Erica De Mane

Buddy samples my homemade ricotta. Recipes: Cavatelli with Nutmeg-Scented Ricotta, Thyme, and Pecorino Homemade Ricotta, New and Improved Ricotta is one of the loveliest tastes in all Italian food, but when you add a few scrapings of nutmeg to it, it becomes sublime. My mother used this sweet-smelling mix to fill lasagna, big shells, and, [...]

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Spaghetti with big shrimp, tarragon, and lemon. My Birthday Menu 2005 Recipes: Escarole Salad with Buffalo Mozzarella Bruschetta and Anchovy Vinaigrette Spaghetti with Big Shrimp, Tarragon, and Lemon Wine: Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo, Valentini I know several people who have birthdays in early to mid-December, including me and my idol Maria Callas. It’s a good time for [...]

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Olives to go with Thanksgiving dinner. Recipes: Black Olives with Chilies and Cognac Almonds with Rosemary, Salt, and Sugar Fennel Baked with Parmigiano and Moscato Carrots with Marsala and Capers Pear, Pancetta, and Fennel Stuffing Endive and Watercress Salad with Pomegranate Seeds When I was a kid my grandmother always made Thanksgiving dinner into a [...]

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Ingredients for my Warm Cerignolo Olive Salad with Celery Leaves. Recipes: Pear and Fennel Salad with Asiago and Marsala Vinaigrette Warm Cerignolo Olive Salad with Celery Leaves Red Grape and Arugula Salad with Fennel Seeds and Ricotta Salata My desire to create fusion cooking usually goes just as far as blending flavors from Sicily with [...]

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Barbara’s Red Pear tomatoes. Recipes: Bucatini with End-of-Season Tomatoes, Mussels, and Pancetta Farro Penne with Green Zebra Tomatoes, Marjoram, Almonds, and Ricotta Salata September is a great month for tomatoes in New York, but it’s also a sad one, because you know it’s all coming to an end soon. Once October rolls in I start [...]

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New York–grown Italian eggplants. Recipe: Erica and Mo’s Eggplant Parmigiano I don’t ruminate over my childhood now the way I did when I was in my twenties; that type of self-analysis feels more like a dead end as life goes on. But childhood food memories do pop up all the time. I seem to remember [...]

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Summer cantaloupes at Union Square. Recipes: Cantaloupe and Tomato Salad with Black Olives and Tarragon Cantaloupe Salad with Prosciutto, Frisée, and Basil Spaghetti with Cantaloupe and Hot Chilies My grandfather always salted his cantaloupe. As a child I found this weird. It seemed so old-world for an elegantly turned-out man who had in many ways [...]

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I was first drawn to cooking when I was a teenager and was maybe even more lost than most people that age. I gravitated toward the aromas of my family’s Italian-American kitchen in what now looks like an obvious attempt to find an identity amid the churnings of adolescence. I reproduced my mother’s eggplant parmigiano. [...]

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Peppers roasted with caciocavallo, black olives, and thyme Recipes: Peppers Roasted with Caciocavallo, Black Olives, and Thyme Grilled Peppers with Salt-Packed Anchovies and Marjoram Grilled Peppers with Honey, Almonds, and Rosemary Couscous with Grilled Peppers, Ginger, Basil, and Merguez Sausage Wheat Berry Salad with Roasted Peppers, Soppressata, and Parsley Certain vegetables perplex many American cooks. [...]

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Ruchetta selvatica from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm. Recipes: Wild Arugula Salad with Ricotta, Strawberries, and Pine Nuts Wild Arugula with Shrimp, Cherry Tomatoes, and Parmigiano Cavatelli with Wild Arugula, Mussels, and Sweet Bread Crumbs I had my first taste of wild arugula as a child on Long Island, and I’ve loved it ever since. The [...]

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