Nonnas-Inspired Recipe Round-Up #MoviesandMunchies

This month I had the Movies & Munchies bloggers watch Nonnas and head into their respective kitchens. You can read my invitation here.

R and I have been on a mission to find the best canoli in town; we have been to two different bakeries. But we have many, many Italian immigrants in the area, so we are doing some research. You can see my attempt above. Since R said mine were not quite right, I will work on the process more before I share it. In the meantime, here's what the group brought to the virtual Nonnas potluck...

First up was Debra of Elliot's Eat with Sundried Tomato and Artichoke Pasta.

Debra located recipes from the stars of Nonnas and shared "Susan’s Sun-dried Sauce.” And we are so glad she did! I was also tickled to see her mention the book Nonna's House: Cooking and Reminiscing with the Italian Grandmothers of ENOTECA Maria. I actually have that book on my shelf and didn't realize its connection for the movie. Now i might have to start cooking my way through that this summer.

Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures made a Caprese Salad.

Not only did Amy serve up an amazing looking caprese, but she made that mozzarella cheese! Brava!

Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm served a Pasta alla Trapanese.

I had never heard of Pesto alla Trapanese which is a tomato-based sauce that uses almonds instead of pine nuts. Jake might actually like this; he isn't a huge fan of pine nuts. Wendy was also inspired to add Staten Island to her travel wish list. I can't wait to hear about her trip.

Terri posted From Screen to Sauce: A Delightful Review of 'The Nonnas' and the Perfect Italian Red Gravy Recipe.

In her article, Terri addresses topics such as Character Analysis: The Heartwarming Nonnas; Ingredients for the Perfect Red Gravy; Conclusion: Embracing Italian Heritage Through Food and Stories; and more! She writes: "This sauce, like the nonnas themselves, embodies the essence of Italian cooking: simple, yet profound; humble, yet deeply satisfying."

I offered up Homemade, Handrolled Garganelli despite my giant Kitchen Elves reminding me that I could just buy a package of pasta from Trader Joe's for less than a dollar. Duly noted.

That's a wrap on our small, but mighty group of Movies & Munchies bloggers. Stay tuned for even more Italian creations as we watch Toscana in July.