In Italy, fresh baby artichokes are a sign of spring. Every April, this member of the thistle family is celebrated in Tuscany at the Sagra del Carciofo Artichoke Festival. Our nod to the spring artichoke took the form of an artichoke tortino, which we served as our first course. A tortino is similar to a frittata, but thicker, usually with the addition of cream, cheese, or flour. We made fresh ricotta to accompany the artichokes in our tortino. Ricotta is easy to make and only requires whole milk, vinegar, and salt. Fresh, homemade ricotta has a sweetness that I’ve never tasted in the store-bought varieties. It gave an airy richness to the eggs, and we also added grated pecorino romano for a hint of salt. Alongside the tortino, we served a few baby artichokes sautéed with white wine and capers.

Our second course was perciatelli carbonara. Perciatelli is a delicious noodle, similar to a thick spaghetti, but hollow: with a hole through the middle like a straw. For the pasta carbonara, I browned bacon, then carmelized shallots with a teaspoon of garlic. To the bacon and shallots, I added sweet peas and butter. The carbonara sauce consists of butter, parmigiano reggiano, and egg.

Eggs are a longstanding symbol of spring. On her blog, School of the Seasons, Waverly Fitzgerald explains “eggs are one of the symbols of this [equinox] festival since they represent new life and potential.” She goes on to describe a Sicilian tradition that inspired other elements of our meal:

“Seeds are like eggs. While eggs contain the promise of new animal life, seeds hold the potential of a new plant. In ancient Italy in the spring, women planted gardens of Adonis. They filled urns with grain seeds, kept the in the dark and watered them every two days. This custom persists in Sicily. Women plant seeds of grains — lentils, fennel, lettuce or flowers — in baskets and pots. When they sprout, the stalks are tied with red ribbons and the gardens are placed on graves on Good Friday. They symbolize the triumph of life over death.” (schooloftheseasons.com/spring.html)

Our salad course featured fennel bulbs, thinly sliced and included in fresh spring rolls filled with roasted duck breast, mint, cilantro, and pickled dandelion greens. The spring rolls were served with an apricot marmellata over a bed of fresh, local watercress and arugula. Sprouting chard from the garden garnished our plates.

For the main course: lamb chops. We prepared them as we do in my family each year for Easter, seared in olive oil then braised in a light tomato sauce with rosemary and oil cured black olives. Lentils were another symbol of spring we incorporated in to the dish: French green lentils cooked with carrots, onion and sage, served with mint yogurt.

As I cleaned artichokes, stirred ricotta, and braised lamb, I felt connected to these signs of spring. As we embark upon a new season, it’s fitting to reflect on the cycles of the year, and also the cycles of traditions we engage in year after year.

La Festa di San Valentino was a four day affair at Nino’s, culminating yesterday in a Valentine’s Day dinner with live jazz! Our dinners per due–for two–included Parchment Heart Red Snapper with homemade gnocchi in pesto and Crab Cakes and Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp served with a tart, sweet, fennel and orange salad.

We also featured a delicious Tuscan specialty–Cinghiale–Wild Boar with rosemary ricotta polenta and red swiss chard. And of course, we celebrated the love apple with our classic Spaghetti Pomodoro. Happy Valentine’s Day!

One of the most popular features of our seasonal menu is our antipasto cart. Each Friday and Saturday evening, we fill the antique cart in the center of our dining room with an ever-changing variety of antipasti. Antipasto before dinner is an Italian tradition, and to me, the perfect showcase for the seasons. Local salami, house marinated mushrooms, and imported olives are featured weekly, along with both hot and cold specialties for sampling before dinner. At the peak of tomato season, a highlight is our Caprese Salad with fresh mozzarella, red and yellow tomatoes, and basil. Lately, in the cold, locally-made hot Italian sausage has warmed us up!

Look for seasonal antipasto recipes forthcoming here on our blog. We’ll celebrate winter as we wait for spring.

A perfect holiday cocktail with a green accompaniment: “The Bartini” and broccolini with tahini.

The Bartini–25% Campari, 25% Limoncello, 50% Prosecco…100% Italian! Garnished with rosemary, this aperitivo (before dinner drink) is red and green not only like the Italian flag but also like Christmas!

Steamed broccolini with a lemon, tahini, and yogurt sauce is a wonderful hors d’oeuvre or side dish. We sprinkled toasted pine nuts as a finishing touch.

Buon Appetito!

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and the classic flavors of fall abound: chestnut stuffing, apple cider, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie. However, today’s cocktail pays homage to an oft-overlooked autumn flavor: maple.

The “Mapletini” is a simple seasonal cocktail perfect for your pre-turkey line-up; although you might be hard pressed to find the drink’s secret ingredient in your local liquor store. The signature spirit, Sortilege Maple Liqueur, hails from Quebec. We special order it for the bar at Nino’s from one of our wine importers.

Sortilege is a delicious blend of Canadian whisky and Canadian maple syrup. So, in a pinch, you might stir some warm maple syrup with whisky to create your own infusion. The flavor profile is more maple than whisky, so be liberal with your syrup. The vodka added to create the Mapletini will mellow any cloying sweetness.

We chose Stolichnaya vanilla vodka, although different vodkas might yield interesting results. The ratio for the cocktail is 1:1–just half Stoli Vanil and half Sortilege. We chill this ‘tini in a shaker and serve it up in a glass rimmed with cinnamon sugar. A cinnamon stick stirrer or a garnish of vanilla bean would also do the trick.

The Mapletini is great alone or paired with food, and the vanilla-cinnamon-maple notes would work well with both sweet and savory dishes. Since I tend towards savory, how about miniature maple sausage sandwiches with sauteed onion and apple to beginning your Thanksgiving feast?

Mushrooms are a wonderful seasonal ingredient in autumn and winter. We feature them in earthy dishes such as veal and porcini pappardelle, chicken portobello, and wild mushroom risotto. Plus, our house marinated mushrooms have become a staple on our weekend Antipasto Cart. For marinating, we begin with whole baby button mushrooms, heated–just barely–with extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, and herbs. They are the perfect companion to our selection of local salami; not to mention, tossed with carmelized onion and gorgonzola, they make a delicious pizzetta!