Breaking out the limoncello at this freezing time of year makes me dream of the Amalfi coast and the warm sunshine and beautiful lemons there.  I was going to make limoncello cookies, but then decided to do a limoncello biscotti recipe - better for dunking in hot coffee.  

I had a neighbor many years ago who made these pretzels one day when our kids were in nursery school.  She made all the letters of the alphabet with them and the kids loved them.  They were so good and I couldn't believe you could make homemade pretzels like that. She gave me the recipe and I have been making them ever since. They're so easy and quick - you don't even have to let them rise.

I really love pork and one of my favorite cuts is the pork shoulder.  Sliced into steaks, it's one of my family's favorites on the grill with lots of cracked pepper and lemon.  Cooked whole and braised for hours in the oven, it becomes pulled pork.  It's a really versatile and delicious cut of meat.  In my version, San Marzano tomatoes and peperoncini are put into a big pot with the pork and cooked for about 5 hours.  The result is a tender, fall-apart pork with tangy sauce.

I'm not a big frosting person and neither is anyone in my family because we don't like the sugary graininess that most frostings have.   But this frosting is different. This frosting has been my favorite way to make frosting for a long time now and if you like a creamy type of frosting, you will like this version.  It's super smooth and not over-the-top sweet.  

ceramic platter from Fifty One and a Half

I've been grilling fish lately with a great new item and I wanted to share it with all of you.  Most of you have probably had fish grilled on cedar planks.  The cedar infuses the fish with a nice taste.  I've never really wanted to buy and store cedar planks, though.  The next best thing are these easy little Cedar Papers from Fire and Flavor. They are a great way to grill or bake fish, chicken and vegetables.

When I was in a Crate and Barrel in Chicago last year, I saw this small glass Hurricane on display and, although it's meant for a candle, I immediatley knew I was going to make a trifle in it.  I played around with various flavor combinations but finally decided to make something for fall.  That meant pumpkin.  And wouldn't caramel go great with pumpkin?  And you have to have whipped cream in there somewhere.  One thing led to another and here it is - pumpkin cake layers with an incredible caramel mousse filling and whipped cream.  And it's all topped off with some caramel jewels.

There are four components to this cake.  It may look daunting, but each component is a snap to prepare. The pumpkin cake is simply the same cake that is used in this classic Pumpkin Roll - I just doubled the recipe and made it in a bigger sheet pan.  The caramel mousse is incredible and not at all hard to make.  The little caramel jewels are surprisingly easy to make - just cook sugar and water together until it turns golden and drizzle it on a sheet of tin foil.  It hardens up in a snap and you just lift the little jewels right off. 

There will be cake trimmings leftover after you cut out your layers. These are definitely for snacking, so don't throw them away. 

ceramic platter from Fifty One and a Half

Here is an oldie but a goodie.  I made this dish a lot when I was first married.  It was simple, lowfat and it felt like a fancy dish even if it wasn't.  Most of the items are things you already have on hand, so there isn't a lot of special items to get - maybe just the fresh tarragon.  It's quick to make, too.  You can have this dish on the table within 30 minutes.  

Panna Cotta is a popular Italian dessert that's very easy to make and is a great do-ahead dessert.  This version makes an elegant presentation because it uses two different flavors of panna cotta - Amaretto and vanilla.  The layering is very pretty and the flavors make a nice, lighter tasting dessert than my previous chocolate version. Although there is a time and place for chocolate, right?

Yes, that's whipped cream on those cupcakes - that is not frosting. And that whipped cream will look just as nice the next day and the day after that. How? Because it's stabilized whipped cream and if you've ever wondered how professional bakers get whipped cream desserts to look nice for so long, you will want to read this post.

Let's have a review of pasta rules, shall we?  I still hear far too many people ask whether they should rinse their cooked pasta or not.  Really?  Haven't we settled this long ago?  I guess some myths still remain. So let's just touch on some helpful rules of cooking pasta:

Six Rules of Pasta

1.  Weigh your pasta.  Over the years, I got tired of making way too much pasta or trying to eyeball how much to cook.  Now, I just weigh my pasta.  It's accurate and easy.  Get yourself a nice little scale - you will use it for a hundred tasks in the kitchen - and weigh your pasta.  Determine how much pasta you eat for a main dish or a side dish.  We usually eat 2 ounces each as a main dish.  It's so much better to just weigh it and know exactly how much you are cooking. 

