delicious summer salad, try Joey’s seaside fregola salad. Nutty Sardinian fregola pasta is combined with seasonal veggies and shrimp for perfect combination on a hot summer’s day ☀️

Recipe is on the blog @ https://ouritaliantable.com/seaside-fregola-salad/ or follow the link in our bio!

Stay cool out there!

It’s summer spiedini time! Let’s get grilling ☀️….

Joey and Mark visited us here in Pennsylvania this past weekend and we whipped up some of his spiedini (translation: skewers) for a little festa 🥳

You can find the recipe on our blog with spiedini made from tender beef, yummy chicken and crispy calamari… follow the link in our bio or …

https://ouritaliantable.com/summer-spiedini/

Let’s get grilling! Buon estate ⛱️!

Eating enough veggies? I had a delicious celery, fennel, and olive salad while in Sicily and recreated the recipe at home. 💚

This totally underrated veggie is elevated to stardom in this tangle of bright and crispy celery and fennel alongside briny olives and sweet raisins … and it is nutritious too!

Find the recipe at https://ouritaliantable.com/sicilian-celery-fennel-and-olive-salad/ or follow link in bio! 🙏💃🏻🙏

It’s fava bean season! 💃🏻In Montalcino, fresh fave and soft young Pecorino cheese are everywhere ….a combination that celebrates the first harvest of the year. Out in California, Joey has a bumper crop of fava beans coming in strong 💪 and whipped up this delicious Pasta alla Gricia, a famous pasta from Rome, with a twist… the addition of fresh young fave

if you can find fresh fava, you need this pasta for spring.. a simple combination of high quality ingredients that together blend into something magical 💫💫💫

Find the recipe on our blog or follow the link in our bio! (Or just comment with the words FAVA BEANS and we will send you the link! 🥰🥰🥰)
Buona primavera!

🙏🙏🙏

And it’s time to head home 💙

……alla prossima, Sicilia 💙💙💙💙💙

No better way to say thank you to a friend who drops off an enormous head of Swiss chard than to turn it into a colorful and tasty dish of pasta! ❤️ earthy chard; sweet roasted tomatoes, and crispy pancetta for the win! 💃🏻

Get the recipe at https://ouritaliantable.com/ 🥰🥰🥰!

Dreary rainy day here on the East Coast ☔️ Good day to tuck in and cook! But first - planning on using up the last of my blood oranges to make THIS bright and sunny salad that Joey made out in LA this past week.

The flavors of Sicily make the cauliflower and oranges shine - briny olives, capers, pink peppercorns, sweet raisins, and crunchy almonds....sunshine in a salad! ☀️
Find it at https://ouritaliantable.com/sicilian-cauliflower-salad/
Happy weekend! 🍊

Need a bright and sunny dessert for a dreary winter’s day? ☀️Try our Blood Orange Campari Olive Oil cake - on the blog today!
BRIGHT and sunny blood oranges and Campari 😉 give this moist olive oil cake a happy kick…and paired with a blood orange-Campari syrup makes it really shine 😎
Find the link in our stories or head to
https://ouritaliantable.com/blood-orange-campari-olive-oil-cake/
Stay sunny! ☀️🧡☀️

Baby it’s cold outside! 🥶Even Joey out in LA is making soup ….although he complains that it is cold out there when the weather drops below 50 😊

Try his Porcini, Cannellini and Sausage soup to warm you to the toes….This soup recipe is all about the umami, a seemingly magical taste discovered by the Japanese in the 1900s. It runs all through this entire recipe, with browned sausage, sautéed mushrooms, reconstituted porcini mushrooms with their broth, Parmigiano Reggiano rinds, grated cheese, and toasted bread. The components come together to make this recipe much more than a simple soup…but rather a steaming bowl of soul-warming deliciousness! 🧡

Link in bio! Or head to https://ouritaliantable.com/ for the recipe 🧡🧡🧡

❤️

And we have a winner!! 💃🏻 Spent a very fun day doing a blind tasting of the new olive oils … Grazie for organizing. So fun and learned so much!!

The new oil is shipping shortly… stay tuned!! 💛💛💛💛

Buongiorno a tutti! 💫

Cloudy but colorful winter sunrise this morning 💛 this view never ceases to amaze me .. so grateful 💫🙏💫

On a late nite passeggiata last eve …saw this sweet kitty sitting outside a window as an inside kitty sat watching 💛

The village all dressed up for Christmas 💛 a quick visit for a bit of holiday cheer 💫💫💫

Another recipe inspired by our recent trip to Sicilia - a lighter eggplant parmesan! This is one of my comfort foods and we ordered it at almost every restaurant ….the Sicilian version is lighter and simpler than the classic Italian-American version: no breading.

Just a mouthwatering symphony of eggplant, sauce and cheese. Perfect for a lighter version during the holiday craziness ❤️💫❤️

Second photo was my fave that we ate in Sicily… had it in a little locals place in Modica 😍😍😍

Head on over to the blog - https://ouritaliantable.com/roasted-eggplant-parmesan/

It’s mushroom season!! Perfect for a delicious vegetarian pasta rich with the flavors of fall 🍁 and a perfect treat before the big day of turkey here in the US!

Out in LA, Joey is whipping up this simple meal of sautéed mushrooms with spinach, heavy cream and cheese for a fast and meatless meal. You can find the recipe on our blog today!

