La Buona Tavola

Grilled sardines with a hot pepper dressing make for a great appetizer or a light dinner. Every time I make this recipe, I reminisce about a trip to Italy when I was 10 years old. Back then there was no …

True confession: up until about 6 years ago I gleefully lived my life believing a truffle was a delectable orb of chocolaty goodness surrounding a mystery filling of something gooey and delicious. This type of truffle does exist, but to …

As spring turns to summer and the days grow longer, life starts to move outdoors to take advantage of the glorious summer season.  We here in America love grilling outdoors and for many of us that love for grilling originated …

You know that old Star Trek episode where Captain Kirk is buried up his neck in Tribbles? That’s what I feel like right now, because my tomato plants are producing baskets and baskets of Roma and San Marzano tomato every …

By this point in summer, most of us are starting to tire of the armloads of zucchini being hauled in from the garden. This abundant summer veggie has caused me to audibly sigh at times as I realize just HOW …

During my boyhood in New Jersey, summer meant trips to the Jersey shore, and the Jersey shore meant clams! From then till now, to me summer means clams and clams mean summer. While clams alone in a simple broth would …

It’s that time of year. From the moment you bring the first zucchini into the house, up until October, it’s non-stop freezing, blanching, drying, pureeing, canning, and cooking. But, it’s not as bad as it sounds. In fact, it’s completely …

Here in California the seasons are subtle; in most of Italy—though it shares with California a “Mediterranean” climate—the seasons are a bit more pronounced, and their transitions clearer. There is also among Italians an unshakable sense that food be made …

Growing up in my Italian household, there was pasta on the table at least 6 days a week! You would think that one would get sick and tired of pasta, but there are so many different ways Italians prepare pasta …

I tend to get emotional in spring, especially at the farmer’s market. The colors at the market turn from the winter beiges to the vibrant glorious hues of spring. Fresh picked asparagus. Piles of glorious leeks. Fresh peas in a …