Italian Living

Tradition meets Instant Pot – Ragù alla Bolognese

Posted on October 5, 2019 by danitaOctober 5, 2019

Living in Emilia–Romagna, I sure love a good Ragù! I don’t love waiting all day for it though! And while not all modern conveniences work well with traditional recipes, thankfully the modern versions of the pressure cooker, and the Instant Pot specifically, are often a wonderful choice for a faster meal that still brings the flavor, texture and consistency of the original day-long process. Ragù alla Bolognese seemed like a perfect candidate for an Instant Pot time slash, so I took it on!

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Pollo del Contadino

Posted on September 21, 2019 by danitaSeptember 21, 2019

One of our favorite parts of the Fiera del Fungo (Mushroom Festival, or as my husband affectionately calls it the “Fungus Festival”) is the “Cooking Show Pavilion”. Here there are multiple cooking demonstrations and tastings throughout the days of the … Continue reading →

Fiera del Fungo – Part 1

Posted on September 14, 2019 by danitaSeptember 15, 2019

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If you are a Zanrè, come join us!

Posted on September 1, 2019 by danitaSeptember 14, 2019

As I’ve discussed a few times, I’m deep into our family genealogy, for various sides of the family. While I’m a Zanrè by marriage only, this particular family tree truly intrigues me. I’ve been looking at a way to engage other Zanrè family members, and find some “missing links”.

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Things you find in old church records

Posted on August 14, 2019 by danitaSeptember 14, 2019

I’m back to scouring church records for insights on Zanrè information. In doing so, I’ve stumbled on a rather interesting find.

My husband Joe has been friends with one Vinnie Baruffati for about 4 decades. They had a few things in common in Scotland, one of which was they were both from Italian heritage. They knew that both of their families were from the same general area of Italy, but never thought too much about it.

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Help! My Family Tree Doesn’t Branch

Posted on June 2, 2019 by danitaSeptember 14, 2019

Okay – this isn’t terribly Italian, but I’m still working on the Italy genealogy. There are cool things there too. I promise to get back to that. In the meantime, this is has been occupying my time, and I need to share!!!

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Gocce d’Acqua

Posted on March 9, 2019 by danitaSeptember 14, 2019

Wow! My husband will have a photograph exhibited at the upcoming MIA PHOTO FAIR in Milano, March 22-25, 2019. Many of you know that Joe invented a camera trigger for capturing high speed events normally unseen by the human eye – you can see more about it at SnaperturePro.com. He’s spent the past couple of years concentrating on Water Drop photography, and it’s obviously paid off.

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St. Valentine and the Lupercalia

Posted on February 14, 2019 by danitaSeptember 14, 2019

Valentine’s Day is known in Italy as “La Festa Degli Innamorati.” It is celebrated primarily only between lovers and sweethearts, but like many “commercial holidays” that have been influenced by the United States, this has spread to other parts of the population over the years.

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What a dinner bill!

Posted on November 21, 2018 by danitaSeptember 14, 2019

Dinner for three – 88,874.79 (Lira)

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Festa Testarolo Pride in Pontremoli

Posted on October 13, 2018 by danitaSeptember 14, 2019

Pesto is one of those sauces that brings back vivid memories for me. The first time I had pesto was on my first trip to Italy in 1978. As a foreign exchange student in Switzerland (German part), I ended up almost by accident in Vernazza near the end of my year, and the memories of pesto and focaccia stayed with me all my life. Many of my US friends had pesto for the very first time at my dining table (I do make a mean pesto if I say so myself). When I realized that I was to live in a location that is quite literally at the border of Emilia-Romagna (a foodie haven), Tuscany and Liguria, it was almost heaven.

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