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Paccheri with Olive Oil, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Course Ground Pepper

By Vincent Scordo on March 3, 2010 | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

I like all types of pasta shapes, but one of my favorites is Paccheri from Rustichella. Paccheri is a super variant of rigatoni (without the ridges) and best prepared with chunky sauces (such as a ragu with rabbit, for example).

However, I like to cook up a batch of Paccheri and simply add very good extra virgin olive oil, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano, and lots of coursley ground black pepper. If I have fresh ricotta (recipe to come!) in the house then I would include a bit of it as well.

Enjoy the dish with a glass of Aglianico from Campania or Basilicata

Recipe: Uovo Rotto al Aqua con Cipolla e Prezzemolo or Poached Eggs with Onion and Parsley

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By Vincent Scordo on February 28, 2010 | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

(photo: poached eggs with parsley and onion)

My mother can pretty much make a fabulous meal out of anything she has laying around the house (her culinary skill set constantly amazes me). Here's a classic example: uovo rotto al aqua con cipolla e prezzemolo, literally translated from the Calabrian dialect, "egg broken over water with onion and parsley" or poached eggs with parsley and onion.

My mother's recipe is not technically a variant of poached eggs but rather a type of gently fried egg.

Let's start with what you'll need:

- 4 large eggs (buy good eggs as they're the king of the show)

- 2 tablespoon of olive oil

- 2 tablespoons of water

- 1 large onion finely diced

- Bunch of parsley fined diced

- 2 teaspoons of dried oregano

- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Start by sautéing the sliced onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil (add salt and pepper to taste). Once the onion has become softened and slightly caramelized add the chopped parsley and stir well. Next add the remaining olive oil and water and crack 4 eggs into your sauté pan (in separate parts of the pan). Sprinkle the eggs with the dried parsley and a bit more salt and freshly grounded pepper. Cover the sauté pan with a lid and gently cook for 5-10 minutes depending on how cooked you like your eggs (I prefer my egg yolk runny).

You can serve uovo rotto al aqua with some good wheat bread, cured green olives, and some simply prepared risotto, and an arugula salad with vinaigrette. Serve the eggs with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough in New Zealand.

Pre-Dinner Cocktail: Introducing The Scordoni

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By Vincent Scordo on February 9, 2010 | 1 Comment | 0 TrackBacks

(photo: Scordoni awaits grapefruit juice and a quick stir)

I didn't always like Campari; in fact, I thought the liquor was bitter, fowl, and just unappetizing. I remember ordering a Negroni (made with gin, sweet/red vermouth, Campari, and bitters) at a fancy New York restaurant and thinking this drink is strong, but it's really not doing much for me on the flavor / experience side of things.

Fast forward a couple of years to present day and I love most Italian amari and/or digestivos. The "loving" part came about slowly and I still prefer to mix a liquor like Campari with other ingredients to create the perfect cocktail. One recent cocktail experiment yielded what I believe is the definitive pre-dinner drink or apéritif; namely, the "Scordoni"

(photo: Scordoni ingredient from left to right: red vermouth, Campari, St. Germain, and unsweetened white grapefruit juice)

Here's what you'll need to create the Scordoni:

- 1 tumbler glass filled with 5-6 ice cubes (or about half way up the glass)

- 1 ounce of Campari

- 1 ounce of red vermouth (Martini and Rossi is fine)

- 1 ounce of St. Germaine (a French liquor made from elderflower blossoms)

- 2-3 counces of unsweetened white grapefruit juice

(photo: the ingredients and tumbler glass chilling)

Add the ingredients to your glass and stir well; you can add a twist of lemon, if you'd like. I like to serve the Scordoni as an apéritif (you can whip up a pitcher and serve it before a large dinner party; I guarantee it will stimulate everyone's appetite!). The cocktail is also very refreshing and especially tasty during the summer months.

(photo: mixed Scordoni)

(photo: mixed Scordoni in tumbler glass)

Italian Dried Pasta Taste Test and Rustichella d'Abruzzo Contest

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By Vincent Scordo on February 2, 2010 | 14 Comments | 1 TrackBack

(photo: incorporating olive oil, garlic, and parsley with spaghettini)

Update: Congrats to Susan for winning the contest. The giveaway is closed.

Back in September of 2009, in my overview of dried pasta entry, I made the claim that dry pasta is NOT inferior to freshly made pasta (this is the type of pasta which I often make at home with my classic, hand cranked, Imperia pasta machine). Don't get me wrong, I love homemade pasta, especially ravioli, but I don't exactly look forward to the work effort involved to make it at home. There's the making of the dough, the flattening of the dough into sheets, cutting the pasta, and finally flowering and air drying the product. The process is messy and unless you make large quantities it's tough to justify making pasta at home on a consistent basis (this is just one home cook's opinion, of course).

Enter the revolutionary idea of dry pasta. OK, maybe the idea of pre-packaged pasta isn't revolutionary but it's one of those food products that actually makes sense to acquire in an already completed fashion (read: not making it at home from scratch).

Dry pasta has it's origin in 8th century southern Italy; specifically, in Palermo, Sicilia. The most accepted theory of pasta being introduced in Italy is not via Marco Polo and China, but rather in Sicilia via one of the many Arab conquests of the 700's (this was a time period when the Middle East, part of North Africa, and the Iberian Peninsula all came under Arab rule). Moreover, as the web site LifeinItaly.com states:

Like so much of southern Italian life, the Arab invasions of the 8th century heavily influenced the regional cuisine and is the most accepted theory for the introduction of pasta. The dried noodle-like product they introduced to Sicily is most likely the origins of dried pasta and was being produced in great quantities in Palermo at this time. The modern word "macaroni" derives from the Sicilian term for making dough forcefully, as early pasta making was often a laborious daylong process. How it was served is not truly known but many Sicilian pasta recipes still include other Arab gastronomic introductions such as raisins and spices like cinnamon. This early pasta was an ideal staple for Sicily and it easily spread to the mainland since durum wheat thrives in Italy's climate. Italy is still a major producer of this hard wheat, used to make the all-important semolina flour.

By the 1300's dried pasta was very popular for its nutrition and long shelf life, making it ideal for long ship voyages. Pasta made it around the globe during the voyages of discovery a century later. By that time different shapes of pasta have appeared and new technology made pasta easier to make. With these innovations pasta truly became a part of Italian life.

(photo: Rustichella pasta line up)

Fast-forward 700 years or so and there are an abundance of dry pastas on the market in both the US and in Italy/Europe. The very best dry pastas are manufactured in Italy and are made with locally grown Durham wheat. The hard Durham wheat is what yields semolina flour, which is used in all types of quality dry pastas. In the US, the most common pasta brands are Ronzoni, Barilla, Colavita, De Cecco, etc. Of the brands found in the typical US supermarket, De Cecco, in my view, is the best choice. You can see De Cecco's quality via it's color and firmness out of the package and once you cook up a batch of linguine fine, for example, you can taste the quality in the semolina flour used.

One readily available "luxury" pasta found at most Italian specialty shops (as well as Whole Foods) is a brand called, Rustichella d'Abruzzo. Rustichella sits along side other premium pasta brands such as Martelli, Latini, Benedetto, and Setaro. The premium pasta brands command prices as high as $8.80 for 18 ounces (Bendetto), for example. Rusticella pasta commands a price of about $6.60 per 18 ounces (a little over a full pound) and is priced in the middle of the luxury pasta segment.

I, along with various relatives from Calabria and Sicilia, had the pleasure of tasting 10 distinct Rustichella d'Abruzzo pastas, including Bucatini, Trofie, Cencioni, Paccheri, Linguine, Spaghettini, Penne, Rigatoncini, Trenne, and Farafalloni. All of the Rustichella products are handmade and use Italian Durham wheat and spring water. And according to Rustichella bronze moulds are used during the extraction process yielding a pasta with a course exterior texture (the logic here is that the condiment or sauce can better adhere to the pasta). Another product differentiator according to Rustichella is that their "drying process is slow and takes place at a low temperature (up to 50 hours and at temperatures of around 35 degrees) which is the opposite to the industrial process, mass produced pastas, of 4/5 hours at 90 degrees."

