One of my favorite things about the Italian countryside is the abundance of small, family owned hotels and the food they serve. Each has its own personality, expertise and of course, recipes. Col delle Rane, an agriturismo 30 miles northwest of Venice is one of these special places. Owned by the Gallina family for three […]

  I hereby give a huge apology to all the boxes of pasta in my pantry – “I’m so sorry for taking you for granted all my life and will never do it again.” I promise to never look at a box of pasta in the same uncaring way, nor toss it in my grocery […]

I don’t grill. I hate fire. I hate flames. I shop, prepare, cook, serve and pour the wine but I don’t grill. (I also hate cleaning up – did I mention that?) My husband Peter grills and actually has developed quite the reputation for his fine grilling skills. Nevertheless, I hover next to him over the […]

Liguria immediately comes to mind when speaking of pesto as it is in this beautiful region that this wonderful sauce was born. It is said that it is even an aphrodisiac! Pesto is an uncooked sauce – a synonym and symbol of Genoa and the whole of Liguria and in recent years has become one […]

We seem to be on a bit of a sbrisolona kick at Ortensia Blu!  I wanted to surprise my colleagues after the long summer break with something new and didn’t want to bake the usual chocolate or apple strudel. It had to be a mix of something light, fresh and still “estivo” or summer. Then […]

To be perfectly honest, the first time I saw a sbrisolona, it didn’t do too much for me. It wasn’t interesting looking and in fact, to continue with my honesty, actually sort of boring. Originating in Mantova, sbrisolona is a dessert meant to be broken in pieces and eaten with wine, grappa or espresso and […]

Pappardelle is a simple pasta made with flour, eggs and salt and it doesn’t take much time to prepare really good homemade pasta. Here is my small but useful handbook on how to prepare a perfect dough: 1) If possible, use a wooden board because the roughness of the wood is more suitable than a […]

My friend Roseann is one of the few, in my humble opinion, that I put in the category of a great cook. Growing up in an Italian family, Sundays were spent at Grandma’s house with all the relatives. Sunday was also the day to make homemade cavatelli with her grandmother and great aunts. Everyone had their […]

Just got back from a four day work trip and I had asked Dad to pick me up at the airport. It was 1:30 pm and I was tired but above all hungry.  It was rather cold on the airplane and I chose not to eat. My stomach was crying for a pizza.  German cuisine […]

When Laney arrived in Italy, I was so excited to finally meet her…and to get to know the American girl who would help me to speak English better and who gave me the opportunity to cook and join her blog! It was love at first sight! I spent three wonderful days with her, Monica and […]