(photo: various Scordo family members during the late summer wheat harvest in Pellegrina, Calabria)  You can say, unequivocally, that Americans love their beef. Compared to their Mediterranean counterparts, American’s are ranked third in the world (only behind Argentina and Uruguay) when it comes to choosing beef for their dinner table (Italy is ranked 9th, per 1999 statistics).  An educated guess as to why beef […]

  Back in April, I posted about one of my favorite egg sandwiches made with a simple fried egg, fresh humus, and slices of ripe tomato on a whole wheat Ciabatta.  Sandwiches prepared with a perfectly fried egg (with a warm runny yoke) are ideal because the egg provides both the protein (white) and the dressing (yoke).  For me, the combination […]

(photo: final product with a bit of extra provola and olive oil) When it comes to living life, I’m a sucker for both luxurious and practical things.  I’m equally comfortable driving a Honda or a Mercedes-Benz or living amongst nose-in-the-air snobs or dyed in the wool blue collar types.  I lean towards the practical and modest side of living, but who […]

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 Potato Croquettes (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, […]

(photo: couch’s whiting or blue whiting with red onion, peppers, and tomatoes) (UPDATE 1/31/09: Contest is closed.  The winner is Evan Lucas!  Thanks to everyone for participating.) In Elena Kostioukovitch’s preface from the book, “Why Italians Love to Talk About Food” Elena asks, “And why is that you identify particular historic moments with references to food?”  The “you” Elena is […]

(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 […]

Guide to Cured Italian Meats: Salami, Salame, or Salumi salame salumi salami cacciatore prosciutto prosciutto cotto, finocchiona, capocollo, soppressata, culatello, mortadella 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. […]

Butterflied Whole Chicken on the Grill 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 head (the bird ran around for a few minutes and thereafter dropped to the dirt floor). […]

How is it that we are so eager to watch other people browning beef cubes on screen but so much less eager to brown them ourselves? For the rise of Julia Child as a figure of cultural consequence — along with Alice Waters and Mario Batali and Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse and whoever is crowned the next Food Network […]

I received a recent email from Dee asking how to prepare real meals (i.e., not your standard sandwiches, tuna, and fast food items) in a practical way and I’ve been giving the question some thought.  Cooking is not rocket science, but it does require that you 1., care about the quality of the food you purchase and 2., set aside […]