Notes about Recipes in this book

• Bruschetta with roasted caramelized cherry tomatoes

  • Breadcrumbs on June 25, 2010

    p. 8 - June 2010 - made this rec for the first time and ant won't be the last, the bruschetta was delicious. Brushing the bread w the tomato oil is a nice touch that I'll use for my usual version as well. I made a double-batch and the small amount that was left-over was still tasty (brought to room temp) the following day. We topped w some shaved parmesan Excellent!

  • Trackypup on November 16, 2011

    Oh my! So good. Would definitely make again. Topped with a little fleur de sel

• Roasted pork with rosemary, sage, and garlic

  • vbbaker on April 08, 2020

    May need to add a little chicken stock or wine during cooking if pan starts to dry out

• Tagliatelle with prosciutto-tomato sauce

  • kateiscoooking on October 11, 2020

    The sauce was fabulous but the prosciutto was a bit chewy. I'd replace it with bacon, ham, chicken, sausage...

• Garganelli with sausage, porcini, and cream

  • Breadcrumbs on June 26, 2010

    p. 132 - heavy on the cream (1-1.5cups) the only mushrooms are the dried porcini (1 oz)

  • Breadcrumbs on December 28, 2011

    p. 132 - With a litre of cream lingering in the fridge, we finally decided to give this recipe a try. As expected, this is not a "light" dish, the sauce is rich and creamy and of course, delicious. Biba recommends an unseasoned Italian sausage however ours was heavy on the fennel seed (which we love). We found that the fennel was what took this recipe from good to great and, we further infused the cream sauce with a pinch or two of fennel pollen to finish. This dish was outrageously delicious however, very filling and not something you'd indulge in on a regular basis. That said, I'd definitely make it again. Yum!

• Veal stew with vegetables and tomatoes

  • nicolepellegrini on March 21, 2020

    An excellent classic veal stew. I cooked for about 2 hours in the oven until the veal was very tender. Husband absolutely loved it and cleaned his plate, looking for more in the kitchen!

• Prawns with cannellini, rosemary, and hot pepper

  • nicolepellegrini on January 14, 2026

    Maybe it's fair to say I used this as inspiration more than following the recipe exactly. I used canned beans instead of cooking from scratch and adjusted down amounts for two people. I also used large shrimp instead of the prawns. The flavor was great and the beans + tomatoes had a stew-like consistency that was perfect for enjoying with some crusty bread.

• Minestrone with beans and rice Milan-style

  • nicolepellegrini on July 25, 2020

    A very nice minestrone recipe - especially for when you've got a lot of odds and ends in your fridge (or bounty from the garden) to use up quickly. Makes a big batch but does say it freezes well...I will probably be doing just that. [Update to add: My husband LOVED this and couldn't stop talking about it. Says it's in his "top 5" recipes I've ever made!]

• Celery root and green apple salad

  • nicolepellegrini on September 20, 2013

    Was okay but I don't think I'd make it again. Not what I was hoping for.

• Risotto with wild mushrooms and smoked ham

  • nicolepellegrini on April 22, 2026

    A filling and very nice risotto recipe...I made it with some leftover Easter ham.

• Scallops with capers, anchovies, lemon, and wine

  • Breadcrumbs on January 04, 2011

    p. 272 - Jan 2011 - First use of this recipe. Quick and easy to execute with great flavours. We chose to serve this over spaghetti vs the suggested polenta. Sauce is quite watery and somewhat more tart than you'd typically use for pasta, even in contrast to the sweetness of the scallops. Not sure if this is intentional since polenta is typically sweet as well or, whether my lemon may have been extra-juicy and my wine more dry than Biba's. She describes the sauce as "savory lemon-anchovy-garlic-wine" where mine was less balanced. Good but not exceptional. Too many new recipes to try to make this one again.

• Cuttlefish with wine, tomatoes, and paprika

  • nicolepellegrini on November 09, 2013

    Perfect, delicious flavor. Absolutely reminiscent of Venice. The only thing I'd note is I left the lid off for the last 30 minutes of cook time as it was way too watery otherwise, and I wanted it to condense. I served it over squid-ink pasta for a wonderful dinner.

• Radicchio salad with anchovy dressing

  • nicolepellegrini on October 30, 2020

    The cheesy croutons made this salad a nice change of pace, very good alongside autumn or winter dishes.