While in Italy this summer we ate a tremendous amount of seafood given our location along the Mediterranean Sea.  We feasted on swordfish, mussels, dried cod (though caught elsewhere),  prawns, sardines, etc.  Sardines are a particular favorite of mine and one of my favorite seafood dishes prepared this past summer by mother included fresh sardines, expertly filleted, and quickly pan grilled […]

My favorite way to cook chicken is to roast it whole (butterflied so it shortens the cooking period) on either an outdoor, wood charcoal fired, BBQ or in the oven.  I also like braising chicken parts in herbs, potatoes, onions, and white wine and of course the standard chicken cutlet. A simpler chicken preparation includes roasting chicken breast fillets on […]

The variety of kale known as Lacinato is critical to Italian food history and specifically to the second-most-populous region of Italy known as Campania (Napoli being the most well known city in the province).  Lacinato kale has a bitter and sweet flavor profile and is comprised of a rich blue green color.  Lacinato kale is traditionally used in minestrone soupand […]

The common, everyday Frittata, is a critical dish to master if you’d like to eat in the Italian tradition – especially the Potato, Red Pepper, and Onion Frittata (Frittata di Patate, Peperone e Cipolla).  The dish will allow you to make a delicous lunch or dinner at any point during the week and it’s incredibly versatile and able to be made from leftovers […]

(photo: cubed Sicilian, round, eggplant just prior to roasting) Our roasted eggplant with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano contains two ingredients (not including Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and extra virgin olive oil) and I’m very proud to assert the lack of ingredients in the dish!   The dish, like much of the cooking in Italy, is dependent on the ingredients.  The eggplant we used […]

(photo: ingredients for our mafalde fish pasta include wild or standard dandelion greens, garlic, onion, salmon, and grouper) When I speak to my mother on the phone each night (yes, don’t snicker there’s no way around avoiding your Italian mother) she inevitably asks me, “so, what did you make for dinner?”  And while I often answer back with a southern Italian classic […]

(photo: grilled eggplant with herbs, garlic, vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil or melanzane arrostite) Eggplant is consumed en mass in southern Italy and you see melanzane as a parmigiana, of course, pickled in olive oil and vinegar, slowly roasted and simmered for pasta alla norma, and my favorite preparation grilled with herbs, garlic, and vinegar.  

(photo: simple roasted potatoes <patate al forno> with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and plenty of extra virgin olive oil) Italians love their roasted potatoes or patate al forno.  In Italy, most home cooks produce a variation of roasted potatoes based on their particular region.  My favorite versions include using plenty of herbs (sage, rosemary, fennel seed, etc.) and […]

Fried Peppers (Peperonata) are an Italian American staple and for good reason; they are tasty, very versatile as a side dish, and straightforward to prepare. Our version can be made with friarelli (at times refereed to as green frying peppers) or standard bell peppers.  If you opt for the ladder, red and yellow bell peppers tend to be sweeter in flavor.  Moreover, […]

There are certain foods that stimulate the brain like a night in downtown Tokyo (with it’s neon glitter and masses of humanity).  For us, stockfish or pesce stocco, the native Calabrian dish (specifically from the region around Cittanova) triggers tremendoud food memories of my grandmother Rosa and her basement kitchen in New Jersey. Pesce stocco, the dried not salted cod fish, […]