La Buona Tavola

Escarole has always been a mystery to me. Not that we didn’t eat it when I was growing up, but as far as I could tell, no one else ever did in the bland suburbs I grew up in north …

First generation American born of italian immigrants, Rossella Rago grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn with a deep link to her Italian roots in Mola di Bari (Apulia), the village where her parents were born. As for the majority of Italians, …

While in Umbria on vacation a few years ago, we went in search of fabled Castelluccio lentils. We had seen these lentils for sale when we were visiting the town of Norcia—so devastated by Italy’s earthquakes earlier this year—but despite …

Cannolo siciliano: is there any other Italian dessert this popular in the world? Tiramisù may be one of its more glorious competitors, but cannolo making is an art that you can’t reproduced at home with the same simplicity. We can …

With the holidays behind us, many of us have gone a bit overboard with the continual stream of cakes, cookies, libations and heavy meals.  If you are like me, your carb-laden body is screaming for healthier food choices; vitamin-packed options …

Combining simple, local ingredients with tradition, a dash of history and never-ending love Mantuan cuisine is known as the food of princes and people. Many dishes date back to the days of the House of Gonzaga, a princely family that …

Everyone has favorite childhood memories, and one of mine is of the lovingly prepared food whose aromas filled the air of my old neighborhood in the Cape Cod village of Sagamore. It was genuine Italian food, rich, honest and simple. …

Listening to Elisabetta Ciardullo’s first experience in the US, I couldn’t help thinking about the fictional nanny Mary Poppins. Just as the British babysitter, to solve the situation, pulls magical gadgets from her purse, the Italian event planner and personal …

You hear the word ‘ciambelle’ a lot in Italian baking. There are so many different types of ciambelle, ciambellette and ciambellini! Sweet, savoury, baked, fried, soft, hard, cookie, cake, or bread – you name it! Ciambelle di pane (bread ciambelle) …

Portland has no shortage of good international restaurants – whatever you are hungry for you will likely find it somewhere. Northeast Alberta Street has one of the densest collections of international cuisines anywhere in the city. Traveling west on Alberta …