Best Italian Movies One of the most frustrating (yet liberating) aspects of studying philosophy as an undergraduatewas the idea that one could construct a logical argument for pretty much anything. So, I spent my University days racking my brain at getting at “ultimate truths” like whether God exists and if our minds are separate from the physical world (the “Mind/Body” [...]
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 [...]
(photo: my grandfather and his sons in mid 1960 Pellegrina <Bagnara Calabra> Calabria) The year was 1997 and I was a college junior applying for a prestigious fellowship for first generation college students. The fellowship provided funds and a mentor to guide and prepare students for graduate work in the humanities and sciences. The fellowship had strict academic and social-economic [...]
(photo: finished roasted peppers with parsley, extra virgin olive oil, parsley <not basil in this prep>, and a bit of garlic, Kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper) I view roasted peppers as the ultimate condiment; that is to say, you can include roasted peppers in your antipasto, sandwich, as a side with grilled meats, or even include [...]
Five Common Sense Tips / Hacks / Tricks For Living a Better Life Living life is joyous on occasion, rough going sporadically (hopefully), and even keel on most days. The aforementioned goes for superstar power brokers and well endowed professional athletes – life, as a matter of fact, is ever changing and a challenge (and mundane at times).There are, however [...]
Nothing makes a home more desirable these days then a new kitchen with all the bells and whistles (well maybe good schools and neighborhoods are more important!). And most new homeowners either look for a home with a great kitchen or desire to renovate their kitchen at some point during the homeownership experience. The kitchen home renovation process is grueling, and if [...]
(photo: final product: layered Italian sun dried tomatoes, Kosher salt, basil, garlic, and olive oil) One of my favorite, all purpose, condiments on this little planet is sun dried tomatoes preserved in olive oil. Authentic sun dried tomatoes capture the essence of the tomato and can be enjoyed year round. There is a difference between tomatoes that have been truly dried in the [...]
Homemade Tomato Sauce I’ve been asked by a few readers to post a traditional tomato sauce recipe and I’ve included one below that uses crushed, uncooked, tomatoes from our annual Fall tomato canning. Tomato sauce is easy to make and incredibly versatile. I use tomato sauce for pasta, other sauces, soups, etc. Making homemade sauce is a no-brainer, so [...]
| Vincent Scordo is an Italian American who writes all about Italian food and life. He believes in the Italian Life for Everyone! >> |
What We’re Reading – The Sad State of School Lunches, Drink More Coffee, Outdoor Pizza, Lost Italian Cheese, Wine Spritzer Grist (Nine-year-old’s lunch blog shames school into making changes) - Maybe we all need to starting shaming schools throughout the world so they stop serving subsidized garbage to children or just create a blog showcasing what type of lunches are actually served, per 9 year old Martha Payne’s actions. We recommend making from scratch lunches for your child but if h/she must eat a school lunch then urge your local school system to serve adequate school lunches. New England Journal of Medicine (Association of Coffee Drinking with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality) – Is there an association between consuming coffee and death? The short answer is no, so go ahead and enjoy your morning cup! SeriousEats (The Pizza Lab: We Test The New and Improved KettlePizza Grill Insert) - Have you ever wanted to make pizza on your grill but wished it could perform like an authentic pizza oven? We actually haven’t wished that we could make pizza on our grill but the folks [...]
The following rigatoni with diced zucchini, mushrooms, and anchovy recipe is a variation of a dish we prepared in the late Winter. This dish makes use of high quality cured (in olive oil and red pepper flake) anchovies and finely diced vegetables and garlic. The flavor of the pasta dish will knock your socks off and leave you befuddled and asking how such simple ingredients can lead to such a great tasting dish; a common occurrence when cooking high quality, and simple, Italian food. Ingredients: Handful of crimini or stock mushrooms, finely diced 1 large zucchini, finely diced 4-5 cloves of garlic finely diced and minced 3-4 cured anchovies, finely chopped 1 bunch of parsley, finely minced Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Extra virgin olive oil Grated Grana Padano 1/3 of a pound of Colavita large rigatoni pasta Process: Begin by heating a large pan and adding 3-4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. First, add the zucchini,garlic, and anchovy and saute over a medium flame (making sure to breakdown the anchovy). Next, add the mushrooms and half of the minced parsley and [...]
