(photo: spaghetti chitarra with tomato sauce, ricotta, and peas; see below for recipe) The now immortalized copywriter turned French cook Julia Child remarked once that, “anyone can make a bowl of pasta but it takes a skilled chef to put out a fine French meal.”  You can imagine my reaction to the quote and my thinking on Child’s comment; namely, […]

(photo: the final dish including clams, parsley, garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flake) The following linguine with clam sauce recipe is basically pasta alio e olio (garlic and olive oil) with the addition of minced clams (I like the brand “Snows”).  Note: you can use fresh clams but I recommend steaming the clams and shucking them, as opposed to […]

(photo: the beautiful, 1 liter, tin housing Frankies Sicilian olive oil and a salad of tomatoes, red onion, and basil)  Amongst southern Italians there’s a deep rivalry between Calabrians and Sicilians.  If you travel to Calabria’s old capital Reggio Calabria, you’ll see many Sicilian influences from the regional dialect to arancini and the breakfast delicacy brioce (a type of sweet bread that is served with […]

(photo: The Canonica Verde Umbrian Spice Blend including rosemary, sea salt, garlic, and red pepper flakes) Click here for my other olive oil reviews! As you’ve probably noticed, Olive Oil and Pasta are at the heart of Italian cuisine (both above and below the mezzogiorno, the geopolitical dividing line of Italy).  Specifically, my love for both products started in Nonna Scordo’s […]

(photo: Latella family olive orchard outside of Pellegrina, Italy) (3/22: Update – Contest is closed and the winner is Joe. D., congratulations!  And thanks to everyone for leaving a comment)  Click here for my other olive oil reviews! Images have always played a large role in my life.  I still have vivid images in my mind of childhood events like playing […]

As I’ve said in the past, eating out/ordering in is a colossal waste of money and beyond the occasional breakdown or special night out I tend not to reach for the Chinese take out menu or make reservations at our local restaurant very often.  My other rationale for not eating out is that I simply will not get the same […]

One of the reasons I love the summer season is the availability of locally grown tomatoes and hence the amount of times I can utilize our tomato salad recipe for lunch or dinner..  Tomatoes are incredibly versatile and, like extra virgin olive oil, are a staple of eating well.  My favorite Summer-time use for tomatoes is the simple and elegant tomato […]

There are certain things that, in my humble view, can’t really be improved (given the current state of the art) here are three examples in three categories (Automobile, Music, and Food) The 2008 Honda Accord I can’t remember which Auto publication used the following phrase but the newly redesigned Accord was described as the, “perfect people mover.”  The Accord has a wonderful […]

It doesn’t feel as though Spring has officially arrived here on the East Coast, but you can welcome Spring by preparing the perfect Spring lunch (well at least in the opinion of this humble cook): The Wine: Start with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, preferablly from Australia and, moreover, from the Marlborough region.  Chill the bottle nicely and don’t pay […]