Christine from our Facebook fan page recently asked if we had a marinara sauce recipe and my quick answer was that we haven’t documented it on the site but we make it consistently during the summer months.  Christine’s question also made us think deeply about the difference between tomato sauace and marinara (and there are many), not touching on the further differentiation associated with […]

Homemade Ravioli  Stuffed pasta, like almost every food type found in Italy, is defined by region.  As my childhood neighbor from Genoa would always proclaim, homemade ravioli (meaning to wrap) are quintessentially Ligurian.  Moreover, tortellini and cappelletti are understood as Emilian while Italians recognize agnelotti as derived from Piemonte.  Stuffed pastas come in many shapes and sizes and their stuffings vary […]

 Baked Pasta (or Pasta al Forno) The great thing about baked pasta (or pasta al forno) is that you can use most any dry pasta shape you find at your local market, though short pasta like rigatoni or penne work best.  We used the shape Mezzi Fischiotti, essentially Ditaloni (or short rigatoni), but with ridges.    Don’t confuse baked pasta with […]

Stuffed Artichokes The Artichoke capital of the world is Italy and not simply because Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus (fancy Latin speak for artichoke) is consumed throughout the peninsula but because Italy produces about 487,000 metric tons of the vegetable every year (outpacing Spain, the second largest producer, by about 200,000 metric tons).   Here in the United States, artichokes (primarily grown in California) […]

Basic Homemade Pasta Recipe Homemade pasta recipes are fairly straightforward, though there is some variation on exact ingredients.  Our basic handmade pasta recipe  includes six ingredients.  Mario Batali’s recipe includes flour and eggs while Lidia Bastianich uses flour, eggs, extra virgin olive oil, and ice water.  Linda from the excellent site, Ciao Ciao Linda, uses equal parts semolina and white, unbleached, […]

Insalata di Riso or rice salad has always been a popular dish in Italy and, unlike it’s cousin risotto, is easy to prepare, flexible in terms of ingredients, and stores well for days.  Most Italians prepare rice salads during the summer months, but I like to make it throughout the year.  Our rice salads are a reflection of what’s available […]

Baked Whole Sardines in a Vinegar Sauce – An Easy Recipe for Cooking Fresh Sardines Fresh sardines are a staple food along the Mediterennean coast in southern Italy.   A favorite preparation includes cleaning, gutting, and washing the sardines well followed by a quick dusting of standard flour or chickpea flour.  Thereafter, the whole sardines are pan fried and quickly […]

  The very best pasta recipes are centered on minimal, high quality, ingredients with superb preparation.  Take the pasta recipe for rigatoni with zucchini, mushrooms, and red onion and you’ll experience a perfect, and synchronous, marriage of starchy pasta with earthy mushroom and grassy zucchini.  Add a dash of Italian anchovy sauce, high quality extra virgin olive oil, and freshly grated […]

My wife surprised our family with baked Italian donuts a few weeks ago and we were thrilled with our early morning treats, so much so that we’re going to abandon our local bakery! The recipe below doesn’t include ricotta (to give it that Italian twist) but it can certainly be added, but you’ll need to adjust the other ingredients.    You […]

Tagliatelle with peas and salmon is made with the very versatile, you guessed it, tagliatelle pastashape .  We used salmon and peas as the main ingredients, but you can substitute shrimp or any other firm flesh fish to serve with the peas and tagliatelle. Tagliatelle with Peas and Salmon   Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 20 mins Total time 35 […]