As soon as the weather turns cold I’m instantly in a “soup mood”. Nothing says comfort food more to me than a big pot of soup simmering on the stove. I make sure I have my kitchen stocked with everything I need so when I get the urge to make some, I’m good to go. Recently I made three different soups, some oldies but goodies and some new.
This recipe above is an old standby, it’s quick and it takes no time at all to make, but I’m always improvising depending on what I have in my fridge. This time I replaced the beans with mini Italian meatballs that I had tucked away and I substituted the pasta which I normally use, with some leftover kale gnocchi I made a while back. So now I’ll call it my Meatball and Gnocchi soup! For the greens this time I used kale, but spinach, escarole, or swiss chard would be just as good, plus you could even use a good store bought gnocchi, just use the basic recipe I linked to above for the base. It’s hearty and it screams comfort!
My next soup, Sausage and Lentil, is a huge family favorite. I put this recipe on my blog back in 2007 and nothing has changed except my photos, here’s the recipe. Please don’t let the brown color turn you off, the flavors are out of this world! A bowl of this, some warm crusty bread and dinner is served! I like to garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and shaved parmesan.
Italian sausage and lentils, a match made in heaven!
I recently made a pot of Chicken Posole something I’ve never made before but became obsessed with after having a bowl of it from Panera. One bite and I was smitten with these puffed up little corn things, so much so I walked up to the counter and asked what it was and they said, HOMINY. Am I the only person in the world who never ate hominy?? It tasted like little polenta balls. I love this stuff, where have you been all my life? Since I never made Chicken Posole before I got the recipe here. To make things easy I used store bought rotisserie chicken, good boxed chicken broth and canned hominy, my new friend.
I will be making this over and over again!
I always keep a box of phyllo in my fridge because I know I can create a quick and easy tart using whatever vegetables I have on hand. In this case I had a bag of shaved brussels sprouts that I got from Trader Joe’s and some leftover roasted butternut squash and before I knew it, a tart was born!
Phyllo is so forgiving and that’s why I like it, you can wing it, patch it and it still looks beautiful in the end. I usually use five or six layers for my 9″ tart pan, each layer sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with grated romano or parmesan then topped with the cheese of your choice so that all the toppings can sink right into it. I like to use a cheese that melts really good like fontina, gruyere, mozzarella or asiago which happened to be the one I chose for mine. I recommend grating your cheese first then spreading it evenly all over the top, I got lazy as you can see, but it still worked!
My squash was already roasted and the brussels sprouts were quickly sauteed in olive oil until they wilted slightly.
Ready for the oven!
The phyllo gives this tart a nice crispy, crunchy bottom which is a great base to hold all your toppings. The sky’s the limit on what to top your tart with, another favorite I love is caramelized onions, butternut squash and kale, try that next time around!
All you need is a salad or a bowl of soup along side this tart and it becomes the perfect dinner, lunch or brunch.
I love making desserts using ricotta so when I first saw this recipe in the cookbook, 
I received this book for review written by Rosetta Costantino she’s also the author of the acclaimed, My Calabria. I was instantly drawn in by the cover photo which was a beautiful watermelon pudding tart, I’ve never seen anything like it. When summer returns to Chicago and watermelon is back in season I’m definitely going to make that!
For the stuffed pears I needed almond paste which I didn’t have, no worries she tells you how to make it in the book along with many other tips. It was actually quite simple to make, blanched almonds, sugar, water and a little almond extract whirled until it forms a paste in the food processor.
The key is to find firm but ripe fat bottomed pears so you’ll have plenty of room to stuff them with the ricotta mixture.
As the pears are baking the ricotta mixture puffs up inside and over the top. The recipe gives you the option to then eat it as is, or to drizzle the pears with a chocolate sauce.
Obviously I went with the chocolate!
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
