Daily Loaf

When I was a little girl, we lived in New York City.  I’m talking about the waaaaay early years before my pesky little attention hog of a baby brother was born.  Ah…..those were the days,  an only child basking in the undivided adoration of all the adults in my life.  I was the center of the universe.  The apple of everyone’s eye.

We didn’t go out for meals very often back then, unless you count my Nonna’s house.  My parents were practically kids themselves and could barely afford me!  When we did go to a restaurant, it was usually one of a short list of choices. The place I remember most fondly was a little neighborhood trattoria called Johnny’s.  The owners, John and Marie, were a nice, middle-aged Italian couple who kind of adopted my parents.  My father hadn’t been in this country very long and Marie used to make him all the special dishes he missed from home.  I, of course, being outrageously precocious and incredibly cute, always rated special treatment there as well.

Many years have passed since then.  Johnny’s is long gone, but I still remember the warmth and hospitality my family always experienced there. Another thing I vividly remember is sneaking sips of my mother’s espresso as I enjoyed one of my favorite treats of all time – tortoni.  How I loved it! Read the rest of this entry »

My Peppermint Bark was so yummy when I made it during the holidays. And it was a huge hit. But how to top it?

I was watching the Food Network and Big Daddy’s house was on. He made a bark with cherries, almonds and something else, I just don’t remember what it was. A light bulb went off in my head, so I ran to a piece of paper and wrote down my idea. You see, if I don’t write things down, I totally forget everything! Sometime I even forget why things are on my list.

This Almond Joy Bark has probably been done before, but I didn’t even check Google because I wanted to think I came up with something original, damn it! So don’t go bursting my bubble, ok?

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