By Maria Filice • April 8, 2010 Thanks to Nancy Frater, our Canadian bookseller for donating her time and selling Breaking Bread in L’Aquila at the Book Launch. It’s nice to hear what others are saying….
“When our customers picked up this cookbook they were delighted to find the recipes were easy to follow, not a lot of prep time and not a lot of ingredients. This cookbook may bring fresh memories of Italian cooking for Italians but it’s also a great book for the rest of us to start cooking Italian-style”.
Nancy Frater
BookLore is for folks who take life literally!
www.booklore.ca
By Maria Filice • March 31, 2010 
I may not hit those high notes in “The Great Gig in the Sky” but I never skip a beat with my pasta alla bolognese with a soprano of spicy sausage.
Get a standing ovation with my pasta alla bolognese. ps…It is very easy. How? The sauce was slow cooked and adding the hot sausage adds the perfect touch. Of course, you can deviate to mild sausage or leave it out. Whatever you and your guests enjoy!
Serves 4-6 (with leftovers for another time)
Ingredients:
1 lb. spaghetti
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground beef/pork (combo.)
1 lb. sausage
5-6 medium tomatoes, diced or canned (28 oz)
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 cup of red wine (one that you enjoy drinking)
2 tbsp. pesto (I keep it handy in the freezer)
1 tbsp. dry oregano
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
pinch of red chili flakes
fresh basil, to garnish
freshly grated Parmigiano cheese
Heat a large saute pan over medium, add the olive oil. Then add the onion and cook until they start to soften. Add the garlic, ground meat and sausage. Cook for five minutes and stir occassionally. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, pesto, oregano, and red chili flakes. Cook for thirty minutes and then add the wine. Reduce the heat to low and cook for additional thirty minutes. I like to make sure that the pork is cooked and total cooking is 1 hour.
Using a large pot, cook the pasta according to the package instruction until it is al dente (approx. 8 minutes).
Drain pasta and then throw it back in the pot. Add sauce and freshly grated Parmigiano cheese (handful). Place pasta in bowl and decorate with fresh basil and sausage.
Serve immediately with your favorite beverage! Salute and here’s to Pink Floyd!
By Maria Filice • March 15, 2010 I wanted to share a book review by Richard-Gilles Martineau, food critic, writer and fellow food blogger on food buzz living in Japan. The chef at Il Paladina, one of the finest Italian restaurants in Japan was also impressed by it’s direct approach and the photos! I do hope you share my same passion when the book is available in just a few weeks! Here it is:
When Maria Filice conceived this cookbook remarkable for its beautiful practicality she had love, simplicity and knowledge in mind.
Love for the people living in the L’Aquila Region of Abruzzo, love for her late husband, Paul Piccone, who introduced her to their homey gastronomy, love for her guests past, present and future and love for ample, complete and delicious food.
Simplicity in a book eminently utilitarian for all cooks and chefs, be they absolute beginners trying to please their loved ones or veteran chefs in search of inspiration back to the basics.
Knowledge to be acquired about traditional ingredients, new taste combinations and forgotten wines for perfect pairing with her recipes.
This cookbook ought to be left open at all times on the kitchen table of all Italian food lovers, and all food lovers for that matter.Preceded by an eye-opening introduction on her entertaining philosophy and the wines of Abruzzo, Maria’s work has been organized along the seven days of the week with a full Italian meal suggestion for everyone of them.Actually, more than a meal, she is taking her guests along a daily feast from the Antipasti, through Primi Piatti and Seondi Piatti to the Dolci via a detour through a Contorni.
I do not wish to reveal all the secrets of her book, but I cannot help recommend my own biased selection:-Antipasti: Insalata di Mare e Servita nel Radicchio (Seafood salad in a Radicchio Cup)-Primi Piatti: Pasta e Lenticchie (Pasta and Lentils)-Primi Piatti: Minestra di Farro (Spelt Soup)-Secondi Piatti: Scaloppine al Vino Bianco (Veal Scaloppine in White Wine)-Secondi Piatti: Pollo Arrosto con Aglio e Rosmarino (Chicken with Rosemary and Garlic)-Contorni: Fritto Misto di Funghi (Sauteed Mushromms Madley)-Dolci: Torta di Caffe (Coffee Cake)
I wrote this review at the counter of Il Paladino, one of the very best Italian Restaurants in all Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. When I mentioned the wines of Montelpuciano to my friend chef, he just went to his cellar to show me a couple of the bottles he had on his wine list (some more expensive of the same name are kept away from the list for special guests!)!It certainly piqued his curiosity when I told him the reason of my query. Consequently, we went through Maria’s book together all over again at ease (I had chosen a quiet time of the day!) and he was so impressed by the direct approach of the recipes and the accompanying photographs that he requested me to keep the book long enough for him to consult!
Not only this cookbook will help you make your friends and family discover the pleasures of a great regional Italian gastronomy, but the net profits of its sales will be donated to help the victims of devastation caused by the earthquake which recently struck L’Aquila.
For direct purchase consult Maria Filice’s own website at www.foodandfate.com.
Robert-Gilles Martineau
By Maria Filice • March 13, 2010 
A few months ago (12/2), I wrote a blog about freezing cauliflower. Well, here is it, it made it’s way back to life with savory pene rigati with burro (butter) and garlic!
A great way to use something frozen, something fresh (parsley) and something dry (pasta) = a love triangle of flavors!
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 lb. pene rigati (or your favorite pasta)
2 lb. fresh or frozen cauliflower florets
3 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano cheese
fresh Italian parsley (handful or 1 cup), chopped
salt and black pepper
Using a large pot, cook the pasta according to the pasta instructions until it is al dente (approx. 8-10 minutes)
While the pasta water is boiling…….begin the sauce. Heat the butter, olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic until it turns golden, for a minute. Stir occasionally.
Add the cauliflower and saute for a few minutes and lower the heat to low. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Drain the pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water and add it to the sauce.
Add the pasta to the sauce pan, add the cheese and 1/2 cup of pasta water. Stir for a minute letting the sauce mix well. Before serving, add the fresh parsley.
Serve immediately.
By Maria Filice • March 3, 2010 
This is a good way to eat your broccoli! Mix it with your favorite pasta and a perfect meal either sitting or standing up!
Ingredients:
1 lb. pasta (I used linguine)
1 large broccoli flower, cut into florets
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 anchovie fillets, optional
1/2 tsp. red chili flakes, optional
1/2 cup of reserved pasta water
3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 fresh grated Parmigiano cheese
Tip: place the broccoli florets in the microwave for three minutes. At the same time, begin to boil the pasta water……
Preparation:
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the garlic, anchovies and red chili flakes. Stir for a minute, as the garlic turns golden and the achovies dissolve. Add the broccoli and sautee for three minutes.
In a large pot, cook the pasta according to the package instructions until it is al dente. Drain the past, and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
Drain the pasta and add to the pan with broccoli and toss. Add the reserved pasta water as needed. I sometimes drizzle a little more extra virgin olive oil and a few more red chili flakes (depending on my guests).
Sprinkle the parmigiano cheese and serve immediately.
Buon appetito!
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