Our standard pickled eggplant recipe, or  Melanzane Sott’Olio, is a staple in our household, but when we crave a slightly more refined version, with a bit less work, we turn to sweet and sour eggplant or melanzane in agrodolce. Most melanzane in agrodolce begin by frying the eggplant but our version includes a quick boil and steeping technique that yields wonderfully delicate […]

For cheap, healthy diet, know how to cook – sent to us via our friend Dr. K. this is a great article from Philly.com that is research based and firmly concludes that, “Those who know how to cook are at a distinct advantage when it comes to nutrition on the cheap.” Pasta alla Norma – a link sent to us […]

Friselle bread, at times referred to as freselle, frisedde, fresedde, frise, are made from durum wheat.  Friselle are baked twice and usually have a rough side and smooth side.  Friselle are found throughout all of Italy but especially popular in southern Italy (Apulia, Calabria, Campania, etc.).  Friselle have a very long shelf life and were especially popular during difficult, economic, […]

Grilled Skirt Steak with Rosemary and Garlic and Tomato Salad In an ideal world, the home cook would head to his local market or series of specialty shops on a daily basis and simply buy the freshest and best looking meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, bread, etc. and cook meals based on the quality of available product (in a perfect world, the home […]

Recently we’ve been swept up by the best sport competitions on the planet, including the ongoing  European Soccer Championship.  We’ve been following the Azzurri (translated as the blue shirts or color of the sky) otherwise known as the Italian national soccer team.  The European Soccer Championship, held every four years, is a qualifying tournament comprised of the best national teams […]

Hario Slim Mill, Clever Coffee Dripper, and Bodum Bistro Glass Mug: Three Ways to Improve Your Drip Style Coffee Having studied human cognition formally as a student and also worked as a human factors and usability expert some folks have claimed I have an understanding of what makes good product design.  My thinking on the aforementioned: I’m just a picky […]

Buona Pasqua – The Tradition Of Easter In Italy Easter is a special time in Italy and it’s the second most important religious holiday behind Christmas for most Italians.  According to the Nicean Council (A.D. 325) Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (if the first full moon also rose on a Sunday, […]

  Bittman on Mini Cannelloni, 10 Alternative to Sliced Tomatoes, Batali on Mozzarella in Carozza and Greed, Beautiful Artichokes   Mark Bittman – We’ll forgive the usually rational Mark Bittman for suggesting the home cook use pre-made “wanton wrappers” when making mini cannelloni at home and suggest you look at his otherwise very good recipe.  The problem with using “wanton […]

  The Prickly Pears, or Fichi d’India,  of Calabria  I’ve traveled to Calabria on many occasions (both as a child and adult) and the landscape continually amazes me.  The startling changes in elevation, for example, travelling on the numerous, via Nazionale,  switchbacks from Bagnara Calabra on the coast to Pellegrina in the hills is mind blowing.   And One’s line of vision is intersected […]

(photo: The cover of John Mariani’s How Italian Food Conquered the World.) After reading through the first chapter of John Mariani’s How Italian Food Conquered the World I felt both enlightened and stimulated and overwhelmed and short of breath.  The former feeling was a result of the numerous “fun facts” scattered throughout the first chapter ranging from the history of the restaurant in Europe […]