This easy pasta dinner is perfect for chilly winter nights. Pasta al forno (in the oven, or baked) can easily be tailored to fit your family! I show you a very simple recipe in this video, using marinara sauce that I already had made. While the dish is classically made with a meat sauce (ragu), there's a LOT of options here. Simply layer up the dish, similar to a lasagna with fresh ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella! Bake in the oven and serve with a salad or roasted vegetables!
Read MoreThis easy egg dish makes a wonderful savory breakfast OR dinner (eggs for dinner is totally a thing in my house!). My version of eggs in purgatory "cheats" a little. Using leftover sauce (I've done it with marinara or even a Bolognese style sauce!), and baking the eggs instead of poaching them. But the results are still a wonderful Italian inspired egg dish - loaded with flavor that's easy to make at home! Served with some crostini (or even good old fashioned toast!) and you've got a great start to the day!
Read MoreThis simple Italian dish is one the best dinner you'll make all week! Four simple ingredients create an amazingly flavorful dish! Pasta aglio e olio - pasta with garlic and oil - will take all of 15 minutes to get on the table - and 10 of those are waiting for the water to boil! Chopped garlic is lightly sauteéd in extra virgin olive oil, along with some peperoncino (red pepper flakes) and then tossed with spaghetti. Done and done!
Read MoreAuthor Andrew Cotto is my special guest in the Cucina this week and we have an AMAZING conversation about food, Italy, & passion - all while showing you how to make his grandmother's veal spiedini recipe! If you love food like we do - you will love this video! The dish is light and delicate, with only a few ingredients! And Andrew's passion and knowledge of food makes him the kind of guest I love to share with all of you!
Read MoreIt was an ancient Italian tradition to give jars of figs in honey to friends and family at the start of the year to encourage sweetness in their lives - so I decided to start the year with this fig and honey jam! Easy to make, perfect as a hostess gift (or, you know, for that person who got you something that you didn't get for - oops!), and delicious all around! Watch how easy it is to make this sugar-free jam at home! I use dried figs which are easier to come by this time of year. Swap the sugar for honey to keep with tradition. And infuse the jam with vanilla! Enjoy!
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My great-grandmother only made this rich, chocolate and chestnut dessert once a year - for Christmas! It was usually served with a little corner cut off so she could taste it before she offered it to the rest of us! And while it's time consuming - the results are well worth it! Start by making a traditional chestnut puree, then add in chocolate and amaretti to create this mildly sweet but incredibly flavorful Holiday dessert! Mamma D is my very special guest this week as we get ready to celebrate Christmas in the Cucina! Buona Natale! Ricotta gnocchi are an easy and delicious fresh pasta shape to make! They're perfect to serve during the holidays because they're much lighter than potato gnocchi - making it easier to keep on eating! Both Thanksgiving and Christmas generally involve a pasta course in my family and these are one of our favorites! We serve these gnocchi in a Bolognese style sauce. The shape is perfect for the hearty sauce! They also freeze easily so we can make them in advance! Plus then we have leftovers for another day!
Read MoreWe're cooking up a Fall classic in the Cucina this week with special guest, Chef Todd Villani of Vesta Wood Fired in East Rutherford NJ! Chef gives us his take on this delicious fall dish, plus his tips for creating the most flavor, and why risotto doesn't need much added to it but love!
Read MoreThis delicious Tuscan style ragu comes to us from Fattoria il Poggio - a farm in Montecarlo that we visited on my last culinary tour of Italy! The team there was amazing and they were so generous to share their small cookbook with me and allow me to share their recipes! Their ragu sauce recipe seemed perfect as we head into these cooler days. It's rich and hearty and perfect over your favorite pasta on a chilly day! It does take a little over an hour to pull together so it's definitely best for a Sunday style dinner!
Read MoreSee how easy it is to make this classic Italian focaccia bread! This one is better know in Italy as focaccia al rosmarino because of its rosemary topping! In Italy there are MANY types and flavors of focaccia, but this is the classic version that we have come to know and love here in the U.S.! It's so simple to make focaccia at home, you'll never buy it out again!
Read MoreFast, fresh and easy - this is how we make Caprese Salad in the Di Falco house! To start, we always do a chopped caprese salad - a bit different from the traditional slices you'll see served in Italy. We also make it a cucumber caprese salad - mostly because, that's how we like it! Finally, I use some balsamic to dress the salad because, let's be honest, I could drink the stuff!
Read MoreSimple and healthy, it's SO easy to make roasted red peppers at home! And more delicious! Here I show you how to roast them on the stove and explain what to do if you have an electric stove. There's nothing quite like the flavor of roasted red peppers in olive oil!
Read MoreCheck out how fun and EASY it is to make fresh ricotta cheese at home! A few simple ingredients yields the most delicious, fresh ricotta! This is my go-to ricotta cheese recipe!
Read MoreCheck out how easy it is to make panna cotta at home. This classic Italian dessert is perfect for Mother's Day (or any time!). I've dyed mine a pretty pink and flavored it with rose water to really have it compliment Mom (and a great Mother's Day brunch!)
Read MoreI’ll show you how easy it is to make this impressive breakfast dish! Eggs baked in bread, with fresh veggies, herbs and olive oil! You can use whatever veggies you like, even add in some bacon if that's your jam! Watch the video and grab the recipe here!
Read MoreChef Mia Castro is the brilliance behind this dish! She was actually supposed to be our guest and got sick the day of our shoot! But she kindly let me share her sweet pea and basil risotto recipe with all of you! Loaded with fresh Spring flavors, this dish is both beautiful and delicious!
Read MoreThis easy, no bake dessert is perfect for Spring time! Strawberries are some of the first berries to come into season and they are LOADED with antioxidants and Vitamin C to help fight late season colds and allergies! And when topped with some fresh basil and a drizzle of homemade balsamic reduction - wow! You can't go wrong! Serve them alone, over ice cream, pound cake or angel food cake!
Read MoreI love this soup! It's a classic dish that is super easy and very healthy! A great way to get your greens in while the warmer weather is still holding out! It's "peasant food" that fits into all kinds of diets without having to make massive changes! Make a big batch and have it for lunch and dinner all week, or, stash some in the freezer for another time!
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