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Simona Carini

Northern California

An Italian transplanted in California

Interests: creative cooking, cheese making, bread baking, food writing, blogging, book and box making, kayaking, photography, classical music You can contact me at simosite [AT] mac [DOT] com

Recent Activity

Thank you, Cathy :)

Commented 2 days ago on savoy cabbage and radicchio / cavolo verza e radicchio at briciole

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I just couldn't get it out of my head, Debra :)

Commented 4 days ago on savoy cabbage and radicchio / cavolo verza e radicchio at briciole

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Thank you, Wendy :)

Commented 4 days ago on savoy cabbage and radicchio / cavolo verza e radicchio at briciole

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Thank you Deb :)

Commented 4 days ago on savoy cabbage and radicchio / cavolo verza e radicchio at briciole

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I consider myself lucky, Frank. I not always find it, but when I do, it's such a treat. As with other traditional Italian vegetables, radicchio seem to be more available and in its different varieties, which is great.

Commented 4 days ago on savoy cabbage and radicchio / cavolo verza e radicchio at briciole

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I know, Claudia, it's like an ode to ephemerality, and so all the more precious :)

Commented 4 days ago on savoy cabbage and radicchio / cavolo verza e radicchio at briciole

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savoy cabbage and radicchio / cavolo verza e radicchio

a brilliant flavor behind subdued color (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) A few pages into The Patriarch by Martin Walker, the current selection of our Cook the Books Club, I had this image of Bruno, the protagonist, as a head of cabbage and Pamela, his girlfriend (who in the course of the novel becomes his ex) as a head of radicchio1. Bruno reminded me of a head of cabbage because, although he is a pleasant and sensitive person, a smart and conscientious policeman, a gardener, a cook, a horseback rider and dog owner, you'd probably overlook him at a party... Continue reading

Posted 6 days ago at briciole

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Thank you for visiting my blog, Abi, and for your question. You'd want a creamy consistency here, so ricotta salata would not work. True ricotta, though, would. I make it at home when I have leftover whey from making cheese and use it regularly in variations of this tart. As I mention in the recipe, fromage blanc is an alternative. I have never cooked with Greek yogurt, so I don't know how it would react to baking in this way, but it is used to make tart fillings, so it is worth a try. I would drain it a bit to make sure there is no excess whey. If you try, please, let me know how it goes. Thanks!

Commented Nov 21, 2017 on savory zucchini and skyr tart / torta salata con zucchine e skyr at briciole

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Welcome to my blog, Supriya, and thank you for your kind words :)

Commented Nov 21, 2017 on apple tart / crostata di mele at briciole

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Thank you, Amy :)

Commented Nov 21, 2017 on apple tart / crostata di mele at briciole

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Thank you, Phil. There is a nice variety of reading material on display here: I hope you'll find something that catches your imagination.

Commented Oct 17, 2017 on Novel Food #31: the finale at briciole

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I don't blame you, Frank. It is indeed the perfect time for apples. I remember my first visit to DC, many years ago, I visited the Dupont circle farmers' market and bought a whole bunch of apples of varieties I had never tasted before. I ate nothing else for the whole time I was there.

Commented Oct 17, 2017 on Novel Food #31: the finale at briciole

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Grazie, David. Definitely use some of that soft white to make crostata. I love rye bread! Rye is in general a tasty grain. I know Rhonda has experimented with rye and chocolate and that's something I'd like to do as well. By the way, check also the dinner rolls on the next post: I use your spelt flour to make them :)

Commented Oct 17, 2017 on apple tart / crostata di mele at briciole

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My pleasure, as always, Debra. I am already thinking about #32 :)

Commented Oct 15, 2017 on Novel Food #31: the finale at briciole

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Thank you, Debra, glad you do :) It was fun playing with that.

Commented Oct 15, 2017 on seeded whole-wheat dinner rolls / panini integrali ai semi at briciole

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Novel Food #31: the finale

Welcome to the roundup of the 31st edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I created in 2007 — 10 years ago! Novel Food is about literary works (prose or poetry) that inspire the preparation of dishes. I continue to host this event with great pleasure, as it brings together two of my passions: literature and food. Once again, book-loving food bloggers have contributed a set of lovely posts, each describing a literary work that the blogger read and the dish that the reading inspired. Please, follow me on a short literary/culinary tour. For each... Continue reading

Posted Oct 14, 2017 at briciole

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I am not a reader of self-improvement books, Phil. I prefer to snuggle with a good mystery than follow someone's advice, but this book has been quite helpful and it has made me say "why not?" a number of times when inspiration pulled me in a certain direction. I've also dived into making a new type of cheese: we'll see whether the result is worth sharing on the blog :)

Commented Oct 14, 2017 on seeded whole-wheat dinner rolls / panini integrali ai semi at briciole

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seeded whole-wheat dinner rolls / panini integrali ai semi

what happens when you drop a poppy seedpod (on La FABBRICA del LINO placemat) In the many years I have been hosting Novel Food I have contributed and received contributions inspired by a wide range of literature, from thick novels to flash nonfiction, from intense memoir to moving poems. One category of books notably absent from the Novel Food library is so-called self-improvement books, which examine a life's problem and offer advice on a way forward (I prefer to avoid the word "solution" which is better applied to math problems). The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and... Continue reading

Posted Oct 8, 2017 at briciole

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Thank you Claudia. I don't know much about her life except for what I heard in the NPR piece, which talked, among other things, about the collaboration with her daughter in writing the books. They also talked about the hard life of the women at the time. I totally sympathize with Almanzo's wish for a horse :)

Commented Oct 5, 2017 on apple tart / crostata di mele at briciole

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Thank you Wendy :)

Commented Oct 5, 2017 on apple tart / crostata di mele at briciole

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Hope the move went well, Alicia. I did notice that food was always plentiful on the table (and always lots of pie :)

Commented Oct 1, 2017 on apple tart / crostata di mele at briciole

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Thank you Deb. The NPR piece was timely as I knew little about the author.

Commented Oct 1, 2017 on apple tart / crostata di mele at briciole

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Thank you Debra. I agree: this is apple season and freshly harvested apples are too tempting right now.

Commented Oct 1, 2017 on apple tart / crostata di mele at briciole

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apple tart / crostata di mele

a personal take on an Italian classic Laura Ingalls Wilder's Farmer Boy, the current selection of our Cook the Books Club, is a well-known children's book in the US. It was an interesting read, giving me a glimpse into some of the literature people my age were exposed to during their childhood and a view into rural life and related activities in an age and place quite removed from mine. For Almanzo and his family the year was marked by the seasonal work they did, and that work is described in detail by Ingalls Wilder. There is also moral content, mostly... Continue reading

Posted Sep 30, 2017 at briciole

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Thank you so much for contributing, Deb :)

Commented Sep 30, 2017 on Announcing: Novel Food #31 at briciole

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