(photo: getting ready to chop garlic and parsley)

(photo: raw garlic)

(photo: parsley ready to chop)

(photo: slowly frying some sliced garlic and red pepper flakes with extra virgin olive oil)

The first pasta I tried was spaghettini with a simple alio e olio sauce (olive oil, garlic, and parsley). I choose a simple sauce because I wanted the pasta to be the star and the Rustichella spaghettini didn't disappoint. Unlike mass produced pasta brands, the Rustichella spaghettini had a wonderful texture and had none of the "cardboard-like" taste found in brands like Ronzoni. The spaghettini also had some wonderful nutty and malty flavor components, especially when sampling it without the sauce or condiment. When I did mix the alio e olio with the spaghettini the pasta quickly absorbed the extra virgin olive oil and the tiny bits of parsley, garlic, and red pepper flakes hung closely to the pasta. The idea of the sauce "sticking" or melding with pasta is a key concept and I look for this trait in any pasta. A high quality pasta should also allow for the sauce to integrate into the overall texture of the product (think of those nasty cream cheese and celery appetizers you may have consumed at cocktail parties; the celery, however unfortunate, is a vessel for cream cheese, just like a good pasta, fortunately, is a vessel for the sauce or condiment).

(photo: adding salt to pasta water at the boil)

(photo: measuring pasta)

(photo: drain pasta and save some of the starchy water for the condiment)

Next, I sampled the Paccheri (smaller, and plain, rigatoni - no ridges) with a tomato sauce and again the pasta shined. I was looking for the tomato sauce to slide off the pasta or for a little more blandness because of the larger size of the Paccheri, but the flavor was tremendous (kind of like a clean and crisp Sauvignon Blanc).

My extended family sampled the rest of the Rustichella pastas and all but a few of the pasta critics enjoyed the high quality and texture of the product. Some of the more critical comments from family members centered on price point and similarity to De Cecco pasta. More specifically, one Uncle couldn't justify price versus flavor (he was hinting at value and while he thought the product was of high quality he had concerns about why it was priced 2-3x that of other, typical, Italian brands like De Cecco).

(photo: do you think he will grow to like pasta?)

Pasta Content Giveaway!

As with any food experience the ultimate judgment comes by way of the consumer of the product and his or her relation to other, similar, products they've sampled. So, Scordo.com has teamed up with Rustichella d'Abruzzo to offer one lucky Scordo.com reader a pasta sampler gift package consisting of 1 package each (4 total) of the following pastas: Linguine, Spaghettini ,Penne, and Paccheri. I'm looking for you, the "end pasta user", to be the ultimate critic! Here are the details on the pasta package giveaway contest:

(photo: end product!)

- What you need to do to enter: 1. leave a comment under this post on a favorite pasta brand and shape (no, it doesn't need to be Rustichella!) and 2. sign up as a fan of Scordo.com on Facebook here or Scordo.com newsletter, it doesn't need to be both). If you've done both already, then I'll ask you if you can please re-tweet the article on Twitter and include the article URL: http://bit.ly/ceTiVa and @scordo in your tweet)

- Only one entry per person please.

- The contest is open until 12 midnight on 2/6 and a single random user will be picked via Random.org. The winner will be announced immediately on Twitter (so please follow me) and on Scordo.com by 5PM on Monday, 2/8.

- Please use a valid email address when leaving a comment so I can contact you just in case you're the lucky winner (I'll need your shipping address).

- Manicaretti Italian Food Imports will send out the pasta package to the single contest winner during the week of 2/8.

That's it, so please sign up for a chance to win a sampler package of, quite possibly, one of the best food products on the planet (i.e., pasta)! If you can't wait to sample Rustichella pasta you can buy it online here!

Also, be sure to search Scordo.com for a ton of pasta recipes!

Crocchette di Patate Calabrese

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By Vincent Scordo on January 30, 2010 | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

(perfectly fried crocchette and ready to consume)

Don't tell my wife but I had a secret lover on my wedding day. That's right, in addition to my beautiful wife I secretly adored the Crocchette di patate that were being served at our party! The potato croquettes were made with a mashed potato filling, stuffed with cubes of fresh mozzarella, and breaded with fresh breadcrumbs, dried oregano, and finely chopped parsley. Thereafter, the croquettes were deep fried and served piping hot. The restaurant where we held our wedding reception served the crocchette as a side to the main course, but I would have had 6-7 of the delicate croquettes with a few glasses of Ciro as my main meal.

While I adored the crocchette made for our wedding, I always prefer making the real deal at home (even if it does include frying and messing up the kitchen; I'm with Jacque Pepin here, the only thing I hate about cooking is the cleanup!). The following is my crocchette di patate recipe. Serve the crocchette as an appetizer with a few cocktails or as a side with wild salmon of dry aged sirloin. Let's start with the ingredients:

- 2lbs of Idaho Potatoes (you'll be baking these as the process nicely eliminates the moisture in the potatoes and makes for a better frying experience)

- 1 bunch of parlsey

- 1 cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

- 2 eggs

- Salt and pepper to taste

- 2-3 cloves of garlic (crushed and minced finely)

- 2-3 tablespoons of fresh breadcrumbs

(photo: notice the crunchy exterior without using too much breadcrumb; the potato should be king here and not the breadcrumb)

(photo: three generation of crocchette makers: from left to right, my mother, great grandmother, and grandmother. the photo was taken on Via Nazionale in the early 1960's)

Bake the potatoes at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Next, scoop out the interior of the potatoes and mash them with a potato masher (don't use an electric mixer as you'll develop too much gluten in the potatoes). Move the mashed potatoes into a bowl and add Parmigiano-Reggiano, eggs, 1 tablespoon homemade breadcrumbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix the ingredients and scoop approximately 1 tablespoon of the mixture into your hand and shape the potatoes into an oblong shape (similar to the photo above); you can add some cubed Mozzarella at this point, if you'd like). Finally, role the individual croquettes in the remaining breadcrumb (very lightly) and fry your croquettes in your preferred oil (I use canola). You can season the remaining breadcrumbs with a bit of salt, pepper, and dried oregano prior to rolling your crocchette. You can also use a deep fryer to cook the crocchette, but I simply fill a large sautee pan with about an inch of olive oil (just enough to cover the crocchette). Fry the croquettes until golden and serve hot!

Arancini di Riso Recipe

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By Vincent Scordo on January 21, 2010 | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

(thanks to mondo del gusto for the photo)

One of my favorite dishes at a local trattoria in New Jersey is an appetizer consisting of potato croquets, mozzarella in Carrozza (mozzarella sticks), calzoncini (friend pockets of dough), and arancini (rice balls). All of the items in the dish, officially called frittura Napoletana, are expertly fried and generally well executed. However, it's the arancini that stand out and remind me of the fried treats I consumed on the Violet coast (in Bagnara Calabra) as a child (usually from street vendors or small pizzerias) during my summer vacations.

Arancini are traditionally prepared with Arborio rice, tomato sauce with ground beef or pork, peas, and mozzarella (or another local cheese that melts well), coated with an egg wash, breaded, and finally deep fried until golden and the cheese is melted. The arancini of my youth were especially delicious after a day spent swimming in the Mediterranean with my cousins Vice, Maria, and Giuseppe. And while the grown ups scolded us for consuming "vile", and fried, street food I wondered how they could compare melted cheese and creamy Arborio rice to the swordfish and roasted goat dishes they would later have for dinner (I later learned to love both swordfish and goat, of course!).

(thanks to stefaniav for the photo)

My mother Annunziata continues the fried rice ball tradition in her New Jersey kitchen, though it's become a once a year thing as the work to prepare arancini becomes more daunting with age (don't tell my mother I said that). Annunziata's State-side arancini do not differ widely from the Italian variant in both size and flavor (a rare happening when trying to replicate Italian dishes in the US) as she uses good ingredients, is meticulous about preparation, and most importantly, is an expert fryer.

