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Interview with PBS Host Mary Ann Esposito and Ciao Italia: Five Ingredient Favorites Book Giveaway!

By Vincent Scordo on September 2, 2010 | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

(Photo: Mary Ann Esposito, photo courtesy of NY Mag)

Every big idea or theory has an associated sound bite. The French philosopher Rene Descartes is remembered for his famous line, "I think, therefore I am.", the chef Jacques Pepin loves to utter, "fast food my way", and the chef, turned uber capitalist Lidia Bastianich (see the mega Italian Mall, Eataly, just opened with Mario Batali and Lidia's son, Joe) loves to utter "Tutti a tavola a mangiare" (translated roughly as everyone come to the tables it's time to eat - kind of ordinary sounding in English!) after she prepares her TV meal.

If the Italian table had an associated sound bite it would be something like, "simple ingredients make outstanding food." Give me a few days and I'll jazz up the tag line, but the idea of simple, great tasting, food made via fresh and seasonal ingredients is at the heart of what it means to eat or cook like an Italian.

For PBS host and cookbook author Mary Ann Esposito she's taken the idea that the best Italian food is made via simple, and fresh, ingredients as a literal truth and just released her new cookbook, Ciao Italia: Five Ingredient Favorites. Mary Ann's book includes recipes (from dinner to dessert) that are made with five ingredients or less (including salt and pepper). Some of my favorites include pork chops with pistachio crust, Prosciutto di Parma and pine nut pizza, and chocolate, hazelnut and banana tartlets.

(Photo: Mushroom and celery salad from Ciao Italia Five ingredient Favorites by Mary Ann Esposito. St Martins Press, NY)

In honor of the new cookbook and the fact that I used to see Mary Ann Esposito on the campus of the University of New Hampshire (she tapped her PBS show Ciao Italia close to campus) during my undergraduate years (I never had the courage to introduce myself), I interviewed Mary Ann and asked her a series of questions about her Italian American experience and how she defines Italian cooking.

Moreover, Scordo.com has also partnered with Mary Ann to offer one lucky reader a chance to win a free copy of Ciao Italia: Five Ingredient Favorites! Here's what you'll need to do to enter the contest:

- Become a fan (or encourage somone to fan) Scordo.com on Facebook and leave a comment on our wall on your favorite, simple, Italian recipe or food and 2. Become a fan of Mary Ann on Facebook.

- Only one entry per person please.

- The contest is open until 12 midnight on 9/9 and a single (1) random user will be picked via Random.org (sorry contest only open to folks from the US given shipping logistics). The winner will be announced immediately on Twitter (so please follow me) and on Scordo.com by 8PM on Friday, 9/10.

- Please be sure to send me an email to let me know you've become a fan on Facebook (sorry, Facebook doesn't allow me to sort by new fans), email me at blog at scordo dot com

- Mary Ann's publisher will send out the book to a single contest winner during the week of 9/13.

Finally, here's my interview with Mary Ann, enjoy:

Question One:
Tell us what it means to be an Italian-American and how you would best suggest to young Italian-Americans to keep our traditions alive and well (across food, lifestyle, and general living)?

Mary Ann's Answer:
"It means everything to me because the Italian culture has historically set the standard for so much of world achievements. When you think of inventions, art, architecture, music, saints, science, religion, fashion, family and food, much of it has been attributed to the Italians. Young Italian Americans should involve themselves in organizations like the National Italian American Foundation, study Italian in school and on their own and above all talk to their family members about the history of the immigrants who made them who they are today. I try to do this through our web site ciaoitalia.com and Mary Ann Esposito Foundation which encourages would be chefs to study Italian regional cooking. You can learn more about the foundation on the web site."

Question Two:
What part of Italy did your family originate from? What traditions do you (or your family) bring to the US from Italy?

Mary Ann's Answer:
My family is from the province of Avellino in the region of Campania and Caltanisetta in Sicily. My grandparents were very proud but poor people. First and foremost they brought strength and a fearless attitude. They brought strong religious faith. They brought their skills of tailoring and farming and olive culture. They made wine; we did the same. They cultivated gardens; we did the same. They made all their own food; we do the same. I try to emulate their traditions by recreating the foods I grew up via my books and my PBS series television, Ciao Italia now in its 21st year of broadcast. I also keep my family traditions alive through my blog.

