Hello dear friends, today's recipe is the most popular pastry from my hometown, Lecce - Italy. It's called "pasticciotto" {pron: PAST-ITCH-OTTOH}. It's a pastry that consists of a shell of sweet dough filled with a luscious custard. It usually accompanies a big cup of cappuccino in the morning. I can eat it any time of the day! The particular shape is what makes its originality. I recently found the perfect mold to be able to recreate this famous pastry {you can find a link below}, I have to say I'm very proud of how it came out. If I close my eyes and give a bite to my pasticciotto I ..read more

  Welcome Fall 2020! I decided to start this beautiful season with a cozy and delicious cake. The filling is a combination of peaches, pears and apples slices, it's like a "goodbye" to Summer and a "hello" to Fall. I found the recipe in a collection of recipes that I had started probably when I was 12 or 13 years old. I've always loved cooking, I used to look for recipes in magazines or books and draw them or make a collage in a notebook. I used to call myself "cuoca Luisa" (meaning: Luisa the chef) and sign every recipe with that name. My Mom always kept it and recently gave it to me ..read more

Hello everyone! Pesto is a classic condiment made in Italy that is used mostly with pasta. The most common fresh herb for pesto is basil, but today I'll show you how to make this recipe with a different herb: arugula. I think it's becoming more and more popular in the grocery stores' refrigerated shelves. I particularly love it, especially its hint of bitterness, its beautiful bright color and the crunchiness of its fresh leaves. I finally got all the ingredients together to make a delicious pesto, perfect for pasta, sandwich spread or even a dip! Here is what you need: ARUGULA PESTO INGRE ..read more

This delicious cheesecake is not the classic American cheesecake: the recipe has been modified in order to obtain a light yet irresistible cake with Italian ingredients. The topping I use is jam, it's the perfect contrast with the lemony tartness of the cake.  This is my version: INGREDIENTS for the cake base: 2 cups FLOUR 1 EGG 1cup MILK 1 tsp BAKING POWDER 1 tbsp SUGAR for the filling: 4 EGGS (separate yolks from whites) 3/4 cups SUGAR 1 tbsp FLOUR juice of 1-1/2 LEMONS 3/4 cups CREAM CHEESE 2 cups MASCARPONE CHEESE for the topping: BLUEBERRY JAM (or any good quality jam that you like ..read more

Hello friends! Do you love Fall? I actually like all of the seasons for different reasons {rhyme not intended}. :) I think God makes everything perfect and gives us different things to enjoy in every season. I like Fall for the crispy air, the first smokes out of the chimneys, the smell of burnt wood and the first rain.  Pumpkin is one of the beloved ingredients of this season, there's so many things you can cook with it from soups to pasta sauces, side dishes and desserts. There's a pumpkin slowly growing in my garden, it's beautiful to see all the green curls and the bright yellow flowers ..read more

Hello everyone! Today's recipe is a pasta dish that I rarely make because of some "picky-eaters" in my family {my husband can eat almost anything...but don't give him peas!!! :)}. Pasta with peas. There's different ways to make this dish, what I'll show you here is the creamy kind, mouth-watering and delicious. As you probably know there's so many ways and different recipes to make a pasta sauce, and that's the beauty of pasta! Everyday you can have a different type of dish. This is what Italians do, we eat pasta everyday, it's our lunch, the main meal of the day. How many times I've heard p ..read more

HELLO!! Today I want to share with you the recipe of my Apple Cake, no it's not a pie... it's a soft and delicious cake full of apples. It has always been one of my favorite cakes, it's so easy to make that even my Mom, who is famous for not really enjoying cooking, used to make a lot when I was little. It always comes out well and everyone is happy to eat it. You'll see how easy it is! Here's what you need: INGREDIENTS 2 lbs APPLES 1 cup SUGAR 1 cup FLOUR 2 EGGS 1 tsp BAKING POWDER 1/2 LEMON (zest and juice) 1/2 cup MILK Peel and clean the apples, cut them in very thin slices, put them i ..read more

Hello everyone!! How many of you prefer to eat homemade cookies to the store-bought ones? I do!! I have a recipe of lemon cookies that is to die for. They are very easy to make, you don't need cookie-cutters, no rolling-pin... read below to find out how to make them! I like to serve them to my kids when they come back from school, it's a delicious snack, it's perfect for everyone! INGREDIENTS for about 24 cookies 1 cup BUTTER (softened) 1 cup SUGAR 1 tsp VANILLA extract 1 EGG 1 LEMON (zest and 1 tbsp of juice) 1-1/4 cup FLOUR a pinch of SALT 1/2 tsp of BAKING POWDER 1 tbsp of MILK ..read more

Hello everyone! And hello Fall! It's technically not Fall yet, but it's very close. Here in Colorado you can finally feel it in the crispy air early in the morning, the leaves are slowly changing color and painting the streets with beautiful hues of orange and yellow. It should be the best time now to go drive towards the mountains to witness the spectacular view of the colorful trees. Instead I stay home and bake, which is something that I love and gives me comfort. I had some bananas getting brown on my counter, it looked like they were staring at me desperately. That's when I decided to m ..read more

Hello!! Here I am with another recipe.. this is one of my favorite to prepare, and of course to eat. It's the perfect match with a cup of coffee in the morning or a cup of tea in the afternoon. My children love it at any time of the day! What jam would you put inside? I've tried all kinds of jams.. but my favorite for this tarte is apricot {if you have homemade jam it's even better!}. Let's see what you need to do to make this: INGREDIENTS for the dough: 300 gr FLOUR 100 gr SUGAR a pinch of SALT 200 gr BUTTER (cut in little cubes) 1 whole EGG 1 EGG YOLK 1 tsp VANILLA EXTRACT zes ..read more