(photo: various Scordo family members during the late summer wheat harvest in Pellegrina, Calabria)  You can say, unequivocally, that Americans love their beef. Compared to their Mediterranean counterparts, American’s are ranked third in the world (only behind Argentina and Uruguay) when it comes to choosing beef for their dinner table (Italy is ranked 9th, per 1999 statistics).  An educated guess as to why beef […]

There are some terrific fish on our little planet and while we are, indeed, overfishing our seas , I constantly marvel at how delicious certain varieties of aquatic vertebrates are, including mackerel, sardines, cod, swordfish, trout, branzino, striped bass, salmon, etc.  Much of the overfishing talk centers on Tuna, which is a large industry in Southern Italy, especially near Sicily (where the world’s best tuna is […]

Wild Food I remember walking through the Calabrian countryside with my grandfather as a boy when he suddenly feel to his knees and plucked a few pieces of what I thought was simple green grass from the ground. I, of course, thought he was just being his usual pazzo (crazy) nonno,but what he found were dandelion greens, prized for their earthy, minerally, and […]

  Think of Pappardelle as fettuccine (see our guide to dry pasta) on steroids (basically very broad fettuccine).  Pappardelle derives from the word “pappare” which means “to gobble up.”  The pappardelle I consumed was egg based and made by Rustichella.   I always associate Pappardelle with meat sauces, specifically a ragu made out of rabbit(it was a favorite of mine growing up […]

  Back in April, I posted about one of my favorite egg sandwiches made with a simple fried egg, fresh humus, and slices of ripe tomato on a whole wheat Ciabatta.  Sandwiches prepared with a perfectly fried egg (with a warm runny yoke) are ideal because the egg provides both the protein (white) and the dressing (yoke).  For me, the combination […]

Many personal finance gurus will tell you to head to your local food market with only certain items in mind and shop only by price.  Moreover, the penny pinching crowd would argue that the purpose of buying, and in turn consuming, food is to be as efficient and cost effective as possible.   As you probably guessed, I don’t subscribe to buying […]

Like any controversial figure, the mighty anchovy is a highly misunderstood food type and is deserving of an introduction and, if you will, defense!  In the US, unfortunately, preserved anchovies have a bad reputation and are seen as a bad smelling (and overly salty) fish.  The reputation, however, is undeserved and the tiny dynamo of a fish should be consumed […]

Rice and Peas (Risi e Bisi)  is basically a variant of risotto and while a good risotto is creamy in texture, a good bowl of risi e bisi is looser in composition. As you would guess, the humble pea is the star of the rice-based dish and the fresher the pea, the better the dish (here’s my guide to buying fresh […]

When it comes to consuming food, a golden rule we aim to follow is centered on eating “whole foods”; namely, minimally processed from scratch food items.  For example, buying whole bean coffee (and roasting it yourself if possible) and grinding it before each use is better than buying a mega container of preground, and unforgiving, Folgers or Maxwell House and, […]

Orecchiette is the little pasta (or “little ear”, literally translated) that could; that is to say, at first glance the pasta shape from Apulia seems unremarkable, but when paired with vegetables it springs to life!  In southern Italy, Orecchiette are made by way of wheat flour and the traditional method includes pressing down on dime sized pieces of dough to get […]