One of the nice things about having Italian parents is that they spoil you with free food.  For example, I arrived home the other day to find about a pound of fresh peas that my father had delivered earlier in the day (now that he’s retired he spends his days searching for the best fruits and vegetables, among other critical […]

Christine from our Facebook fan page recently asked if we had a marinara sauce recipe and my quick answer was that we haven’t documented it on the site but we make it consistently during the summer months.  Christine’s question also made us think deeply about the difference between tomato sauace and marinara (and there are many), not touching on the further differentiation associated with […]

Homemade Ravioli  Stuffed pasta, like almost every food type found in Italy, is defined by region.  As my childhood neighbor from Genoa would always proclaim, homemade ravioli (meaning to wrap) are quintessentially Ligurian.  Moreover, tortellini and cappelletti are understood as Emilian while Italians recognize agnelotti as derived from Piemonte.  Stuffed pastas come in many shapes and sizes and their stuffings vary […]

 Baked Pasta (or Pasta al Forno) The great thing about baked pasta (or pasta al forno) is that you can use most any dry pasta shape you find at your local market, though short pasta like rigatoni or penne work best.  We used the shape Mezzi Fischiotti, essentially Ditaloni (or short rigatoni), but with ridges.    Don’t confuse baked pasta with […]

Stuffed Artichokes The Artichoke capital of the world is Italy and not simply because Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus (fancy Latin speak for artichoke) is consumed throughout the peninsula but because Italy produces about 487,000 metric tons of the vegetable every year (outpacing Spain, the second largest producer, by about 200,000 metric tons).   Here in the United States, artichokes (primarily grown in California) […]

Basic Homemade Pasta Recipe Homemade pasta recipes are fairly straightforward, though there is some variation on exact ingredients.  Our basic handmade pasta recipe  includes six ingredients.  Mario Batali’s recipe includes flour and eggs while Lidia Bastianich uses flour, eggs, extra virgin olive oil, and ice water.  Linda from the excellent site, Ciao Ciao Linda, uses equal parts semolina and white, unbleached, […]

  Bittman on Mini Cannelloni, 10 Alternative to Sliced Tomatoes, Batali on Mozzarella in Carozza and Greed, Beautiful Artichokes   Mark Bittman – We’ll forgive the usually rational Mark Bittman for suggesting the home cook use pre-made “wanton wrappers” when making mini cannelloni at home and suggest you look at his otherwise very good recipe.  The problem with using “wanton […]

Best Canned Sardines We love, high quality, canned fish and we think they are one of the culinary world’s secret weapons, especially when a home cook doesn’t have access to a wide variety of fresh fish.  In fact, in our book we’d rather consume superb salt/olive oil cured sardines, anchovies, tuna, etc. than a fresh fish like Talapia any day […]

Italian Food – What is It? Ask the question, “What is Italian food” and you’re bound to illicit numerous responses.   A provincial Italian from southern Italy who hasn’t left his or her region would probably argue it’s regional food that is cooked at home with minimal yet high quality ingredients.   Ask the same question to a savvy New York restaurant […]

Insalata di Riso or rice salad has always been a popular dish in Italy and, unlike it’s cousin risotto, is easy to prepare, flexible in terms of ingredients, and stores well for days.  Most Italians prepare rice salads during the summer months, but I like to make it throughout the year.  Our rice salads are a reflection of what’s available […]