Homemade Potato Herb Bread

Potato herb bread is so versatile!


You can use it for so many recipes and the dough last longer than most because it's so moist.


The best part is it's texture, softness, and heaviness, perfect for stews and soups!


Potato bread is delicious toasted and great for breakfast.


You can leave the herbs out and make it unflavored either way it's delicious.

Dried Cherry Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Through the years of baking, this is the best banana bread and the best quick bread recipe I ever found.


Using dried cherries with bananas go famously together.


Adding chocolate chips is a big bonus! This is one I will make time and time and a perfect combination of flavors!


Of course, with all the dried fruits out there available, you can choose any kind you prefer.


Pineapple and coconut are other great combinations with banana and chocolate chips.


This is a basic recipe that can be adapted to any flavors added you like.

Italian Pizza Fritta Fried Dough

Italian Traditional Fried Feast Dough, Italian Pizza Fritta or well known as Zeppole!


If you have never tried fried pizza dough, you are missing out.


This is a special Italian treat we make often here in our home.


Mom would start our Sunday breakfast off with this delicious fried dough before our big traditional Sunday Sauce meal.


We always looked forward to Sunday morning with that fresh smell of fried dough.


This is a specialty at every American Italian church feast in Central Utica, New York.


Utica, New York is noted for the best homemade fried dough at all the church events during the summer months and so many other fine Italian specialties.


Here are some other must-tries from my hometown:  Italian Greens, Italian Lemon Ice,  Tomato pie, Chicken Riggies, Manny's Cheesecake, Oscugnizzo Pizza, and Pusties Rosato Chocolate Cookies.


It's usually fried right in front of you and served with either sugar or powdered sugar in paper bags.


This recipe is the true experience of delicious sugar-coated sweet treat that is fried to perfection in any Italian household growing up.


Scroll down for the complete recipe, it's easy, delicious and makes a wonderful memory etched in our family mind forever.

Sour Cream Blueberry Bread

Sour Cream Blueberry Bread is a delight for breakfast, tea or just the ending of a meal with a little piece of a perfect dessert.

Homemade bread is always the best taste. Even if it isn't the prettiest shape,

it will still taste better than store bought! Rye bread has always been a favorite we make around St. Patricks Day for making one of the most famous sandwich, thie Reuben.

This is an easy rye bread perfect for your Corn beef delicious Reuben Sandwich or also great with Corn beef and cabbage dinner you may love to make, just to name a few of what this great bread can be an addition to. It really is an easy recipe and worth the time.

If you don't want to make into a loaf, use the dough and make into small rolls.

3 cups water warm to touch

1 1/2 Tablespoon instant yeast

1 1/2 Tablespoon salt

1 1/2 Tablespoon Caraway seeds
1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 cup rye flour

5 1/2 cups all purpose flour.

egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Mix the water with yeast to dissolve, add caraway seeds, salt and oil into a heavy duty mixer bowl using a dough hook ( you can also mix by hand  and stir until dissolved),  Add all dry ingredients to the bowl using the mixer and dough hook blend together for around 2 minutes. Cover the dough and let rise around 2 hours. You can use this now punch it down and rise again making into shapes and rising until double.

Place on a parchment lined cake pan for rounds, or parchment lined cookie sheet and shape into loaves or what ever you like. Brush with egg white wash.

Bake in preheated oven @ 400 degree hot oven until brown on top around 40 minutes. Cool before slicing. Refrigerate for 2 weeks using when needed. 

If you love Reubens you may also like to try some other favorites:

Guinness Corned Beef
Guinness Chili Loaded Baked Potatoes
Guinness Gravy with Colcannon Mashed Potatoes

Italian Limoncello Bread Pudding

Elegantly served with simple syrup and sorbet.

This is a lemon's lovers bread pudding turned gourmet!

Curt's Italian Stuffed Pizza Pizzone Pie

Not sure where my son picked this name Pizzone, but it fit, so that's what it is (smile)

I love that it's kind of a pie, top and bottom crust, it's more like a pot pie pizza~

Depending on what you like the skies the limit and just a little each below is all you need in this pizza.

You will need to stuff your pizza :

  1 pound of homemade pizza dough or store bought
  parchment paper
  1 deep dish pie plate up to 10 inch max size

  1 tablespoon or more of your favorites chopped: olives, peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, escarole,  spinach

  1 cup of packaged or cooked meats: sausage, pepperoni, ham, capicola, meatball, steak, anchovies,  shrimp
 1 cup shredded mozzarella
 2 tablespoons grated romano cheese
 1/2 cup pizza sauce or tomato sauce

 On a large cutting board, cut dough in half. Roll dough out to fit the pie plate up to 10 inches. Line the  pie plate   with parchment paper. Place dough on the paper. Fill with your favorite filling and sauce. Roll the other half of the dough. Place on top of this dough. Press the edges lightly. They will cook together in the over.
Brush top with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
You can add spices to the top, garlic powder, parsley and oregano evenly would be my preference.
Bake on 400 degree preheated oven until browned on top around 45 minutes.
Serve with more sauce to dip in.

Simple Crostini

Simple crostini is the start of a delicious toasted bread appetizer and can be made with a variety of toppings.

With a little creativity depending on what kind of sandwich fillings or salad fixings you prefer, these can be transformed into any kind of orderve.

They make a wonderful starter before a big meal but can also be a light lunch and perfect for when hosting a game day for delicious finger foods.

Quick easy and delicious appetizers you can make in 10 to 12 minutes.

Add a delicious side antipasto escarole salad and that lighter summer meal is complete.

If you love appetizers do try our over 30 Fun Appetizer Recipes, perfect for holidays, game days, and family get-togethers.

Scroll down for these simple instructions on our printable recipe card below.

Old Fashioned Italian Style Bread Crumbs

Don't throw out that leftover stale bread, keep saving it till you have enough to make these delicious Italian Flavored Bread Crumbs. I can remember as a kid, I would open the bread box and a ton of old bread would fall out. Couldn't figure out back then why she saved it all. Then as I got older, I was the one who had to grate it with that old fashioned cheese grater! Took forever....thanks to modern technology we can use the food processor to do this job in no time flat, and make the tastiest bread crumbs for any coated dish..of course you can add more or less to taste. But this is our basic recipe for most any Italian recipe on my site. Enjoy!~


The food processor takes no time at all, finely grind the crumbs or if you like chunkier don]t process as long, and its time to add all the spices.

If you keep saving the ends, you will eventually have enough stale bread to make your own. We just keep putting on a cookie sheet leave out for at least a week, it will be very hard. Mom only had a hand grater and still made her own.

Old Fashioned Italian Style Bread Crumbs

Hard Stale leftover bread 1 full loaf of saved Italian bread
cooking spray oil
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder (optional)
2 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried basil
1/4 cup grating cheese (optional)

Directions Fast version if you need them quick:
Cut bread into slices or cubes, place on cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking oil,put oven on low over 175 degrees until the bread is dry and hard slightly browned.

You can also leave this out for days until the bread is rock hard and stale uncovered or it will get moldy. Keep in a dry place.
Place the hard bread into a food processor and finely grind the bread.
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, tossing to blend thoroughly.
Store in an airtight container, I use glass mason jars and you can use in any recipe calling for Italian breadcrumbs.
Depending on what you are cooking you can additional spices, rosemary, thyme, sage.