So since the earthquake in the Amatricia region of Italy last week, I’ve had Italy on the brain. And while it is somewhat absurd in the middle of a natural disaster, one of the first things that I thought of was Bucatini all’Amatriciana… somehow planted in my brain was this is the signature dish from that area of Italy. It’s very popular, very easy to make and taste amazing.
I’m on a bit of an Italy kick. Or rather, an Italian-esque foodie kick. More on that coming up, but I was trying to think of a cookie that was sort of Italian. There are of course Florentines and Biscotti and Baci di Dame, but I thought I would make up a new recipe. I came up with these chocolate cookies with toasted pine nuts (pignoli) and rosemary. I know, I know, it might sound a little strange but they actually turned out really really well. The rosemary isn’t overwhelming and the pine nuts are lightly crunchy. They are also really easy to make. Enjoy!
Ghost Peppers. Jolokia chiles. Hot. Very Hot. Apparently some of the hottest edible chiles around. I’d been talking with someone about a year back so when I saw starter seedlings at the garden shop this spring, I decided to buy some. Thing is though: I now have about 40 ghost peppers. I’ve drying most of them, to grind for chili (it anyone wants some dried, let me know), but I decided to make this BBQ sauce too. It’s not all that hot, balanced by the sweetness of the roasted mangoes, actually. Definitely more of a chicken or veggie glaze than ribs or steak. Very tasty and the spicy kick gets you at the end.
I came back from a weekend in Maine with lots (and I mean lots!) of Wild Maine Blueberries. I find them about a million times better than the culivated high bush kind from New Jersey or Michigan or where ever else they are grown. In addition to the better flavor, I think that because they are smaller, they distribute better in muffins and such. So I made this “coffee cake” like blueberry loaf. Oh so good. Extremely light and fluffy and I am trying not to eat it all at once.
I few weeks ago, I had run out of frozen blueberries (this is unusual) and wanted to make blueberry muffins before the shops opened so I couldn’t buy any fresh ones, so I resorted to using blueberry jam. Turns out: best. blueberry. jam. ever. And you don’t have to worry about having the berries. This would also work with other jam, so use whatever you’ve got!