JOSEPH BECCI

I’m constantly amazed at how a few ultra-fresh ingredients, simply prepared, can make such a flavorful Italian dish. Today, I picked lemons from our backyard lemon tree, and bought chicken from one of the poultry vendors at the famous Third-and-Fairfax …

It would be difficult to overstate how important seafood culture is to Sicily. On a brief trip there from Calabria in 2007, my family and I disembarked from the ferry across the Messina strait too late for lunch—place after place …

It’s summertime—gardens are bursting with tomatoes and zucchini and hot peppers! Over the last few years I have been setting up little garden beds wherever I can fit them in my Los Angeles home’s small yard, but last winter I …

Springtime is well underway here in Los Angeles! Flowers are fully in bloom mode; the few trees that lose their leaves are leafing out (most poor deciduous trees have difficulty knowing when to lose their leaves and then leaf out …

The farmer’s markets in Los Angeles are finally filling up with summer vegetables. Summer squash of all shapes and colors, Italian and Japanese eggplant, bell peppers of all varieties. And fresh summer vegetables are the perfect ingredient for antipasti platters. …

I’m in Italy!—in the region of Marche, along the Adriatic sea—staying in the town where my grandfather grew up (he immigrated to America in 1911, at age 22). I’m staying with my cousins—also named Becci—the branch of my grandfather’s and …

Why haven’t I made this before??? Every time I’ve been to Italy, I’ve enjoyed a crostata filled with jam as part of a classic Italian breakfast. Crostata is served right alongside delicious meats, cheeses and a cafe latte in the …

When we were growing up, my mother tried to convince my sister and me that a frittata was a good use of leftover spaghetti. At the time, we would have nothing to do with it. The idea of eggs mixed …

Every year I plant fava beans in my garden and I ask myself, “why?!” The plants take a lot of room in the garden (though they shoot up really quickly, which is fun), the yield is small, and the effort …

Autumn has finally arrived according to the calendar, but you would never know it from the 90-degree weather in Los Angeles. Nevertheless, stick-to-your-ribs fall food is starting make its way into my psyche. One of my favorite autumn foods is …