A few years ago I made Slab Pie, which could feed a crowd because it was baked in a rimmed baking pan.  I made a blueberry Slab Pie for Labor Day weekend and it's still a great way to make a lot pie.  But what if you didn't want to have to slice and serve the pie from a pan?  Hand pies are all over the place now on food blogs and in cooking magazines and they make serving up pie a breeze, especially at cookouts and picnics. 

Goodbye, Summer.  We're sad to see you winding down.  Hopefully, the weather will cooperate for Labor Day weekend and most of us will get to have one last summer hurrah at the beach, or the lake or just in the backyard. If you're part of a potluck or just grilling out by yourselves, here is a recipe roundup of summer favorites that I hope you find handy. 

There's so much basil in the garden right now - whip up a batch of Basil Lime Cocktails

I'm tired of putting out a great big salad bowl for dinners, having everyone get their salads and then seeing that all the goodies in the salad have fallen to the bottom of the bowl and very little actually made it into people's salads.  A lot of those goodies sometimes are expensive, too - pine nuts or pancetta.  Sometimes the diced veggies like bell pepper will fall to the bottom.  Drives me crazy. Solution?  Salad in jars!

I used to always make gnocchi with ridges - the way my mom taught me.  We would make the ridges by pressing the gnocchi on a fork and rolling it down the tines.  It works well.  I have also used a gnocchi board, which makes the ridges very easy.  But when I first had gnocchi in Italy, there were no ridges at all.  I thought maybe that was unusual, but I have had gnocchi several times after that in Italy made with no ridges.  So now I just don't bother with the ridges. If you want to press ridges into the gnocchi, though, by all means go for it. 

This is one of my go-to chocolate cake recipes because it always come out perfectly.  It is a dense, moist, delicious chocolate cake with a layer of flavored buttercream frosting and chocolate ganache over the top.  Does that sound complicated?  Well, it's really not - if you've never really attempted a good homemade cake, this is a great one to try. 

The originial recipe called for making an espresso buttercream layer, but I much prefer the taste of orange with chocolate. You can make whichever flavor you like. The ganache top layer is super easy - you just heat all the ingredients together and let it cool for a little while until it is thick enough to pour over the cake but yet still thin enough that it will run down the sides. 

When we were on the Amalfi Coast last year, one of the best food memories by far was eating the fresh mozzarella that is so famous in that area of Italy. It’s soft and creamy and was on every pizza we ordered. That’s the kind of mozzarella cheese you want to use. Years ago, you were out of luck if you wanted anything close to that kind of cheese at home. But now we have Galbani® Mozzarella Fresca™ in the grocery stores and it’s what I use when I need fresh mozzarella.

Galbani Mozzarella Fresca is made right here in the United States and is made in the traditional fior di latte method that they use in Italy. This mozzarella is soft, moist and melts perfectly on top of pizza. It was listed by the editors of Saveur Magazine as one of their favorite fresh mozzarellas. I use it in this delicious Two Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta recipe. I use it in my pizza-making classes. And, of course, I use it for the traditional Caprese salads in the summer. They have two types of fresh mozzarella: in tubs, packed in water and vacuum sealed without water. The kind in water is softer and the kind that is vacuum-sealed is a little firmer.

Here is a fun summer treat that's easy to make and doesn't require popsicle molds.  These fun homemade popsicles are made in little dixie cups.  I've made them with three layers - two fruit purees, one blueberry and the other strawberry, and a white layer of cream cheese and yogurt.  They will be great for the Fourth of July.  Pass around a platter of these to your guests.  

What would I do without my food processor in the kitchen?  Honestly, I don't know.  I absolutely love to make pestos in it and pie dough and grind cheese.   I puree fruit, make fillings, grind herbs, and blend sauces in it.  It's just a workhorse.  And it's always been a Cuisinart.  Until now.  The good folks at Magimix by Robot-Coupe sent me a Magimix food processor to try and I absolutely love it.  And because I love it so much, they are going to ship one (in stainless steel) to one of you lucky readers.  This is a $400 machine and you could have one in your kitchen!

I dare you to eat just one of these amazing homemade beet chips.   They are just downright addictive. This is healthy snack food that you can feel good about eating.  They are super easy to make and only take about an hour in your oven. You don't even have to be a beet lover to love these chips.  I've had a couple of people try them who loved them and were totally surprised to learn they were beets.