See you in soon!

I'll be taking some time off from this blog before and after we welcome our baby this June. I hope to return to posting regularly again soon.

In the meanwhile, I will be posting periodically on the Fare La Scarpetta Facebook Page. I hope you'll join the conversation there.

For the parent writers out there, I will be posting periodically on my new blog, Woman Mother Writer, as well as on our new Facebook page.You can also follow my Writing Coach blog.

See you later, alligator!

Stocking a Kitchen (While Making Room for Baby)

The moka made the cut

As we prepare for our baby, we're working to clear out clutter and make some room in the kitchen for bottles and whatnot. This has made me think about what I can't live without:

Cuisinart Food Processor and attachments
I love the speed with which I can chop, mix dough, grate, etc. with the food processor. It was expensive, but worth it.

Moka coffee maker
Quick, satisfying and best way to make Italian coffee cheaply at home. Don't forget a favorite mug.

Le Creuset cast iron pot
I'm pretty obsessed with my Le Creuset. If you are staying home, it serves as a slow-cooker without taking up space on the counter.

A few good knives for chopping and a medium sized chopping board that fits in the kitchen.

Just a few good pots and pans: Heavy, small pan for omelets, large pot to boil water, medium pot for sauces, smaller pot for rice or grains and a pan for meat.

Since I presume we'll be busy, the donut maker, fryer, pasta maker, and other "treat" items are now either put away or in the back of the cabinets. (Don't worry; I kept everything for a later date.)

I look forward to the day when our child is old enough to help prepare meals and eventually a full meal.

Crossover Post: Raising Baby Bilingual

As you might know, my husband and I are expecting a baby this June. Over on my Woman Mother Writer blog, I've reviewed two books on raising your baby to be bilingual:

The Bilingual Edge

The Bilingual Family: A Handbook for Parents

I hope you'll follow the links and read the reviews. Are there other books or techniques that you might recommend?

Bread Stuffed with Sausage and Cheese

When I was a kid, my father would bring home bread stuffed with cheese and sausage from the Second Street Bakery in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was delicious any way we ate it - room temperature, toasted with the cheese oozing out, or with a pasta dinner to "fare la scarpetta" the sauce. 

With that memory in mind, I prepared Emeril Lagasse's recipe for Spicy Italian Sausage and Cheese Bread. While it was tasty, it wasn't exactly right. I'm not sure what was off, but I do know that I need to eat more stuffed bread in New Jersey to help with this very serious research project. 

FDU Food Writing Blog

I really enjoy teaching food writing online at Fairleigh Dickinson University. We read Dianne Jacob's Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Reviews, Memoir, and More and published essays available online. The final assignment is to choose one of the formal essays that the students wrote (and revised) over the course of the semester and edit it for a public, class blog.

I hope that you'll read through this semester's blog and welcome the students to the world of online publishing. There are restaurant reviews, recipes, family stories and more.

Venetian Ball at the Italian Embassy

As we were moving to Washington, D.C., a few years ago, I decided that meant we'd be attending regular parties at the embassies around town. While clearly that's not the everyday life of two professors, we were excited to attend a Venetian Ball at the Italian Embassy recently. Here are some pictures from the event: 

Italian Easter Specialities

Buona Pasqua! 

Happy Easter!

Philadelphia's 9th Street Italian Market

I love eggs and chocolate, which makes Easter one of my favorite culinary holidays. There are the large Italian chocolate eggs filled with a surprise gift (or more chocolate) and the decorated hard-boiled eggs. And of course we can't forget the sweet, almond colomba cake. Maybe these treats taste even better because you're "allowed" to eat them first thing in the morning (it isn't just because I'm pregnant and want to eat everything all the time.)

This year we picked up our Italian chocolate eggs in Philadelphia's 9th Street Italian Market. Among the pasta shops, butchers, spice and cheese stores, the Italian groceries were filled with Italian chocolate eggs and colomba cakes for the upcoming holidays. Compared to what I've seen in New York, New Jersey and D.C., the prices were great, too.

Let's see if I can wait until Sunday to open up one of the three eggs we bought.