Broccoli Rabe & Provolone Ravioli with Pork Ragu, My Fourth of July Guest Post for Spicie Foodie

My good friend Nancy of Spicie Foodie is celebrating her third blogoversary, and to kick it off she asked me to contribute a guest post. If you don't know her, she is awesomeness personified,  and of course I was more than happy to oblige. I chose this broccoli rabe and provolone ravioli with pork ragu to share with her readers, so please go check out my post and say hello to her.

And for my U.S. readers, Happy Independence Day!

From Philly Hoagies to Baltimore Crabs: Two New Twists on Classic Local Cuisine, a Guest Post Exchange with Emily Malloy

Please welcome the always awesome and frequently hilarious (only when she intends to be, I assure you!) Emily of Cleanliness is Next to Godliness. We've worked up a fun little guest post exchange highlighting the iconic dishes of one another's cities, as you'll see below. She's come up with a very cool twist on a Baltimore classic, while I've deconstructed a Philly hoagie and turned it into something completely different. Hint: My dish is on the right above, and if you want to learn more, you'll have to go check out my guest post on her blog. And now, without further ado, heeere's Emily!

Hello all! My name is Emily of Cleanliness is Next to Godliness and it's an absolute pleasure to be with you today! When Madame Trix and I were brainstorming our guest post exchange, we thought it would be a ton of fun to tackle each other's local cuisine. Trix hailing from Baltimore and yours truly from Philadelphia, this made for a fun task! Such. Fun. I am so glad that we were able to do this. However, being the foodies that we are, we each consequently did the local dishes with a twist! Because we're twisty people!*

Thanks again to Trix for this fun experience!!

*Please take note that I did not say twisted people. There is a big difference. :o)

Ravioli-O-Rama: Making and Eating Cheesy Pillows of Goodness in Baltimore's Little Italy

Ravioli, before ...

And ravioli, after - all sauced up and ready to get in my belly

As a general rule, the very last place you will ever find me milling about is a church, particularly on a Sunday. I mean, the only things I can be said to do religiously are cook and eat. Notable exceptions to this rule include the lure of stunning architecture, a ridiculously tall spire to climb, a shriveled hand or other bizarre allegedly "saintly" relic, or, most important of all - food. And so it was food that caused me to venture into the church basement of St. Leo's in Baltimore's Little Italy not once, but twice, within the space of a month.

Pizza or Focaccia? Crispy Purple Kale, Feta, Red Onion, Black Olive & Garlic on Some Seriously Good Crust (Whatever it Is)

 I seem to be having a hard time naming things lately. Take this dish. Is it a pizza? Is it focaccia? Plain old bread? And if it is pizza, is it Sicilian? Chicago-style? Deep dish? Sigh. I'm not sure.  Maybe I'll call it a fopizza.

My Gnocchi Came Naked to the Party: Nude Gnocchi a la Al Di La Trattoria

Welcome to the international gnocchi party! Hosted by Penny aka Jeroxie, my fellow guests and I have been tasked with bringing an umami-rich gnocchi dish to this virtual shindig. (There's a complete list of the other attendees, with links, and the bottom of this post.)  I took this challenge as the perfect opportunity to re-create a dish that has stuck with me for over 10 years: the malfatti, or nude gnocchi, as they are made at Al Di La Trattoria in my old digs of Brooklyn, NY.

When I first tasted these delectable pillows, I knew next to nothing about food or cooking.  I could tell something gastronomically special was going on, but I couldn't have pointed to the nutmeg, sage, Swiss chard, or brown butter as key players. I just knew I wanted more, more, more - but alas, I was broke and couldn't afford to eat out often enough to feed my malfatti addiction.  Plus I couldn't cook.

Homemade Fettuccine, Two Ways

 

The first way: with fresh basil and a sauce of roasted tomato, garlic, & thyme

 

The second way: with butter, Parmesan, salt & pepper

Don't worry, I don't think I invented homemade egg pasta: I realize that you've probably seen something like this before.  But, much as I did with my post about homemade gnocchi, I'm going to ask you to indulge me. This is my first freshly-made-at-home fettuccine, so it's exciting.  Well, to me anyway.

Not Just Another Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sage Sauce Post

I know what you're thinking: Does the world really need another post about sweet potato gnocchi? Particularly, you may be saying to yourself,  a gnocchi with a brown butter, brown-butter-sage, brown-butter-sage-and-Parmesan, or any other permutation of brown butter sauce?

Rigatoni with Cauliflower: A Traditional Sicilian Dish with a Touch of Moroccan Influence

I've written here before about my unfortunate lack of culinary heritage or familial culture of food, and how I love to find and create meals that could have been cooked for me by my fantasy grandmother or imaginary mom.

Well, my friend Salvatore de Simone never had to worry about any of that.  He grew up eating this rich and comforting Sicilian pasta and cauliflower dish, a meal his grandmother used to make and one that his mother, Luisa, still cooks for him - with just a few additions of her own.  Yes, I am a bit jealous! 

Artisinal Grain "Sausages" with Sauteed Summer Vegetables

Americans, by and large, eat too much meat, but I'm not here to try to convince anyone to become a vegetarian.  It's true that I don't eat land animals, partly because of the horror that is factory farming, and partly because I'm a incurable girl and think that furry animals are cute. But I do occasionally eat seafood, and, as even a cursory glance at my recipes will demonstrate, copious amounts of cheese, so I'm not exactly on the short list to be a PETA spokesperson.