I’m leaving for Italy today for three weeks.

I’m going to our house in the town of Rocca Montecalvo in the hills outside Ascoli Piceno in Le Marche, which is where my father was born.

The past few years I’ve been able to go back during the summer where I’ve spent my days and nights basking in the glow of a way of life that is about as different from Toronto life as you can imagine.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Toronto. I couldn’t do without Toronto.

But my goodness it’s beautiful to step back into the world that my father was born into.

I will see you in three weeks.

Ciao!

The Italian word for sweet is dolce.

While the word is used to describe pastries and dessert, it’s also used as a form of endearment.

Sei dolce means you are sweet!

Blogging has many rewards including the opportunity to express a shared passion, in my case baking.

But one of the rewards of blogging that I would never have imagined when I started my blog, way back in 2005, is the opportunity to meet people that I would have otherwise never have met before.

This past week I met up with a lovely (very dolce) woman who had contacted me about the subject that is near and dear to the hearts of all cooks and bakers: cooking equipment. A friendly e-mail about corzetti stamps turned into an e-mail exchange that turned into a meeting over coffee and the realization that the world is actually a small place full of kindred spirits.

It was such a pleasure to meet my new friend and I just wanted to say thank you very publically. I also wanted to highlight one of the many shared pleasures my new friend and I have: Rosetta Costantino’s Calabria from Scratch.

This beautiful blog is an homage to the cuisine and customs of Calabria. Since my mother is Calabrese, I loved Rosetta’s blog from the first and am really looking forward to her upcoming cookbook.

One of Rosetta’s recent posts feature an Italian dolce called Bocconotti (little mouthfuls). While I have heard of Bocconotti, I never realized that there was a version of the cookie attached to Calabrian sweets. I asked my mom if she knew of these cookie and she wasn’t familiar with them.

My new friend also told me that she hadn’t heard of them before (in relation to Calabrian baking) but that she was on a quest to discover a recipe that would recreate the Bocconotti that a family member of hers used to make.

In the spirit of adventure, my mom and I decided to try these cookies one Sunday afternoon and the result was quite nice. Not only did I get to bake with my mom but we turned out some cookies that were very good.

While I don’t consider these a traditional family cookie, I really enjoyed trying them. It was a reminder of something that I sometimes forget when it comes to blogging: my blog is about baking.

I started my blog because I love to bake. Because I love dolci. While my blog is an avenue for many pursuits, it makes me happiest when I’m baking something sweet.

I want to thank my new friend for meeting up with me. I’m looking forward to many dolci adventures!

Ciao!

You can find the recipe for Bocconotti Calabresi here.

Before I get to these week’s edition of Magazine Mondays, I have some big news about MM for the next few weeks.

I’m going on vacation soon and while I’m gone, MM will be hosted by three long-time contributors: Tia of Buttercream Barbie, Tina of Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor and Janie of Panini Girl.

In the past, the lovely Wandering Coyote of ReTorte has hosted for me when I’ve been away. I decided this time, though, it was time to send MM on the road. Here’s how the schedule will work:

Tia will host on Monday August 23rd (e-mail entries to starrysugar{@}hotmail{dot}com).

Tina will host on Monday August 30th (e-mail entries to hexandkobe{@}yahoo{dot}com).

Janie will host on September 6th (e-mail entries to jtray4{@}mac{dot}com).

If you have an MM entry for any of those weeks, e-mail it to the appropriate hostess and she’ll include you in the round-up.

I’ll be back for Magazine Mondays on October 13th.

As for this week, I must tell you that if you have not picked up the latest issue of Saveur, you simply must do so! The magazine features the cuisine of Greece and there are some incredible recipes including this delicious recipe for Peppers Stuffed with Feta (Piperies Gemistes me Feta).

I cannot tell you how delicious this recipe was! It was a huge hit with everyone and very easy to make. The salty/creamy filling was the perfect foil for the roasted peppers. My mouth is watering just thinking of them. That’s my MM entry for the week.

Here’s who joined me in this week’s edition:

Joanna of Go Ahead and Snicker made Sweet and Sour Pickles from the August 2010 issue of Southern Living.

Melissa of It’s the Way She … made Chocolate Icebox Cake from the August 2010 issue of Real Simple.

Wandering Coyote of ReTorte made Pasta with Shrimp and Cilantro-Lime Pesto from the July 2010 issue of Bon Appétit.

Ranjani of Four Seasons of Food made Green Beans with Mustard Crema from the August 2010 issue of Cooking Light.

Jan from Kitchen Heals Souls made Mussels with Ditalini from Delicious, Volume 7, Issue 5.

Carla of RecipeAddict made Chicken Pot Pie with Chanterelles from the September 2009 issue of Bon Appétit.

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

I’m going on vacation in a few weeks and I’m trying to work my way through as many cookbooks as I can because I have so many to tell you about!

One of the blessings of having a food blog is the opportunity (the honour!) to have a peek at the amazing cookbooks that are being produced.

First and foremost, I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed Giada de Laurentiis’ latest: Giada at Home: Family Recipes from Italy and California.

Thanks to the kind folks at Clarkson Potter and Random House, I was able to take part in a conference call a few months ago were several bloggers got to ask Giada some questions about her new book.

Believe me when I say she’s just as charming in person as she is on the air! She answered everyone’s questions and made some really good points about the importance of fresh ingredients. Another great point she made was how easy it is easy to marry the ideas of Italian cooking and Californian cooking. In many ways, that’s what Giada at Home is about.

