Family Style Eating: Hanger Steak Nicoise and Tomatoes and Mozzarella  I was giving some thought to formal dining at home the other day and specifically whether American families still sit down for formal, multi-course, meals?  During my childhood, our family often started  meals with a pasta or soup course followed by a family style meal including 3-4 dishes consisting of a […]

Friarelli are a type of green (and sometimes red) sweet pepper which are commonly found in Italian specialty shops or any good gourmet market.  Our fried Italian peppers recipe is usually made with friarielli (and/or friggitelli) and not dissimilar to Cubanelles.  Friarelli are distinguished by their narrow conical shape and relatively transparent flesh. A similar recipe which utilizes Friarelli or standard bell peppers is called Peperonata. Fried Italian Peppers […]

The summer is a joyous season for various reasons and tonight we’ve discovered yet another; namely, the summer salad.  The summer salad has many forms and it often materializes without much thought.  For example, tonight we glanced at our bounty of summer vegetables and assembled three salads to go along with our grilled, whole, chicken: Grilled Zucchini and Onion with […]

With our parents in Italy for the summer we’ve been benefiting from their small, yet abundant, New Jersey garden and thus far have collected many early summer vegetables:  chard, arugula, zucchini, parsley, basil, mint, and zucchini flowers.  The chard and arugula make excellent fresh salads and we combine the zuchhini and zucchini flowers to make sublime frittelle di fiore di […]

Our classic Fried Peppers, Potatoes, and Onions recipe would feel right at home in either Leonia, NJ (United States) or Bagnara Calabra, Calabria (Italy); that is to say, it’s neither Italian American or American Italian, rather an Italian dish that can be made anywhere. Fried Peppers, Potatoes, and Onions pair well with a grilled pork chop, pan sauteed swordfish or chicken […]

Here’s a very simply string beans with garlic recipe that pairs very well with any meat or fish.  We flavor our string beans with minced garlic but you can also add thinly sliced almonds, tomato, etc. Ingredients: 1 pound of string beans with the ends removed Kosher salt Extra virgin olive oil 3 garlic cloves, minced very well Freshly ground […]

Here’s our homemade spinach pasta recipe made with semolina and white flour.  The end product is a terrific fresh spinach fettuccine pasta ideally served with good butter and lots of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Ingredients: 2 cups of semolina flour (we used a very good Pastificio Vicidomini semolina flour from the excellent online shop Olio2go) 1 cup of all purpose flour 1 cup of […]

I’ve only recently realized the tremendous gratification in eating a well prepared salad for lunch (including a recent Wild Arugula, Chicken Breast, Red Onion, and Tomato salad).  Yes, I know the realization isn’t mind blowing but I’m upset at myself for not having more stand alone salads for lunch (hence the excitement and public declaration).  I’ve been missing out on […]

I have a love hate relationship with broccoli that is very similar to my opinion about zucchini.  Namely, both vegetables are fairly plain tasting and need to be manipulated thoroughly to be enjoyed optimally.  Our standard way of consuming broccoli is to do a quick parboil and then toss with plain breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, red pepper flake, garlic, and lots […]

Baked Artichoke Hearts Many people love artichokes but are turned off by the intense preparation associated with the fresh variety.  If you fall into this camp, then don’t despair you can have your artichokes (and eat them too!) though in a frozen or canned variety.  Pre-processed artichokes are a great convenience food and the wonderful canned or frozen artichoke hearts […]