December Newsletter
A surprise from Daniela and me! Plus: what to cook this month, two sweet new books, and a recipe for zucchini and goat's cheese risotto
WELCOME to Buona Domenica, a weekly newsletter of Italian home cooking and baking. I’m a journalist, cooking teacher, occasional tour guide, and author of eight cookbooks on Italian cuisine.
This week’s newsletter is free to all subscribers and features a new joint project from my illustrator, Daniela, and me; plus a recipe for zucchini and goat’s cheese risotto; and assorted other tasty content.
REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR FOOD WRITERS IN PIEMONTE, FALL 2025: Join Kathy Gunst and me next October for our second Food Writers in Piemonte workshop. Please send me an email at domenica@domenicacooks.com for more information.
Click here to browse through the newsletter archive. If you’re looking for a particular recipe, you’ll find all Buona Domenica recipes—176 and counting—indexed here, ready to download and print—a function for paid subscribers. If you are able to do so, please consider supporting my work by becoming one.
WE HAVE PRINTS!
My illustrious collaborator, Daniela, and I are excited to tell you that three of her beautiful illustrations are now available as prints!
As most of you know, this newsletter has been graced by Daniela’s artwork since the first issue was published back in February 2022. Since then, I’ve heard from many of you who have loved her stylish and whimsical contributions. So we’re really thrilled to be able to make three of our favorites available for purchase. They are:
TORTA CAPRESE (pictured above, left)
BOMBSHELL SPAGHETTI (center)
RADICCHIO (right)
(Click on the titles above to see the original posts with which the prints are associated.)
DETAILS
QUANTITY: We are offering limited quantities (25) of each print
SIZE: Each print is 12 x 15.75 inches (30 x 40 cm), including the white border. They are printed in Italy on high-quality paper.
PRICE: $50 (USD) per print, plus shipping, but paid subscribers receive a $10 discount ($40 plus shipping).
HOW TO ORDER
For now, prints are available to those residing in the U.S. or Canada, though we hope to expand availability. The prints will eventually be available to buy online through my Domenica Cooks website, which is hosted on Squarespace. This will simplify the transaction process.
For the time being, simply send me an email (domenica [at] domenicacooks.com) if you are interested in ordering prints, and I will reply directly to arrange the purchase. We accept payment through PayPal, Venmo, or check.
The colors of these prints are as vibrant as they appear in the photos above. They are truly beautiful and will make wonderful and unique holiday gifts!
WHAT TO COOK IN DECEMBER
The month has only just begun and already some of us (raises hand) are feeling overwhelmed. Between decorating, baking, and holiday shopping—oh yeah, and work—the thought of having to also cook dinner every night is enough to make one run for the nearest hermitage in the mountains of Abruzzo (there are dozens!). But we have our families and our selves to feed. And, counterintuitively, stepping away from the madness of the season to put together a simple but satisfying dinner can be an enjoyable task. Here are some dinner ideas I turn to when I don’t have loads of time but still want to eat well. (Please note that some of these recipes are now archived behind a paywall.)
Spaghetti alla Claudia Cardinale: Yes, it’s the pasta that inspired Daniela’s print! And it is so delicious and easy to make—just pasta with butter, ham, herbs, and cheese. Salad or steamed broccoli on the side.
Tagliatelle with Walnuts: Another ridiculously easy pasta dish that delivers. This vegetarian sauce, surprisingly reminsicent of Bolognese sauce, comes together in the time it takes to heat your pasta water.
Garlicky Lentil and Potato Soup: I occasionally contribute recipes to The Mediterranean Dish, a popular website that features food from various Mediterranean countries. This lentil soup is based on my mom’s and has been one of my easy go-to dinners for decades.
