First of all, I want to confess that it took me almost a full minute after I walked into this room to figure out where Anna was.
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| If she wants to go as a "bag of stuff" for Halloween, that would save us some effort for sure. |
As I'm sure you're all aware, Sunday was Festa della Republica! Which works out great, because guess who has three Italian cookbooks and a bottomless desire to eat pasta? And also...thumbs? (Me. This guy.) Hey, look how cute and authentic Cookbook #62: Country Italian Cooking (Publications International, Ltd. 2004) looks. Provenance: Mom. Previous recipes on this blog: none.
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| Like some Italian grandmother hand-painted those olive branches while doing other stereotypical Old World things that I am too lazy to generate right now. |
So of course it is full of brands. DISGUISED BRAND COOKBOOKS EVERYWHERE. But I managed to find a recipe for Baked Risotto with Asparagus, Spinach, and Parmesan that wasn't shouting the words CONTADINA or BELGIOIOSO at me.
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| It was nice and quiet. |
Verdict: The risotto was good, but it took me a while to find something I actually wanted to make. I guess if you don't know what to do with all of your RAGÚ and FILIPPO BERIO product this could be helpful.
For Cookbook #63: Italian: The Essence of Mediterranean Cuisine (Carla Capalbo, 1994), we took to the grill once again. Provenance: this was one of Dan's clearance-bin purchases. Previous recipes on this blog: none. I kept putting off these Mediterranean Turkey Skewers for some reason, but they ended up being very tasty, as most grilled items are.
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| Even the eggplant! |
Verdict: there are a lot of colorful and appealing recipes in this thing. I should unleash Dan on the clearance section more often.
Cookbook #64: Essential Pasta and Pizza (Carla Capalbo, 1995) has a lovely recipe for Fusilli with Peppers and Onions. Provenance: Mom. Previous recipes on this blog: none.
That name seems kind of familiar...wait, it's the same author as Cookbook #63! And also...ah, hell, it's the same book.
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| The repeated "pizza with tiny squid on it" was the giveaway. |
Verdict: I'm still counting these as two separate entries and you can't stop me.
Anna managed to quietly entertain herself at a birthday party this weekend.
It's a good thing, because there wasn't too much else going on.
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| Unnecessarily making her own fun since 2009. |
Anyway, she does want to tell you about the piñata, if you have a minute.
