Un Pranzo Semplice

We took the opportunity to visit our dear cousins, Pietro and Lucia and Lucia’s sister Luisa up north near Trieste, and c.b.m (cousins-by-marriage) Roberta, her family, Fabrizia and her family near Aviano. If you’ve ever heard the stories of our time at Aviano, you’ll quickly know that these kind, generous folks are dear to us….

Very vanilla cupcakes 🧁

Have you been searching for that seemingly elusive, delicate, yet very delicious vanilla cupcake? I certainly have, until now! It’s my brother-in-law’s birthday tomorrow, and I decided to bake a few treats to celebrate how wonderful, kind and generous he is. Happy birthday, Tom! 1 3/4 c AP flour 1 c raw sugar 1/3 tsp…

We bought some cheese…

Well folks, the time has finally arrived! Tony and I have begun the sometimes arduous, but always incredible adventure that we’ve talked and dreamed of for more than 30 years: the Sicily house renovations have begun! I will chronicle our journey as we go, but will start off with a few pictures. First off, Sicily…

Lemon Cream Pie🍋

If you’re looking for a perfect, creamy, tart dessert for your summer cookout, this tart lemon cream pie is not only delicious, but fast and simple, too! Lemon Cream Pie 🥧 2 – 8 oz blocks of cream cheese 1 – 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk 4 T fresh lemon juice 1/2 c…

A Very Different Kind of Christmas

What a year this has been… for the world. Hurt, loss, grief, change – I believe most have experienced at least one of these things this year. For the ever dwindling Lombardo household, change was the BIG one. Loss of a kind of life we’ve been living for more than 30 years has been the…

Everyday Focaccia

I know, I know… I’m evil. I am a bread-eating, carb-loving gal who doesn’t believe that all gluten is bad. For thousands of years, all of our ancestors have been making and eating some type of bread, whether flatbread, crispy, cracker-like breads, crunchy-crusted loaves, water, and ground up grains have shaped how we eat. Read…

Shokupan with Tangzhong

The magic of light, delicious homemade sandwich bread is the Tangzhong method; a type of roux made with either milk and flour (milk bread) or water and flour for a simple sandwich loaf called Shokupan in Japanese. If you’ve not yet tried it, read further and give it a try… don’t get discouraged by the…

Cranberry-Peach Cream Scones

In today’s episode of Cleaning Out the Pantry, I reached for a bag of unsweetened, dried cranberries and some delicious dried white peaches from Trader Joe’s, courtesy of Mik❣️ For an explosion of flavor, I soaked the dried cranberries and peaches in one cup of warmed apple cider with a tablespoon of Braggs Apple Cider…

Cinnamon Roll Biscuits 

Yes, biscuits! If you’re looking for a good, flakey, layered with butter, cinnamon and raisins biscuit lightly kissed with creamy, silk-like glaze – look no further!  Crazy menopausal cravings are worse than the pregnancy ones for me- sweet one minute salty, the next… moist (sorry Tyler) one bite, then crunchy the next… wonderful woes of…

green is the new orange…

Hey, if a tv show can do it (Orange is the New Black – a Netflix Original series), so can I!  This, however, is not another episode of Piper Kerman’s memoir-turned-tv-show, but a tribute to an island. Okinawa, that is. I visited the local fruit market yesterday, and walked away with way too much for…

Truffle Brownies

    These incredible delights are so rich, you only need to serve a 1 x 1 inch square… dressed up with some whipped bourbon cream with vanilla bean and strawberries, you’ve got a lovely dessert. v 1 1/4 c butter 3/4 c Dutch cocoa 6 oz good quality dark chocolate, chopped 2 T water…