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Bread of The Dead (piada dei morti). A typical fall recipe

The bread of the dead (piada dei morti) is a typical autumn cake from Romagna, particularly from the province of Rimini and the municipalities of San Mauro Pascoli, Gatteo, and Savignano sul Rubicone in the province of Forlì-Cesena. This piada, which, despite its name, resembles a focacia, has a sweet dough and is typical for the…

ByMonica26 October 20240Comments

Cakes and Cookies COURSES RECIPES

Cocoa and ricotta cake. About a weekend kitchen project

Stroll through the stalls of one of the food markets that, every Sunday morning, you can find in my neighborhood. I am one among many, the still floppy cotton shopper slung over my shoulder lazily waiting to be filled. I glance at the food the stalls offer, looking more carefully at my favorites. I take…

ByMonica26 April 20242Comments

COURSES Desserts OCCASIONS RECIPES Sunday Lunch

Chocolate salami (without eggs). Nonna’s recipes

If a book about grandmothers served the purpose of not missing mine, I would look for it. I'm usually able to manage memories, but some days, it is hard to manage their B-sides. Yes, memories have two sides, like coins and old vinyl records. Side A makes memories a soft dough that will rise in the oven; it…

ByMonica1 March 20240Comments

Breakfast and Merenda Cakes and Cookies COURSES OCCASIONS RECIPES

5 minutes cake, a typical recipe of Emilia-Romagna

In this gastronomic journey along the Via Emilia in search and rediscovery of familiar memories and flavors, sometimes it happens that I discover little culinary surprises. Recipes I have never heard of, such as the 5 minutes cake or, in Italian, torta dei cinque minuti. Honestly, I was surprised to discover that The Slow Food Dictionary…

ByMonica8 February 20244Comments

Aperitivo Breads and Pizza OCCASIONS RECIPES

Savory potato chifel (bread), and a forgotten Bolognese history

That is the Bolognese recipe for non-Bolognese chifel. It sounds bizarre, I know. Now I'll tell you the story. The recipe for chifel (or chiffel or kipfel) demonstrates how recipes are travelers with great adaptability. From Austria, Kipfel means half-moon in German. And it is the shape created by Viennese baker Peter Vendier to celebrate the defeat of…

ByMonica26 January 20240Comments

Breakfast and Merenda Cakes and Cookies COURSES OCCASIONS RECIPES

Bustrengo cake: a pantry staple recipe from Romagna

The bustrengo cake is a pantry staple recipe from the peasant tradition of Romagna. But it is widespread beyond also. It is an ancient recipe that the gastronome Graziano Pozzetto, an expert on the cuisine of Romagna, defines as the cake of the peasant family because prepared with the ingredients usually available in the pantry. A pantry…

ByMonica26 February 20220Comments

Bologna Food Breakfast and Merenda Cakes and Cookies COURSES OCCASIONS RECIPES

Traditional ciambella of Imola recipe

This traditional ciambella of Imola is a recipe from San Domenico, a starred restaurant in the small Romagna town where I was born and raised. I could say it is a starred ciambella. A few years ago, I wrote a cookbook with a journalist friend. The book Presto ch'è pronto, written by a journalist friend and me…

ByMonica9 July 20212Comments

Breads and Pizza OCCASIONS RECIPES

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread With Cereal Flakes

I love baking pane. Maybe because I love its taste and I have always eaten it with gusto. There was the buttered slices of white bread that I ate without jam. The common bread (pane comune) on the table at lunchtime and again for dinner. There were the baskets of different breads and breadsticks for Sunday lunch or if…

ByMonica12 March 20210Comments

Aperitivo Bologna Food Breads and Pizza OCCASIONS RECIPES

The crescente, a typical focaccia from Bologna

Have you ever visited Bologna? Do you know or have you ever tasted the local focaccia called crescente? From Pellegrino Artusi (Recipe No. 194) to the Simili sisters, legendary Bolognese cooking teachers, no cookbook does not mention this focaccia. I leave it to the Italian gastronome to introduce it in his own words: When I first heard…

ByMonica4 March 20212Comments

Breakfast and Merenda Cakes and Cookies COURSES Fruits INGREDIENTS OCCASIONS RECIPES

Apple Upside Down Cake Without Oil Or Butter

The apple cake is one of the most popular homemade desserts in Italy. Likewise appreciated are tarts and ciambelle. At my home, ciambella was also very popular. When I was a child, Grandma baked almost every day something I ate for breakfast and merenda. What I'm going to share is the recipe for a…

ByMonica26 February 20212Comments