To say that the sea is important to the Province of Calabria would be a considerable understatement.  In fact, the sea is probably the single most important geographical attribute in all of southern Italy where, in some places, it’s a little over 30 miles from one side of the peninsula to the other; e.g., from the Tyhrrenian to the Ionian in Calabria. […]

Stuffed Squid (Seppie o Calamari Ripieni) are prepared and served all over southern Italy.  Travel to Sicilia and you’ll find squid stuffed with raisins, black olives, and pine nuts.  Cross the Straight of Messina (Stretto di Messina) into mainland Calabria and most of the stuffings will include crumbled dried red chilies. Our version of Stuffed Squid (Seppie o Calamari Ripieni) is prepared in the traditional […]

Monacini cookies are a staple of Italian Pasticceria.  The light and delicious Monacini are dolcetti composed of two soft round cookies filled with apricot jam and dunked on one side in dark chocolate.  We especially the cookies in the morning with a good cup of coffee or as an afternoon snack. We also think that they would make an excellent cookie to include […]

The micro-regionality of Italian life is mind blowing.  Take for example, regional dialects which until recently varied drastically every few kilometers and often divided villages.  In the southewestern region of Calabria near Bagnara Calabra a handful of regional dialects are still spoken and while the 4-5 villages comprising the Comune di Bagnara Calabra (RC) are separated by only 3-5 kilometers you’d be hard pressed to […]

It seems that fried foods have a special place in most of the worlds culinary traditions and Italy is no exception. Travel to any southern or northern province in Italy and you’re bound to find an abundance of frittura or fried delicacies from expertly fried fish (such as the ubiquitous Fried Calamari or Frittura di Calamari) to arancini, mozzarella in […]

Italian Holiday and Winter Food Treats: Cherry Panettone, Cerignola Bomba Pugliese (Spicey Spread), Fig Syrup, and Frantoi Cutrera Extra Virgin Olive Oils The Christmas season is a wonderful time to celebrate food in Italy.  In fact, almost every region of Italy produces holiday specific delicacies from special stuffed pastas to incredible desserts such as Panettone, Paneforte, and Torrone. One of our favorite holiday […]

Early on in life I was exposed to the critical Italian food philosophy of “bread is king”  That is to say, a dinner or lunch didn’t pass by where bread wasn’t present on the table (specifically, Filone – Every Day Italian Bread).   In fact, dinner couldn’t begin until bread was brought to the table; as my father and grandfather suggested […]

Chicken Marsala (Polla alla Marsala) is a popular Italian-American restaurant dish and it takes its name from Marsala wine, a fortified dry/sweet wine used for the sauce which is produced in western Sicily.  Chicken Marsala is easy to prepare and universally loved by Italian food fans.  Mastering this dish will provide an easy and consistently good meal for your Italian food loving family […]

My sweet grandmother (or Nonna Rosa) taught me some invaluable lessons about cooking at home and at the top of her list of practical cooking advice is the seminal claim: learn to love your toaster oven.  Yes, the often misunderstood kitchen appliance confined to summer cabins and the senior citizen set was the kitchen tool of choice for Nonna.  Why […]

When it comes to grilled cheese the basics are essential.  One needs good bread, good cheese, a good cooking fat, and the right type of cooking heat.  If you’ve ever had a bad grilled cheese sandwich, Italian style or not, then the panino was probably lacking in one or more of the items above! Our grilled cheese, Italian style, features good […]