Michelle Damiani
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Michelle Damiani
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Michelle Damiani

writing with Italy at heart

Food and Drink

Recipe and menu suggestions to experience Italy wherever you are.

Michelle Damiani
  • Buy my books/
  • Blog/
  • Travel/
    • Spello
    • Visiting Umbria
    • Travel in Italy
    • Around the World
  • What I Love/
    • Gabe's Blog
    • Food and Drink
    • Books and Movies
    • Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas
  • Coaching/
  • About/

Here’ll you find recipes from my travels in Italy and around the world. If you want new delicious recipes (plus travel tips and stories) delivered to your email inbox once a month, make sure you sign up for my newsletter, the Grapevine. As a special welcome gift, I’ll send you an e-copy of my bestselling novel, Santa Lucia. Imagine that! In a few keystrokes, you’ll be transported to the landscapes, the cities, and the beauty of Italy. No passport required.


February 07, 2024

Pasta alla Norcina

February 07, 2024/ Michelle Damiani
Pasta alla Norcina

A no-fuss recipe for one of Italy’s most delicious, easy, yet relatively unknown pasta dishes.

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February 07, 2024/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
recipe, food
Umbria, recipe, food
February 07, 2024

Pistachio Yogurt Cake recipe

February 07, 2024/ Michelle Damiani
Pistachio Yogurt Cake recipe

A simple recipe for a swoon-worthy dessert.

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February 07, 2024/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
recipe
dessert
December 12, 2023

Chocolate, orange, and hazelnut biscotti

December 12, 2023/ Michelle Damiani
Chocolate, orange, and hazelnut biscotti

My three favorite flavors, in one swoon-worthy cookie.

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December 12, 2023/ Michelle Damiani/ 2 Comments
food, recipe
food, recipe, cooking, Italy
May 23, 2022

Arancini

May 23, 2022/ Michelle Damiani
Arancini

Making arancini is easy! And these cheesy rice balls liven up any party, spritz or otherwise.

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May 23, 2022/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
recipe, food
recipe, food, spritz
December 05, 2021

Holiday Cookies with Wanderlust Flair

December 05, 2021/ Michelle Damiani
Holiday Cookies with Wanderlust Flair

Searching to jazz up your holiday cookie platter with global flavors? Look no further.

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December 05, 2021/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
food, recipe
cooking, recipe
June 25, 2021

Pasta alla Norma

June 25, 2021/ Michelle Damiani
Pasta alla Norma

Enjoy the flavors of summer with this simple, vegetarian dish!

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June 25, 2021/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
recipe, food
food, recipe, pasta
May 03, 2021

Bucatini alla Amatriciana (the real kind)

May 03, 2021/ Michelle Damiani
Bucatini alla Amatriciana (the real kind)

The secret to much of Italian cooking is pork fat, and that is particularly true for this storied pasta dish.

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May 03, 2021/ Michelle Damiani/ 4 Comments
recipe, food
pasta, recipe, food, Umbria, primi
April 27, 2021

Porcini stuffed chicken with gravy

April 27, 2021/ Michelle Damiani
Porcini stuffed chicken with gravy

The only thing better than a roast chicken is one flavored with porcini mushrooms.

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April 27, 2021/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
recipe, food
food, recipe
April 11, 2021

Cristiana's Borlotti Bean Soup

April 11, 2021/ Michelle Damiani
Cristiana's Borlotti Bean Soup

How to make a bean soup that will surprise you its warm and vibrant depth of flavor.

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April 11, 2021/ Michelle Damiani/ 2 Comments
food, recipe
food, recipe
February 22, 2021

Chäswähe (Cheese Tart from Switzerland)

February 22, 2021/ Michelle Damiani
Chäswähe (Cheese Tart from Switzerland)

My quest for authentic Swiss recipes has led to some wonderful meals.

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February 22, 2021/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
food, recipe
Switzerland, food, recipe
January 19, 2021

Saffron risotto with Jerusalem artichokes

January 19, 2021/ Michelle Damiani
Saffron risotto with Jerusalem artichokes

Bring golden cheer to your dinner table with this risotto dressed in saffron and Jerusalem artichokes.

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January 19, 2021/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
food, recipe
food, recipe
October 20, 2020

Riso con sugo

October 20, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Riso con sugo

Think of it as a tomato risotto, but it’s ever so much more.

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October 20, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ 6 Comments
food, recipe
recipe, food, cooking
September 16, 2020

Bitter Greens

September 16, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Bitter Greens

I used to hate greens, now I can’t get enough of them.

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September 16, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
recipe, food
cooking, recipe
August 19, 2020

Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce

August 19, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce

When life gives you lemons….

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August 19, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ 6 Comments
recipe, food
recipe, pasta, food
August 11, 2020

Sausage Sugo

August 11, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Sausage Sugo

Welcome to Italy! It’s time to feast.

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August 11, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ 2 Comments
food, recipe
recipe, food, Spello
June 15, 2020

Panzanella

June 15, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Panzanella

Finally, a brilliant idea for what do with all that pandemic sourdough.

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June 15, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
food, recipe
recipe
April 19, 2020

Tigelle: How to dress up your antipasti with Bologna style

April 19, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
Tigelle: How to dress up your antipasti with Bologna style

On our trip to Bologna we discovered tigelle—like a cross between a pancake and an English muffin, they are the perfect vehicle for salted cured meats like prosciutto, capocollo, and Bologna’s staple—mortadella. And so easy to make!

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April 19, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
food, recipe
recipe, Italy, food, antipasti
January 22, 2020

How to Host a Pizza Night

January 22, 2020/ Michelle Damiani
How to Host a Pizza Night

Fabulous fun and flavors! Here are my tips for pizza night, from recipes to process to make it a night to remember.

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January 22, 2020/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
food, recipe
recipe, party
September 09, 2019

Brilliant Pesto without Fear of Pine Mouth

September 09, 2019/ Michelle Damiani
Brilliant Pesto without Fear of Pine Mouth

All the pesto joy without the pesto terror.

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September 09, 2019/ Michelle Damiani/ 2 Comments
food, recipe
food, recipe, pasta
March 19, 2019

Simply Delicious Lasagna Recipe

March 19, 2019/ Michelle Damiani
Simply Delicious Lasagna Recipe

How to make a delicious, comforting lasagna.

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March 19, 2019/ Michelle Damiani/ Comment
food, recipe
pasta
  • Next
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    • Spello
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    • Around the World
  • What I Love/
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    • Food and Drink
    • Books and Movies
    • Italian Cats and Hidden Madonnas
  • Coaching/
  • About/

Michelle Damiani

Website for Michelle Damiani, author of Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center, the funny and heartfelt memoir of an American family living in Spello, as well as Santa Lucia, a page-turner set on the Umbria border. 

Rumors. Romance. And more than a little espresso.

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Big news, friends — I’m swapping out my original idea for a travel writing tour in Puglia and leaning into something I’m even more excited about: Book Club with a View! Picture this: a week of book discussions under the sun of
I wanted to break out my new European passport for the first time on Italian soil, but maybe it was good and right that first use happened in Paris, my mothers birthplace.
What is it about cats and Italy? Even an American cat in Italy, wondering how to run amok over those terra cotta rooftops.
We weren’t sure if we’d walk out with one, two, or three Italian passports. So imagine our delight when the kids’ renewals and my application were easily processed! Okay, the family wasn’t nearly as delighted as they were the
Thursday was your culmination of 13 school years: One in Italian public school, 7 at Peabody, one of pandemic unschooling in Spello, 4 at CHS, plus courses at UVA, PVCC, and schools I don’t know because you enrolled in on-line classes & inf
Happy anniversary to a man who can build a pizza oven with his own two hands, designs a cover for that pizza oven with an image from the flower carpet our family worked on for Spello’s Infiorata (a peak experience for the five of us), arranges

A trip to Italy is better with language basics! Here’s my recommended course to learn Italian and make your trip fantastico!


Festival participant, speaking about “Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center”

Festival participant, speaking about “Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center”

Featured speaker on panel discussing Romance for “Santa Lucia”

Featured speaker on panel discussing Romance for “Santa Lucia”