Question Three:
How you define Italian cooking at home?

Mary Ann's Answer:
Fresh, in season ingredients, treated simply to keep the integrity of the food. All my cookbooks stress this.

(Photo: Pistachio pork chops from Ciao Italia Five Ingredient Favorites by Mary Ann Esposito. St Martins Press, NY)

Question Four:
You have a Masters Degree in history from the University of New Hampshire; has your knowledge of history impacted how you cook and see the world?

Mary Ann's Answer:
Absolutely. When I wrote my thesis on a Renaissance Italian cooking manuscript, I began my introduction by saying without food there is no history. Food and history are inseparable. Early foods like grains, legumes and puls allowed civilization to flourish and many wars were waged over whether there was food or not. In Italian culture, food is the cornerstone of everything. Take bread as an example. When I make it, I am reminded of how this simple staple from water and flour is still the staple food of third world and emerging nations. I see that waste not want not quality that my grandparents had who revered bread so much that not a bit was every wasted. To this day, I never throw away stale bread, using it instead for bread salads, as fillers for vegetables, to sprinkle over pasta dishes and as what has come to be very chic and in today, the bruschetta or crostino.

On Ciao Italia I give you not only a recipe but the story behind the recipe; where does it come from, why is it named so. The Mary Ann Esposito Foundation's goal is to keep the history and traditions surrounding Italian regional foods alive. I want the next generation of Italian Americans to take over where I leave off so we can preserve our heritage for generations to come.

Question Five:
What are some of your favorite recipes and food types outside of traditional pasta with tomato sauce, for example?

Mary Ann's Answer:
I love to make polenta and risotto as well as traditional breads and pizza. Once you start studying the regions of Italy and their local foods, you have a better understanding of why there really is no Italian food per se; there is only regional food. I love eels from the Veneto and from Sardinia; the bistecca of Florence and the porchetta of Umbria. Any eggplant dishes and rabbit stews are also favorites. I have so many that it would be impossible to mention them all here and that is why their importance has consumed me in my work.

Question Six:
What are the top five ingredients that you keep in your pantry at all times?

Mary Ann's Answer:
Extra virgin olive oils, imported semolina pastas, dried beans, arborio rice, San Marzano tomatoes. In fact my latest book is called Ciao Italia Five Ingredient Favorites and you would be surprised how much you can make with just 5 ingredients as opposed to a whole list!

The Italian Pantry - 12 Ingredients To Keep In Your Kitchen at All Times

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By Vincent Scordo on August 31, 2010 | 4 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

(photo: a typical trip the market for some fresh ingredients for our kitchen, including bread, fruit, whole chicken, yogurt, etc.)

I've always equated good cooking with being prepared, just like a fine carpenter has the necessary tools to build a bookcase or a deck on hand at all times, a home cook should always have a well stocked pantry to prepare meals. The following is a list of items that I always keep in my kitchen, in addition to the impromptu shopping I do for vegetables, fruit, meats, and fish throughout the week (here's my guide on how to buy fish, fruit, and vegetables). Contrary to what you see in cookbooks and FoodTV, it's impossible to make grand meals every night and simple, high quality, meals made from good ingredients are often a reality of modern life (here's my view on cooking 30 minute meals).

Eating well, therefore, is about access to ingredients and if you keep the following items in your kitchen or pantry at all times you'll always be able to eat like a king!

1. Canned Tomatoes

Tomatoes serve as a base for all types of sauces (or condiments) for pastas, but canned tomatoes (either concentrato di pomodoro, passato, or pelati) can also be used in soups and roasted meat dishes, as well.

2. Canned Tuna, Sardines, and Anchovies

I love, high quality, canned fish and in some instances they can be much better than mediocre fresh fish. I always keep 4-5 cans of Italian tuna in olive oil (preferably from Sicilia) as well as a few sardines packed in oil and one large jar of anchovies, again packed in olive oil. You get what you pay for with canned fish, so buy the best you can afford (same rule applies to buying shoes!). I like the Scalia brand.

