Food

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 …

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 …

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 …

It’s not Easter quite yet, but it doesn’t mean we can’t have a chat about pastiera — the most traditional Neapolitan Easter dessert — and learn how to make it! This wheat berry and ricotta pie is wonderfully perfumed with …

Few scents evoke an emotional response like that of bread as it rises to perfection in a hot oven. Taste buds awaken, eyes widen, stomachs rumble, voices cry out – “When will it be ready?”  Each civilization since anyone’s kept …

Have you ever tried squid ink?  I reckon that many of our readers, Italian food lovers as they are, haven’t yet.  Squid ink has a unique “earthy” flavor, a silky mouth feel and an alluring jet black color that couples …

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 …

Ask the average non-Italian to give you a rundown on Italian cuisine and chances are it will sound like this: “Spaghetti…with meatballs, Fettuccini Alfredo, lasagna for sure…and pepperoni pizza…!”  We’ll spare the culinary critique of how…shall we say… deficient” this …