Sabadoni cookies from cucina povera of Romagna and Bologna

Sabadoni cookies are sweet, rectangular-shaped tortelli filled with chestnuts and a handful of other ingredients. They are a typical sweet from the cucina povera of Romagna, which we can find under the same name or under that of chestnut tortelli in an area that also includes Bologna and Ferrara. The name sabadoni comes from saba, the…

ByMonica7 November 20240Comments

Christmas Drinks OCCASIONS RECIPES

Vino caldo recipe, the mulled wine of Romagna

In Romagna, mulled wine was called vino caldo (warm wine). I use a form in the past tense since only a handful of memories and a few mentions in gastronomic collections of Romagna cuisine, above all dated ones, survive on that drink, which Romagna peasants used to fight winter frost and seasonal ailments. The mulled wine implies…

ByMonica16 January 20240Comments

Chocolate Christmas COURSES Desserts INGREDIENTS OCCASIONS RECIPES Sunday Lunch

A recipe for chocolate pralines called Cri Cri

Cri Cri are chocolate pralines of Piedmontese origin, and if you're wondering what they have to do with me recounting the cuisine of Emilia-Romagna, I'll tell you right now. On January 6 in Italy, we celebrate the Befana, which closes the festivities of the Christmas season. That day, I would wake up early while the house was…

ByMonica4 January 20240Comments

Christmas COURSES Desserts OCCASIONS RECIPES

Stuffed Pandoro recipe + a Christmas tale

Christmas stuffed pandoro is a preparation that takes me back to the 1980s and 1990s when I was cheerful and carefree in that light-hearted way typical of youth. Since mascarpone was a widely used ingredient in Christmas recipes, what was left over would end up stuffing a pandoro. Sometimes panettone also. In this case, one would empty…

ByMonica24 December 20230Comments

Cakes and Cookies Chocolate Christmas COURSES INGREDIENTS OCCASIONS RECIPES

Chocolate panpepato from Ferrara, the recipe

The panpepato, or pampapato, is a skullcap-shaped cake. Dedicated to the Pope, created in 1580 from an idea of Alfonso II d'Este, the Lord of the city of Ferrara, and still produced both artisanally and commercially. Made from a mixture of cake flour, honey, bitter cocoa, toasted almonds, a mixture of spices (the composition is…

ByMonica12 December 20230Comments

Christmas COURSES INGREDIENTS OCCASIONS RECIPES Seafood Soups

Fish cappelletti of Adua. Romagna stuffed pasta

Some flavors evoke positive thoughts related to people who loved us. Cappelletti di Magro makes me think of Adua. She and her home tailoring lab are among the fond memories of my childhood and adult life. Cappelletti of Romagna Cappelletti is a stuffed pasta typical of Romagna. The name literally means "little-hats". You can find cappelletti filled with meat…

ByMonica13 December 20220Comments

Bologna Food Cakes and Cookies Christmas COURSES OCCASIONS RECIPES

Panone recipe: the Christmas cake of Bologna

Panone and Certosino are the typically baked cakes of the Bologna Christmas tradition. Similar yet different. Both recipes belong to the typical Northern European tradition of Christmas cakes made with dried and candied fruit. Again, both have a rich and somewhat old-fashioned taste but, unlike what you might imagine, also a contemporary flavor. In these recipes, you won't find any…

ByMonica5 December 20210Comments

Bologna Food Christmas COURSES Fruits Gluten-free INGREDIENTS OCCASIONS RECIPES Salads and Sides Sunday Lunch

A family recipe. Homemade pickled vegetables (Giardiniera)

Pickled vegetables, in this case, sweet and sour, are called Giardiniera in Italian. A very poetic name since it evokes the word garden. Giardiniera brings to mind the colors of the dish and the vegetables from the garden. It is an ancient method of preserving vegetables in season and eating them the next. I still remember when, at…

ByMonica9 November 20210Comments

Breakfast and Merenda Cakes and Cookies Christmas COURSES OCCASIONS RECIPES

Apple bread cake recipe and two years of blog

Christmas is just a few days away, and I am at my desk with a cup of coffee about to write a recipe for one of my childhood apple bread cakes. This bread cake is rich in taste and ingredients like apples, walnuts, almonds, and spices. It will be the last post of the year, after two…

ByMonica22 December 20200Comments

COURSES INGREDIENTS Main Course Meat OCCASIONS RECIPES Sunday Lunch

Chicken With Chestnut Stuffing And About Special Roasts

Many people love roast chicken. It is a recipe that makes you think of Sunday lunches and first dinners prepared for friends. Stuffed chicken, roast in the oven, is equally appreciated but, perhaps, it doesn't appear so often on our table. I also place it among the special roasts, perhaps as a family habit. Sunday lunch.…

ByMonica19 November 20200Comments