3. Homemade Breadcrumbs

Buying store breadcrumbs is the equivalent of buying water at your local market; that is to say, there's just no need to do it. If you always have bread in your kitchen, then you'll always be able to make fresh breadcrumbs.

4. Fresh Bread

I aim to buy a fresh baguette every other day or so. We tend to have a bit of bread with our meals when we're not starting with pasta and especially during the summer months when we consume a ton of tomatoes with olive oil and basil. Good bread is crunchy on the outside and has airy interior texture that's not too dense.

5. Beans

Keep as many dry beans in your pantry as possible, as well as a few cans of ready to cook beans. I keep garbanzo, kidney, black, cannellni,

6. Olive Oil

Olive oil serves as a base for both simple meals and extraordinary dishes. Buy a good quality first cold pressed extra virgin olive oil for tomato salads, salad dressings, finishing pastas, etc. and buy a good, super market, olive oil for cooking. For all olive oils, consume it quickly and store it in a dark and cool spot. Here are some of my olive oil reviews.

7. Vinegar

I keep a high quality red wine vinegar and a decent bottle of balsamic vinegar. Click here for a review of the brands I like.

8. Garlic

I keep 5-6 bulbs in the kitchen at all times. Buy fresh garlic that is compressed tightly and doesn't have it's skin falling off at the market.

9. Dry Pasta

I keep about 6 dry pastas in my pantry at all times. 3 short (penne, rigatoni, etc.) and 3 long (linguine fine, spaghetti, etc.). De Cecco is the only super market brand worth purchasing (Colavita isn't bad). Barilla made a very good product up until about 5-7 years ago when I think they switched to an inferior flour or manufacturering process (whatever happened, the quality of the pasta has changed dramatically). If you can stomach the price, Rustichella is a fine every day pasta. You can certainly make your own pasta and store it, short term, in your freezer.

10. Cheese and Salumi

I keep 2 quality cheeses in my fridge for a light Sunday or Summer meal and 3-4 large pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano (a cheaper substitute with near, identical, flavor and texture) in my basement kitchen. I only grate the hard cheeses before I consume them and store the pieces in my fridge in a vacuum sealed bag. My fridge also includes pieces of either Cacciatore, Finocchiona, Crespone, Salami Secchi, and Sopressata (whatever I can find). Here's my guide to salumi or salami, including a review of Creminelli and Columbus Artisan brands!

11. Sun Dried Tomatoes

It's very easy to make your own sun dried tomatoes and I primarily consume them with bread and cheese. I know folks tend to cook with sun dried tomatoes but I'm not a big fan. Click here to learn how to make your own!

12. Whole Wheat Toasted Bread

I know I told you not to buy store made breadcrumbs, but I think it's nice to have a few packages of pre-made toast in your pantry for an impromptu meal or party. I love the Grissin Bon Light brand and you can make a quick breakfast with them (with jam and butter) or add tomatoes and salt for a quick appetizer.

One Plate Summer Lunch: Tomatoes, Whole Milk Mozzarella, and Oil Cured Sardines

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By Vincent Scordo on August 29, 2010 | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Lazy, weekend, lunches are one of the small pleasure in life and I define a lazy lunch as a simple plate of food (with little to no manipulation), fresh, crunchy, bread, and a bottle of exquisite wine (psychologically, get an exquisite bottle of wine for under $20, there are fabulous wine deals out there if you stay away from California, northern Italy, Bordeaux, etc.). The lunch should also be had outdoors and with someone you wouldn't mind spending your last waking hours with (just in case it's you last meal!).

I had such a "lazy lunch" yesterday including red and yellow tomatoes with red onion (from my mother's garden and the Purple Dragon Co-Op), thickly sliced pieces of, still warn, whole milk mozzarella (from the original, New Jersey, Cafasso's Fairway Market and not the large, uber, market that is lurching westward like a corporate giant), a French Baguette made about a mile away from our home at Balthazar's Bakery, and a can of oil cured sardines from Sicilia (the Scalia brand is my favorite)

The tomatoes were simply sliced, as opposed to a formal tomato salad, and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, dried oregano, freshly ground black pepper and topped with thinly sliced red onion and basil. The mozzarella was prepared with extra virgin olive oil, black pepper, and dried oregano. The sardines were simply emptied from the jar and set on the plate! Click here for my guide to olive oil.