Onion Frittata: Eggs, onions, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt. Together they make magic in the form of this frittata. This is one of many wonderful recipes in
’s book Portico: Cooking and Feasting in Rome’s Jewish Kitchen. Tossed salad and bread on the side.Deep-Dish Quiche with Broccoli and Bacon: Quiche may sound too involved for a simple dinner because…crust. But it’s easy to whip up the dough in a food processor ahead of time and pop it in the fridge or freezer until you need it. And there’s just something supremely satisfying about a rich, cheesy, deep-dish quiche on a cold December evening. This deep-dish quiche is a one-dish meal.
Pork Chops with Bay Leaves and Lemon Slices: Another of my Mediterranean Dish recipes. All you need is 20 minutes and a well-seasoned cast-iron (or heavy-bottomed) skillet to make these juicy chops.
Roast Luganega Sausage with Baby Potatoes: Nothing more than coiled Luganega sausage (a type of sausage from northern Italy) and potatoes, roasted together on a sheet pan. If you can’t find Luganega sausage (I often can’t) just substitute good Italian sausages.
Zucchini and Goat’s Cheese Risotto (recipe below): There are still zucchini at farmers markets here in the mid-Atlantic. And they are always available at the supermarket. I bought a handful a couple of weeks ago and used them to make this easy, cheesy risotto. You can easily substitute winter squash to make it more seasonal.
Orange and Leek Salad: This colorful salad of leeks, oranges, and avocado will happily sit alongside any of the dishes listed above.
Readers: What are you planning to cook this month?
TWO SWEET BOOKS
I’m not putting together a full gift list this year, as there seem to be so many circulating already, but I thought I might share some good things that come my way in the next couple of weeks. Two of these good things are recently published books.
Sicily, My Sweet, by Victoria Granof. This book is a love letter to the cornucopia of pastries, cookies, cakes, and other confections found on the island of Sicily, and to the island itself. Almond paste, ricotta cream, and cookies and fritters galore! You’ll be hearing more about this book, and Victoria, next week. Stay tuned.
Nature’s Candy: Timeless and Inventive Recipes for Creating and Baking with Candied Fruit, by Canadian author Camilla Wynne. I’ve been excited about this book ever since I got wind of it months ago. I bought myself a copy for my birthday and cannot wait to dive in. The first section focuses on the various ways to preserve fruit through drying, candying, crystallizing and more. The second part teaches you how to use these edible jewels in an array of baked goods from simple and fancy cakes and tortes to cookies and other splendid desserts.
A PEEK INSIDE MY KITCHEN
I was recently featured on the FoodStack Library newsletter, a gathering place of sorts for food writers and recipe creators on Substack. It is helmed and curated by
and is a great resource if you’re looking to follow or connect with other food writers and creators on Substack.
FRIENDLY REMINDER: HOLIDAY BAKE ALONG for paid subscribers
SATURDAY, DEC. 14, 2:30 to 4 p.m EST: Join me and my mixologist on Saturday, Dec. 14 for a holiday bake-along-drink-along! We will be baking white chocolate-dipped coconut lime biscotti and an Italian holiday cocktail to go with. I’ll be sending out recipes later this week, and a Zoom link the day before the event. Please let me know if you intend to join the festivities (shoot me an email at domenica@domenicacooks.com). You can bake along in real time, or watch and bake at your leisure. Your choice! (This event is limited to members of Buona Domenica’s paid community.)
RECIPE: Zucchini and Goat’s Cheese Risotto
Usually I’ve had my fill of summer squash by this time of year and, like the rest of you, have moved on to winter squash and pumpkin and hearty greens. However, the farmers’ markets here in the mid-Atlantic still have plenty of good zucchini, and so a couple of weeks ago I scooped up a couple and turned them into this risotto. The addition of fresh goat’s cheese is a clever touch, as it cuts the richness while at the same time giving the rice an extra creamy consistency. If you would like to make this more seasonal, simply substitute an equal amount of winter squash.
Click on the button below for the full recipe.
Thanks, as always, for reading, subscribing, and sharing.
Alla prossima,
Domenica
Those prints!! 💗 I have 1/2 a bag of walnuts left over from Thanksgiving pie baking. That walnut tagliatelle will be on my table this week.
WowWowWow! These prints! Also: soup 😋