With apologies to Kermit, being green doesn’t have to be all that bad.

Especially when you’re a sweet little cookie made up of gorgeous pistachios that’s gone for a gleeful roll in icing sugar.

These delicious little cookies reminded me that I have neglected the pistachio in my baking. Walnuts and pecans have top spot in my baking rotation as they will appear again and again in cookies, pies and cakas. But the lovely pistachio has languished a bit.

No more!

It’s hard to resist these buttery nuts that are so vibrantly yellow-green on the inside.

Made of ground pistachios, honey, lemon zest, vanilla extract and egg white, these cookies made themselves known to me thanks to Biscotti: Recipes from the Kitchen of The American Academy in Rome, The Rome Sustainable Food Project, an adorable little book by Mona Talbott and Mirella Misenti.

The recipes are compiled from the kitchens of the American Academy in Rome’s sustainable food project. That is a kitchen I would like to live in.

Don’t be fooled by the book’s small stature. It is lovely from start to finish and filled with cookie recipes to make every heart happy.

And as long as the inside is happy, the outside is beautiful.

Kermit would agree, I’m sure.

Ciao!

The recipe for Biscotti al Pistacchio (Pistachio Cookies) is on page 63 of the book. The Academy in Rome site has another delicious recipe from the book available on-line: Brutti ma Buoni. Enjoy!

When it comes to the choice of pancakes vs. waffles, I will always be a pancake girl.

Having said that, every once and awhile I get a hankering for a serving of light, fluffy, deep-pocketed waffles.

Blessed with a Belgian waffle maker, half the joy is making the waffles and the other half is pouring on the syrup and slathering on the butter so that every single waffle pocket is full (why else would waffles be covered in cavities if not to fill them???).

For this edition of Magazine Mondays, I tried a recipe from a June 2005 issue of Gourmet: Belgian Buttermilk Waffles with Glazed Bananas. I’m usually one to eat my waffles with butter and syrup only. I love fruit and all but I find it just gets in the way of me and my waffle. In this case, though, the glazed bananas were a perfectly sweet and toothsome foil to the light and airy waffles.

Even if you’re not into the glazed bananas, the waffles are a star and worth trying.

I actually don’t have any MM posts to share with you this week as no one sent any links. Do remember, though, that MM is all about attacking that pile of food magazines and clipped recipes that I know we all of lying around. Post a recipe from a magazine or food article clipping on your blog and send me the link - I’ll post it in my next MM round-up.

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

Belgian Buttermilk Waffles with Glazed Bananas

To all my Canadian friends out there, have the happiest of Victoria Days!

It’s been a lovely long weekend with lots of celebrations with family and friends.

I haven’t baked in an awfully long time and I got back to one of my great loves with these adorable individual cakes based on a recipe from Emily Luchetti’s The Fearless Baker: Scrumptious Cakes, Pies, Cobblers, Cookies, and Quick Breads that You Can Make to Impress Your Friends and Yourself.

I used the recipe for Individual Lemon Cakes with Oranges and Vanilla Mascarpone Cream and modified it slightly to make little orange cakes (unbelievably I ran out of lemons!). I also substituted the oranges for strawberries and blueberries.

I couldn’t resist adding a few spring flowers to capture the happy occasion.

Victoria Day is the beginning of long weekend season for Canadians and it’s always a welcome day.

Happy Victoria Day! Happy Baking!

Ciao!

For those of that don’t know Emily, she is an amazingly talented baker and cookbook author. She has a site and a blog.

Wow. It’s been a long time between regular posts here at my little corner of the food blog world. Many apologies - between work and life in general, there just hasn’t been a lot of time for much blogging.

But that’s the beauty of a food blog - it’s always here waiting whenever you decide to return!

And I am returning with these delicious Ricotta Tortelloni from the May 2011 issue of Bon Appétit.

I wish I had a picture of the finished product, all smothered in butter and Parmigiano Reggiano. Alas, while I made these babies during the day, they were served at night and everyone was so eager to try them I wasn’t about to force guests to wait while I took pictures.

You’ll have to trust me. They were delicious. And for those of you that are intimidated of making pasta dough from scratch, this might be the recipe for you as it’s made in a stand mixer. Now I’m one for kneading pasta dough by hand as you simply cannot underestimate the deeply statisfying experience of plunging your hands into flour and egg and forming something out of that happy mess.

Having said that, it was pretty sweet to have a pasta dough come together in just a few minutes without getting flour everywhere.

The best part was forming these little babies. It was so much fun to stuff and fold and twist and pull.

This is my entry for this week’s edition of Magazine Mondays, a little event I started awhile back to help apply at least a modicum of control to the magazine piles threatening to take over every corner of the house.

It’s been many weeks since my last MM post and I have been remiss. Here’s to getting back on track!

Remember that anyone can take part in MM. All you have to do is e-mail me a link to a post on your blog featuring a recipe from a magazine or clipping. Here’s who’s joining me for this week’s edition:

Tina of Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor made Jamie Oliver’s Zucchini and Garlic from an issue of Food & Wine.

Valerie of Sex, Food, and Rock & Roll made Bacon and Leek Risotto with Poached Egg from the April 2011 issue of Bon Appétit.

Janet from The Taste Space made a Sesame, Edamame and Pea Shoot Salad inspired by the June 1994 issue of Gourmet.

Recipe Sleuth of Eye for a Recipe made Chicken Tagine with Artichoke Hearts and Peas from the March 2011 issue of Food & Wine; Rigatoni with Eggplant and Pine Nut Crunch from the March 2011 issue of Bon Appétit; and Peruvian Roast Chicken with Garlic and Lime from the March 2011 issue of Cook’s Illustrated .

Thanks to everyone who joined me for this edition of MM!

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

Ricotta Tortelloni from the May 2011 issue of Bon Appétit.

I love my mom.

I love her because when I was just a wee little thing, and she would make fresh pasta, she’d let me play with a piece and pretend that I was making pasta, too.

And now that I’m not a wee little thing anymore, I love to make fresh pasta.

Moms are the best because they help to make pretend come true.

Happy Mother’s Day to my mom and to all the mommies out there!

Ciao!