By Maria Filice • April 13, 2011 
What’s for lunch? Today, I took a little of this and that and came up with a tasty Chicken Salad/Insalata di pollo. Simple, Fresh and Delcious! Hold the mayo!
A litte of this and that:
2 cups (leftover boiled chicken breast), cubed
1 red onion, thinly sliced
4 stalks of celery (individual ribs, chopped
2 cups of grape tomatoes (staring at me on the kitchen counter)
salt and pepper (to taste)
red chili flakes (opional – I like it hot)
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Add all ingredients in a medium bowl and toss. Serve with your favorite crusty bread.
leftover tip:
Add peanut sauce, toasted sesame, red pepper and corn. Serve in Radicchio leaves (cups).
a presto,
maria
By Maria Filice • April 7, 2011 I wanted to thank everybody for supporting me during the first year of my book launch of Breaking Bread in L’Aquila. It was a very exciting evening at Rizzoli to see great friends and meet new friends!
It was an honor to have two chefs from Philadelphia come to the event: Joe Cicala and restaurnt owner Le Virtu, Francis Cratil Cretarola and Cathy Lee. Check it out www.levirtu.com, they prepare authentic foods from Abruzzo! Stay tuned for a joint book event!
I served my tasty amaretti cookies – fresh out of the oven! The recipe is in my book Breaking Bread in L’Aquila. Psssst…..there’s no flour in these cookies – great treat for those friends/family members who are gluten sensitive!
Amaretti Cookies
Ingredients:
3 cups almonds, plus an additional 36
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoons almond extract
2 cups of confectioner’s sugar spread on 12 inches of wax paper (for rolling)
Vegetable spray for the baking sheet (though Mom sprinkles the baking sheet with flour)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Using a food processor on pulse, chop the 3 cups of almonds until they are finely ground.
Beat the eggs, sugar, and almond extract. Add the ground nuts and gently fold them together until you have a moist mixture that you can form into balls.
Lightly grease three baking sheets. Using a teaspoon (or your hand), scoop up the batter, form balls, and roll them in the confectioner’s sugar. Place them at least an inch apart on the greased baking sheet. Prior to baking, press one almond into each ball.
Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cookies are golden in color and firm to the touch.
Let them cool before removing them from the pan.
These cookies are perfect for freezing (if they make it to the freezer)!
a presto,
maria x
By Maria Filice • April 1, 2011 Aid for Japan and Italy, By FLORENCE FABRICANT, The New York Times, Published: March 29, 2011
The recent earthquake in Japan may dominate the news, but many people have not forgotten the earthquake that hit L’Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy in 2009. Part of the price of a cookbook about the food of Abruzzo — “Breaking Bread in L’Aquila” by Maria Filice (Telos Press, 2010) — is being donated to restoration efforts in the devastated area. There will be a book signing, with food and wine, on April 6 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Rizzoli bookstore, 31 West 57th Street. Signed copies are also available by calling (800) 522-6657.
By Maria Filice • March 14, 2011 
Hi Everybody,
On Wednesday, April 6, 2011, Rizzoli Bookstore in NYC will be hosting a book event for Breaking Bread in L’Aquila. We hope to see you there!
This marks the Second Anniversary of the Earthquake devastation of L’Aquila – help support us!
“Her cookbook is full of elegant and rich traditional dishes from the L’Aquila region. . . . This wonderful book. . . will appeal to foodies and cooks looking for effortless Italian cooking.”
—Library Journal, February 15, 2010
“For the cook with the sophisticated side, and an affinity for family-style Italian meals, Breaking Bread in L’Aquila is the perfect book.”
—Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts, July 19, 2010
“The new George Clooney thriller currently in theaters, The American, is set in Italy’s Abruzzo region. With the movie, cookbook author and food stylist Maria Filice has found herself uniquely poised to talk about Abruzzo’s food.”
—Publishers Weekly, September 13, 2010
The net proceeds of this book will be donated to the restoration efforts of the earthquake of L’Aquila.
a presto,
Maria
By Maria Filice • February 15, 2011 
This is my version of Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard, the refrigerator, freezer and the pantry were bare…..
Here’s what I found:
In the freezer: frozen shrimp, scallops
kitchen counter: 1 cup of fresh grape tomatoes and 1 clove of garlic
In the refrigerator: fresh italian flat parsley, 1 lemon
In the patry: extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper, red chili flakes
I roasted the grape tomatoes (30- minutes) at 350F (added salt, pepper, chopped garlic) to give sweetness to the seafood.
Dressing: 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley, 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, pinch of red chili flakes and the juice of a fresh lemon = perfect dressing.
Another variation is adding your favorite pasta to this seafood salad!
a presto,
maria
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