Julia Della Croce

I’ve been on an eggplant kick lately. It’s summertime and eggplant are everywhere in the farmer’s markets and grocery stores. People seem to be terrified of eggplant, probably because they don’t know how to cook it. The beautiful thing about …

Why on earth do we in America think sage is for sausages or Thanksgiving stuffing and, basta!? Ask me and I will tell you that sage is for summer — to make a protective and aromatic bed for fish on …

Having just returned from a tour of Puglia, my thoughts linger on that region’s table in this week’s “Buona Tavola.” I will soon be on the road again traveling from Abruzzo to Lazio, Tuscany, Umbria, and back to Puglia. Beginning …

When the editor of this newspaper invited me to contribute articles about food, I was pleased to accept. Here, I can feel liberated to write about my passions and prejudices knowing that I am among kin. My audience will, I …

Spezzatino, meaning “little bits of meat,” is Italian for stew, an infinitely more delicate description than our English counterpart. For the most part, an Italian braise is never pedestrian, but an intoxicating, gently simmered concoction of meat, wine, and aromatics. …

Even if the ancient fishing culture of the Venetian lagoon, like most of Italy’s maritime regions, has been forced to give way to importing some of its supply from elsewhere, Venice and seafood are inseparable. How could it be otherwise …

If you’ve ever seen The Leopard, the film based on the famous novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and set in Sicily during the time of the Risorgimento, you’ll recall the famous banquet described in the book: “When three lackeys …