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Belle ♡

@lacucinawithbelle

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🎥 Cooking my way around the world 🌎✨
Recipes • cultures • traditions
🍽️ Private chef | Sarasota + Lakewood Ranch
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Come fall in love with Italy with me, again and again ♡ 🇮🇹🍋

In this series, we’ll revisit the places I explored through the dishes I fell in love with from Sicily’s Modica, Trapani, Palermo, and Catania to Venice, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast’s Positano and Ravello. ⋆˚✿˖°

First stop: Sicily! 🌞 We’re starting with a recreation of the wonderful pizza I had in Modica 🍕 ⋆˚✿˖°

Come along, bring your appetite, and let’s make a little Italian magic together! ⋆˚✿˖° by @lacucinawithbelle

✧ a little moment with me ✧

cooking has become more than just recipes lately…
it’s how I slow down, romanticize things, and feel like I’m somewhere else for a while.

a glass of wine, a warm plate of pasta, golden light…
it feels like a little escape

what’s your escape lately?
and what should I cook next

📸: @thelivingenchantedphoto by @lacucinawithbelle

🍄🍝 𝑨 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂, 𝑺𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒚 🇮🇹🤍

Remember that little family owned restaurant in Modica that stole my heart? 🥹 Well their pizza wasn’t the only thing! This mushroom & guanciale pasta was unforgettable, so of course I had to recreate a little of that Sicilian magic at home! ⋆˚✿˖°

Mushroom & Guanciale Spaghetti

୨୧ Ingredients

* 🍄 Fresh mushrooms
* 🥓 Guanciale, diced
* 🧄 4 garlic cloves, minced
* 🍝 Spaghetti
* 🫒 Extra virgin olive oil
* 🧂 Salt & pepper
* 🧀 Parmigiano

୨୧ Let’s cook! ♡

① Sauté sliced mushrooms in olive oil until golden. 🍄

② Add diced guanciale and let the fat render, then stir in garlic until fragrant.

③ Cook spaghetti until al dente, reserving some pasta water. 🍝

④ Toss everything together with a splash of pasta water until silky. Finish with Parmigiano and black pepper! 🧀✨

A little piece of Sicily, made with love. ♥

𝑩𝒖𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒐, 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒊! 🍝🎀 by @lacucinawithbelle

🇮🇹🐟✨ Day 2 of my Italy Series: Palermo, Sicily!

♡ Swordfish Caponata (Caponata di Pesce Spada) 🍆

Sweet, tangy, and bursting with Sicilian flavors! I fell in love with this dish in Palermo and just had to recreate it at home! 🍋‍🟩🤍

𐙚 Ingredients:

* 🐟 Fresh swordfish, cut into chunky cubes
* 🌿 4 celery stalks
* 🧅 1 yellow onion
* 🫒 Green olives
* ♡ Capers
* 🍶 ½ cup white wine vinegar
* 🍬 2 tbsp sugar
* 🫒 Olive oil & salt

𐙚 Let’s cook! ♡

1. 🌿 Blanch your celery in boiling water until slightly tender, then chop into bite sized pieces.
2. 🐟 Pat your swordfish dry, lightly salt, and sear in olive oil for 2–3 minutes per side, until cooked through. Set aside.
3. 🧅 Sauté your sliced onion in olive oil until translucent. Add the celery, olives, and capers.
4. 🍯 Mix the vinegar and sugar until dissolved, then pour into the pan and let everything simmer until beautifully combined.
5. 🤍 Gently fold in your swordfish, let cool, and refrigerate overnight to let those gorgeous flavors mingle!

✨ The secret? Enjoy it the next day! Caponata tastes even more magical once all those sweet and tangy flavors have had time to develop.

Buon appetito, amici miei! 🇮🇹🍋🐟

#SicilianFood #SwordfishCaponata #ItalianCooking #Palermo #ItalySeries by @lacucinawithbelle

A little spooky, a little sweet… my Halloween candy sourdough 🎃🍫👻 Crispy crust, pockets of chocolate, and a little candy magic in every slice ♡

🍞 Ingredients
• 150g active sourdough starter
• 250g water
• 25g olive oil
• 500g bread flour
• 10g salt
• 30g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 50g each Reese’s, Snickers & Milky Way
• 40g M&M’s

Let’s bake! ♥

1. Mix everything except the candy into a dough. Cover and rest 30–60 minutes.
2. Do 3 rounds of stretch and folds, 30–45 minutes apart.
3. Freeze the chocolate bars for 20–30 minutes, then chop. Gently tuck all the candy into the dough during the last fold.
4. Cover and let rise until puffy and nearly doubled. Shape, keeping the candy tucked inside, then place in a floured proofing basket, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
5. Preheat your Dutch oven to 450°F. Turn the dough onto parchment, score, and carefully load into the pot. Reduce to 400°F and bake covered for 20 minutes, then uncovered for 30–40 minutes.
6. Let cool for at least 2 hours before slicing ♡

Save this for your leftover Halloween candy! 🍬🕸️ by @lacucinawithbelle

A little piece of Modica 🍕🇮🇹⋆˚✿˖°
Sourdough pizza alla Norma, inspired by the magical little restaurant we stumbled upon in Sicily ♡

♡ Dough • makes 6 personal pizzas
500g 00 flour
340g water
75g active sourdough starter
12g salt

Mix until combined, cover, and let rise for 3–4 hours in a warm spot. Divide into 6 balls, place on an oiled tray, cover, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, let rest at room temperature for 3–4 hours, until puffy.