Here's Annunziata's rice ball or arancini recipe (call them Calabrian or Sicilian in origin - it doesn't really matter once you take your first bite):

Ingredients:

- 2 cups of plain arborio based risotto (there's no substitute for arborio rice)

- 3 cups tomato sauce with ground beef or pork

- 1 cup of peas

- 2 ounces of cubed mozzarella

- 1 ½ cups of plain breadcrumbs

- 2 large eggs

- salt, pepper, oregano to taste

- ½ cup of finely chopped parsley

- vegetable oil for frying

(thanks to yosoynuts for the photo)

Process:

- Make plain risotto and proceed to scoop out a healthy amount into the palm of our hand (you're looking for baseball size arancini; note they don't need to be perfect spheres, in fact, I'm used to seeing arancini with a more oblong shape versus something perfectly round). Make sure to wet your hands with some fresh water prior to handling the rice (this will prevent the rice from sticking)

- Make an indentation in the middle of the rice and proceed to fill the ball with a little tomato sauce, 3-4 cubes of mozzarella, and peas

- Next, close the rice around the filling and seal the ball by shaping the rice into a ball.

- Beat a few eggs and season them with a bit of salt and pepper. Next dip the rice ball into the egg mixture and then in a bit of flour. Thereafter, dip the ball back into the egg mixture and then into fine breadcrumbs (buy fresh breadcrumbs from a local shop that are not seasoned; you can season your own breadcrumbs with salt, pepper, oregano, and finely chopped parsley).

- Begin heating your vegetable oil in a large pot (no need to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil as Mario Batali used to do on his FoodTV cooking show, as it's a royal waste of money). The ideal frying temperature is between 350 and 375 degrees Celsius. You can invest in a thermometer like this, but after several frying sessions you'll get a sense of when your oil is ready.

- Gently place the balls in the hot oil and fry for about 4 to 4.5 minutes (depending on the size of the ball itself). You're looking for a golden exterior appearance but ultimately you want the mozzarella to melt well and achieve "gooey" consistency; I've had very bad rice balls in the US that appear golden and perfectly cooked only to have barely melted cheese in the ball center)

Enjoy the rice balls right out of the fryer (you need to consume this product right away). You can reheat rice balls but they often become dry.

Italian Beef Stew with Rosemary and Oregano

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By Vincent Scordo on January 10, 2010 | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Cold temperatures and bitter winds have parked themselves here in the Northeast over the last 4-5 days and with cold weather comes an increase in the consumption of comfort foods for yours trully. Comfort foods mean different things to different folks; for example, I'm comforted by the following food items: fresh bread, cheese, olives, salumi, pasta, rice, and stew!

Specifically on beef stew as a comfort food, I especially enjoy slow cooked beef with nice chunks of carrot and petite peas. My wife's beef stew includes rosemary (fresh or dried), oregano (dried), and Chianti (hence the Italian moniker. Here's the quick recipe:

- Season one pound of chuck beef with salt, pepper, garlic and oregano.

- Dredge the meat with ¼ cup of flour and shake off any excess.

- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot.

- Brown the meat on all sides.

- Remove meat with a slotted spoon and all but about 2 tablespoons of oil (add more if necessary).

- Add 4 carrots and one onion cut into large chunks. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables start to soften.

- Add the meat back to the pot.

- Cover the meat with 1 cup of water and 2 cups of a good red wine.

- Add two sprigs of fresh rosemary.

- Bring to a boil and then simmer for about two hours until the meat is fork tender.

- After the two hours, add salt and pepper to taste and one can of petite peas. Enjoy with mashed potatoes.

The Italian Farmer's Table Book Giveaway and Interview: Authentic Recipes from Agriturismi

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By Vincent Scordo on January 6, 2010 | 48 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

(photo: via the Italian Farmer's Table, rye bread)

(UPDATE 1/10/09: Contest is closed. The winner is SimplyForties! Thanks to everyone for participating.)

If you've read any of my articles focused on Italian living and lifestyle over the last 6 months, then you've probably come to the conclusion that my Italian roots (and those of my parent's) are firmly situated in the mezzogiorno (the word mezzogirono references the southern region of Italy, including the regions of Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, Apulia, Molise, Abruzzo and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia ). In turn, I often shy away from writing about northern Italy because I'm both unfamiliar with the region and also because so much has been documented and said about areas/cities such as Toscana, Roma, Sienna, Genoa, etc. But when a good friend forwarded me an article from a local newspaper in Connecticut I know I stumbled upon something special, namely, a new book by husband and wife team Matthew Scialabba and Melissa Pellegrino entitled, T he Italian Farmer's Table, Authentic Recipes and Local Lore from Northern Italy (see the accompanying website here!).

(photo: via the Italian Farmer's Table, cover photo)

Like the movie Julie and Julia, Matt and Melissa ate, worked, and lived their way through every region of northern Italy by way of agriturismi (subsidized, working, family farms that provide lodging and meals to travelers). The couple also documented 150 northern Italian recipes from the farms, including many dishes I've never read or encountered in Italian cuisine. The 150 recipes are translated with great care and they can, for the most part, be easily adapted for the American kitchen. In addition to the recipes, the book also include tidbits on local traditions, events, and, of course, food items (for example, in the the chapter on the Casa Al Campo farm we learn about the Dolomite Mountains and the hunting rituals surrounding deer and chamois). The Italian Farmer's Table also features great photography, especially photos taken with the farm owners and their local products.

(photo: via the Italian Farmer's Table, making pasta)

I loved the Italian Farmer's Table so much that I asked Matt and Melissa if they were willing to offer a free copy of their book to a lucky Scordo.com reader and, echoing the generous spirit of the Northern Italian farmers referenced in the book, they agreed! Here's how you can enter to win a free copy of The Italian Farmer's Table:

- Prize Giveaway includes one (1) copy of the The Italian Farmer's Table

- What you need to do to enter: 1. leave a comment under this post on your favorite Italian region or city that you've visited (if you haven't been to Italy which region would you like to visit?) and 2. sign up for the Scordo.com What's New Newsletter here.

- Only one entry per person please.

- The contest is open until 12 midnight on 1/10 and a single random user will be picked via Random.org (sorry contest only open to folks from the US given shipping logistics). The winner will be announced immediately on Twitter (so please follow me) and on Scordo.com by 5PM on Monday, 1/11.

- Please use a valid email address when leaving a comment so I can contact you just in case you're the lucky winner (I'll need your shipping address).

- Globe Pequot Press will send out the book during the week of 1/11.

Finally, Matt and Melissa were also nice enough to answer a few of my questions on local versus organic food, the agriturismo industry, why Italians place so much emphasis on eating well, etc. You can find the full interview below and also purchase the book via Amazon.

1. What inspired you pick up and leave the US and live in a foreign country. Was it difficult to adjust and handle the practical elements of living a foreign country.

We had been toying with the idea to write a cookbook about the Italian agriturismo for about six years. After numerous rejection letters from publishers, we decided to do the trip ourselves. We knew that the whole agriturismo system was practically unknown to the American tourist and that as the farm to table mantra began to pick up steam here in America, the timing was right for a book of this nature. We had both lived in Italy before so being there again was not that big of an adjustment. I think the hardest part was living out of a suitcase for four months and changing farms every 5th day.

(photo: via the Italian Farmer's Table, fennel)

2. There's been lots of talk in the media surrounding organic and local foods. Should shoppers concentrate on buying local versus organic?

Hopefully if it's local, it's also seasonal and not shipped across the country or from another country. While we commend organically grown food we are not that big on its status symbol and government approved stamp. There is nothing better than eating ingredients that are in peak season and harvested close to where they are sold. Many of the farms we visited considered themselves "independently" organic, farming naturally without pesticides or chemicals, but perhaps lacking an official organically grown certificate. Hopefully, most locally grown food available to consumers are adopting a similar philosophy.

(photo: via the Italian Farmer's Table, harvesting grapes)

3. How do Italian shop for food and is there a big emphasis on organic or local foods?

Italians shop for the day, often going to the markets every day to seek out what's fresh and looks the best. Kitchens often have much smaller refrigerators than we have in the US and they eat far less processed foods and snack food.

4. What's an agriturismo?

An agriturismo, is a working farms with accommodations and restaurants, where everything grown and raised on the farm are served to guests. The system was formed in the eighties to help preserve small family farms. By allowing them to open their doors to overnight guests, farms were able to supplement their incomes by providing food and lodging. They have experienced tremendous success, and there has been a huge movement throughout the country as crumbling farms are being renovated and revitalized. There really is no better way to experience rural Italy than to stay at an agriturismo and soak in some local culture and eat and drink like a real Italian.

