Sunday At the Giacomettis

Risotto takes patience.  Be sure and take your time. One medium/large Butternut squash (about 1-2 pounds) Ingredients:  2 cups Arborio Rice 4 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for drizzle) 2 tablespoons red or white onion (you may use yellow,  however it has a bitter, high water content and I dont' like to use it here). One cup of white wine 2 teaspoons salt (plus more to your liking) 2 teaspoons pepper (plus additional to your liking) A pinch of Nutmeg   Baking sheet one heavy duty knife (for preparing the Butternut Squash) 6 cups or so of good Homemade broth (vegetable or medley of meats), heated to a boil.  (You may keep your broth at a slow, steady simmer) Parmigiano Reggiano for grating (about 6 teaspoons) Method: Preheat your oven to 400F degrees Slice open your squash and clean out the seeds in a rounded motion( your Butternut squash will look like large spoon rests) Sprinkle and brush a little olive oil across your Bu...

I know what you are thinking.   Muffins in Italy?  Yes, it's a small world after all.  They are more like mini, chocolate chip cakes.   Whatever you call them, they were just what I needed on this cool morning.  The rolling thunder awakened me, so why not start cooking.  In no time at all, these muffins were out of the oven. INGREDIENTS:     1 cup self rising flour or 1 cup regular flour with 1/2 teaspoon baking powder sifted 1/2 cup Cocoa powder pinch of fine sea salt Sift together your dry ingredients and set aside   In a separate bowl,  cream 1 stick butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Splash (about one teaspoon), of Frangelico or any chocolate based liquor 3 eggs Add your eggs one at a time until creamy.      Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients 1/2 at a time.  Mix until creamy.  If your mixture does not incorporate, add a...