Un Panino e un dolce... A sandwich and a sweet...

Priscilla was coming in late this weekend,  so I had a Focaccia Panino  ( Yes PANINO... just one... PANINI  is PLURAL ! )  waiting for her.    Nice and simple,  fresh Focaccia,  Salame,  and fresh Mozzarella... Very Italian...

One of my  favorite desserts,  (seem to be a lot of favorites around here...)  is my Almond & Pear Tart. A flaky crust,  and a delicious Almond  Frangipane,  topped with sweet pears .... Love it (too much)...

Spaghetti alla Carbonara, La Ricetta... Spaghetti Carbonara, the recipe...

Sometimes all you want is a nice bowl of pasta....  I can't imagine not eating it. 

 Spaghetti alla Carbonara is a favorite and so easy to make...

                                                        Spaghetti alla Carbonara

                                                         1 small Onion, diced
                                                         6 slices of Pancetta, diced
                                                         Extra Virgin Olive Oil
                                                         2 Eggs
                                                         1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
                                                         chopped fresh Italian Parsley
                                                         White Wine
                                                         Spaghetti
                                                         Kosher Salt & Black Pepper

Heat  a large pot of salted water while preparing sauce.  Heat olive oil ( enough to lightly coat bottom of a saute pan).  Saute onion til quite golden.  Meanwhile, crack eggs into a medium bowl,  add romano, parsley , salt & pepper to taste,  stir well to combine,  set aside. Add pancetta to onions,  saute a minute or so til pancetta has browned a bit,  add wine to deglaze pan (carefully , unless you are comfortable with flames) cook a couple of minutes until wine has reduced,  not too much,  this is part of your sauce,  keep warm.   When water is boiling,  add pasta,  cook according to package directions,  removing pasta when it is JUST Al DENTE.  drain pasta ( but not too much,  you need there to be some pasta water mixing in with the eggs to make the sauce)   quickly add the pasta into the egg mixture stirring vigorously then add the  onion mixture and toss well. Serve immediately.  Serves 2

                     
COOKS NOTES...

 Using the very best ingredients is especially important when preparing simple dishes... I always use Good Extra Virgin Olive Oil,  Fresh Organic Eggs, Just Picked Fresh Italian Parsley,  Imported Romano ( preferably just grated from an Italian Deli)  Imported Pancetta,  also from the Italian Deli.  and of course,  Imported Pasta. Also important in this dish is getting nice color on the sauteed ingredients, that's what makes the flavor. You can  use any White Wine that you like,  it just shouldn't be a sweet wine.
Salting the pasta water very generously is key,  I use a big handful for a pot of water.  When seasoning this dish,  it's important to realize that the pancetta is  already salty,  so add salt to the onion mixture with this in mind  and also you must remember to salt the eggs keeping the saltiness of the cheese in mind. Lastly,  don't be concerned that the eggs are raw,  the heat from the pasta and the pancetta & onion mixture will cook them.  Be careful to work quickly allowing some pasta water to mix with the egg mixture. The eggs should not curdle (this would mean that it was not stirred quickly and vigorously enough)  but be transformed into a silky sauce.  

                 

Il giardino cresce... The garden grows...

The garden seems to grow right before your eyes this time of year.  I am especially excited about my pumpkins.  This year,  i've started  them earlier than I usually do ( we can do this in San Diego)  and they are growing well so far... As my friends and family know,  I have LOTS of trouble growing pumpkins,  and I don't know why.  One of my best friends ,  Jody from Rooted in Thyme always encourages me,  but SHE grows the most beautiful pumpkins in all the land!  Ha ha,  I will keep trying...

This pumpkin is resting nicely in a little bird bath,  but I will need to  move it before it gets too big  (hopefully it will get too big)...

The Elephant Garlic flowers are huge...  this one  will be completely open soon...

As a day of gardening was winding down,  Jim sat looking at the fountain area and said that he thought that the Zucchini plants had grown more as he watched...

  I love seeing things fill in where I had not even remembered planting them...

This "Red Masterpiece " rose looks just like velvet...

Auguri a tutte le bellissime mamme del mondo... Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful mothers of the world...

  

 Wishing you all a beautiful Mother's Day!

Patate fritte alla salvia... Sage fries...

 Who doesn't love fried anything?  The truth is,  I adore it.  I try not to make fried food very often,  but sometimes I just can't help myself.  One of  my favorite fried morsels are  Patate Fritte alla Salvia,   or Sage Fries.  My family in Italy makes them all the time , ( and they aren't fat).  Portion control I suppose ... which is difficult when things taste so good.  Anyway,  frying the potatoes in olive oil makes it healthy,  right?  So to make these simple but delicious goodies , simply fry the sage along with the potatoes until they are golden,  then sprinkle  with some  nice coarse Kosher or Grey Salt.   The way the sage flavors  the potatoes is beautiful ...  Mangia... Eat...

A casa per il " weekend " ...Home for the weekend....

 Priscilla came home from school for the weekend and had several food requests...  Breakfast was  Crepes filled with Nutella  & Bananas topped with Caramel Sauce,   and a few just picked blueberries.

The next thing was Arancini...  delicious little morsels made from leftover Risotto,  a little salame,  egg, & mozzarella, breaded then fried in olive oil...  Seriously decadent...

And for dessert,  Triple Chocolate Cake Pops....  Ahhh,  to be 21 and eat everything your little heart desires,  and not worry about it...

Cose piccole nel giardino ...Small things in the garden

I really love having some cute,  little things in the garden... 

This is Coco... our little " tweenie"...

Whimsical little handmade chickens... ( the only type of chickens that I can keep)

Some little handmade pumpkins as seed markers...

 

Love these little baby shoes...