5. What makes local Italian food taste so good and is it really possible to recreate the dishes in your book here in the US?

Prime ingredients that haven't traveled hundreds of miles. We have adapted all recipes for the American home cook

6. What's your favorite northern Italian region?

Too difficult a question - each region has its own personality and charm

7. You mention the "Italian countryside lifestyle" - what exactly is this?

Living sustainably and with the seasons consuming what one can grow and raise locally.

(photo: via the Italian Farmer's Table, fresh ricotta)

8. Why do Italians put so much emphasis on eating well and how does good food contribute to such a high quality of life in Italy?

Eating well means everything to Italians. Eating means so much more than consumption, but rather, a time to be with friends and family and to sit down and enjoy company and conversation united by food. This all contributes to a high quality of life focused on more intrinsic values with less emphasis on material objects.

9. What's your favorite, local, Italian dish to prepare in the US?

For us, in CT, we love linguine with clams. Fresh local little necks, garlic, hot pepper, white wine, and lots of parsley. Summer or winter, the briney salty flavor is a classic Italian (southern) favorite.

10. How is local farming set up in Italy and how can this system of food production feed a large western country and is it possible to replicate this system in the US?

The Italian agriturismo can prove to be a model example of how small farms can succeed and operate. As more and more Americans are shopping at farmer's markets and becoming interested in learning about where their food comes from, smaller, family run farms have begun to experience success and economic sustainability. While we are moving in the right direction, there is still much to change about American's eating habits. The White House's first garden is symbolic of more awareness about the importance of eating well, and there's hope on the horizon for a better and healthier American diet.

Recipe: Tuna Niçoise Salad

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By Vincent Scordo on December 20, 2009 | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

While flipping through TV channels on a lazy Sunday afternoon I came across an old episode of the classic TV series, "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home" The series was tapped in Julia's kitchen in Cambridge and while Julia was clearly passed her prime the interplay between the two food stars is sincere and straightforward (Jacques wants to do things the classic way and Julia calls for butter instead of oil or onion instead of scallion, for example).

A recent episode focused on salads and, specifically, Julia Childs and Jacque Pepin made a terrific Tuna Nicoise Salad; featuring fresh grilled tuna or tuna packed in olive oil, boiled potatoes, string beans, boiled eggs, tomatoes, Boston lettuce, capers, and anchovy. The salad looked so good I decided to have a go at making the dish for a late lunch this weekend. And while I didn't have fresh Tuna laying around the house I always keep 3-4 cans of tuna packed in olive oil in our pantry (here's my list of Italian products to keep in your pantry at all times) so one ingredient was present! Our fridge also included some green beans, fresh farm eggs, olives, a red onion, and, yes, some chick pea soup! The chick pea soup was used to make a rustic hummus with lots of lemon juice, some tahini paste, and plenty of salt and pepper (I used a morter and pestle as opposed to the Cuisinart, which I didn't want to clean). Here's my classic hummus recipe. The green beans were quickly steamed and then moved to a bowl of ice water to preserve the color and stop the cooking process. Thereafter, I tossed the beans with a simple lemon juice/Dijon vinaigrette (see my recipe here). The hard boiled eggs were made via the Bittman way, including placing the eggs in a pot with water and letting them come to a boil (and thereafter turning off the gas and letting the eggs sit for 9 minutes). Finally, I included some green olives flavored with fennel.

We enjoyed the salad with a fresh baguette and a bottle of $9.99 Torre Dei Gesuiti from Puglia (basically Italian Zinfandel) purchased at Total Wine (a chain wine shop with some decent inventory). There's no proper way to assemble the salad, just make sure all items are seasoned well (kosher salt, black pepper, and dried oregano) .

Monday Night Fried Fish Fest: Whole Sardines, Smelts, and Wild Dandeloins

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By Vincent Scordo on December 14, 2009 | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

(Photo: Tommaso staring down a fried sardine: this is one metaphysical moment)

A simple rule for buying fish goes as follows: buy what's fresh, as opposed to what you want. The idea may sound counterintuitive but freshness is king when it comes to seafood. I'm mentioning the whole buying fresh seafood concept today because I headed to my favorite fish shop thinking salmon for dinner and I came home with whole sardines and smelt. I've become friendly with my local fish monger and given that he 1. told me about the fresh sardines and smelt that just came in and 2. that the wild salmon wasn't looking superb I opted for the fish monger's suggestion as opposed to the salmon I was craving.

(photo: closeup of a close friend: Sardine Scordo - notice his great eyes and skin))

(photo: beheaded smelts waiting for flour and the frying pan, notice the beautiful skin)

I grew up with smelts as they are a favorite amongst Calabrians especially during the winter months and, at times, during the traditional Christmas Eve fish fest. Smelts are small, fresh water (native to New England as well!), fish and are best prepared whole and fried with a light coating of flour (I like mine with lots of kosher salt and a splash of red wine vinegar). While smelts were common during my childhood, we consumed sardines mostly via the salt or oil packed variety. And I do love canned sardines, but the fresh variety (again, lightly floured and fried) is fish nirvana! Fresh sardines have an oily and firm texture and are high in omega acids. Fresh sardines do contain many small bones, but part of the eating fun is using your hands and finding nuggets of steaming white meat and crispy skin!

(photo: sardine nirvana)

(photo: post fry sardines. notice the very light flour coating, you're not making Kentucky Fried Chicken here)

(photo: post fry smelts, salted heavily with kosher salt)

(photo: our simple dinner table)

Our sardine and smelts dinner included wild dandelions and brown jasmine rice. The dandelions were sautéed with garlic, olive oil, and some red pepper flakes. The brown rice was tossed with olive oil and lots of fresh ground pepper. We had a bottle of Altos de Luzon 2003 Jumilla (a Spanish wine consisting of 50% Monastrell, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Tempranillo). Admittedly, I thought the wine wouldn't pair well with fish, wild greens, and nutty brown rice, but I was shocked at how well it tasted with our meal. Proving again that consuming wine is about drinking what you like (or at least what your mouth tells you it likes with the food you are consuming).

Guide to Cured Italian Meats: Salumi

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By Vincent Scordo on October 20, 2009 | 4 Comments | 1 TrackBack

(Photo: Nonno's pigs on his working farm in Calabria)

One of the highlights of my summer trips to Calabria as a small child included spending time on my grandfather's working farm. Nonno Vincenzo's farm was a 10 minute drive north of the small village of Pellegrina on Via Nazionale. Nonno would wake me up early in the morning and we'd jump into his white Fiat 500; while sitting in the passenger seat I anticipated a ride on his red tractor, visiting with the many roaming goats, and running through the olive tree orchards. However, I was secretly looking forward to one thing above all else: lunch!

Lunch included the typical pasta starter, green, roasted meat, and tons of figs, peaches, wild berries, and cactus pears, but it was the cured meats that we ate before lunch that I enjoyed most. You see, Nonno was an expert salumi maker and he kept his best products hidden the entire year for his American grandkids to enjoy (at least that's what he told me though my Italian cousins Vice, Maria, Vincenzo, and Giuseppe all had that "salumi glow" about them!).

Nonno produced wonderful cacciatore, capocollo, salt pork, and Soppressata. The cured meats represented the ideal combination of salt, red pepper, herbs, wine, and intoxicating flavor and I often filled up on the meat and homemade bread and had no use for lunch. Salumi antipasto equaled lunch for me and a bit of frustration for my grandmother who didn't appreciate the fact that nonno tempted his grandson with some "vile" salted pork!

My love of cured meats continues to this day, but nonno has stopped running his farm and there are no pigs left to make capicollo, so we're left to buying our cured meats from a salumeria (an insult and something that is looked down upon if you're used to producing your own meats; Rhulman makes his own cured meats and has a wonderful book called Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing). It's even harder to find good cured meats in the US, but the situation is changing with many local, artisan, salami makers sprouting up in places like California (see my recommended online shops below). It's also technically illegal to import Italian cured meats into the US, so outside of Prosciutto di Parma (which is allowed) finding good Italian cured meats can be a challenge outside of large, ethnic, cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, etc.

