Archive for category: Italian Culture

Eat Like an Immigrant and Disregard the Foodies and Philosophers

Eat Like an Immigrant and Disregard the Foodies and Philosophers

Food Philosophy – You Got to Be Kidding! If you’re not an avid reader of the Atlantic (or similar general interest magazines like the New Yorker) then you’ve undoubtedly missed both B.R. Meyers’ anti foodie argument/rant (in a piece called, “The Moral Crusade Against Foodies – gluttony dressed up as foodie-ism is still gluttony”) and James McWilliams’ March 1st response entitled, “B. R. Myers [...]

The Five Things We Love About Calabria and the Italian Life

The Five Things We Love About Calabria and the Italian Life

By now you know of our connection to the region of Calabria in southern Italy and our familiar, immigrant, story. You know, for example, that our parents immigrated to the U.S. from a tiny hilltop village in southwest Calabria called Pellegrina in the 1970′s and that we’ve been influenced greatly by the traditions found in the region.  However, we’ve never told [...]

Pane Siciliano or Sicilian Bread Sprinkled with Sesame Seed Recipe

Pane Siciliano or Sicilian Bread Sprinkled with Sesame Seed Recipe

Our friend and avid home cook Dr. K. continues his mastery of all things Italian with a terrific homemade bread from Sicilia; namely, Durum Pane Siciliano - a bread shaped in the form of the Occhi di Santa Lucia (i.e., a pair of eyeglasses in homage to Santa Lucia, the patron saint of vision). Dr. K. utilized a recipe from Carol Field’s, The [...]

Traditional Italian Dessert or Cake: Panforte From Tuscany

Traditional Italian Dessert or Cake: Panforte From Tuscany

(photo: close up of panforte made by Pasticcerie Sinatti in Siena) We’ve never been much of a dessert type of site here at Scordo.com – holding the view that sugar and chocolate can’t compete with salt and fat!  So, when we had the opportunity to try a traditional Italian dessert we were a bit skeptical given our countless posts on pastas, salumi, crocchette, eggplant parmigiana, [...]

Duck Prosciutto, Happiness, and The Charcuterie Movement in the US

Duck Prosciutto, Happiness, and The Charcuterie Movement in the US

(photo: some of Dr. K.’s homemade duck prosciutto sliced thin and eaten with bread and Prosecco)   I’m a big believer in chasing happiness in life and not the 30 minute kind that’s associated with a new car, electronic device, or a bigger house (sorry all you hedge fund managers and Goldman employees).  Happiness, after all (and there’s empirical evidence for this) is derived [...]

Homemade Yogurt Recipe

Homemade Yogurt Recipe

(photo: homemade yogurt courtesy of bfeedme.com) History of Yogurt Historical fun facts about food provide great joy for me; I can’t explain the phenomena but I enjoy the epistemological randomness that, for example, yogurt prior to the mid and late 19th century was used primary as a cleaning agent (that’s right, including as a body wash and shampoo)!  In the early [...]

Pancetta, Bacon, and Cured Pork Perfection

Pancetta, Bacon, and Cured Pork Perfection

(photo: locally produced bacon from a nearby butcher) By now, you’ve read my countless references to salame, prosciutto, capicola, cured pork, etc. and you may be thinking: what’s wrong with this guy, does he have a thing for pigs or something?   The short answer is yes and the pork obsession is centered on the cured kind – that salty and spicy [...]

Do You Eat Your Oatmeal: A Guide to the Italian Breakfast

Do You Eat Your Oatmeal: A Guide to the Italian Breakfast

(photo: Typical Italian breakfast, brioche with gelato.  Image courtesy of THE MUESLI LOVER) Italians Love Coffee and Sweets for Breakfast! News break: if you’re Italian, you can have cookies for breakfast.  Seriously, cake is a traditional breakfast food in Italy and so are other sweets including cookies, brioche, pastries, croissants,etc.  Coffee is consumed as well and it’s usually a quick espresso [...]

The History of Pasta, Shapes, and Sauces: Encyclopedia of Pasta Review

The History of Pasta, Shapes, and Sauces: Encyclopedia of Pasta Review

The Italian People and Pasta Just in case you were having sleepless nights concerning the birthplace of pasta, the esteemed food critic, Oretta Zanini de Vita confirms that there were records of pasta in Italy 500 years before Marco Polo returned from China; so pasta was, in fact, invented in Italy.  I’m glad we cleared the air on this bit of trivia [...]

Simple and Everyday Italian Food

Simple and Everyday Italian Food

  (photo: hummus or chickpeas with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Omit the tahini if you’d like a more Italian version!) By now many of our readers have realized that Italian food is all about simple preparation and great ingredients.  In short, simple food equals great food that is satisfying, easy to prepare, and healthy for you. [...]