La Buona Tavola

“I was still young when my life changed…. drastically. Shortly after midnight one Saturday… the smell of smoke awakened me. I ran to my mother’s bed…. The next thing I saw was a wall of fire shooting up the staircase. …

It is not easy to imagine that streets paved by the Romans that we still walk today could tremble savagely beneath our feet like they did in Amatrice on August 24, a town famous around the world for a dish …

The Romagnoli people have been eating piada or piadina flat bread for centuries. Indeed, it’s thought that the recipe might even date back to the Etruscans, ancient precursors to the Romans. Increasingly others are catching on to the piadina’s signature …

As summer takes its final bow, I find that I am left with armloads of parsley and basil still overtaking the garden beds.  Not wanting these beautiful herbs to go out with the cold, it is time to head into …

While we were in Marche, Italy this spring, we had stuffed calamari prepared by my cousin’s wife, Maria, several times. These beautiful squid from the Adriatic were stuffed with a simple mixture of their own tentacles (chopped), breadcrumbs, parsley, salt-and-pepper …

Although I am always sad to see summer turn to fall, there is something about the crispness in the air that I can’t help but love. As the fires in our outdoor grills transition to the cozy fires warming our …

It’s been often said that it takes a village to raise a child. One could assert the same about an education in wine and food … getting one takes a village of supportive folks. In his new book The Wines …

Every now and then someone sends me a message that’s a real charmer. Here’s one I received about a recipe that appears in my first cookbook, Pasta Classica: The Art of Italian Pasta Cooking. Because the writer and so many other …

I was in the Pacific Northwest recently visiting family and as usual, I was amazed at the abundance of fresh local seafood available in the local markets. Beautiful locally raised black mussels for $5.99/lb is not something you’d ever see …

It’s no surprise that vegetables are the bedrock of the Italian diet. For one thing, the climate is temperate and the growing seasons are blessedly long. For another, there is a relationship between the Italians and their vegetables that can …