La Buona Tavola

Back in the day, one of our favorite places for a nice affordable meal close by our apartment in central Rome was Taverna Parione. Located on a small side street off tourist-mobbed piazza Navona, despite its location it was the …

Baked anelletti pasta is a recipe traditional to Palermo, but it is a dish that holds a special place in the hearts of almost all Sicilians.  If you visit Palermo and you hear someone say “timballo,” then rest assured: they …

The year was 1921, the place Ellis Island. My maternal grandmother, single, arrives into port from Napoli on the ship Patria to be with her sister Concetta, living in Brooklyn. My grandfather, who had come to America in 1911 from …

The Italians enter the Christmas spirit with a fragrant, yeasty slice of panettone — Christmas isn’t Christmas without it on our festive tables. We can never get enough of it, especially for us who are Milanese. We have a near-cultish …

As summer draws to a close, most of us have cleared out our garden beds either to let them rest for the winter months or turn them over for fall crops.  But many of us still have that one huge …

Christmas time is usually associated with special recipes that quite often are traditional to our family. Along with Christmas cake and Christmas pudding, mince pies are an essential part of my Christmas celebrations. Mince pies are part of a type of …

…Here it is, in all its “thickness,” the bistecca alla Fiorentina! “and you know what — they say in Florence — outside of Tuscany, they don’t even know how to cut it. It’s thin, without fillet… look at those boneless …

The time has come to uncork those jars and taste the “red gold.” What are we talking about? Of the ch’nzerve (a huge pantry that contains bottles of sauce) of tomatoes. Readers from Puglia will immediately recall that yummy memory: …

We’ve taken on minestrone before, with a base recipe that you can use to make just about any variation you want. But minestrone alla Genovese, Genoa-style minestrone, is different enough it really does merit its own post. There’s no soffritto …

Making your own pasta isn’t difficult, and I was reminded whilst making these ravioli just how satisfying, relaxing and therapeutic it can be. I realized I seriously don’t make pasta often enough and so I hope to make an effort …