Cakey chocolate chip cookies

Hands up who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies! Not many I guess...

But do we need another recipe for chocolate chip cookies?

I would say yes, in particular considering that I am not going to share one of those recipes giving the perfect (but what is perfect? what we like I think) balance of chewiness, softness and crunchiness, the combination of textures typical of the worldwide popular American - style chocolate chip cookies.

In fact the recipe I'm giving today makes another kind of sweet baked  good, having the texture of a cake, a crumby crust with a soft and light center...but small like a cookie: a sort of miniature chocolate chip cake.

Nearly the opposite of this chocolate chip cookie-cake that is the size of a cake and the texture of a cookie.

Pomodori gratinati (roasted crumbled tomatoes)

I have a special affection for this dish!

Because it is exactly what can be called a family recipe: in fact I learned how to make it from my mother,  my mother from hers and so back for generations. 

It is a classical in my mum's summer repertoire, as she makes it at least once a week when local tomatoes are in season - she is a fanatic of seasonal cooking and for no reason would buy a fresh tomato in winter.

Using the right products this dish actually has all the flavors and colors of summer: ripe tomatoes, herbs, garlic and not much more, just some olive oil, breadcrumbs and salt.

And it's one of those dishes that you can never be bored of, because it's simple but tasty like all the "peasant dishes" are, especially when born out of necessity (why throwing away a piece of stale bread, when you can make crumbs out of it?).

Roasted pepper dip - my take on Muhammara

It's incredible how time flies!
When I published my previous post, at the end of June, I was not feeling like on holiday yet, but on the contrary I had the intention of writing something else before heading to Italy for my summer vacation and, most important, saying a "see you soon" to all my readers and wishing a lovely vacation to those - as lucky as me - able to take a break for a while.
But - and to be honest I can't exactly explain how - I am here to say "hello" only on the 5th of September, more than two months later. And even today what I can do is just a short and quick post, because of several other things to do. Unfortunately no time to share something about my summer in Italy. And probably when I have the time and the right concentration, it will be too late to be of interest to anyone.
But if any of you is curious to know something more about the time I spent in my home country, you can check my Instagram account where I shared quite a few pictures from Italy. It was a period of rest, also from the kitchen. time spent with the family and many aperitivi - mainly Aperol spritz, as you can see from the pictures.

But before leaving my desk, I want to share a recipe that I had made and pictured before going on holiday, still waiting to be published.