La Buona Tavola

This aromatic and smokey cold cut, whose name betrays its Alto Adige origins (speck means “lard” in German), is largely unknown outside of Italy, in spite of being truly delicious. Speck’s tradition is ancient: it already appears in butcheries’ account …

Ah, prosciutto – that lovely, pink hued, paper-thin sliced meat that has delighted Italy’s residents for at least 3,000 years. Perhaps not as romanticized as wine or olive oil (anyone for a cozy picnic in a pig pen or butcher …

Try to imagine a time without freezers, fridges, or canned food and we can begin to understand how cooking methods became not only popular but necessary. The ancient Romans learned that baking their bread twice made it durable and allowed …

The holidays are here! If the thought of going to a crowded mall or buying yet another gift card leaves you stressed or depressed, consider making a homemade gift from your very own kitchen. These thoughtful, creative gifts are the …

Cauliflower is having a moment, a big moment. Soon after the low-carb diet lovers discovered you could use spiralized zucchini as a stand-in for pasta, they figured out that this winter veggie is a terrific stand-in for rice.  With the …

First of all, always go for dark bottles that protect their content from light and avoid its oxidation.  Labels should give us basic information: the olives’ geographical origin, their type, where they have been pressed and where the oil has …

Nduja, pronounced “an-du-ra” or “an-du-ya” depending where you are in Italy, originates from a Calabrian village called Spilinga, the original home village of one of my Nonnas.  Spilinga is located in the Calabrian province of Vibo Valentia. It is a …

Did you know the United Nations considers pizza Napoletana a cultural heritage? In December 2017, the Art of the Neapolitan Pizzaiuolo, lovingly transmitted from generation to generation, has been selected by the United Nations, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and …

I don’t think there is another food in the world that has reached the popularity or stretched the imagination as much as pizza. Let’s not get into where the best pizza is made or who made it first because we …

On the 7th of December, pizza Napoletana made it into the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List. A huge success for Italy, but also a huge success for the two million  people who supported its candidature throughout the world, many of them …