Category Archives: Home Cooking

Black Beans

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Name: Kate McElwee
Class Year: 2007
Country of Residence: Italy

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

Living in Rome, this is a recipe of necessity. I know, I know, I live in Italy, land of the most cherished pasta and pizza and (okay, everything!) dishes, but sometimes, a girl needs a taco. While you can purchase black beans in a can from speciality import stores, making them at home is not only more economical, it is far more delicious and downright magical. When you transform a hard, little bead of a bean into a juicy, earthy, ticket to another world, you feel incredible.

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Deconstructed Vegetarian Tacos

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Name: Courtney Hopf
Class Year: 2001
Country of Residence: England

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

This recipe was born out of a craving for the (completely inauthentic) tacos I ate as a kid and the general dearth of Mexican flavours to be found in the UK.  A few years into my life abroad I found myself desperately wanting an Upstate-NY-backyard-birthday-party taco and discovered I could get Old El Paso taco seasoning mix in my local supermarket.  I have always found crunchy tacos messy and annoying to eat, though, so I decided to turn it into a salad, with the added bonus being I could ramp up the lettuce and tomato content and pretend I was being healthy. 

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Cheesecake with Fresh Berries

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Name: Silvia Maulini*
Class Year: 1980
Country of Residence: The Netherlands

* Silvia is one of this competition’s judges, so this recipe will not be considered – it’s simply delicious, and needs to be shared!

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

I have always found most (American) cheesecake recipes rather daunting and alarmingly rich in fats and cream. A few years ago, my daughters and granddaughters gave me a wonderful new cookbook by Cees Holtkamp, whose patisserie in the center of Amsterdam is a true monument to high quality pastries and cakes. His simple, not exceedingly fat and apparently foolproof recipe for cheesecake immediately caught my attention. It seemed too easy to be true, but Cees’ cheesecake turned out to be amazing and it has now become a classic at our family birthday celebrations. This is the cake that has been requested by all family members for our first physical gathering after the lockdown period: I can’t wait to bake a few of them!

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Penne in barca con asparagi selvatici (Penne on the boat with wild asparagus)

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Name: Laura Aimone
Class Year: 2004
Country of Residence: Italy

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

This recipe is a mix of some of my fondest memories as a child/teenager. From 6 to 19 years old, I spent my summer holidays with my parents on the island of Elba, in Tuscany. We were renting a tiny panoramic house overlooking the sea in a village with the same people going there year after year. We had also met a local family with a grandma who was a chef and they were often inviting us to their place. They gave us this recipe and it still tastes like sun, sea, Mediterranean summers, youth, dancing under the stars on the beach and friendships.

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Mexican Squash on a Budget

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Name: Sarah Carter
Class Year: 2017
Country of Residence: Ireland

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

I recently moved to Ireland to begin my PhD studies. Busy with work and struggling to find the time to go the grocery store, I quickly discovered the joy of grocery home delivery. One time, they accidentally delivered a butternut squash instead of bananas. By the time I noticed the mistake, it was too late. A PhD stipend is not much – and requires one to live frugally, on a budget. I was not about to let any food got to waste. So I dug around in my pantry, found a can of black beans and a few veggies, and – voilà ! The Mexican squash was born. It’s become a regular to cook for dinner – quick to make; very filling; and great for anyone living on a budget!

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Wilma Flinestone’s Chocolate Cake (and/or the Paleo Cake)

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Name: Rossella Di Palma
Class Year: FF 1999
Country of Residence: Italy

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

I wanted to make a cute cake for a friend’s birthday: it had to be good looking, easy to make, unusual and easy to personalize. Its flat shape was ideal to place, on the top, a printed image of his dog.  At the party, people were originally suspicious about the cake ingredients, but everybody ended up enjoying it. This cake is grain free and gluten free.

I adapted a recipe I found in “Il Libro d’Oro del Cioccolato” which suggested 300 g of carrots and 150 of sugar.

Note: adding a bit of fresh ginger might be interesting.

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Eggplant & Ginger Jam

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Name: Rossella Di Palma
Class Year: FF 1999
Country of Residence: Italy

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

I like ginger a lot and I sometimes eat jam but I do not like it when it gets too sweet. Years ago I found a recipe online that intrigued me. I made several jars and passed the recipe on to relatives and friends, but it was still too sweet. I then completely forgot until last year, when I felt the urge to make some again. Googling online I found another recipe and I further adapted it.

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Homemade Bread (with kefir based sourdough)

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Name: Rossella Di Palma
Class Year: FF 1999
Country of Residence: Italy

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

Since the lockdown started, Italians began baking bread at home. This quickly made impossible to find brewer’s yeast and high quality flour. I do not normally eat bread, but since my mother does, I wanted to try to make bread at home, with a bread machine first and baking it in the oven later.  Given the fact I could not find any yeasts at the supermarket, I decided to try using the kefir I grow daily.

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White Chocolate (Raspberry) Custard

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Name: Debra Marmor
Class Year: 1980
Country of Residence: United Kingdom

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

We have a friend who was widowed a few years ago. Since then, my husband and I have more or less adopted him, making sure to have him for dinner on a regular basis (and currently Skyping with him twice a week, as he hates being alone). The challenge is that he ‘doesn’t eat dessert’ (my husband has a sweet tooth and I love making them) – unless it is white chocolate or raspberry. He also loves crab.

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Grits Cakes with Country Ham and Bourbon Mayonnaise

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Name: Debra Marmor
Class Year: 1980
Country of Residence: United Kingdom

Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory? 

As a little girl, I seemed to really enjoy doing fiddly things – unknotting my mother’s necklaces, decorating devilled eggs, frosting and decorating cakes, etc. So she nicknamed me her ‘kaltMamsel’ (she who prepares cold dishes) and it was my job to make/ decorate this stuff when she entertained.

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