| Vincent Scordo is an Italian American who writes all about Italian food and life. He believes in the Italian Life for Everyone! >> |
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(photo: small block of Pecorino “Monte Poro” from Calabria)Sit down for a meal at any restaurant or home in Calabria and you’ll most likely encounter some variation of sheep’s milk cheese; specifically, Pecorino. During our recent trip to Calabria, for example, we ate Pecorino 4-5x per week and often mixed in a platter with local salumi and olives.
(photo: we sampled the Villa Cappelli orange conserve with Greek yogurt and local blueberries) The Greeks, like the Italians, treat ingredients with great respect and they do very little in the way of manipulation when preparing dishes. Take, for example, the way Greeks consume yogurt with a simple fruit conserve or compote. Often the yogurt is served in a bowl with some [...]
(photo: beautiful bread is a work of art and our reader Dr. K is a maestro! photo courtesy of Dr. K.) I have to admit that I get very jealous of folks who bake with great success as I’ve been slow to experiment with baking bread, for example. And it’s also why I’m incredibly thankful for skilled Scordo readers like [...]
(photo: Sangaspano extra virgin olive oil from Messina, Sicilia) On the morning of December 28th, 1908 a massive earthquake and associated tsunami hit the western province of Calabria and moved across the Stretto di Messina into Sicilia destroying city after city (including Reggio Calabria and Messina). In Messina alone 60,000 people were killed and in Calabria our family lost many [...]
(photo: some of the items in the Cento Italian Pantry Giveaway, including pasta, olive oil, hot peppers, etc.) Last summer I espoused the virtues of the Italian pantry and the concept of being prepared to cook and eat well every day of the year regardless of access to “fresh ingredients.” Specifically, I suggested lovers of Italian food keep a [...]
(photo: grapes in Calabria, thanks to Pierro Morello for the photo) A Student of Italian Wine Dan Amatuzzi is a modest guy when it comes to wine. And modesty isn’t the word that comes to mind when you consider Dan served as the sommelier at Del Posto in New York City with an estimated 2300 bottles of wine and arguably the most comprehensive [...]
(photo: 2010 Olio Verde extra virgin olive oil from Sicilia, I had to scramble and take a photo before I consumed it all!) Any time I’m asked to taste a product from the southern provinces of Italy I get excited, very excited. There’s of course a sense of pride knowing a product is made from an area you know well and [...]
If I haven’t mentioned it here on Scordo.com my father is a dyed-in-the-wool grappa fanatic. In fact, he’s grown so found of the elixir made from sugar and grape stems he produces a limited quantity batch for his immediate family and select friends. So, it wasn’t with great surprise when I brought over a bottle of Amaro Nonino Quintessentia on a recent weekend [...]
(photo: packaging is first rate, if not a little wasteful) We’ve covered the pasta shape tagliatelle here on Scordo.com in the past (via the Scordo Pasta Challenge) but we decided to review the pasta shape one more time given the quality of Caponi Pontedera tagliatelle and the fact that it’s an egg based pasta (pasta all’uovo). Pastificio Caponi [...]
(photo: Averna on the rocks with a slice of orange) Averna, the amaro and aperitif/digestif from, and still produced in, Sicilia, is a bona fide rock-star. Yes, like Bono, Freddie Mercury, or Roger Waters, Averna makes you tingle all over and has you wondering how anything can be (taste) so damn good. For those of you not in the know, [...]
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