By Maria Filice • February 18, 2010 
Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables and one that I never tire!
They were on sale at the local fruit stand and bought four large eggplants. Tonight, I needed to be creative …… working with two ingredients: eggplant + garlic.
preheat oven at 450 degrees
2 eggplant
3 garlic heads
1/4 tsp. red chili flakes
1/4 tsp. dry oregano
Sea salt
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 clove fresh garlic chopped
Cut the eggplant (leave skin and seeds) lengthwise (cut 1/4 inch thick). Each eggplant should yield approx. 6 slices. Either spray the baking pan with a vegetable spray or drizzle the pan with olive oil and 2 teaspoon of salt. Then layer the eggplant and bake for 10-12 minutes on each side.
Roasted Garlic:
Peal a few layers of the garlic bulb skin, making sure that the bulb is intact. With a knife, cut off 1/4 of the top of the clove, explosing the individual cloves of garlic. Place the garlic head in a baking dish or cut a double layer of foil wrap and create a little dish (no mess remember). Drizzle each garlic head with olive oil and season with a litle sea salt. Bake for approx. 20 minutes or until the garlic are softened and golden. Remove from oven and set aside for 15 minutes.
In a bowl, squeeze the roasted garlic and give it a little squeeze to let all of the oils and juices come out! Slice the eggplant in cubes and slices and add to the bowl. Add the red chili flakes, oregano, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt to taste.
I served the eggplant with grilled chicken. It was light and flavorful. The flavors of the roasted garlic and fresh garlic marinated in the eggplant was a nice combination. See how we stretched two ingredients……
Leftover tips: add the eggplant to your favorite tomatoe sauce and top over your favorite pasta!
By Maria Filice • February 16, 2010 
I want to share the review from Library Journal, the foremost book review source for the national libraries. I really wanted the book to reflect elegance, simplicity and unpretentiousness = the formula for a successful gathering!
This is just the beginning (or the antipasto)…
Filice, Maria. Breaking Bread in L’Aquila. Food & Fate: Telos. Apr. 2010. c.150p. photogs. ISBN 978-0-914386-43-8. $29.95. COOKING Pre-order a copy today!
Filice traveled many times with her late husband, Paul Piccone, to his native central Italy. Her cookbook is full of elegant and rich traditional dishes from the L’Aquila region, arranged as a week of feasts-each day has a menu of four courses, which can each be used as a stand-alone meal, plus a dessert. The recipes showcase the unpretentiousness of the region and use ingredients that can be found in most North American grocery stores. Filice includes notes on her experience with all the recipes, tips on entertaining, a wine guide, pantry stocking suggestions, and a measurement guide. VERDICT Although this wonderful book is not essential for smaller library collections, it will appeal to foodies and cooks looking for effortless Italian cooking. -Ginny Wolter, Toledo-Lucas Cty. P.L.
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!
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