What follows are my personal favorites in terms of salumi and a small description of how to consume and enjoy the cured meats. Look for a more detailed review on specific salumi makers in US in next couple of months.

Capicola or Capocollo

My all time favorite cured meat and apparently Tony Soprano enjoyed it as well (though his pronunciation of the delicacy wasn't exactly grammatically correct). Capo means head in Italian and the capicola is made from the neck or shoulder of a pig. Capicola has a tender texture and usually smoked and prepared with a variety of spices, herbs, and sometimes wine. I enjoy capicola in a sandwich made from fresh baguette. I usually don't include any condiment or cheese as I don't want to mess with the flavor of the meat.

Cacciatore

Literally means hunter and the folklore states that hunters used to carry this small salami in their pack and eat several pieces for sustenance during the hunt. Cacciatore is usually 6-7 inches in length and cured with the usual spices, wine, and herbs. Cacciatore tends to be a bit tougher than Capicola or Prosciutto. I love cacciatore with sharp Provolone and good bread. You could use the meat for a sandwich but the small pieces aren't ideal.

Soppressata

Like cacciatore, Soppressota is made from pressed pork belly, tongue, stomach and other parts of the pig. Again, spices and herbs vary by region and preference. Soppressota can be spicy and is an excellent meat for sandwiches. If you want to try and make your own see Michael Rhulman's recipe on his exceptional food blog. Soppressata is less chewy and compacted than cacciatore and has the consistency of sausage. Generally speaking it's important to note that most salumi are either categorized into products made from ground pig parts or from whole sections of the pig (for example, sopresseta versus prosciutto).

Salt Pork

Most salumi affeciondads have a love hate relationship with salt pork; I happen to love this fatty, bacon like, salumi but it tends to be very salty. Moreover, I don't particularly like cooking with salt pork, thought most folks use it as a fat for sautéing. I enjoy salt pork cut very thin with chunks of parmiggiano reggiano and a glass of homemade wine (I think the juxtaposition of the complex and creamy parmiggiano goes will with the simple, salty, and earthy flavors of homemade wine and salt pork). Salt pork is made from the pig's belly and is not smoked.

Pancetta

As you probably guessed, Pancetta is another salt cured and spiced salumi. Most folks know pancetta and fry it to use in varied dishes. Pancetta when done is small batches is usually produced in a flat manner with the fat located on one side (unlike the rolled kind you will find in most shops in US). I've had both varities and it's not one of my favorites. See Rhulman's recipe if you want to try and make pancetta at home:

Speck

Speck is a type of Prosciutto made with the hind leg of a pig, however the bone is usually removed with this kind of salumi. Speck is usually cut thin and served with bread. The flavor is robust and the texture a bit chewy. Speck is also a smoked product. I'm not a big consumer of this cured meat, but it is tasty.

Culatello

Culatello is a special type of Prosciutto made via larger pigs. Culatello is a prized cured meat and extremely flavorful. Here's a nice write up on Culatello as I don't have too much experience with the product (it's a bit expensive).

Also, see La Cucina Italiana's salumi FAQ as well as their Oct, 2009 article on artisinal salumi makers in the US.

Finally, here's a list of where to purchase artisanal meats online (also, if you're looking to buy me a Christmas present a couple of pounds of soppressata would do nicely!):

Creminelli

Columbus Salame

Salumi Cured Meats

Knight Salumi Company

Fra'Mani Handcrafted Salami

A Guide to Dry Pasta

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By Vincent Scordo on September 22, 2009 | 0 Comments | 1 TrackBack

I love pasta; in fact, I'd venture to say it is a glorious food product! And it doesn't really matter how it's prepared (condiment or sauce-wise, that is); I'll eat penne rigate with good olive oil (recipe) and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, Bucatini with a fresh, tomato, pan sauce (recipe), or linguine fine with a homemade pesto sauce (recipe). The condiment for any pasta is important, but what's key is that the pasta is not over or under cooked and that the water used to boil the pasta is both salted and abundant (don't crowd your pasta during the cooking process).

You'll also hear the word al dente thrown around a lot but it's the food equivalent of drinking only Bordeaux; that is to say, you can cook pasta al dente most of the time (and be happy), but all pasta does not need to be cooked, "to the tooth" at all times (large rigatoni is a good example).

Moreover, dry pasta is not inferior to fresh pasta and, in fact, the very best dry pastas are superior to average, fresh made, pasta. I always aim to keep, at the least, 5 varieties of dry pasta in my pantry, including:

1. Linguine Fine

The pasta cooks very fast and is great for loose sauces like tomato or cream based sauces, like the ubiquitous Alfredo. I also use linguine fine when I cook up a batch of super simple Aglio e Oli pasta.

2. Angel Hair or Capellini

The fastest cooking dry pasta on the market. You need an abundant condiment for this type of pasta or you'll get lumpy bundles of thin pasta. My mom used to make angel hair for me during the school year (with plenty of tomato sauce and freshly grated cheese); in fact, every time I have Angel Hair I'm brought back to lunch time during my elementary school years.

3. Penne Rigate

Another pasta staple that goes well with pesto or baked in the oven with fresh mozzarella, ricotta and a bit of tomato sauce.

4. Large Rigatoni

Ah, this was the go to pasta for Nonna Rosa. Nonna Rosa preferred the large type rigatoni and she would often serve the pasta with a ton of olive oil (mixed with a bit of corn oil because she liked to save money) and freshly grated Pecorino Romano. Large rigatoni is also the base for my white wine dark turkey meat Bolognese sauce (pictured above).

5. Bucatini

This is a thick spaghetti with a hole in the middle. Bucatini is a hardy pasta that, because of the hole at the center of the pasta, takes any sauce surprisingly well. I like bucatini with anchovy, hot peppers flake, garlic, freshly chopped parsley, and olive oil.

Pasta is a wonderful food ingredient. It gets a bum wrap in the US because most Americans tend to have pasta as a main dish when having dinner (this will lead to you getting fat!). Pasta, if proportioned correctly, can be used to start a meal 2-3 times a week (as they do in Italy on most nights). The correct portion is about two ounces. And if the condiment or sauce is made well (and used sparingly) you will feel very satisfied (the problem occurs when there's no taste in your sauce and you look for additional pasta to make up for the lack of taste). Good pasta also needs two key ingredients to thrive: olive oil and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Moreover, don't forget to save some of the golden water used to cook your pasta (you may want to add a little bit with your condiment/sauce when mixing it with pasta) and always bring your pasta to your pan containing your condiment/sauce (never the other way around).

Finally, you may want to know which dry pasta brand is best. In terms of large, well known, and readily available brands I like De Cecco. I also think Colavita makes a good dry pasta. I used to consume Barilla but I think their quality has suffered a bit in the last ten years or so (I'm not sure what it is but De Cecco pasta tends to have more flavor and a better consistency). There are also tons of small production type dry pastas from Italy (such as Rustichella), but you really just need to try them and stick with what you like (many are also outrageously priced and, in my view, not worth the extra money).

8 Simple Food and Kitchen Tips

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By Vincent Scordo on September 17, 2009 | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Cooking at home isn't rocket science and like most things in life it just takes a little bit of practice to get right (and of course a few good tips). Here are eight essential food and kitchen tips so that you can become a good home cook (be careful what you call yourself or some foodies will get upset, just kidding Michael Ruhlman!) :

1. Buy high quality, fresh food. Good ingredients need very little in the way of jazzing up. For example, a piece of, just caught, fish requires a bit of salt and a few minutes in the broiler. Home made pasta requires a bit of olive oil and some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. In general, buying high quality ingredients will take the stress out of making food taste good and also reduce the amount of prep time for most foods (don't listen to the personal finance types who advocate eating whatever is on sale at the local mega-market).

2. Condition yourself to cook at home. It takes a bit of time before a home cook can become efficient in his or her kitchen. For folks who haven't spent much time cooking at home, the first couple of months may include long prep times, starting over with some dishes, and what seems like forever cleaning up, but it does get easier over time.

3. Invest in good equipment. You don't need too many gadgets, but what you do buy should be high quality. Here's my list.

4. Write down dishes that you enjoy and are good at preparing. Cooking at home doesn't mean making elaborate dishes every night; in fact, if you have a real life you'll end up making the same core dishes over and over again. In turn, documenting the dishes that work for you will take the stress out of deciding what to cook each night. This is a fine philosophy especial for the Monday - Thursday time period; experiment with exotic recipes during the weekend.

