By Maria Filice • February 15, 2010 
Voulez Vous some fresh orange marmelade? With my busy schedule the last two months, I totally forgot I had oranges staring at me in the refrigerator. Has that happened to you?
I know me….if I didn’t do anything with the oranges, they would end up in the garbage next week. I thought I would either squeeze orange juice or be creative and make orange marmelade. Never made jam but I thought let’s give a try. It was so easy!
4 large seedless oranges
4 cups of cold water
8 cups sugar
Directions
Slice the oranges in half (crosswise) and thinly slice the oranges including the pulp and juices. I cut them directly into the pot to make sure no juices escaped! (Also, I try to stick to the one pot clean up)!
Add the cold water and bring it to a boil, stirring often. Turn off the heat and add 8 cups of sugar, and stir until it is dissolved. Cover the pot with it’s lid. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for approximately 6-8 hours. I made this in the evening and let it sit overnight.
The next day, bring it to a boil, at medium-high. Make sure you stir often so that it does not stick or burn. Turn the heat down to low for other 2 1/2 hours, and again, for an additional 1/2 hour at medium.
You now have your very own fresh orange marmelade! I filled a large jar and stored in my refrigerator.
I added a teaspoon to my plain yogurt this morning – it was really good! Try it with your favorite cake or as simple as serving with vanilla ice cream, a teaspoon of jam and some dark chocolate shavings.
enjoy,
maria !
By Maria Filice • February 12, 2010 
It’s been a busy week with finalizing last minute changes to my first book “Breaking Bread in L’Aquila” pub date: April 6, 2010.
Now that’s a nice bowl of pasta! The front cover is one of my favorite pasta plating designs, served on a hand painted plate from Castelli, a beautiful town near Gran Sasso, in the region of Abruzzo. Castelli is famous for beautiful ceramics stemming back to the 15th Century.
I love these dishes, so bright and colorful, always my favorite pasta dish. Agree? After the shoot, we would enjoy eating and drinking the props!
But seriously, it took more than “a little of this and a little that”to finish the book. Led by my passion, it also takes an incredible team who helped me get the finish line!
Join my facebook page “Breaking Bread in L’Aquila”. I look forward to blogging more in the next day or two.
enjoy the weekend,
maria
By Maria Filice • February 3, 2010 
Bruschetta Heaven = Bread + tomoto + basil + garlic + extra virgin olive oil
This is one antipasto that does not require translation. What’s not to love about this simple math of flavors. Simple, fresh and rustic…..the three words that best describes my book.
Bruschetta is another recipe that I included in my upcoming book. I can’t wait to share it with you. The photo in my book is plated on a beautiful piece of morano glass. As they say “you eat with your eyes”.
Don’t forget to use your favorite breads and don’t be afraid to try different types of olive oil! I’m amazed at the quality and selection from around the world. Treat yourself to some premium extra virgin olive oils from my cousin’s website http://www.oliveoilemporium.com/
The simple things as breaking bread with rustic flavors and sharing with your friends, family and a nice glass of wine is Bruschetta Heaven!
maria!
By Maria Filice • February 2, 2010 
In my upcoming book “Breaking Bread in L’Aquila” pub date: April 6, 2010, we are in the final phases. One of the recipes in my book is the classic “veal cutlet”.
As a nice finishing touch, I have the titles of my 49 recipes translated in Italian having them both in both English and Italian.
Since Italian is not my first language and to complicate matters, speaking dialect makes it more challenging. In this example, growing up, we always referred to veal cutlet as “cotolette”. When I was proofreading last night, and read it as “costolette”, I thought to myself, “could this be a typo”?
Another recipe in my book are “grilled lamb chops”. Chops are not cotolette, cutlets are cotolette! Growing up, I don’t remember ever hearingthe word “costolette”? After a long deliberation with Fran (she’s fluent in Italian and yes, Calabrese too)? She checked her Italian dictionary and other references, and yes…… I learned something new! The results:
Veal Cutlets = Costolette di Vitello
Grilled Lamb Chops = Cotolette d’Agnello alla GrigliaWould you agree that the tasty photos speak for themselves = no deliberation here!
By Maria Filice • January 29, 2010 
I remember as a child, when my mother made soup, I would ask “who’s sick”… We always complained about soup and my dad would tell us that one day we would appreciate soup. He’s right, zuppa soupa is one of my favorites. Whenever papa visits, I always make soup, one of our many food bonds.
If you were following me this week, I had soup every night using basic ingredients and then adding a little of this and a little of that. Tonight, after a brisk walk and before tackling a few things in the office, I dropped by Russo’s and bought a fresh mozzarella and fresh pasta (armoniche rigatoni). It’s a short cylindrical pasta and ridged. ps – I love this pasta with a rich sauce or pesto – the sauce nestles in the ridges for the perfect bite!
Printable Recipe
Ingredients
1/2 cup of fresh pasta (armoniche rigatoni)
a nice chunk of mozzarella, approx. 2 tablespoons cubed and well, I ate the rest standing!
grated parmigiano cheese
Bring a small pot of water to boil, add some salt to water and cook the pasta for three minutes.
Strain the pasta (it’s almost al dente) but you are cooking for a few more minutes in the soup and the pasta will be perfect. Add the pasta in the pot and add the chicken broth. Bring the soup to a boil (3-4 minutes), and now it’s ready to serve.
Add the mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of parmigiano.
It’s also good with shaved pieces of parmigiano (for another time – I ran out of parmigiano). Here’s another meal in less than 15 minutes. Again, one pot!
Buon Appetito!
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