If you want to publish a book and cook!

The fork in the road brought me back to this after 4 years… Continue reading →

Rösti aka Florentine Hash Browns

Lazy days of summer hit Chicago like a brick Monday. Suddenly everything is green. Rooftop boxes are sown with plants and herbs kept inside for weeks because of the cold. Boat sails dot the lake, bikes fill the paths, lawn trimmers buzz, the air is humid and tweets say… get out and play. This is … Continue reading →

Spring Chill Asparagus Vichyssoise

I decided to take the Scarlet solution… think about it tomorrow. And capture the romance of the accessory, sometimes called the garnish. In this case the wispy chive flower, packing an unexpected texture and flavor surprise in the Vichyssoise Spring Chill Asparagus Vichyssoise *this Recipe adapted from a recipe from Taste Restaurant, Seattle Museum 1½ … Continue reading →

Polka Dot Tart… Asparagus Puff Pastry Tart

To continue with my blog…is the question of the hour for me. I committed to one year of blogging two years ago this month. I wasn’t sure how it would evolve, a newbie to the blogging world. I registered my domain name Italian Handful.com at Go Daddy. Com and decided to keep using my italianhandful.wordpress.com … Continue reading →

Matisse Afternoon With Rosemary Parmesan Balsamic Chips

A Matisse week in May, kicked back, socializing, and Chef Craig Boroughf’s adaptation of a Chicago favorite! Ready and easy in minutes… What with Mother’s Day…et.all… Salty, sweet and snappy.  Just like  your mother! Matisse Chips *Recipe adaptation of West Town Tavern Potato Chips courtesy of Susan Goss, Executive Chef/Co-owner, West Town Tavern, Chicago, IL … Continue reading →

Roasted Radish And Shrimp Medley

My love affair with radishes began when I was six years old and pulled my first baby radish from our city prairie garden. The green leaves popped early, their tiny tips of red tinge bursting warm though the hard dirt. I tugged at the leafy stem. Once out, it looked like a tiny red carrot. … Continue reading →

Roasted Oyster Mushrooms and Gnocchi Pearls

In ancient China oyster mushrooms were sent as a gift to friends and family. The jewelry maker in me couldn’t resist adding the pearls… The graceful appearance of the bloom of the oyster mushroom hooked me at the Green City Farmer’s Market. I wondered if I could roast them to keep the whole mushroom together? … Continue reading →

Struffoli Italian Confetti Honey Balls

Struffoli, strufoli, struffoli—Italian Honey Balls! A Neapolitan dessert my Grandma Micaletti brought to every Easter Sunday family celebration I can remember—since I was a little girl. Grandma Micaletti, my dad’s mom, didn’t cook. She was a bakery girl. There never was a Struffoli recipe handed down in our family. My mom’s family was from Abruzzi. … Continue reading →

Italian Goose Deviled Egg Appetizer

At the Green City Farmer’s Market last weekend they were selling Goose Eggs. Huge! The Winter Farmer’s Market is alongside the North Pond in Lincoln Park. Last year I remember seeing these big broken shells around the pond, a “goose control squad” was piercing the eggs to control the goose population. Maybe we should start … Continue reading →

Not So “Easy” But Delicious “Lemon Squares”

Call it my Italian Spring thing. It begins with forsythia’s bright yellow star-shaped flowers, then childhood’s marshmallow “peeps” everywhere and before I know it I’m heading to the bakery for a Lemon Slice aka Lemon Square, Lemon bar— the same bright yellow shimmying pastry —but I’ve been using the wrong name. And I just got … Continue reading →