♡ Modica inspired toppings
Eggplant, salt, avocado oil, olive oil, garlic, basil, 2 cans San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, pecorino & ricotta.

Salt and drain chopped eggplant, pat dry, then fry in avocado oil until golden. Gently sizzle smashed garlic and basil in olive oil, add tomatoes, and simmer until thickened. Remove garlic.

Stretch dough, keeping the edges airy. Top with sauce, eggplant, pecorino, and mozzarella. Bake at 500°F until golden and cooked through; finish in a hot skillet for an extra crispy bottom.

Add ricotta and more pecorino, slice & enjoy! 🍆🌿
#sicily #sourdoughpizza #modica by @lacucinawithbelle

Private Cheffing for My Favorite Clients ♡

A little love, a lot of homemade goodness, and a week full of delicious meals!🧑🏻‍🍳

🍋 Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken with Carrots & Onions

🍚 Savory Orzo with Roasted Chicken Juices

🍄 Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti Squash with Pecorino & Parmesan

🍅 Homemade Bolognese

🥖 Freshly Baked Sourdough Loaf

🎃 Pumpkin Loaf with Maple Frosting by @lacucinawithbelle

🍎 ₊˚⊹ Homemade Apple Cider ₊˚⊹ 🍁

The coziest fall drink ♡

Ingredients:
🍏 12 apples (Granny Smith & Honeycrisp)
💧 Water (enough to cover apples)
🍁 ¼ cup maple syrup
🍋 ½ lemon
🫚 Fresh ginger
🍂 Cinnamon sticks
⭐ Star anise
🤎 Nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Chop your apples and add them to a large pot with water, spices, maple syrup, and lemon.
2. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 hours.
3. Let cool slightly, mash the apples, and strain through a cheesecloth, squeezing out all that delicious cider!
4. Serve warm or chilled. 🍎♡

Once you make homemade apple cider, you’ll never want store bought again! 🧸🍂

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ by @lacucinawithbelle

Some of my favorite spots that I’ll definitely be coming back to! Flushing is a foodie’s dream come true 🏮🥢

All the places we visited:

📍 @chongqinglaozao.ny
📍 @izakayanana
📍 @maikomatchanyc
📍 @jojubanhmi by @lacucinawithbelle

Fell in love with Flushing, NY 🥢🏮 by @lacucinawithbelle

🍎 Salted Caramel Apple Cinnamon Buckwheat Oat Cookies 🍂✨

Made with @thebirkettmills buckwheat flour 🤎 The buckwheat adds such a warm, nutty flavor that pairs beautifully with the cinnamon apples, oats & salted caramel. ♡

Ingredients ౨ৎ
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ cup @thebirkettmills buckwheat flour
1¼ cups rolled oats
1½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup softened butter
¾ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon apples 🍎
1 cup apple, finely diced
2 tsp lemon juice
Butter, for the pan
Cinnamon + brown sugar, to taste

To finish ♡
Salted caramel

Cook the apples in a little butter with cinnamon + brown sugar until soft and caramelized. Let cool.

Cream the butter + brown sugar, then add the egg and vanilla. Combine the flours, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda + salt separately, then mix into the wet ingredients. Fold in the cooked apples.

Scoop about 2 tbsp of dough per cookie, gently flatten, and create a small indent in the center. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and spoon the caramelized apple filling into the center of each cookie. Return to the oven and bake for another 2–3 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers are soft. Let cool, then finish with a drizzle of maple caramel. 🍎🍂🤎

Perfect fall cookies ♡ by @lacucinawithbelle

🎃🍂 Pumpkin Scones 🍂🎃
cozy little bites of autumn ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა

Scones ♡
2¼ cups flour
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda + salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 stick cold butter
½ cup pumpkin purée
1 tbsp buttermilk
1 egg
½ tbsp molasses

Maple Pumpkin Glaze ♡
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp pumpkin
2 tbsp melted butter
¼ cup maple syrup + pinch of salt

Mix, shape & cut into 8 scones. Chill 10 min, then bake at 400°F for 16–18 min. Cool, glaze & enjoy! ☕️🍁✨ by @lacucinawithbelle