Cooking with Cositutti
After eating and cooking in Italy with our Italian family and friends I’ve come to realize the pivotal place food has in the Italian culture. Italians take time and effort to prepare a well-laid table where there is beauty and grace in the smallest detail. These recipes are from a variety of sources. Many have been passed down by our Lombardian cousins and relatives in the Veneto in the oral tradition of the great kitchens of Italy.
Several are from favorite ristoranti, trattorie and cooking schools that are part of our taste travels in Italy. Some are written in the narrative style to include the experiences we have had eating and traveling on road trips with our Italian family and friends. All with the belief that preparing a well-laid table to share with your family and friends in a relaxed and tranquil manner is a lost pleasure that must be found again.
Many of our recipes can also be found on our Market Blog - Cooking with Us.
Comments: "if you've always been in love with Italian cuisine, you'll find these recipes authentic but some with an Italian twist"
The recipe may be the best place to reassure the human gesture of sharing.
A one bite wonder that combines a
perfect slice of grilled beef, a bite of arugula and a creamy herbed cheese with balsamic vinegar from Modena.
I learned to make this recipe from Enzo Malvicini. He was not a chef but the owner of harness race horses who had come to America to race at Balmoral Park in the late 1960’s. Enzo was a friend of our Nonna. He lived in Milan and when he wasn’t at the track he would come by to visit Nonna and to cook.
If you’ve traveled in the Trentino- Alto Adige region of Northern Italy you’ve probably met up with Hugo, the Alpine Spritz at an aperitivo bar where he can always be found making everyone happy.
Salty, smooth and crunchy. A balance of earthiness and sweetness. With the unique flavor of Black Summer Truffle Honey.
Knowing that in a few short weeks the temperatures will drop and the leaves will turn vibrant shades of yellow and orange reminds me of the seasonality of Italian food and some of the best examples of Italian cooking focus on the bounty and harvest of Fall.
This pie crust makes a wonderful alternative to traditional pastry crust and can be used for savory tarts as well as fruit or custard pies. The olive oil you choose is important to the quality of the crust so choose a good quality extra virgin oil.
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A Word About Ingredients
I love reading about ingredients.They are the building blocks of a country's cuisine.
The success of Italian cooking begins with selecting the ingredients. In Italy ingredients are not be picked at random without consideration for the season, locale, purveyor or producer. Italians will travel to certain regions at certain times of year that are know for their regional specialities. I can remember traveling with our cousin Roberto from Milan to Tuscany to look for the perfect fall mushrooms or that one village that specializes in Tuscan testaroli, a pancake-like pasta made with a batter rather than a dough that is sliced into triangular shapes.
Every plate of food has a culinary backstory that brings meaning to what we eat, every ingredient gives vitality to a recipe and translates traditions that define who we are. It is that particularity that gives an recipe a flavor all its own.
Read more about the culinary backstory of our taste travels in Italy that inspired many of our recipes at the MarketBlog