Latest Recipes and Articles

Salt, Fat, and Sugar: Why Eating Tasty Food Can Solve America’s Food Problem

Salt, Fat, and Sugar: Why Eating Tasty Food Can Solve America’s Food Problem

(photo: grilled and baked zucchini with breadcrumbs, parsley, and grated Grana Padano) Let’s face it you can’t always eat what you desire to eat.  For example, I crave salt more than any other substance on the planet and if it was up to my primordial brain I’d consume it primarily through cured pork products like coppa, mocetta, and prosciutto.  There […]

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An Italian Mother’s Day Menu

An Italian Mother’s Day Menu

If you grew up in a wonderful household full of love, warmth, and good food it was probably a direct result of your mother (sorry to all of the well rounded fathers out there).  In turn, your lovely mother deserves, at the very least, a home cooked An Italian Themed Mother’s Day Menu or meal.  Our selection includes easy to […]

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The Physical Environment and the Italian Life

The Physical Environment and the Italian Life

How the Physical Environment Can Influence the Quality of Life I remember the first time I visited my then girlfriend at her college campus in the state of Indiana and the thought of my lovely sweetheart in all of her collegiate glory is still vivid in my mind’s eye.  However, I also remember the vast flatness of northern Indiana (specifically, […]

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The Italian Deli and Creminelli’s Artisan Meats

The Italian Deli and Creminelli’s Artisan Meats

  (photo: left to right: Creminelli felino, sopressa,mocetta, Calabrese, Milano) The Working Life and the Italian Deli I’ve held many odd jobs as a young lad including garbage man, janitor, landscaper, handy man assistant, electrician’s assistant, travel agent, HTML editor, maintenance man at a women’s clothing shop, and, my personal favorite, salumi slicer / panino maker at Zia Teressa’s beloved […]

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Fried Peppers, Onions, and Potatoes Calabrese Style and Baked Eggplant Rolotini

Fried Peppers, Onions, and Potatoes Calabrese Style and Baked Eggplant Rolotini

(photo: red and yellow peppers fried along side red onion and potatoes, including plenty of hot peppers) The region of Calabria, and the birthplace of my parents, is widely known for its variety of peppers, including the hot and sweet variety such as peperoni di Senise red peppers and corno di toro yellow peppers.  Calabria also boasts a reputation for […]

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Calugi Tartufo Bianco Condimento or Extra Virgin Olive Oil with White Truffle

Calugi Tartufo Bianco Condimento or Extra Virgin Olive Oil with White Truffle

(photo: a small 55 ml bottle of white truffle infused extra virgin oil from Florence) Prior to my first experience with Calugi’s white truffle infused extra virgin olive oil I must admit I was skeptical of all infused olive oils.  After all, mother nature has already infused the very best extra virgin olive oils with terrific notes of bitterness, sweetness, acidity, etc. so it was beyond me why additives were […]

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An Italian American Easter and Happiness

An Italian American Easter and Happiness

(photos: discovered on a town street during an Easter walk with our son) One of the cocktail party fun facts I often recite is that the burgeoning field of “happiness studies” correlates life satisfaction via a few simple items, including friendship, travelling, social outings (including participating in sport), and time spent with family.  Of course, some of the non-correlative items are large […]

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Extra Virgin Olive Oils for Tomato Salad and Fresh Mozzarella

Extra Virgin Olive Oils for Tomato Salad and Fresh Mozzarella

One of my favorite ways to consume olive oil is via the simple and humble tomato salad.  Our tomato salad is prepared with red onion, basil, dried oregano, Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and the best extra virgin olive oil we can get our hands on.   Recently, we’ve fallen in love with two extra virgin olive oils that […]

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Matzoh Pizza

Matzoh Pizza

(photo: matzoh pizza with sausage and broccoli rabe – courtesy of Dr. K) Our honorary Jewish Italian, Dr. K., recently put together some exquisite matzoh pizza for his family and I was compelled to ask him for yet another guest post entry.  Enjoy and Zeezum Pasach! Dr. K used Bittman’s olive oil matzoh recipe, which is an adapted Sardinian flatbread.  He used freshly milled hard […]

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Spinach Risotto

Spinach Risotto

Spinach risotto is an ideal representation of what finely cooked Arborio or Carnaroli rice is all about, namely, creamy and buttery texture.  The spinach in the recipe below adds another layer of silky consistency and the green color emitted from the spinach makes this a beautiful dish, as well. You can serve spinach risotto as a starter or as a side to […]

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