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Barley Risotto

Barley Risotto

Barley risotto is prepared in the same fashion as risotto made with arborio rice or any one of the numerous short grain rices found in Italy (e.g., carnaroli).  Barley is slightly more crunchy than arborio or carnaroli short grain rice (yet just as creamy though more nutty in flavor) and requires a longer cooking time.  Barley is a whole grain and [...]

Sea Bass with Romaine and Fennel Salad

Sea Bass with Romaine and Fennel Salad

I like to think of Sea Bass as the chicken breast of the sea.  That is to say, sea bass has a mild and clean flavor and is suitable for many dishes and preparations.   Sea Bass differs from Mediterranean sea bass (branzino), black sea bass, and stripped sea bass in that it’s actually mislabeled; sea bass is  ”drum” fish as Chilean sea bass [...]

Sausage and Onions

Sausage and Onions

Onions are near and dear to my heart mostly because one of the most famous variety on the planet (Tropea red onions) are grown near my parents home province of Calabria.  Tropea red onions are sweater than other red onions grown in Calabria because of the sandy soil and mild, beach, climate near the shoreline in Eastern Calabria.  One of [...]

Chicken Cutlet Sandwich with Roasted Red Peppers, Mozzarella, and Zucchini

Chicken Cutlet Sandwich with Roasted Red Peppers, Mozzarella, and Zucchini

One of our favorite ways to enjoy a perfectly, pan fried, chicken cutlet is with a great salad.  In fact, we often place our salad right on top of our chicken cutlet and let our homemade vinaigrette penetrate into the crust of the cutlet – leading to a great combination of crunchy bread coating, steamy and moist chicken, and acidic/extra virgin olive oil flavors [...]

Pizzete

Pizzete

If you travel to any panificio or bakery in Italy (and even some States side establishment) you’re bound to run across pizzete or small pizzas that are made with a simple tomato sauce and high quality extra virgin olive oil.   Most Italian bakeries make pizzete early in the day and thereafter top, and re-heat, them with each customer order. [...]

United States Food Culture, Food Reductionism, and the Evil Chris Kimball from America’s Test Kitchen

United States Food Culture, Food Reductionism, and the Evil Chris Kimball from America’s Test Kitchen

How I Learned to Cook Italian Food and Creative Cooking Like most Italians I learned to cook by watching my mother and grandmother prepare food in their home kitchens. And both woman cooked dishes that were driven by what their mothers cooked at home (and, if I had to guess, this tradition of learning how to cook at home goes [...]

Polenta with Sausage and Mushrooms

Polenta with Sausage and Mushrooms

Growing up in a southern Italian household in the United States, polenta wasn’t standard dinner or lunch fare; in fact, corn hardly made an appearance at our kitchen table.   Fast forward about 20 years and we can’t wait for the Fall season to come around so we can prepare a bit pot of steamy polenta flavored with wild mushrooms [...]

Eggplant Bolognese

Eggplant Bolognese

We’re big fans of the classic eggplant pasta dish pasta alla norma but when we have a big appetite and are craving a pasta dish that is slightly more substantive we turn to our Eggplant Bolognese recipe prepared with large rigatoni. Eggplant Bolognese is a meal in and of itself and combines delicate pieces of fried eggplant with satisfying ground beef and tomato [...]

What We’re Reading – Braciola, Tucci Family Cooking, Emilia-Romagna, Lazy Calabrians, Fast Food

What We’re Reading – Braciola, Tucci Family Cooking, Emilia-Romagna, Lazy Calabrians, Fast Food

Mike Colameco’s Real Food – Mike hosts one of the best food shows on TV (PBS) and we love his inside look at the restaurant scene in NYC (though admittedly we do little dining outside of our home kitchen); here Mike share’s his grandmother’s beef braciola recipe. Big Night, Big Feast – Stanley Tucci’s family hails from Calabria and they love to [...]

Orzo Salad with Zucchini, Tomatoes, Basil, and Parmigiano-Reggiano

Orzo Salad with Zucchini, Tomatoes, Basil, and Parmigiano-Reggiano

Orzo resembles a large grain of rice (risoni) but is in fact a type of pasta.    Orzo means barley in Italian and it’s the Swiss army knife of pasta shapes; for example, it can be used in soup, as a side salad, and even baked in the oven.  Our Italian mother, used orzo primarily in soups such as chicken brodo and, [...]