It seems that fried foods have a special place in most of the worlds culinary traditions and Italy is no exception. Travel to any southern or northern province in Italy and you’re bound to find an abundance of frittura or fried delicacies from expertly fried fish (such as the ubiquitous Fried Calamari or Frittura di Calamari) to arancini, mozzarella in […]

Early on in life I was exposed to the critical Italian food philosophy of “bread is king”  That is to say, a dinner or lunch didn’t pass by where bread wasn’t present on the table (specifically, Filone – Every Day Italian Bread).   In fact, dinner couldn’t begin until bread was brought to the table; as my father and grandfather suggested […]

Chicken Marsala (Polla alla Marsala) is a popular Italian-American restaurant dish and it takes its name from Marsala wine, a fortified dry/sweet wine used for the sauce which is produced in western Sicily.  Chicken Marsala is easy to prepare and universally loved by Italian food fans.  Mastering this dish will provide an easy and consistently good meal for your Italian food loving family […]

My sweet grandmother (or Nonna Rosa) taught me some invaluable lessons about cooking at home and at the top of her list of practical cooking advice is the seminal claim: learn to love your toaster oven.  Yes, the often misunderstood kitchen appliance confined to summer cabins and the senior citizen set was the kitchen tool of choice for Nonna.  Why […]

When it comes to grilled cheese the basics are essential.  One needs good bread, good cheese, a good cooking fat, and the right type of cooking heat.  If you’ve ever had a bad grilled cheese sandwich, Italian style or not, then the panino was probably lacking in one or more of the items above! Our grilled cheese, Italian style, features good […]

So, I was all set to fry up a batch of chicken cutlets (which our family was going to consume with a crispy and acidic salad) when, lo and behold, I discovered we had no breadcrumbs in our pantry!  While I panicked my wife suggested I do something with the can of artichoke hearts sitting next to our empty container of breadcrumbs. […]

Barley risotto is prepared in the same fashion as risotto made with arborio rice or any one of the numerous short grain rices found in Italy (e.g., carnaroli).  Barley is slightly more crunchy than arborio or carnaroli short grain rice (yet just as creamy though more nutty in flavor) and requires a longer cooking time.  Barley is a whole grain and […]

I like to think of Sea Bass as the chicken breast of the sea.  That is to say, sea bass has a mild and clean flavor and is suitable for many dishes and preparations.   Sea Bass differs from Mediterranean sea bass (branzino), black sea bass, and stripped sea bass in that it’s actually mislabeled; sea bass is  “drum” fish as Chilean sea bass […]

Onions are near and dear to my heart mostly because one of the most famous variety on the planet (Tropea red onions) are grown near my parents home province of Calabria.  Tropea red onions are sweater than other red onions grown in Calabria because of the sandy soil and mild, beach, climate near the shoreline in Eastern Calabria.  One of […]

If you travel to any panificio or bakery in Italy (and even some State side establishments) you’re bound to run across pizzette or bite-sized little pizzas with a variety of simple toppings.  Pizzette are made with a simple tomato sauce and high quality extra virgin olive oil including the same toppings you’ll find on most pizzas.   Most Italian bakeries make […]