Two news items caught our attention this week and we can’t help but offer our “two cents” on the following food related media events: Mario Batali’s food stamp challenge and HBO’s ‘Weight of the Nation’ Molto Forgets La Cucina Povera First, Mario Batali issued himself (and his family of four) a pragmatic food challenge; namely, “getting by” or feeding his family for a week on the equivalent of a food stamp budget (about $31 per person or about $1.48 per meal each). Batali’s move is motivated by potential cuts pending in Congress to the benefit program used by close to 50 million Americans. Mario’s first reaction to the challenge was, as the Huffington Posts writes, a big “gulp!” and to forget about luxuries such as organic vegetables and fruits and hormone free meat. Our reaction to Batali’s challenge is a bit more cynical and makes us rethink his knowledge and familiarity of la cucina povera and while $124 per week for food may not yield a shopping cart full of wild fish, locally raised, and grass feed, beef, organic [...]
Grilled calamari or squid is a great alternative to fried calamari and is ideal for the summer months. My favorite way to prepare fresh squid is to marinate a few pounds of the well cleaned fish in lemon juice, parsley, et. al. and then quickly cook on an outdoor grill (the smokey flavor derived from a wood burning fire compliments the neutral taste of squid). Ingredients: Fresh lemon juice 1 clove of garlic, finely minced 1 1/2 pounds cleaned squid (about 3 pounds whole) tentacles separated from the bodies, rinsed and patted dry 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil Freshly ground black pepper and Kosher salt to taste Zest of 1/2 lemon Bunch of parsley, finely chopped Process: Clean the whole squid well, rinse, and pat try. If you’ve never cleaned whole squid before I recommend you watch this excellent how to clean squid video. You can also purchase cleaned squid “tubes” from a reputable fish shop or market (but you won’t get the tasty tentacles, et. al.). In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, [...]
Steak, Italian Cooking, and Bistecca alla Fiorentina It used to be the case that when you asked any southern Italian (especially from Calabria) the last time he or she consumed steak you’d get an awkward stare in return, as beef consumption was rare in il Mezzogiorno (the southern half of Italy) and cattle were used to produce cheese and milk. However, times have changed and beef is now consumed in much of Italian cooking, especially in regions like Toscana (Tuscany), Perugia, and Umbria where the Val di Chiana or Chiana Valley produces some of the best beef on the planet by way of one of the oldest and largest breeds of cattle known to man, viz., the Chianina. In Tuscany, for example, bistecca alla Fiorentina , or Steak Florentine, is a delicious, and nearly 3 inch thick, Porterhouse steak grilled (always rare) outdoors on a wood fed fire. As you can imagine, our Southern Italian family did not consume bistecca alla Fiorentina but we did occasionally grill some wonderful, thinly cut, T-bone steaks. The steaks were usually cooked well done (more on this later) and then dressed with [...]
Eating Well Doesn’t Make You Fat, Greens, Sheep and Blossoms, Frittata Making, Parmesan New York Times Food & Wine – In the category of “duh, did you really need to write a book about this concept” category we nominate Peter Kaminsky for his book Culinary Intelligence where he argues folks in the US would be better off eating foods that maximize flavor (in order to tame our gluttonous appetites and slim down a bit). Oh, food expert how we laugh at you and your simple advice (telling people to eat like the Italians, Greeks, and French is a different concept than bringing about cultural change in how a given society consumes food; the former is easy, the latter needs a revolution). Ciao Ciao Linda – If you follow Scordo regularly then you know about our long standing obsession with greens (not the color) but rather greens such as dandelloin, swiss chard, escarole, etc. Linda’s article covers the lovely green winter cress or wild mustard greens, including a recipe entitled, beans and greens. Cannelle er Vanille – We’re envious of food blogs [...]
At times, one can feel glutinous about consuming too much pasta especially if the portion size is large (even for a dyed-in-wool Italophile) . So, when we crave pasta (in a slightly larger portion size) we turn to any number of leafy greens as a condiment. The following rigatoni with spinach, garlic, and parsley recipe is hearty and packed full of good for you spinach. The trick with any pasta not utilizing a traditional sauce (such as tomato) is to save some of the starchy pasta water and add as needed to create a slightly “loose” condiment. We also add plenty of good extra virgin olive oil and grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Ingredients: Fresh spinach washed 3x and chopped into 1-1.5 inch strips 5-6 cloves of garlic, sliced thin 1 bunch of parsley chopped fine 1/4 cup of pasta water 1/2 pound of large rigatoni Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Grated Parmigiano Reggiano Red pepper flakes (optional) Process: In a large pan, add a bit of extra virgin olive oil, garlic, Kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper and cook over [...]
