Eggplant Parmigiana or Roasted Eggplant with Tomato Sauce and Grated Parmigiano Reggiano The PBS star Mary Ann Esposito recently caused a little bit of controversy over at the Huffington Post when she published a recipe entitled, “The Real Eggplant Parmigiano.”  Amongst the comments on the post, some readers accused Mary Ann of pushing an Italian-American version of Eggplant Parmigiano and using an […]

(photo: pan simmered baby goat or capretto with onion, tomato, garlic, and red wine) Feasting on baby goat is a staple of our Italian American Easter and Christmas dinners.  My father’s mother, Nonna Rosa Scordo, made a wonderful pan simmered capretto recipe and it includes braising a whole baby goat (which is processed at home or by the local butcher). […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

  As much as I like to cook and make elaborate meals I often battle with an internal urge to be a lazy cook.  That is to say, like most working adults, I try to balance cooking great, from scratch, meals with the amount of time I spend in the kitchen.  When I’m feeling tired and do not want to […]

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, […]

  (photo: left to right eggplant/feta/parsley, cheese and tomato sauce, red onion and mushroom lavash pizza) I love stumbling onto new food items. In fact, I encourage folks to pick up a few random items at their local market and try new recipes from time to time.  One such recent food stumble included a package of Lavash bread at a […]

I view homemade roasted peppers as the ultimate condiment; that is to say, you can include roasted peppers in your antipasto, sandwich, as a side with grilled meats, or even include them in your favorite grilled cheese sandwich or omelet.  Sound tasty; then stop buying the jarred stuff and make them at home!  Here’s the full ingredients list, including the items […]