Most of my most cherished Christmas cookie recipes come from my mom. She always made a number of cookies for Christmas so we could give them to our teachers and friends. This cookie was always in high demand so she made them every year. It’s very delicate looking because of the fringed edges, it’s dusted with powdered sugar and filled with a delicious blend of coconut, jam, dates and chocolate chips.
Read MoreThis recipe was given to my mother Gina many years ago by a neighbor. Florentines allegedly come from Florence Italy so one more reason to love Italy! They are buttery, nutty and sweet from the fruit. My mom always smears the backside of the cookie with melted chocolate. They are pretty and delicious - a great holiday combination.
Read MoreA true Puerto Rican girl - my friend Iris loves spending time with her mamma Evelyn. She is very proud of her heritage and really enjoys eating the food of her youth. I was really touched when Iris and Evelyn showed up to my house to teach me how to make their most cherished dish, Pasteles.
Pasteles are very important in Puerto Rican culture. Served at the holidays with rice, beans and tostones, they are a labor of love. The exterior (masa) is made from unripe, green bananas. You have to grate each one on a box grater to get a fine pudding like consistency. The abuelas never complain, but it is labor intensive! The filling is a delicious blend of pork and traditional Puerto Rican spices and ingredients like pimentos and olives. The achiote oil gives it a beautiful red hue and fills the entire kitchen with a very Latin aroma.
Read MoreThis recipe comes to me from my lovely friend Claudia. She is a true Italian girl with both of her parent’s families hailing from the old country, northern Italy and Sicily. Even though Claudia always jokes she isn’t much of a cook, I tend to doubt it because she definitely has some incredible cooking genes. Her father was generous to share a few of his specialties and Claudia has saved many of the wonderful recipes her mother used to make.
Most of Claudia’s mom’s recipes come from her mother, Claudia’s grandmother Mary Zeppieri. Mary came to the US at the age of 25 from Veroli, Italy and raised five children in upstate New York. She was a dedicated wife and mother and always cooked homemade Italian food. Claudia has dear memories of walking to her Nonna’s house every Sunday after church for these wonderful cookies.
Read MoreFor Christmas, there are a host of foods I make as an Italian and also as a Catholic that represent and honor our traditions of celebration. For Chanukah, Jewish people serve a number of dishes. One very popular side dish is potato latkes. My amazingly talented website designer, Jen was generous enough to offer up her mom JoAnn as a great resource. JoAnn was a caterer for many years on Long Island. A true entrepreneur, she started a baking business with her friend and grew a full scale catering company from her home kitchen. As JoAnn explained, Chanukah is a time to honor the oil that burned for eight days. So, traditionally, Jewish people will serve foods cooked in oil. Potato latkes are a small cake of potato and onion fried in oil and served with sour cream and apple sauce. Since I have never met a potato I didn’t like, I knew I was in for a treat.
Read MoreIt is very apparent that I love all things cooking, but I do understand how frustrating the process can be - especially, if you are not properly equipped with the right tools and ingredients. Whenever I meet someone that is petrified of cooking my response is always the same. I believe cooking is a skill, not a gift. Sorry, to all those celebrity chefs out there that think they are sooo special, but I know I’m right. Thomas Keller started out as a dishwasher. Being a chef is like being a carpenter. No one is born knowing how to build a house or repair a roof. People interested in that line of work will either attend a trade school or apprentice with a skilled carpenter until they learn the work. Also, in order to be a successful carpenter, you need to invest in the proper materials and the right tools to get the job done.
Read MoreThis Friday’s recipe is very special and really encompasses why I started Heirloom Kitchen. A few years ago, my friend Gina made me these biscotti for Christmas. Hands down, these are the most delicious biscotti I have ever had. A delicious combination of anise and almond, they are light, crunchy, and simply perfect with a cup of coffee.
What really makes these biscotti so special however, is not merely how they taste, but where they come from. This recipe was created by Gina’s paternal Nonna, Olga Giovannoni and came here with her, all the way from South Africa.
Read MoreA quiet, calm woman, I was taken by Soon Huh's warm presence and spirituality. You can taste it in the precise, delicious food she prepares. Each ingredient, individually cooked. Not deterred by the extra pans and time it takes, Soon wants to ensure each ingredient maintains, not only its color but also its taste. This dedication and respect of each component of her Bibimbap is most definitely why, it was one of the most delicious dishes of food I have ever had the pleasure of eating.
Read MoreLet’s defrost some Sunday Sauce because today, we’re making eggplant armigiana. Eggplant Parm is another labor of love dish. It’s a number of steps, takes some time but is so, so good. This is another dish where Nonna would stand over the stove for hours making it for us; classic and timeless. I should also mention that eggplant parmigiana is one of my favorite things to eat. And, if you know me well, you know I make/eat a lot of different things. So, when I say I LOVE eggplant parmigiana, it means something...
Read MoreThis week, I decided to roll my Nonna recipe and Sweet Tooth Friday all into one sweet rugelach; I mean, blog post. This recipe is extra special to me because it was given to me by one of the best Nonnas I know, Harriet Marks-Nelson - my husband’s wonderful grandmother.
Read MoreLast week, I shared a recipe for my mother’s Sunday Sauce. This week, I want to show you how the Sunday Sauce can be used to make another Italian favorite, Pasta alla Bolognese. This pasta sauce originated in Bologna, Italy way back in the 18th century. It consists of a tomato based sauce mixed with ground meat. Traditionally, it is served on top of tagliatelle or another long pasta like linguine.
Read MoreNext stop, Hong Kong!
One of my closest friends from college, Eric moved here to the States from China, at the age of five with his parents and older sister. I reached out to him to see if his mother Daisy would be interested in participating. As a true fan of Americanized Chinese food, I was excited to try Daisy’s food. I was pleased to find her dishes were not only extremely easy to prepare; they were delicious. The food was unmistakably Chinese to me but just much more refined, simple and delicate than what I get at the local Chinese restaurants.
Read MoreItalian tomato sauce is a labor of love. It’s also the cooking liquid for various meats that are served alongside a huge platter of pasta. A Nonna would begin making her sauce early on Sunday morning, while the rest of us were still deep in our REM sleep cycle. They did this because once the sauce had reached bubbly perfection; they could begin creating all the other delicious dishes that would cover the Sunday dinner table.
Read MoreI love Middle Eastern food! Some day, I hope to traipse around the Middle East gobbling up falafel, hummus and lots and lots of pita. For now though, I have the next best thing. My friend Christine’s mom is Armenian and hails from Beirut, Lebanon. In addition, she is a fabulous cook. She raised her three American kids on all the delicacies of her mother’s Armenian kitchen.
Read MoreOne of the first people I reached out to when I decided to start my Nonna project was my dear friend Kostas. He, like me, is a first generation kid. Both of his parents came from Greece in the early 1970s, set up house, and raised two children. Early discussions we had made me certain our childhood homes were very similar. So, I thought it would be a great place to start...
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