Lately we’ve been making pizzas at home every weekend and we’ve been using our trusty homemade pizza dough recipe along with our standard pizza sauce (though we’ve been known to cheat and purchase prepared pizza dough from Trader Joe’s on occasion; hey, at about a dollar a pop you can’t go wrong). Next to good dough and the appropriate pizza sauce (yes, there’s a difference between tomato sauce and pizza sauce), good toppings can make or break a pizza. The type of cheese used on pizza can also affect quality; that is to say, your best bet is to find fresh whole milk mozzarella and while buffalo mozzarella imported from Italy will make a devine pizza it’s unnecessary. If you can avoid buying “supermarket” mozzarella it will be in your best interest. Finally, you can always add grated Parmiggiano Reggiano to any pizza either before or after it’s finished cooking. OK, let’s get to our favorite pizza toppings which aren’t meant to encompass all possible combinations of pizza toppings rather what we’ve found to go well together and are often found in many good pizzerias [...]
We’ve been aiming to begin reviewing southern Italian wines for some time now and have finally started the process! Today we’ll look at four wine regions from southern Italy, including Puglia, Calabria, Basilicata, and Sicilia; specifically, Tormaresca Chardonnay, Bisceglia Aglianico del Vulture, Librandi Critone Val di Neto IGT, and Cusumano Nero d Avola. We promise not to be biased towards Calabria! Puglia The Tormaresca Chardonnay 2010 is, as you may have guessed, comprised of 100% Chardonnay and comes from the Minervino Murge (Ba) and San Pietro Vernotico (Br) estates (I.G.T. grapes). The color is a beautiful light, olive green / yellow and the wine has minimal oak and vanilla flavors (a welcome change from American chardonnays and in our view how a chardonnay should taste) and good green apple flavor. The wine is very food friendly, including grilled or roasted chicken, fried fish, pan seared tuna, swordfish and onions, etc. Tormaresca Chardonnay is a great value at $10.89 Basilicata The Bisceglia Aglianico del Vulture 2007, priced at $20.89 via Wine Chateau, comes from an extraordinary region of southern Italy (on the [...]
Monkfish and Scallop Seafood Risotto Don’t you hate it when you head to the market and pick up some great ingredients only to arrive home and realize you forgot an essential item? In our case, we discovered some wonderful monkfish (or headfish) and large diver scallops at our local market and were all set to cook up a wonderful pot of seafood risotto when we realized we were out of aborio or carnaroli rice! So, you may be wondering what we decided to do given our lack of a key ingredient? Our response: continue to make risotto with what we had in our pantry (which included some organic long grain rice). The end result was surprisingly good though we ended up with a texture and consistency more akin to risi e bisi. The following Monkfish and Scallop Seafood risotto recipe, however, utilizes proper aborio or carnaroli rice. Click here for all of our risotto recipes. Some tips on choosing fish for a seafood risotto: buy whatever fish is fresh and is firm fleshed. Don’t head to your fish shop or market with a [...]
Recipe For Light and Airy Italian Almond Cookies Referred to as Sospiri di Monaca (or Nun’s Sighs) When our mother-in-law prepared a fabulous cookie for Easter (I’m not just saying that because she’s our mother-in-law, I know what you guys are thinking) we knew we had to document the recipe or, at the least, share a photo. However, when we began our research for the cookie recipe we ran into a bit of confusion. That is to say, our mother-in-law’s recipe was adopted from Mary Palmer’s excellent book, Cucina di Calabria which is entitled Sospiri di Monaca (or Nun’s Sighs), though we’ve always associated Sospiri di Monaca with the cream filled delicacies found in many southern Italian pastry shops (and per the picture below). So, has Palmer gotten the recipe name wrong and did she mean to label the cookies as Sospiri (translated roughly as light and airy almond cookies sighs)? Regardless of taxonomy, here’s Mary Palmer’s excellent recipe for a very good cake-like cookie made with almonds and honey (usually served at Easter and dipped, half way, with chocolate); if you’re looking [...]
