Back To School
Eggplant Lasagna
Let's celebrate National Lasagna Day this week with Eggplant Lasagna! What happens when National Lasagna Day and eggplant season occur at that the same time? A classic Italian Eggplant Lasagna of course! Eggplant also seemed to be a trending topic on the blog...
$250 Urban Legend Cookie Recipe
Do you know about the infamous "$250 cookie" recipe"? I recently came across an old copy of this recipe in my Mom's recipe box. Along with the ingredients and procedure, it basically says "Mrs. Fields Cookies...$250.00 recipe - give to everyone". Even though I had...
Pan Roasted Chilean Sea Bass Gremolata
Happy New Year friends! It's hard to believe another year has come and gone! I hope each and everyone of you had a great holiday season filled with lots of love and of course great food. We had a nice few weeks home with the kids and our extended family. Perhaps a...
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Magical Meals in Minutes
All Things Baking
Deserts, Cakes, Cookies & More
Meal Planning
Easy Meal Planning Tips
Tina Dileo
Cheftini
My name is Tina, and for as long as I can remember I have enjoyed cooking and being in the kitchen. I really have no formal training in cooking, and despite the really cute name of my website, I’m actually not a chef. While I may not have graduated from some great culinary school, I got my start at an early age in the kitchen of my Italian Mama. I often watched and did not ask too many questions, I learned that the most important ingredient in any dish is LOVE. Cook with LOVE and your meals will always taste good!
Recipes
Lemon Ricotta Bundt Cake
If I've learned anything during this pandemic, it's that everything imperfect is perfect again. I feel like over the years there has been this sensationalized image of perfection sweeping over our daily lives. Perfect family photos, perfect relationships, perfect...
Spaghetti with Grape Tomatoes and Little Kick
Almost 6 years to the date, I am finally getting around to updating this post. My current situation is home with my fam in New York during the Covid-19 outbreak so I not only have some extra time on my hands, I also have a family that's always hungry! I'm literally...
Ricotta Zeppole
Growing up one of my most favorite treats was fried dough with powdered sugar - known by most as Zeppole. Another name my family used for them was "pettole". It's what they call Zeppole in the Italian region of Puglia, or at least in my Grandmother's town in Bari....
Baked Chicken Caprese Melt
Sear, chop and bake your way to the quickest, most flavorful weeknight dinner winner... Baked Chicken Caprese Melt You are going to want to add this one to your weekly menu roundup. It has all the markings for a magical meal in minutes. Some nights in the kitchen I'm...
Quick Chicken Crust Parmesan Pizza
As seen on the Dr. Oz SHOW - May 22, 2019 My recipe for this Quick Chicken Crust Parmesan Pizza was recently featured on the Dr. Oz show segment "Cheap Chicken - What are you really getting when you pay less?" You can click the HERE to watch the segment. Sometimes I...
Homemade Manicotti Crepes
Keeping Family Traditions Alive The thing I love most about sharing food is keeping my family traditions alive through recipes like my Mama's Rice Balls, my Mother in Law's Focaccia and today, a family favorite (on both sides) homemade manicotti. Not only is each...
Free Recipe EBook
Get “7 Blog Favorites” Cookbook FREE
Cheftini’s Kitchen Live
Cheftini’s Kitchen LIVE: Pasta Fagioli
One of my favorite fall/winter dishes is the classic Pasta e Fagioli - also known as Pasta Fazool. There are so many versions of this classic dish. In this version I am swapping out the more traditional Ditalini Pasta for a thin cut spaghetti that was sent to me by...
Cooking LIVE: Black Bean Farro Burrito Bowl with Simply Gather
Back in December I launched the 2nd annual "Home Cooking for the Holidays" e-cookbook with a LIVE cooking event at ATHLETA in Scarsdale (New York). The e-book was sponsored by both national and local businesses, including westchester's newest meal kit delivery...
Cheftini’s Kitchen: Win or Lose Game Day Bites
Today's Simple Game Day Recipe is brought to you in partnership with my friends at Premio Foods. Cheftini’s Kitchen: Episode 9 Part 3 Quick Game Day Bites : Win or Lose Game Day Bites Here are a few more quick and simple game day recipes that are sure to be a hit at...