5. Become a wine expert. Wine was designed to be consumed with food; this is a fact and the more you know about wine the more you'll enjoy eating and cooking at home. There are plenty of great wine resources on the web (I like Robert Parker, but there are resources including the media crazed Gary Vaynerchuk at WineLibrary, but be careful with the latter resource as Gary both rates and sells wine. UPDATE: just got some clarification on this from Gary V. and it looks like the operation is legitimately concerned about honest reviews and selling inventory is a secondary concern). I always advise folks to get to know a few local wine merchants (there's no substitute for someone understanding what you like and making personal recommendations; plus the same person will probably give you a discount over time). Yes, the merchant wants to sell wine, but a good merchant favors the relationship over the dollar.

6. Burn your take out menus. If there's no option to order in or go out for dinner then you'll certainly begin cooking at home (you gotta eat, right?). Also, 99 percent (especially outside of the big cities) of what you get at restaurants and take out joints is pure junk.

7. Keep a pantry full of staple food items. A well stocked pantry means you'll most likely be able to whip up a fantastic meals in no time. Here's a list of good Italian pantry items and a list from Mark Bittman.

8. Keep fresh bread in the kitchen at all times. I always advise folks to purchase a baguette every other day and re-heat it for dinner or lunch once it gets stale. Don't consume bread with butter each night, but rather have a few pieces with good tuna in olive oil, homemade soup, or a lush tomato salad with plenty of olive oil and basil. Sandwiches are also great dinner items (especially with good ingredients!).

Movie Night At Home: Movie Recommendations, Dip Recipes, and Top Chips

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By Vincent Scordo on September 11, 2009 | 2 Comments | 1 TrackBack

The following is a re-post form February 2009 and I thought it was appropriate given the gloomy and cold weather here in the northen New Jersey area. The post includes two great dip recipes, my favorite potato and tortilla chip brands, and 23 movie recommendation by genere and actor.

The upcoming Oscars Award show always gets everyone in the movie-going spirit and why not it's fun to plan a night at your local theatre taking in a good movie followed by a late night meal and a glass of good Zindfandel! But wait, hold on, are you really going to spend $20+ dollars for tickets, $15+ dollars on snacks, and then $75-$100 dollars on dinner and a decent bottle of wine? The answer is an obvious no and not just in the current economy; I find many of our friends who consistently do dinner and a movie to be amongst the cash-strapped crowd. Don't get me wrong I love film, I just don't like spending my hard earned cash on overpriced tickets and snacks. What I do instead is plan movie night at home and head to my local library for DVDs. Yes, some local libraries lack a decent film collection, but our town library happens to have a nice assortment of films. I'm also an on and off subscriber to Netflix, but I never keep the service running for more than 4-6 months (I essentially exhaust the movies I really want to see and then cancel my, auto renew, subscription - Try This Tip!).

Either way you get your films, you'll need some snacks to go with your movies! Here's a list of some of my favorite chips and dips, as well as a list of some great movies by category!

Potato Chips

There's something about thinly friend potatoes with copious amounts of salt that gets me excited! Potato chips are one of my all time favorite foods and please don't let my mother find out. I can enjoy potato chips during a late night rummage through the pantry or, in this case, with a good movie. My all time favorite potato chips include:

1. Cape Cod Potato Chips (Classic and Salt & Vinegar are my favorite)

2. Kettle Chips (any flavor, they're all great!)

3. Lay's Classic Potato Chips

4. Terra Chips (Original)

Tortilla Chips

Corn chips exploded into the US marketplace in the early to mid nineties and they've become a staple (any one know why?) of informal get togethers and parties. There are many tasteless, and overly salted, products on market, such as Tostitos, Santitas White Corn chips made by FritoLay, and TraderJoe's house brand. You can of course make your own Tortilla Chips, however there are also some good brands on the market and I prefer the following products:

1. Green Mountain (great combo of salt and corn taste)

2. Garden of Eatin Blue Chips

3. Doritos (yes, I like Doritos!)

Guacamole

Next to the egg, the avocado would be one of those food items I would want with me if I were stranded on a remote island (it has good fat content, nice texture, and pretty versatile).

Mix in fresh lime juice and cilantro and mashed avocado becomes an exquisite tortilla chip accompaniment; here's my recipe:

- 2 large, very ripe, Hass avocados

- 1 large lime (keep out of the fridge for a few hours and roll on cutting board before juicing)

- 1 bunch of fresh cilantro (I know cilantro is a love/hate type of herb, but I happen to love the flavor)

- ¼ finely diced red onion

- ½ finely diced plum tomato

- Salt and pepper to taste

Mash the avocados with a fork and add your lime juice (click here if you've never sliced an avocado before). Stir the two ingredients and the cilantro, onion, and tomato. Next, add salt and pepper to taste and give the mixture a final stir.

Sour Cream Dip

Potato chips, in my view, really don't need a dip, but that's not to say that I don't enjoy dipping my perfectly salted chips into a nice white mixture of sour cream! Here's my favorite recipe for Sour Cream and Onion Dip:

- 1 pt of sour cream

- 3-4 finely diced green onions

- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or 3-4 cloves of mashed caramelized or roasted garlic

Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix very well.

Movies

A movie critic will tell you that one can, objectively, rate and talk about a given movie. In my view, however, deciding on whether a movie is good or bad can often be a very subjective experience and depdendent on how many other films one has watched, personal history, ethnicity, education, mood, etc. So, I recommend the following "movie night" movies based solely on the fact that I liked them all! Most of all, however, each one of the movies below (categorized by actor, genre, or style) made me feel as though I was totally submerged in the plot and the story the director wanted to convey.

1. Woody Allen

Match Point

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

2. Bill Murray

Lost in Translation

The Royal Tenenbaums

3. Johnny Depp

Finding Neverland

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

4. Sean Penn

Mystic River

Carlito's Way

5. Foreign

The Son's Room

Y Tu Mama Tambien

La Strada

Respiro

6. Engrossing

The Shipping News

Pollock

Mulholland Drive

7. Classics

The 400 Blows

Odd Man Out

The Bicycle Thief

Sudden Fear

Notorious

8. Western

The Magnificent Seven

High Plains Drifter

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Recipe: Fava Bean Spread with Wild Flounder and Roasted Eggplant

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By Vincent Scordo on September 9, 2009 | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

The US Open is in full swing and I've been boring my wife and small, pre-linguistic, son with endless tennis viewing on ESPN and CBS (I've also been watching online at USOpen.org where pretty much every match is streamed live for free - this is why the web is awesome and nobody makes money!). As most folks know, Nadal and Federer are the superstars of the tennis world given their mesmerizing athletic ability, keen knack for developing points, and great shot making ability (this is fancy talk for the ability to hit a tennis ball very hard and keep it within the white lines!). While Nadal and Federer are the superstars of their sport I started thinking about who or what would be the equivalent of the superstars of the food world.

At first, I gravitated towards the mighty pig; the succulent and delicious beast that manifests itself like an extra large pink tootsie roll with four legs and a strange, non functional, tale. Thereafter, I thought of wheat flour - the all purpose ingredient that has birthed delicate pasta and noodles and crunchy bread and soft naan (a staple for folks living in India). However, my mind finally settled on two delectable beans that I've enjoyed since the age of five or so: lentil and fava (I swear I have a photo of my mother cramming homemade lentil soup down my throat in the attic). Lentils are full of protein and fiber and have a wonderfully complex taste (see my lentil soup recipe). Fava beans, one of the oldest cultivated plants on the planet, are buttery, satisfying, and have even been used as alternatives to such drugs as Viagra!

If I had to pit the fava bean versus the lentil I would have to choose the fava bean. Fava beans come across as having a richer flavor and seem to sustain me longer than the lentel (this is great if you want to feel full!). So, in honor of my love affair with the fava bean, and the clash of the tennis titans mentioned above, I've included a pureed fava bean recipe in my weekday recipe post below (click here for a cold fava bean sou p):

I went to the market yesterday and had no idea what to cook for dinner. As usual, I looked for what was fresh, well priced, and didn't require a ton of time to prepare. I settled on fresh wild flounder filet, fava beans, and baby eggplant grown in New Jersey.

