(photo: 2010 Olio Verde extra virgin olive oil from Sicilia, I had to scramble and take a photo before I consumed it all!) Any time I’m asked to taste a product from the southern provinces of Italy I get excited, very excited.  There’s of course a sense of pride knowing a product is made from an area you know well and […]

If I haven’t mentioned it here on Scordo.com my father is a dyed-in-the-wool grappa fanatic.  In fact, he’s grown so found of the elixir made from sugar and grape stems he produces a limited quantity batch for his immediate family and select friends.  So, it wasn’t with great surprise when I brought over a bottle of Amaro Nonino Quintessentia on a recent weekend […]

When I asked readers on our Facebook fan page to name a few Italian food fallacies I was expecting a response but I was, frankly, overwhelmed with the feedback to our simple question.  That is to say, while I’ve experienced many of the overt food fallacies found in Italian American cooking (both in professional and home kitchens) there were some items […]

I’ve always wondered whether every male gets the same sort of satisfaction I do out of a good shave?  I know, for example, that shaving is a chore for some and for others it’s a chance to practice a bit of art and feel like a baby again (or at the least have a baby face). Like most men in the […]

  (photo: packaging is first rate, if not a little wasteful)  We’ve covered the pasta shape tagliatelle here on Scordo.com in the past (via the Scordo Pasta Challenge) but we decided to review the pasta shape one more time given the quality of Caponi Pontedera tagliatelle and the fact that it’s an egg based pasta (pasta all’uovo).   Pastificio Caponi […]

Growing up as an Italian American boy on the periphery of New York City, iced espresso or Caffe Shakerato was a rite of passage, at least for the Italian natives on our New Jersey block.  My mother, specifically, would prepare a large carafe of sugary espresso and place it in the freezer to develop a slushy consistency.  Thereafter, the fancy glasses would […]

(photo: a piece of Italian Gorgonzola or blue cheese that I used with our basic salad dressing recipe) Condition Yourself to Love the Foods You Hate I’m always surprised when folks tell me they don’t like a particular food or ingredient such as cilantro, baby goat, rabbit, blue cheese or Gorgonzola, etc.  When I ask folks why they don’t like a […]

The simple tomato bruschetta is my go-to dinner party appetizer because it’s easy to prepare and universally accepted as looking and tasting great. Our simply recipe includes: Ingredients and Process: Finely diced ripe tomatoes (Roma, Plum, or San Marzano varieties are best) Finely diced red onion Very good extra virgin olive oil Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper Dried oregano Shredded basil. […]

(photo: courtesy of Dr. K., notice the great exterior crust and color) Dr. K.’s Bread Baking and Some Detail Behind the Recipe It’s been a while since we featured a guest post from our good friend Dr. K who’s wowed us in the past with bread recipes such as Whole Wheat Pita and Coccodrillo Ciabatta.  In turn, we’re delighted to […]

  It’s a little known fact the many Italians enjoy American style “junk food.” Specifically, and I’ll use an anecdote to describe the phenomena, during our summer trips to Italy my Italian relatives would beg my mother to bring over US style foods such as: pancake mix with artificial maple syrup, Hershey’s milk chocolate bars, Ritz crackers, etc.  In fact, our family would arrive […]