Follow the link in our bio or head to
https://ouritaliantable.com! 💛

Have been working on a few fave photos from Sicily - this is one from Palermo-the fountain boys in Quattro Canti. ❤️

I couldnt decide to crop in or leave wide so posted a story yesterday - and by a wide margin, photo A was the winner!! Grazie for the help!! 🥰🙏❤️

That guy in the middle is just the best…his smile, the legs crossed, no socks ❤️

Fall is here! 🍁🍁🍁 I have been roasting a lot of grapes since I got back from Montalcino 🍇 This is one of my fave ways… elevates the humble chicken thigh with the savory/sweet combination

And for the blue cheese lovers out there (me!), add some crumbled cheese over the pan hot from the oven

Recipe on the blog today at https://ouritaliantable.com 🍁🍁

Buon autunno a tutti!

….breathe…..🧡

Back in my happy place 💙💙💙

First recipe out of the gate from our trip to Sicily...the most delicious orange salad EVER!

We had this salad in the charming seaside town of Ortigia. With our arms laden with bags of spices, fresh produce, and fish, we found an unassuming restaurant just off a side street in the market. I ordered the Insalata d'arance Siracusana expecting a classic Sicilian orange and fennel salad - but what arrived was a beautiful tangle of oranges with subtle additions of thinly sliced red onion and fennel, studded with capers and perfectly seasoned with the bite of fresh olive oil, Sicilian oregano, mint, and pink peppercorns. Sitting atop were a few briny olive oil-packed anchovies.

Oh my…what had we here? This salad was an entirely different ballgame. The oranges were the star of this salad and so simply yet exquisitely flavored. All of the food was delicious but we agreed that THIS salad was the highlight of the meal. 💛 Joey and I spent the better part of the time discussing the salad – its ingredients, the ratios, and most importantly, how to recreate this at home.

I have been back only a few days and have made this twice already! Recipe on the blog today at:

https://ouritaliantable.com/insalata-darance-siracusana/

Visited the little Baroque island of Oritigia yesterday....this little gem has been inhabited for over 3000 years and is a UNESCO landmark. Wandered the streets for a while before finding its delightful market filled with spice vendors, incredible fish markets, vegetable and fruit vendors ......and by chance, met up with a Sicilian friend that I met in Pantelleria 15 years ago!

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Spent a few mostly rainy days relaxing at , an agriturismo in the shadow of Etna .... a perfect compliment to the bustle of Palermo and the excitement of our cousin's wedding. Relaxed, read, ate, and did our share of sampling the volcanic wines in this region - from the spicy and berry-flavored reds (Nero Mascalese, Nero Cappuccio) to the crispy whites to the crispy whites (Carricante, Catarratto) ❤️🍷❤️🍷❤️

(So behind in posting as we have been on near Mt. Etna for 2 days with very spotty cell service!!)

S. Stefano di Camastra - the birthplace of our maternal grandparents and the grandfather to whom we owe a debt of gratitude. It is because of him that we have our Italian citizenship - he first arrived in America in 1908 followed by his new bride and first born 2 year old son...he went on to have another 9 children and died young - at the young age of 49. 🙏

This week, Joey and I met with the Mayor in S. Stefano to thank him and also tried to find the small home that was our grandparents....Joey last visited the home over 30 years ago.

I always wonder if they missed the wind and the smell of the sea once they arrived in America? They were so poor here in Sicily but the land and sea are simply so beautiful❤️

1-Our maternal grandparents, Antonino and Francesca
2-A photo we have of the home they shared in S. Stefano
3 & 4-Inside their tiny home
5-Joey visiting about 30 years ago
6-Our grandmother
7-View of the sea

❤️🇮🇹❤️🇮🇹❤️🇮🇹

Cinnamon and sugar wafting through the air as we enter. ‘To-die for’ cannolis from a rediscovered bakery in a convent.

Although it is becoming a bit touristy, we sat quietly and happily in the courtyard at Santa Caterina d’Alessandria digging into crispy cannolis; watermelon pudding and other delightful treats. These treats echo the flavors from the enterprising nuns who took to baking in the 18th century. Definitely worth a visit!!

Summer peaches make me happy 😊 That first bite into a ripe summer peach 🍑….pure magic! And when they are soaked in wine for a few hours…buonissimo!

https://ouritaliantable.com/summer-peaches/

Head on over to the blog for the ‘recipe’ for our Chilled Summer Peaches in White Wine (and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for some more favorite summer fruit desserts!) Simple and summery 💃🏻

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Joey spent a lot of time in Capri during the late 80s and early 90s (see photo 2 😊) On the blog today, he is cooking up ‘pasta aumm aumm’ , a traditional summer recipe from Capri. Made with gloriously fresh tomatoes and eggplant and locally made mozzarella cheese, it is a perfect summer pasta.

‘Aumm Aumm’ [ah-oom ah-oom) translates to hush-hush in the Neapolitan dialect….try this secret recipe today 🥰

https://ouritaliantable.com/a-secret-from-capri-pasta-aumm-aumm/

Gotta love summer!! ❤️❤️❤️ one of my fave snacks when my tomatoes are peak!! Pane pomodoro… rub a raw garlic clove on grilled bread; grate those high summer tasty tomatoes, spread on grilled bread, sprinkle with a little salt ✔️ happy camper!! ❤️❤️❤️