I prepared the flounder filets with a breadcrumb topping consisting of homemade bread crumbs (1 cup), chopped parsley, dried oregano, kosher salt, pepper, and the zest of one lemon. For the flounder filets I simply rubbed olive oil on both sides and placed them on a cookie try with aluminum foil. Thereafter, I placed the breadcrumb mixture on top of the flounder filet and drizzled some additional olive oil on the mixture. I broiled the fish for about 5 minutes (on the high setting).

For the fava bean spread, I used a mortar and pestle to crush 10-15 large beans with half the juice of a small lemon, salt, pepper, finely diced basil, and 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. I served the spread with baked whole wheat chips (these are easy to make).

I prepared the small eggplant by cutting it into small cubes and simply pan roasting with olive oil, salt, and pepper. The key to pan roasting eggplant is to season well with salt and let each side of the eggplant cubes sit in a hot pan for 4-5 minutes before turning. The salt will force the water out of the eggplant and allow for good caramelization to occur.

I served the dinner with homemade white zinfandel from 2008.

Recipe: Roasted Whole Chicken on the Barbeque

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By Vincent Scordo on September 1, 2009 | 1 Comment | 0 TrackBacks

One of the earliest food memories I have is of Nonna Vincenzina slaughtering a young chicken on Via Nazionale in Calabria. Nonna simply walked into the chicken coup, grabbed one of my feathery friends, and snapped it's fragile hea d (the bird ran around for a few minutes and thereafter dropped to the dirt floor).

The image above was, at the time, traumatic, but like the similar pig and goat incident of my youth (same scenarios as above but it included a few of my brawny uncles and grandfather) it gave me an appreciation of where food comes from and the work involved to actually get it to the dinner table. So, no, I don't have an aversion to chicken and it's actually one of my favorite foods. More specifically, I'm obsessed with whole roasted chicken (Bell and Evans tastes great if you can't raise and slaughter your own in your backyard). My latest technique has been to remove the breast bone and backbone and butterfly a whole chicken (here's a good video and descriptio n on how to do this or you can ask your butcher to do it for you.) Because the whole bird becomes flat it's quite easy to grill, which I look to do on my trusty Weber One Touch grill (oh, before I forget, don't overspend on a fancy grill as it will not make your food taste better).

Here's the recipe for grilled, whole chicken on the barbeque starting with the ingredients:

- one 3.5 - 4 pound whole chicken

- zest of one lemon

- Salt and Pepper

- ¼ cup of olive oil

I don't like propane fueled grills, so I always use a chimney starter and wood charcoal briquettes. Under no circumstances should you use lighter fluid to start your fire (the smell is nasty so just imagine what's in the fluid itself and what will go into your body).

Rub the entire chicken with olive oil and thereafter add your lemon zest, kosher salt, and freshly ground coarse pepper (make sure to coat both sides of the chicken). Rub the ingredients into the chicken well and move to a large plate.

When I set up my grill fire I like to push the coals/embers to one side of the grill so I have an area for searing and an area for roasting that's not over direct heat.

I start by putting the chicken (skin side down) over the direct fire. I leave the chicken skin side down for about 2-3 minutes (you simply want to brown and crunch up the skin). Thereafter turn the chicken and let sit for another 2-3 minutes. Once you have good color on the bird move it to the area of the grill that is not over a direct flame and put the lid on your grill. Let the chicken cook for 15 minutes and turn it thereafter. Let the other side cook for an additional 15 minutes. At this point, and depending on the size of your chicken, your close to finishing up. Ultimately, you want the darker meat on the bird to be fully cooked (specifically the thickest part of thigh should reach about 150 degrees). Once the chicken has reached this temperature let the bird sit for about 10 minutes. I usually cut the wings, legs and thighs off the bird and then cut the breast into 4 pieces. You can serve roasted, BBQ, whole chicken with oven fried French fries and a tomato salad with tons of basil. Try an American Zinfandel or a French Burgundy with the dish.

Recipe: Pan Fried Pork Cutlets with Turmeric Lemon Butter Sauce

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By Vincent Scordo on August 27, 2009 | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

I have to admit that I purchased my first bottle of Turmeric because of the bright orange color. I use Turmeric in my turkey chili recipe as well as on roasted, bone-in, chicken breast. Recently, I've been experimenting with Turmeric and pork. One of my favorite pork cuts is the center cut pork chop (sliced into cutlets). This is essentially a bone out pork chop which has been thinly sliced (you can do this yourself or buy the cutlets like this at the market, of course the latter will cost you more).

I usually prepare the same side dishes to go with my Turmeric pork cutlets, namely, sautéed whole button mushrooms and pan fried potatoes with red onion and white wine (I use the white wine to deglaze my pan after the potatoes and onion have caramelized <note: I'm not after a crispy potato with this application>).

Let's start with the ingredients:

- 2 pork chops (with or without bone).

- Juice of half a lemon

- Salt and pepper

- 1 tablespoon of Turmeric

- 2-3 sprigs of Italian parsley

- 2 large potatoes

- 1 medium sized red or white onion

- ½ cup of good white wine (something you would drink)

- 1 package of small white button mushrooms (leave whole). TIP: As Jacques Pepin says, don't splurge on expensive mushrooms, you can get good flavor from standard white mushrooms.

- 2-3 tabs of butter

- Olive oil

For the pork cutlets begin by slicing your pork chop into three thin pieces; I like to stand the pork chop on it's side and cut through the meat with a sharp knife (make sure you're not using a dull knife). If your chops have a bone simply remove it and save it for soup or roast it in the oven (it's hard to get all the meat off the bone). Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of your pork cutlets and pound them until you get the appropriate thinness. You can pound the pork until the meat is paper thin or you can simply reduce the size of the meat by roughly half (it's up to you, but make sure you use a good mallet, I like the following meat tenderizer).

After the pork has been sliced and pounded, heat up a large pan over medium to high hear (doesn't need to be non-stick) and add 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil. At the same time, flower your cutlets with a combination of white flour, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Make sure to remove any excess flour. Next, place your cutlets in the hot pan and sear on both sides for 1-2 minutes, you're looking to get good color and not to cook the meat all the way through. Remove the meat from the pan and place on a clean dish once the desired color has been achieved. In the same pan, add your butter and allow to melt down. Thereafter, add your lemon and place the meat back in the pan. Combine the ingredients and let the pork cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Add a bit more salt and pepper after tasting your sauce (if needed).

For the mushrooms, simply heat up a small pan and add 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil. At the same time, thoroughly wash your mushrooms (yes, you can submerge mushrooms in water to clean them as long as you use them right away) and dry them as best as possible. Thereafter, add the mushrooms to your hot pan along with plenty of salt and pepper. Sautee the mushrooms for 6-9 minutes. You're looking for the water in the mushrooms to be released and for caramelization to occur. Keep the mushrooms moving in the pan given that you're working with a hot pan.

For the white wine potatoes, begin by peeling two large potatoes and thinly slicing them into 1/8 slices. One you have all of your potatoes sliced submerge them in a large bowl with clean water; thoroughly wash the starch off the potatoes and repeat this process. Heat up a large non stick pan and add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add your potatoes, along with a good amount of salt and pepper, and let them sit for 4-5 minutes before turning (you want to let the potatoes cook and establish some color before turning them). Do the same after stirring the potatoes and repeat until all sides of the potatoes are brown and cooked. Once the potatoes have been cooked remove them to a clean bowl and add your thinly sliced onion along with salt and pepper to your hot pan (along with a bit more olive oil). Sauté the onions until translucent and add the potatoes back to the pan. Stir the mixture well and make sure your pan is hot (this is key for deglazing). Finally, add your white wine and scrape the pan to loosen up all the good browned bits. I realize that this is an unorthodox process for pan fried potatoes but the flavor is very pleasing when combined with the Turmeric pork; again, this technique will not yield crispy potatoes.

Enjoy the pork, potatoes, and mushrooms with a crisp lager, like Pilsner Urquell or an equivalent beer.

Recipe: Summer Couscous with Feta and Tomato

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By Vincent Scordo on August 21, 2009 | 1 Comment | 0 TrackBacks

Photo: via Veri on Flikr.