If you’re familiar with Giada’s previous books, the usual hallmarks are all here. Beautiful photos, well laid out, lots of recipes that work. Giada at Home is no different. Hope you give it a look if you haven’t already.

I made the Pea Pesto Crostini, which were easy and delicious!

The second cookbook I wanted to share with you today was Mario Batali’s latest: Molto Gusto: Easy Italian Cooking.

I own all of Mario’s cookbooks and this one will happily take its place beside its siblings. The idea behind this book was to give the home cook the chance to make a lot of the great food served at Batali’s Otto Enoteca Pizzeria at home. If buying it for all the pizza recipes isn’t tempting enough, then buy it for all the ice cream recipes.

I tried the Pennette with Cauliflower Ragu (opening picture) and loved it. Actually, sous chef honours must go to Mamma Cream Puff who helped me out by making the pasta dish. I photographed it! Much like Giada’s book, Batali’s book is filled with lots of great photos and easy instructions. Another keeper!

Okay. That’s two books off my list.

So many more to go!

Ciao!

There is nothing more disappointing than disappointing buttercream.

It doesn’t matter how tremendous the vehicle is, if the buttercream isn’t top notch, you and your baked goods are going nowhere in a hurry.

While I wasn’t planning a buttercream post, especially in the thick of summer’s heat and humidity, I decided this was as good a time as any to mention this particular buttercream as a segue to a particular blog I wanted to introduce you to (if you haven’t already been introduced).

I’m baking cupcakes for a baby shower and the party hostesses asked me if I could bake a small batch so they could taste them. They asked for chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream and my go-to recipe is Tish Boyle’s Silky Chocolate Buttercream from her tremendous book: The Cake Book.

This particular buttercream is made with egg yolks, into which is beaten a hot sugar syrup. Once the mixture is cool, you slowly work in softened butter and finally, melted chocolate. What you end up with is a luscious buttercream that tastes deeply of chocolate, first and foremost. The chocolate flavour is rounded out with a butteriness that’s never greasy. Best of all, it’s not too sweet.

For those of you that are long-time readers, you’ll know that I am a huge Tish Boyle fan. In fact, her cookbook The Good Cookie is one of my prized possessions.

Tish has a blog called Tish Boyle: Sweet Dreams and it’s a delicious place, let me tell you. I hope you’ll take a moment and visit and maybe even drop her a line or two.

As for me, I’m trying really hard not to eat the leftover buttercream sitting in the fridge.

Trying …

Ciao!

Note: The cake part of these cupcakes is from this recipe. For the Silky Chocolate Buttercream, check out the recipe on Tish Boyle’s blog.

I picked up a copy of a special publicaton by Vegetarian Times called the Farmer’s Market Cookbook featuring some of the magazine’s best summer recipes. I immediately bookmarked the recipe for Oregano and Asiago Focaccia, which originally appeared in the April 2008 edition of the magazine. This is probably the easiest focaccia you will ever make. It’s delicious and fast and it will go very quickly. Trust me.

Word to the wise: use finely grate the Asiago. I used coarsely grated cheese and it didn’t quite all melt into the focaccia (not that anyone is complaining, mind you) but if you want your cheese fully incorporated, use finely grated.

As always, this is my entry for Magazine Mondays. That’s the “non-event” I started as a way of forcing myself to use those clipped magazine recipes that were piling up everywhere. I can’t believe it but in October, MM will be three years old! Wow!

Anyway, if you post a magazine recipe (doesn’t have to be posted on a Monday), just send me the link and I’ll include it in my next round-up. Details about Magazine Mondays are all here.

Here’s who’s joining me for this week’s edition:

Melissa of It’s the Way She… made Goat Cheese and Roasted Corn Quesadilla from the March 2009 issue of Cooking Light.

Andrea of New Holistic Guide made a Garden Tomato and Goat Cheese Dip from Viva.

Recipe Sleuth from Eye for a Recipe made Creamy-Cilantro Lime Slaw from the July 2010 issue of Bon Appétit; Pasta Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Green Olivada from the July 2010 issue of Bon Appétit and Tender Zucchini Fritters with Green Goddess Dressing from the August 2010 issue of Bon Appétit.

Tina of Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor made Buttermilk Pecan Chicken Cutlets from the June 2010 issue of Cooking Light.

Janie of Panini Girl made Mostarda di Pomodori from the August 2010 issue of La Cucina Italiana.

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

August 2010 is going to be a big month in baking land as Sugar High Fridays is joining up with The Daring Kitchen to bring you a joint event!

SHF #68 is being hosted by the talented Elissa of 17 and Baking (her blog is gorgeous!). The theme is Browned Butter or Beurre Noisette. Elissa has all the details on her blog.

SHF is an event started by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess and it’s an honour for The Daring Kitchen to be part of this month’s edition. So how does the DK figure in, you ask?

Simple. If you’re a Daring Baker, then when you check the private forum today, you’ll see that there’s a very special challenge for August.

The world won’t know what it is until reveal day on August 27th, but it promises to be big!

If you’re not a Daring Baker already, no worries. You can always join The Daring Kitchen and while you won’t be able to participate in this month’s DB challenge (the deadline for joining in time for this month is passed), remember you can still take part in the SHF challenge!

Ciao!

Note: To catch up on this event and other food events, check out a great site called The Food Blog Diary run by Jacqueline. You can submit any events you like to Jacqueline at tinnedtomatoes{@}gmail{dot}com.