By Maria Filice • August 22, 2010 It happens to the best of us! I got a little intimidated when I decided to cook a bowl of pasta to my wonderful friends from Rome (they are great cooks)!
I added porchini mushrooms to my simple tomatoe sauce while I slow cooked fresh Italian sausage and chicken breasts.
Just before I was ready to serve….I pulled a “Ralph Cramden” – getting a little stage fright…… A reminder that “if” it happens to you, take a deep breath and tell yourself that you poured a lot of love into the pot!
After serving my pasta, my friends cheered: Complimenti Maria! Brava! I had a sip of red wine and with a toast with my guests: Buon Venuti and Buon Appetito!
Maria!
ps – my apologies…..forgot my camera but will post this tasty dish, photo and proper recipe measurements soon!
By Maria Filice • August 12, 2010 Yes….it’s getting mixed reviews. Here’s Maria’s opinion!
Eat, Pray, Love
I recently attended the preview of the movie Eat, Pray, Love with a dear friend. It was the perfect energy!
Sometimes life throws us a curve and gives us all a wake-up call, challenging us to either act, react, or do nothing. Those moments remind us that we’ve got to “get busy living or get busy dying.”
The main character, Liz Gilbert (played by Julia Roberts), realizes that her priorities changed after getting married, leading to her decision to end her marriage. Anybody looking at her life would wonder, what’s her problem? She’s got a great job, a supportive and loving husband, a home, a great family, and friends. In my opinion, she was very brave and courageous to take care of her needs.
She decides to take a year off, spending four months each in Italy, India, and Bali. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I recommend the movie. The scenery is beautiful. Italy is very familiar to me, a place I call home, and I do have Bali on my list of places to visit!
When Liz travelled to Italy, I smiled through her journey as she broke bread with new friends, eating, drinking, and living the “dolce vita.” Ahh…gaining lots of muffin tops indeed, and sharing her pain when those size 8 pants turned into a plus size (me, not Julia Roberts).
On a personal note, the movie strikes a chord for me. In my personal life, when my husband was diagnosed with cancer in August 2000, it changed my life forever. Working through grief, taking risks, re-discovering myself, and practicing mindfulness through a very difficult time now has a silver lining. I wake up each morning blessed, ready with a new appetite for food, spirituality, and passion, a new twist to my Cinderella story. My film in the making…
Stay tuned…
Maria!
By Maria Filice • August 12, 2010 
I was inspired to make this salad after the TRAIN concert … “Hey Soul Sister” made a tasty California Salad.
The perfect salad medly of mesclun (a mixture of young salad greens or….use your favorite greens), thin slices of red onion, cherry tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, olives (love’em). Add slices of fresh strawberries, drizzle extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and fresh black pepper and voila; the perfect salad. Adding the strawberries brings out sweetness and a nice change for salad lovers!
Serve with your favorite wine! Include fresh crusty bread, cheese (now we’re talking)!
a presto,
maria
By Maria Filice • August 6, 2010 
The secret of the perfect seafood salad is timing. When your favorite fish is cooked to perfection, add a little extra virgin olive oil (live a little …experiment with infused oils or a drop of truffle oil). Add: fresh lemon wedges, fresh italian flat parsley (chopped), 1 clove of minced garlic and juice of one lemon. DONE! I sometimes like to add olives, marinated mushrooms (or whatever I see in the pantry, counter or refrigerator). Adding a little of this and that makes it your signature dish!
Serve over a bed of greens as the perfect antipasto or light lunch or dinner!
The recipe is my book “Breaking Bread in L’Aquila” – I serve it in decorative martini glasses, garnished with radicchio!
Don’t forget to serve with your favorite white wine or rose wine.
a presto,
maria
By Maria Filice • August 5, 2010 
How best to start a great evening of breaking bread with friends and family ……
One of my favorite antipasti (appetizer) is serving toasted bread with a variety of different toppings: roasted peppers, olive spread (tapenade), sauteed mushrooms (just to name a few in the volt). THEN…..a platter of pecorino cheese, fresh mozzarella, provalone …. vino/wine. I love serving on platters and passing around and choosing your favorites (one, two, three…..) around the table and sharing –
Don’t forget…..I will be preparing some of my favorites at my cooking class on October 1st. Classes fill up fast ….
Front and Center, 188 Front Street, Owego, New York 607 687 1760
www.frontncenter.net
a presto,
maria
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