Musings on Starters, Mains, Desserts and Second-Helpings…
Posted in bread, grapes, Italian, Italian-American, nuts, sugar, sweet, Tuscan, tuscany, walnuts on Sep 1st, 2011
Roll out the red carpet, blow the shiny, loud horns, wear your fanciest dress (you too, men) – guess who’s back? Yes, I am still alive. Yes, Jonny has been keeping this blog afloat for a year now. And yes, I am ready to try to blog again. After a year of figuring out how [...]
Posted in America, celeriac, duck, Italian-American, mushrooms, New York City, Potato, tradition on Jun 17th, 2011
It rarely gives me any satisfaction to work so close to Penn Station, especially in the summer when the areas less salubrious residents are at their most pungent, and, dare I say, because of the heat, most crazed. It is at this time of year that the legion of stupefied zombies, fiending smackheads and other [...]
Posted in America, Brooklyn, cafe, history, Italian, Italian-American, meatballs, octopus, offal, Park Slope, pulpo, restaurant, Restaurant Review, ricotta, tradition on Mar 18th, 2011
When you think of old-style Italian-American restaurants does red sauce spring to mind? Red check wax table cloths, family-style servings, a free salad with your entree, rotund red-faced guys with their sleeves rolled-up, going “ey!” and slapping each other on the back? Sure, it’s a cliché, but it’s also close to the truth in a [...]
Posted in America, Argentina, brandy, Buenos Aires, butter, chives, cream, England, grilled, grilling, indulgent meal, Italian-American, Meat, mushroom, mushrooms, New Jersey, porcini, restaurant, rosemary, sauce, travel, turnip, vegetables on Sep 24th, 2009
New Jersey, it’s like a cross-section of the entire United States stuffed into a very small area — fenced-in by heavy industry, ugly sub-divisions, peaceful tidal bays and relaxing shore towns — but with its own very distinct character. And, if you drive around it long enough, you’re bound to see some pretty interesting stuff. This goes [...]
Posted in America, Argentina, Atlantic City, beef, bread, breadcrumbs, Buenos Aires, fried, hearty, history, Italian, Italian-American, Italy, Meat, Napoli, obesity on Jul 24th, 2009
“In Argentina, a vegetarian is someone who orders a salad with their steak…” -Unknown Those with even a basic understanding of food history probably know that the hamburger as we know it today is an American adaptation of the “Hamburger-style steak” which originated in the now-German city of Hamburg, and was brought to this country [...]
Posted in America, chops, gravy, Italian, Italian-American, Meat, New Jersey, offal, Pasta, Philadelphia, pigs, Recipe, Recipes, sauce, sausage, slow cooking, trotter, unhealthy on Jan 19th, 2009
They (we) call it a Sunday Gravy because it really suits a Sunday best. The long simmering, the wine drinking, the letting-it-sit-on-the-stove-till-the-family-arrives kind of gravy. Thanks to the Sopranos, people all over the world have heard of Sunday Gravy. Some scratch their heads in wonder as to why some call it sauce and others call [...]
Posted in America, Atlantic City, breadcrumbs, egg, escarole, Garlic, ground meat, history, Italian, Italian-American, meatballs, Naples, Olive Oil, onions, Pasta, soup, tradition, vegetables on Oct 27th, 2008
I’ve talked about my sweet ‘ole grandmom, Anna, a few times on this blog. This was a woman who waited tables at the Golden Nugget (now Bally’s Grand) casino (R.I.P.) in Atlantic City until she retired at 76. This is the same woman who would wear winter gloves in the summer because her tiny hands [...]
Posted in aglio e olio, America, Beach, butter, crab, crispy, culture, delicacy, dining, easy, eating, fish, Garlic, grilling, holiday, Italian-American, New Jersey, Olive Oil, podcast, Recipe, saute, savory, seafood, shore, soft-shell, summer, tourism, tradition, travel on Jun 25th, 2008
Nothing says summer to this Philly girl more than ‘going down the shore’ (translation: heading to southern New Jersey to go to the beach), grilling, horseshoes, and soft shell crabs. The first time I was asked to taste a soft shell crab I had to ask my dad what the f it meant. “You mean [...]
Posted in bacon, baking, bread, Castillano, cheap meal, Chorizo, cornmeal, culture, Easter, easy, egg, Europe, flour, Food Commentary, holiday, indulgent meal, Italian, Italian-American, Italy, Lent, morcilla, Recipe, Recipes, Saveur, Spain, tradition, unhealthy on Mar 21st, 2008
It was as if it was divine intervention. We finally found morcilla (see picture of sausages below – it’s the black one) in a specialty store up the block but we weren’t prepared to make a fabada or cocido – two other Spanish dishes which call for morcilla. I picked up one of my favorite [...]
Posted in anchovies, asparagus, braised, broccoli raab, chicken stock, chops, dining, easy, eating, food TV, Garlic, healthy, hearty, Italian, Italian-American, kale, lamb, Meat, mustard, Olive Oil, Potato, quick meal, Recipe, Recipes, salt, sauce, savory, shallots, side dish, television show, vegetables on Mar 20th, 2008
If you’re anything like us then you’ll probably have a couple of dishes that you crave more often than anything else. And, again, if you’re like us, you probably always have the ingredients for such dishes in your pantry in preparation for whenever that craving strikes. These are the dishes that, like a line-cook in [...]
Posted in America, broccoli raab, commercial, festival, Food Commentary, Italian, Italian-American, Little Italy, Meat, meatballs, Naples, Napoli, New York City, peppers, safety, San Gennaro, sandwiches, sauce, sausage, savory, subs, tourism, tradition, travel on Sep 25th, 2007
Before I say anything more, I should make it clear that I had never been to the famous San Gennaro festival that is running through this weekend in Manhattan’s Little Italy before Wednesday night, and that during our visit, my cellphone was thieved, perhaps leaving an extra special bad taste in my mouth. I’ll also [...]
Posted in America, commercial, eating, festival, festivals, Food Commentary, Italian, Italian-American, Little Italy, meal, Meat, meatballs, Naples, Napoli, New York City, onions, peppers, safety, San Gennaro, sandwiches, sauce, sausage, savory, subs, tourism, tradition, travel on Sep 23rd, 2007
Being an Italian-American, I take pride in my heritage. I am also particular about how I like my sausage and pepper sandwiches made. If you are not from the north eastern part of the US, didn’t grow up around large groups of Italians or in an Italian household, you may not have every heard of [...]
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