Our Weekly Round Up of the Best Food Articles with an Italian Focus 13 Year Old Cooking Prodigy, Foodie Neurology, Varying Tomato Sauce Recipes, Bittman’s Potato Pizza and Food Processor Dough, and David Rocco on the Italian Lifestyle: The New Yorker - Ian McGarry is a 13 year old cooking prodigy who charges $100 for a multi-course meal served out of his parent’s home. Many big wig food people have dined at Ian’s “restaurant” and they all say he’s the real deal, we wonder what he’ll create after he reaches puberty! USA Today – All foodies can now cease being annoying and take pride in their neurological differences. Yes, it appears foodies (and boy do we dislike this word) are wired differently than the average human being, enjoying sour, bitter, etc. flavors more so than standard sweet and salty flavor flavor profiles. The Kitchn – An interesting article on what a writer learned when travelling with wine experts. The author offers 6 tips for tasting wine and we think they’re all spot on. Memorie di Angelina – Lawyer by day [...]
An Easy Guide To Making Guanciale (Cured Pork Jowl) at Home The following is a guest post (on homemade guanciale) from our friend and Scordo.com super fan Dr. K. (make sure to read all of his wonderful guest posts and recipes) . All photos courtesy of Dr. K. Charcuterie originated as means of preserving meats for extended periods. Cured meats (e.g., salumi) were at times a means of survival during leaner times when fresher sources of protein were sparse. With the arrival of modern refrigeration, the need for these techniques to prolong shelf life has diminished. Nonetheless, these techniques have been kept alive because of the flavors they impart to the food. Even small quantities of well prepared charcuterie can pack a wallop of flavor as a stand alone dish or as an adjunct to a main course or side. America’s addiction to meat has been extensively discussed elsewhere, so I won’t try to thoroughly address that subject here. But it is worth mentioning that we all do our country and planet a favor when we try to consume less meat. [...]
Negroni: Campari, Gin, and Red Vermouth Have you ever dreamed of being an Italian Count? You know, a fancy aristocrat with an ocean-side villa, a butler, and a few exotic Maserati’s and Ferrari’s in the “stable?” I have to admit I’ve had a few of these Italophile inspired dreams, but I’m quite happy living the Italian life in the US. There is one particular Italian Count I envy on a day to day basis however and his name is Count Camillo Negroni the inventor, as you probably guessed, of the classic Negroni aperitif / cocktail. The legend goes that Count entered his favorite cafe and/or bar near Florence in the early 20th century and asked his bartender, Fosco Scarcelli, for something stronger than the usual Americano (comprised of Campari, Soda water, and red vermouth and very popular with foreigners) so Scarcelli substituted Gin for the soda water. Hence, the Negroni was born. At the heart of the Negroni is the spirit Campari, developed by a young Gaspare Campari around 1860 in Novara (he began tinkering with the aperitif / bitter in [...]
I’ve only recently realized the tremendous gratification in eating a well prepared salad for lunch (including a recent Wild Arugula, Chicken Breast, Red Onion, and Tomato salad). Yes, I know the realization isn’t mind blowing but I’m upset at myself for not having more stand alone salads for lunch (hence the excitement and public declaration). I’ve been missing out on highly satisfying and filling, one bowl, meals that also happen to be good for the mind and body (not that I’m a Cartesian Dualist or anything like that). I do have one qualification about my new found lunch salad epiphany, namely, the salads have to include a nice variety of ingredients and be well dressed (usually in a simple vinaigrette comprised of exceptional extra virgin olive oil, real red wine vinegar from Italy, Kosher salt, lots of freshly ground black pepper, and dried oregano or thyme). My latest salad creation included the following elements. Ingredients: Wild arugula Parsley leaves 1 inch pieces of roasted chicken breast Red onion Sliced cherry tomatoes A spoonful of leftover Italian rice salad (optional). Process: Very simple: make the [...]
I have a love hate relationship with brocolli that is very similiar to my opininion about zucchini. Namely, both vegetables are fairly plain tasting and need to be manipulated thoroughly to be enjoyed optimally. Our standard way of consuming broccoli is to do a quick parboil and then toss with plain breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, red pepper flake, garlic, and lots of extra virgin olive oil. Thereafter, we bake at a high temperate for about 20 minutes. The result is a great side dish with lots of flavor and yummy crystallized breadcrumb and garlic. We also make broccoli bean soup which is another favorite. However, we realize we can’t keep making the same brocolli dish ad infinitum so we recently experimented with a linguine and brocolli recipe (similar to linguine with cauliflower) that we think elevates the humdrum ingredient to another level. Here’s what you’ll need: Ingredients: 1 large bundle of brocolli (if you find brocolli that is grown near your home and via organic farming practices, it will taste better) 5-6 cloves of garlic, diced into narrow strips 1-2 teaspoons of red pepper flake [...]
