Escape to Italy Without Leaving Your Home

A relaxing weekend at home. A rare and welcome occurrence. Though happy to have no where to go and nothing to do, I am constantly thinking about what is next, and where I will end up. Finding myself day dreaming about going back to Italy, I decided to have an "Italian" weekend drinking Italian wine and cooking Italian food.

Of all the food, I have tried in the world, Italian is by far my favorite. As a person who loves to cook I have several Italian recipes that I have adapted over the years to create my ideal Italian dinner. So tonight I have decided to share with you, a few of my favorite Italian recipes: Fresh Homemade Pasta, Hearty Bolognese, and Lemon Granita (Italian Ice)

Fresh Homemade Pasta

The Odds & Ends

• 1 lb unbleached white flour 
• 4 large brown eggs
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp of water

What Kneads to be Done?

1. Put flour in a dome like shape on a clean dry work surface, making a large crater in the center.

2. Crack the eggs one at a time into the crater, carefully mixing the eggs with a fork without breaking the flour bowl containing the eggs.

3. Once the last egg has been mixed in add the olive oil, salt, and water mixing them together carefully.

4. Once the liquid in the crater is all mixed together, begin to incorporate the flour into the mixture. Be super careful not to break the sides of the crater as you will end up with a HUGE sticky mess!

5. After gradually adding the flour to the egg mixture, it will eventually be combined enough that you can break the sides. At this point use your hands to mix in the rest of the flour and get everything well combined.

6. Once the mixture has combined into a doughy substance it is time to start kneading the dough.

•  If you have a kitchen aid stand mixer then place the dough in the bowl and using the dough hook, set it to level two. You want to end up with a smooth, shiny, supple dough.
• If you are kneading the dough by hand then make sure you put some muscle into it, stretching but not tearing the dough. Kneading the dough by hand will probably take about 10 minutes. So put your body weight into it and get to work kneading the dough into the perfect smooth, shiny, supple dough that will make your perfect pasta!

7. Once you have achieved the perfect smooth consistency, wrap the dough in cling film and let it sit for an hour. 

8. Once the dough has had time to sit and relax, you can either begin to make your pasta or put the dough in the fridge to make later. 

Get it Twisted

• I chose to make Fusili pasta using my Kitchen Aid pasta press attachment. If you have this nifty little device then simply set your kitchen aid to speed to and drop walnut sized dough balls into the pasta press, laying our each strand of pasta to dry on a paper towel for about an hour.
• If making your pasta by hand. Roll out the pasta dough with a roller and cut it into long strands of spaghetti, allowing them to dry for about an hour

Bring it to a Boil

• Once you are ready to cook your pasta, simply add it into some boiling water and allow it to cook for several minutes, testing it until it reaches a consistency you are happy with. 

Hearty Bolognese
A proper Italian bolognese is made with pancetta and dry white wine and served on tagliatelle pasta, however I have adapted this recipe to suit my own tastes. Hope you enjoy!

The Odds & Ends

• 1 lb ground beef
• 10 vine ripened tomatoes (diced)
• 1 1/2 sticks of celery (diced)
• 1 large onion (diced)
• tbsp garlic (diced)
• 1 1/2 large carrots or a large handful of baby carrots (diced)
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 14 oz crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of red wine (I like using Zinfandel)
• 12 oz water
• 1 1/2 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 1/4 cup fresh rosemary
• splash of olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

First Things First

1. Put a generous splash of olive oil with the garlic into a large frying pan on medium to high heat.

2. Once the oil starts to sizzle add the onions and cook until the onions begin to soften.


3. Onions softened slightly, add the celery and carrots, cooking until the onions become translucent and all of the vegetables have softened.

4. Add the ground beef to your cooked veggies with some salt & pepper, and brown the meat.

Out of the Frying Pan...

5. Once the meat is cooked, transfer the contents of the frying pan into a large pot.

6. Add the tomatoes, red wine, water, tomato paste, and crushed tomatoes into the pot stirring them into the cooked meat & vegetables.

7. Once the bolognese comes to a boil, gradually stir in the oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil, sugar, flour, salt & pepper.

8. Stirring occasionally, allow the bolognese to cook for about an hour before it is ready to serve.


Grubs Up!
Serve your pasta bolognese with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, warm garlic bread, and a nice glass of wine for the ultimate taste explosion.


















Lemon Granita
After such a heavy meal, it is nice to finish with a light and refreshing desert. This Italian ice recipe is incredibly easy and a hit every time! As long as you keep up with the stirring schedule, your taste buds will be bouncing off the walls and you will feel instantly refreshed as this Italian desert melts in your mouth


The Odds & Ends

• 1 cup of fresh lemon juice or 6 lemons
• 3 cups of water
• 1 cup pure cane sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp lemon extract
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon rind

Let's Get Zesty

1. Using a medium sauce pan, mix 2 cups of water with the sugar and heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.

2. Once the sugar has dissolved completely add the salt, stirring briefly before removing from the heat. 

3. Add one cup of cold water to the mixture and transfer into a container. 

4. Once mixture cools to room temperature, place in fridge for a minimum of one hour to chill. 

5. Place a large empty cake pan in the freezer to chill. 

6. Juice 6 lemons to produce 1 cup of fresh lemon juice. 

7. Put lemon juice in a container with the grated lemon rind and lemon extract, placing in fridge to chill

8. Now that your mixtures have been chilling for an hour, combine them into one container, stirring until well blended. 

9. Pout the blended mixture into the chilled cake pan. 

10. Place the pan in the freezer stirring every 30 minutes for 4 hours until you are left with perfect crystals. (Make sure that every time you stir you cover the entire surface area of the pan, including the sides, breaking up any ice crystals that have formed and bringing them into the center of the pan.)

11. Serve and Enjoy! Sometimes I like to serve the Granita in the lemon halves leftover from zesting or in bowls with strawberries for a little extra flavor.