Do you have a favorite lazy weekend, and single plate, lunch combination?

Photos From An Italian Garden in America

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By Vincent Scordo on August 27, 2010 | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Hello everyone! Just a simple post today with some items from our New Jersey garden:

(photos: close up of a red, mission, fig)

(photo: red, mission, fig cut in half)

(photo: the red fig)

(photo: cucumber)

(photo: eggplant)

(photo: basil)

Scordo Pasta Challenge: Shape #102 Penne Lisce with Tomato Sauce

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By Vincent Scordo on August 25, 2010 | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

This week's Scordo Pasta Challenge was special to me, you see the Scordo family canned tomatoes this past weekend and the penne lisce we consumed included the first tomato sauce made from 2010 tomatoes!

"Penne Lisce", or smooth penne, is essentially the standard penne you can find in any supermarket and on most menus at restaurants. The second, standard, penne variant is "Penne rigate" or penne with ridges. While the penne is common, it's trully a superstar pasta that can be tossed with a fresh tomato sauce, pesto, or baked in the oven with cheese (click here to learn how to cook like an Italian). Penne is a well designed pasta because it holds the condiment or sauce very well and it's jagged edge can also scoop up sauce! I like the taste sensation penne lisce provides because of it's smooth surface.

I've now consumed 18 pasta shapes for the Scordo Pasta Challenge and suddenly the 150+ shapes do not seem like a daunting task!

Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Italian Spice Review: La Poderina Toscana, Rosselli del Turco Chianti Classico, and the Canonica Verde Umbrian Spice Blend

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By Vincent Scordo on August 23, 2010 | 1 Comment | 2 TrackBacks

(photo: The Canonica Verde Umbrian Spice Blend including rosemary, sea salt, garlic, and red pepper flakes)

Click here for my other olive oil reviews!

As you've probably noticed, Olive Oil and Pasta are at the heart of Italian cuisine (both above and below the mezzogiorno, the geopolitical dividing line of Italy). Specifically, my love for both products started in Nonna Scordo's New Jersey basement (we all lived in the same two family home for a few years before my parents purchased their own home). As a small boy I was incredibly skinny and, as the legend goes (Italian mothers are tremendous storytellers with penchants for stretching empirical truths), I would not eat much. One day, Nonna Scordo discovered I had a particular fondness for large rigatoni rigate with her blended olive / corn oil mixture (olive oil, athough still expensive today, was particular difficult to acquire in the mid 1970's through the mid 1980's, at least for folks in the lower to middle class ranks in the US), hence Nonna's move to stretch her olive oil. Neverthless, rigatoni with oil and an abundance of mixed (again another "food stretch") Pecorino Romano and Pamigiano Reggiano cheese became my favorite meal (allowing me to reach puberty with some fat on my bones).

(photo: the Zitoni Cararecci - notice the length of this mammoth pasta shape!)

As a dish, pasta with olive oil is still one of my favorite simple pleasures in life and I, indeed, wax philosophical about my beloved Nonna Scordo every time I take a bit of rigatoni. One such emotional moment came when I bit into a piece of Zitoni Casarecci from the producer Pastificio Vicidomini. While I had the Zitoni with a chicken ragu, when I tried the pasta during the cooking process it had the same texture, mouth feel, and flavor of the rigatoni Nonna Scordo made in her kitchen. More specifically, the Zitoni Casarecci had starchy and complex overtones, and while it didn't have the crunch and whole wheat flavor of Rustichella pasta, it certainly tasted and behaved (yes pasta must behave when cooked and tossed with the condiment) like a top flight Italian pasta. Zitoni, as I mentioned in my last Scordo Pasta Challenge post, was a "special occasion" pasta in Italy. As my mother describes, she would often be sent to the local shop near her Calabrian home to purchase a few kilos for Easter or Christmas lunch. Because of the length of Zitoni Casarecci it is cut into pieces by the cook and the size can vary according to whichever pasta dish is being prepared.