5 Tips for Making Great Coffee at Home Writing about Italian food we get plenty of questions on topics such as “my favorite Italian food or recipe” (answer: too many to choose just one) or my favorite Italian restaurant (answer: cook Italian food at home). On occasion, we also recieve questions having to do with coffee, in general, and particularly the coffee in the United States versus Italy. My answer is often long winded and complicated, but we generally have a few standard convictions about coffee in the United States: Coffee that is sold at cafes (both independent shops and chains) is, generally, of very poor quality; i.e., while the raw ingredients (e.g., roasted beans) are good the brewing process and methodology is wrong. In turn, leading to a broken coffee culture here in the United States. For example, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz suggests the French Press is the best way to make coffee while his chain uses drip style makers (a huge paradox) The best coffee on the planet is produced via forcing water (near boiling temperature and [...]
Italian Potato Chips, Preserving Mozzarella, Stracciatella alla Romano, A Sicilian Duchess, and 10 Great Italian Cookbooks SeriousEats – Can you rescue poorly stored fresh mozzarella? The folks over at SeriousEats.com look at different methods for reconstituting and storing fresh, whole milk, mozzarella. Here at Scordo we recommend you buy only what you’ll consume for the day. NY Times Dining and Wine – Roman style egg drop soup or stracciatella alla Romano is a fantastic soup and this recipe from the New York Times is a good one (the key to the soup is homemade chicken soup, of course). SeriousEats – We had to mention Seriouseats.com twice this week because of another great article; namely, a review of 10 great Italian cookbooks. The list is very good, though it’s lacking in regional cookbooks (the very soul of Italian cooking). New York Magazine – a look at Italian potato chips and how they’re about to enter the US market. Italian potato chips are thin and seasoned a bit differently than the standard US chip. Specifically, you’ll find exotic flavorings and less salt. Forktales – Ever wonder [...]
Baked Artichoke Hearts Many people love artichokes but are turned off by the intense preparation associated with the fresh variety. If you fall into this camp, then don’t despair you can have your artichokes (and eat them too!) though in a frozen or canned variety. Pre-processed artichokes are a great convenience food and the wonderful canned or frozen artichoke hearts are perfect additions to a salad, in a hearty stew, or baked with Italian herbs, breadcrumbs, and very good extra virgin olive oil, per below. If you want to make traditional stuffed artichokes we have a great recipe as well (fresh artichokes and all). Ingredients: 1.5 cups of homemade breadcrumbs Dried oregano and thyme to taste Juice of 1-2 lemons 1 tablespoon of lemon zest Bunch of parsley, finely chopped 4-5 ounces of both Parmigiano Reggiano and good imported Pecorino (grated) 2 minced garlic cloves Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 27-30 ounces of frozen (about three packages) or canned (about two-three cans) artichoke hearts (if you go with frozen make sure you they are thawed and drained; drain the [...]
Italian Ricotta Cheesecake Ricotta has always been part of my culinary life. My mother makes ricotta on a weekly basis and I grew up eating it smeared on fresh bread, with pasta, extra virgin olive oil, and grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and, of course, stuffed in fresh pasta such as ravioli and tortellini. Given Ricotta’s versatile nature it’s no surprise many Italian cooks make a version of cheesecake with the creamy substance. Our version is inspired by the beautiful island of Sicilia and utilizes many homegrown ingredients including cinnamon and orange zest. Ingredients: 2/3 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon 2-3 teaspoons of orange zest 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 pounds of fresh ricotta cheese (make it yourself via our easy ricotta recipe or buy it from a reputable Italian market, avoid supermarket ricotta) 1/8 teaspoon of salt 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 6 whole eggs Process: In a large bowl add the ricotta and stir well with a spatula (you’re looking to smooth out the cheese). Add the sugar and flour and stir thoroughly with the ricotta. Add the eggs one at a time and [...]
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