These are family recipes. Do you have something similar? We would be interested in similar Italian recipes to see how they might have evolved.

BISCURTI (The name has changed over the years from Biscotti)

1 cup butter at room temperature

2 cups sugar

5 eggs at room temperature

3 cups flour

½ lb almonds sliced or chopped, lightly toasted

2 tablespoons anise seed

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Add the flour and mix well. Stir in the almonds and anise seed. Spread evenly in greased and floured 9" x 13" pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until brown. Remove from pan in one piece and let cool until firm enough to slice without crumbling. Slice into ½ x 3 inch slices. Spread on cookie sheet or directly on oven racks. Toast in oven 10 - 15 minutes on each side until light brown. The slices will burn if not watched. Remove from oven and cool well before packing.

Filling:

21/2 Ibs fresh spinach, deveined, and washed thoroughly

3/4 Ib very very lean ground pork

1 set calf brains or 3 slices wet bread or 1/4 pound more ground pork, (sometimes you can't get brains. Recent mad cow concerns lead us to substitute Ricotta cheese for brains.)

2 pods garlic

small can grated parmesan cheese

Cook spinach and squeeze until very dry .Chop the spinach with garlic and cheese. Clean the brains of the membranes and cook in 1 tsp of olive oil in a skillet. They should look like scrambled eggs when done. Mix the spinach, brains, and pork with 3 beaten eggs plus some salt. Divide into 5 equal portions and refrigerate until needed. Lenora (John's mom) always cautioned against using too much oil, that it might cause the raviolis to open in the boiling water.

Pasta for Ravioli - yields 5 "skins", or "crustas" (15-18 inches across)

2 Ib Gold Medal all purpose or equal flour

3 eggs

1 cup tepid water

Mix the eggs and water with the flour using the "stir in a well" method, or just mix the whole bunch together. Knead and knead. This is the hard part, requiring experience and practice. When the dough is silky smooth, divide it ino 5 equal parts. Keep the dough covered so it won't dry out. You can use a pasta machine. Roll out really thin and spread the filling thinly on 1/2 of the dough. Fold dough over, mark and cut. We usually make the ravioli the day prior to a meal and dry them out, with tuming, on a rack with a breezy fan. This is not really necessary; you can cook them as soon as they are prepared. If you store them without drying them first, be sure to put plastic wrap between layers, or they will stick together. Boil in large pot, till done. Layer in large flat platter or cassarole dish with some tucco and extra parmesian,

Let sit 30 minutes or so, in warm (not hot) oven. Enjoy.

"Tucco" is the word we use for the rich Bolognese sauce we put on our ravioli and spaghetti. I believe the term is used only in Ligura, maybe only in the Sestri Levante area, because I have never seen reference to it anywhere else. This is good stuff.

2 lb beef roast

3 onions

5 cloves garlic

tomato paste 6 oz

tomato sauce 15 oz

whole tomatos 28 oz (squeeze by hand to break them up) (chopped canned tomatoes do not taste right)

water 8 oz or to your consistency

sugar 1 tablespoon

spice to taste: basil, rosemary, thyme, salt, bay leaf

Remove fat from the roast and cut into several pieces. Brown on all sides in olive oil. Set aside. Saute chopped onions and garlic in same oil slowly until soft. Add sliced mushrooms and all other ingredients, including beef.

Cook slowly for four hours or more. The beef will come apart in shreds and become part of the sauce. You can remove big pieces of the meat, which by now has lost all its flavor. Add water as needed during cooking to maintain desired fluidity.

Tucco is better the next day. It can be frozen but becomes watery.

Dried mushrooms are better than fresh. Soak them before chopping into pieces. Use some of the soak water.

Source: Rosa Toselli Migliavacca from Sestri Levante