If you haven't experimented with Couscous then you're missing out on a wonderful product. Most couscous is made from semolina wheat, but Israelis make their couscous with hard wheat and it's usually larger in size. Traditional couscous takes a good amount of time to prepare, but most folks in the US use the quick cooking, and thus further processed, variety.

I love the texture of couscous and appreciate the fact that it's made from whole wheat and can be made in bulk and refridgerated for use throughout the week.

Couscous ranks in the top five side dishes of all time for me and here's a quick recipe, starting with the ingredients:

- 1 cup of couscous

- 1 large ripe tomato

- 1 cucumber (with skin and seeds removed)

- 1/2 large red onion

- Fresh Basil ,Parsley, and Mint

- 1/4 cup of olive oil

- Salt and Pepper to taste

- Juice of 1/2 a lemon

- Freshly crumbled feta cheese (about 1/2 a cup) - if you can avoid buying Feta at a supermarket then do so (go to your local Greek or Mediterranean specialty shop and taste all the varieties until you find a variety you like)

To prepare the couscous itself simply bring a cup of water to a boil and then turn off gas and add couscous. Cover the pot and let the couscous sit for 5-6 minutes. The couscous should be light and fluffy when done.

Next, finely dice the tomato, cucumbers, and onion (small cubes) and include in a large serving bowl. Add you couscous and mix well. Thereafter, finely mince your herbs and add to the bowl. Next, add olive oil and lemon juice along with feta cheese. Mix the ingredients well and add salt and pepper after tasting the mixture.

Enjoy with grilled pork chops and a glass of Temparanillo from Spain.

How to Make Knock-Out, Authentic, Pesto From Genoa

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By Vincent Scordo on August 18, 2009 | 5 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Growing up in New Jersey I was surrounded by people from all over the world (on my block alone I remember families from Italy, Egypt, Lebanon, England, Spain, etc.); needless to say, the aroma of food hovered on Oregon Ave like haze hovers over Los Angeles.

One of my favorite food smells came from my next door neighbor Amelia. Amelia worked in the New York City garment district as a dress designer, but her real passion was food (and the occasional Americano cocktail in the afternoon). Amelia was also born in Genoa, Italy - the Pesto capital of the world. You see, in Genoa (given it's geographic position), basil grows like wild flowers. And the basil in Genoa isn't the metallic, bitter herb you find in your run of the mill supermarket in the US, rather it's sweet, aromatic, and more equivalent to a succulent peach then an herb.

I was lucky enough to watch Amelia make pesto on several occasions as a teenager and to this day I still use her traditional Genovese recipe when I make pesto at home. The following is Amelia's recipe with a few caveats:

1. Try to find "young" basil; that is to say, first picked basil usually tends to be sweeter and less bitter. Growing basil is fairly easy and I would recommend purchasing seeds from Europe.

2. Amelia included a bit of parsley in her recipe and while it's not usually called for in most Pesto recipes it adds another layer of complexity to mixture, which I highly recommend.

Ingredients:

- 1, large, bunch of basil leaves (washed and dried very well - no water)

- 1 handful of Italian parsley (washed and dried) - you can leave some of the parsley stem, but make sure to cut off about half the stem.

- 1 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano (grated on a box grater) - see my guide to Italian cheese

- 3-4 tablespoons of cream cheese (yes, yes, don't laugh!)

- Handful of pine nuts

- Salt and pepper to taste

- 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil

- 2-3 cloves of garlic

You can combine the above ingredients via several tools, namely, 1. food processor, 2., mortar and pestle, or 3. chopping with a large chef's knife or mezzaluna. Amelia used a mortar and pestle, but you can use a food processor (it does take a little bit away from the flavor of the pesto given the strength of the blade/machine, but, to be blunt, it's tough to get the right consistency with a mortar and pestle set up unless you're accustomed to the tool). 101 Cookbooks swears that a mezzaluna is the best tool, but I think if you use a knife for pesto you're getting more of an alio e olio type of pasta condiment.

If you're going to use a food processor, start by adding the garlic and pulsing. Thereafter, add your basil, parsley, and pine nuts. Let the machine process the ingredients and slowly add your oil, salt, and pepper. Thereafter, add your cream cheese and pulse again. Finally, add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the remaining olive oil. You are looking for a consistency just before the mixture turns into a paste.

I like serving pesto with thin linguine (or linguine fine) and tend to add a splash of fresh olive after plating and, of course, more Parmigiano-Reggiano. A dry red wine like Aglianico from Basilicata (southern Italy) goes well with pasta pesto.

Recipe: Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce, Fried Potatoes, Swiss Chard, and Tomato Salad

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By Vincent Scordo on August 7, 2009 | 1 Comment | 0 TrackBacks

I like beef just like the average Joe, but I wouldn't say I crave beef or any other red meat for that matter. For me, I get just as much sensory pleasure with a heaping dish of home made fried potatoes with a healthy amount of salt or a perfectly ripe avocado with finely minced cilantro, red onion, and olive oil, then, say, a veal chop or grilled steak.

However, there are moments when a homemade beef dish challenges the above contention. Recently, my beef epiphany came via a grilled skirt steak with copious amounts of kosher salt and course ground black pepper, accompanied by a modified Chimichurri sauce. I served the beef with a fresh tomato salad with basil, fried potatoes, and sautéed Swiss chard with finely diced onion.

Grilled Skirt Steak Recipe:

Grilling skirt steak is a no brainer, but you should be careful as to not overcook the meat. I like to coat both sides of the skirt steak with lots of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. I use all natural wood lump charcoal and a chimney starter to light my wife (no gas grill and under no circumstances no lighter fluid - why on earth would people use this stuff!). My grill consists of a simple, but very functional, Weber One Touch circular grill (I've had it for 5 years and it should easily last another 5). My cooking technique includes:

- Searing the meat on both sides for a total of two minutes (one minute on each side) - do not move the meat once you place it on the grill. Also, make sure you find the hottest part of your grill.

- Move the meat to the second hottest spot on your grill and cook on both sides for a total of 8-10 minutes (about 4-5 minutes on each side depending on how you like your meat). I like my beef medium rare, but many folks from outside the US prefer beef a little more on the well done side (there's nothing wrong with this, but note if you do order well done beef at a restaurant you'll probably end up with the worst cut of beef in the place).

- Let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes so the juices in the meat can re-distribute (you should apply this principle to any cooked piece of meat).

It's especially important that you slice skirt steak across the grain (doing the opposite will result in chewy pieces).

Chimichurri Sauce Recipe:

I use Chimichurri Sauce on roast chicken, grilled chicken breast, grilled pork chops, and my breakfast cereal (just kidding about the cereal). Seriously, however, Chimichurri Sauce is an all purpose meat sauce and goes especially well with skirt steak. Here's my recipe:

- 1 cup chopped parsley (Italian)

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

- 1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes

- 2 tablespoons dried oregano

- 2 tablespoons red onion, minced

- 3/4 cup olive oil

- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Simply combine the ingredients well and let the mixture sit for about an hour (the mixture can be stored in the Fridge, but be sure to let the sauce sit at room temp for a bit before using).

Fried Potato Recipe:

My father claims that his mother-in-law (my mother's mother and my grandmother) makes the best fried potatoes on the planet. And I wholeheartedly agree. Nonna Vincenzina's fried potatoes start with thinly sliced russet potatoes (which are washed 2x-3x to remove excess starch; you can cut the potatoes about 3/16 of an inch). The slices are thereafter dried and pan fried in a large skillet (using about 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil and don't be afraid to add more oil if needed). Thinly sliced onions are added a few minutes after the potatoes go into the skillet along with a generous amount of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Nonna has one basic technique for frying potatoes (let the potatoes sit enough to achieve the browning effect that makes potatoes taste so good). So, only turn the potatoes a few minutes before burning (this will take some trial and error). After trying this technique you'll agree there is no need to deep fry potatoes.

Tomato Salad and Swiss Chard:

My basic tomato salad recipe can be found here and I'd like to dedicate an entire blog entry to preparing greens as side dishes in a few weeks, so I'll refrain from telling you how to make Swiss chard (for now simply enjoy the pic!)

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