Erica De Mane

A lost lasagna revived. Recipe: Sweet Christmas Eve Lasagna Dear Erica, My father was born in Barile, Provincia di Potenza, Basilicata. His father was from Bari. My grandmother and my mother always made their lasagna with eggs mixed in the ricotta, and with sugar and cinnamon. We ate this with the meatballs layered in between, [...]

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Cavicionetti all’Abruzzese. Recipe: Cavicionetti all’Abruzzese Dear Erica, I am a big fan of your books, and having discovered your wonderful “Lost Recipes Found” feature, I decided to see if you could help me out. I spent a few years in Abruzzo about 14 years ago. Around Christmas, I recall, a friend of my host mother [...]

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Fresh cardoons for Felice’s lost recipe. Recipes: Pumpkin Agro Dolce with Vinegar and Mint Batter Fried Cardoons with Anchovy Tomato Salsa Hi Erica, I am second-generation Italian, my maternal grandparents coming from the hills of San Fratello in Sicily and my paternal ones from the mainland around Naples. My mom’s mother (I’m her namesake) was [...]

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Orange and herring salad with almonds and frisée. Recipe: Orange and Herring Salad with Almonds and Frisée I recently came across a reference to a recipe called “Mackerel, Almond, Orange, and Fennel.” The combination sounds great, but I can’t find an actual recipe. Do you have one? Herbert D. When I first read this intriguing [...]

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My new take on a classic I learned years ago. Recipe: Eggplant and Ricotta Gratinée Many of the recipes I attempted when I first got serious about cooking many moons ago have left me with the sweetest nostalgia, even more than some of my beloved childhood dishes. It must be because they are foods I [...]

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Fresh summer ingredients for Pete’s ciambotta. Recipe: Ciambotta with Fried Capers Dear Erica, I love your “Lost Recipes Found” feature, and for months I’ve been trying to think of an old family recipe that nobody seems to know how to make anymore. With the eggplants, zucchini, and tomatoes coming up from my next-door neighbor’s garden [...]

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Farro spaghetti with zucchini blossoms, mozzarella, and anchovies. Recipe: Farro Spaghetti with Zucchini Blossoms, Mozzarella, and Anchovies Several years ago, while in Italy, making my way by car to Puglia, I stopped en route to see Hadrian’s Villa, the second-century estate and gardens of the emperor Adriana, at Tivoli. I had never been there before [...]

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Vincent’s family’s Easter liver dish. Recipe: Fegato a Scapece Vicidomini Dear Erica, Something in one of your Lost Recipes struck a chord with me. It was about Southern Italians using strong vinegar in certain dishes. My grandfather who lived with us came from Southern Italy, from the island of Procida in the Bay of Naples. [...]

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Mario Ghini’s classic recreated. When I was a kid the occasional fancy dinners out with my parents were usually free of the stupidity and bitchiness that would crop up at home (“acting up” was less acceptable in public, although certainly not unheard of). This made those evenings extremely memorable for me, and if in addition [...]

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Sara’s rosemary olive oil cake topped with sweetened mascarpone. Recipe: Polenta cake with Olive Oil, Moscato, and Rosemary Dear Erica, Have you ever come across a Venetian wine cake made with white wine, olive oil, rosemary, and almonds? It’s moist but not overly sweet. I’m dying to find a recipe. I tasted it in a [...]

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