(photo: the organic extra virgin olive oil from La Poderina from Grosseto)

On the olive oil side, I was fortunate to try two new olive oils from Italy this past week, including an organic oil from Grosseto La Poderina Toscana IGP, Seggianese monocultivar (made via a unique process called Sinolea) and a Tuscan variant, Rosselli del Turco DOP Chianti Classico. Click here to read about the labels IGP, DOP, etc as they are applied to foods and wines in Italy.

The Grosseto La Poderina is a solid extra virgin oil and can, indeed, be used as an everyday olive oil. The relatively low acidity I found in the oil makes it a nice oil to try if you're new to consuming extra virgin olive oil. I found the organic oil to be great with tomatoes, a salad of beet greens, and in salad dressings. Color was outstanding with nice green/yellow contrast.

(photo: the super pungent Rosselli del Turco extra virgin olive oil)

The Rosselli del Turco was another beast entirely. In fact, the smallish bottle that the oil is packaged in leads one to think automatically that Rosselli is a serious extra virgin. So serious, in fact, that the shop carrying the product claims that it has one of the highest levels of polyphenols of any olive oil they've come across (think of polyphenols as tannins, like found in wine; the medical theory is that there's a correlation between the consumption of polyphenols and good health)! Science aside, the oil was indeed pungent and overly peppery and bitter (I've had first cold pressed extra virgin olive oil straight from the press and the intensity didn't compare to the "attack" at the end of the palate the Rosselli produced; I actually coughed after tasting it). In fact, on it's own (say with bread), I'd say it's a bit much for the American palette, but when drizzled on a piece of skirt stake with lots of black pepper it's quite good and can finish a dish that has complex flavors (maybe a piece of Bluefish or Swordfish for example). The color of the oil was a neutral yellow.

Click here for my guide to olive oil!

(photo: lavish pizza made with the Umbrian Spice Blend)

Finally, I sampled a spice packet containing an Umbrian blend (Canonica Verde Umbrian Spice Blend) of chili pepper, garlic, salt, parsley, and rosemary. I was a bit hesitant to try a "blend of spices" because I'm accustomed to receiving herbs dryed in Italy from my family in individual containers (including oregano, red pepper flakes, rosemary, etc.) - the blending usually happens at home and for a given meal or dish. Nevertheless, I sampled the packet on two dishes, first a lavash pizza with extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, and provola and second a roast chicken. The spices proved to be a bit salty when used on the pizza, with only the sea salt and rosemary flavor components coming through. However, when I rubbed the blend in a whole chicken and roasted the bird with a bit of olive oil, the spices blended together nicely and both the quality and flavor of the mix came though (including the chili peppers and garlic).

All the products above can be found in the wonderful online shop Olio2go.com.

Canning Tomatoes: Passato di Pomodoro (Puree of Tomato)

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By Vincent Scordo on August 23, 2010 | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

(photos: Jersey plum tomatoes washed and ready to be cut)

August is prime season for canning tomatoes and this year's Jersey plum tomatoes are outstanding! The Scordo family purchased about five bushels of locally grown plum tomatoes and canned only passato (passato is essentially pureed tomato, in the past we canned a combination of passato and whole tomatoes). As the site e-rcps.com points out:

Tomatoes are usually preserved in three different forms, each of which has its particular uses. First there are the ordinary tinned or bottled whole tomatoes, 1. pomodori pelati, which contain a high percentage of liquid and are best used for dishes that require a tomato base but need a long cooking time. Secondly there is the puree, 2. passato di pomodoro, which is a much thicker reduction of tomatoes, sometimes flavoured with celery, onion, carrot and basil, then called pomaruola or conserva. This is ideal for sauces which need a rich body of tomato. Thirdly there is the tomato concentrate, 3. concentrato di pomodoro, which is the tomato reduced to a very strong paste and flavour and is useful for colour and flavour in a dish where bulk tomato is not required.

The advantage to canning passato is that when it comes time to make tomato sauce for dinner or lunch, there is no need to food mill whole tomatoes!

You can read my detailed article on how to can tomatoes here. Enjoy the photos from our 2010 tomato canning extravaganza: