Category: Dinner

  • Nonna’s gnocchi

    Nonna’s gnocchi

    Here’s another one of my Nonna’s great recipes. These simple pasta pillows consist mainly of potato and are all you’ll ever need on a cold and rainy day. I’d seen these done by my grandmother time and time again but had never attempted the recipe myself. After phoning my Nonna, the best I was able…

  • Nonna’s pasta sauce

    Nonna’s pasta sauce

    For my first FOC post, I thought it would be appropriate to share a staple of the Orsini family.  For years, our entire family would gather for a simple Sunday dinner at Nonna’s.  The dinner consisted of pasta with tomato sauce, meat, salad and home brew wine.  Here’s my favorite adaptation of this versatile sauce.…

  • Tacos de Chorizo

    Tacos de Chorizo

    The first taco post on Family of Cooks… It’s an exciting moment, I know. Tacos are definitely a favourite for us – we have friends and family to thank for that.  And while it’s exciting to experiment with wild and wonderful tacos ideas there is something to be said for sticking with the classics. Tacos…

  • Zucchini Potato Latkes

    Zucchini Potato Latkes

    Last Saturday I woke up with a desire beyond the eggs and toast standard. Finding a lone zucchini in the fridge I decided to try something I had attempted to make several years ago that had not turn out: latkes. Using my trusty Cooks Illustrated cooking bible as a reference this time around, I came…

  • Guinness Shepherd’s Pie

    Guinness Shepherd’s Pie

    I love pulling this recipe out in the fall. It combines one of my favourite meats — lamb — with one of my favourite beers — Guinness. Ingredients 5 medium sized potatoes 1 Tbsp butter 1/4-1/2 cup of milk 1.5 lbs of ground lamb 1/2 onion 2 carrots 2 ribs of celery 2 bell peppers…

  • Polenta Pizza?!

    Polenta Pizza?!

    I had my wisdom teeth removed recently. What fun. In my search to find softer foods to eat, I realized polenta would probably fit the bill. If you’ve never bought polenta before, you have two main options. You can buy polenta pre-cooked, typically in a soft plastic tube. This form of polenta is ready to…

  • Leek and Potato Soup

    Leek and Potato Soup

    I love making homemade soups. They’re economical and offer a sense of purpose to that stock pile of yogurt containers in your cupboard. This easy to make recipe pairs buttery leeks and potatoes — perfect for fall/winter hibernation. Ingredients For the homemade stock 2 carrots 3 ribs of celery 1 yellow onion 3 cleaned leek…

  • Pulled pork sandwiches with homemade coleslaw

    Pulled pork sandwiches with homemade coleslaw

    We recently got a slow cooker and I am loving it. I have mostly been making slow cooker ribs, and this week tried making pulled pork for the first time. It was super easy to prepare and came out delicious. I think the most important thing is to get the right cut of pork –…