Posted in America, Argentina, Autumn, baking, barbecue, bread, Buenos Aires, cheap meal, chick peas, chickpeas, culture, Fall, Genoa, Genovese, Italian, Italian-American, Italy, Liguria, New York City, Pizza, Provencal, Provence, rosemary, sage, South America, tradition, travel, Uruguay on Sep 17th, 2014
“There are more pizzerias in Buenos Aires than in Naples and Rome combined.” – Ernesto Sabato, Heroés y Tumbas In his book “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” travel-writer Bill Bryson, in an attempt to defeat insomnia, describes making a lonely evening among the anodyne IKEA fittings of a Stockholm hotel even more excruciating by tallying […]
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Posted in alcaparrado, capers, chicharron, fried, guanciale, Italian, Italy, Meat, Naples, noodles, Pasta, pork, tomato, unhealthy on Jul 29th, 2011
Posted in almond, anchovies, anise, bucatini, culture, fennel, Garlic, history, Italian, Italy, Olive Oil, Pasta, saffron, Sicilian, tradition, wine on Apr 5th, 2011
Greeks, Romans, Moors, Normans, Spaniards, Garibaldi and his thousand, and finally hordes of tourists have visited Sicily over the milennia. Some stayed for centuries, some only for generations, but even those whose sojourn was comparatively brief played a role in the island’s blending of cultures and traditions. If this human concoction can be distilled into […]
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Posted in chicken, Coco Lezzone, egg, Florence, Genoa, ham, herbs, holiday, Italian, Italy, Liguria, Meat, Olive Oil, pancetta, prosciutto, rabbit, travel, Tuscan, tuscany on Oct 3rd, 2010
In the very infancy of this blog, back when we had no appreciation for plating, lighting or anything else remotely aesthetic, my wife wrote about the first course of a truly memorable dinner we shared in the famous Florentine trattoria, Coco Lezzone. What she didn’t mention was that even though we were getting towards the end […]
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I daresay there is a traditional dish from somewhere on the Italian peninsula that resembles this dish in some way, but in a radical, free-form departure from our blogging norms, we didn’t follow any kind of recipe here nor do the slightest bit of research in preparation. By way of an excuse, we didn’t really […]
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Posted in Arezzo, bolognese, carrots, celery, chicken stock, duck, Florence, flour, game, Garlic, guanciale, hearty, herbs, indulgent meal, Italian, Italy, Meat, Montalcino, Montepulciano, mushroom, mushrooms, noodles, Olive Oil, Pasta, philosophy, porcini, Recipes, sauce, tomato, tradition, travel, Tuscan, tuscany, wine on Jan 23rd, 2010
It might be generational, or, perhaps, philosophical, but there are, on the one hand, those who enjoy and appreciate handmade things, and the art and craft they require to make, and, on the other, those who prefer their things machine-made, reliable, and standard. The ‘things’ here could be quite literally anything. My father, who, to […]
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Posted in Alba, butter, cream, easy, French, indulgent meal, Italian, Italy, nuts, Pasta, Recipe, vegetarian, walnuts on Dec 1st, 2009
As with a few other fellow bloggers, we were lucky to receive one of my favorite “blog freebies” to try recently – truffle products by La Boutique de la Truffe. Cha-ching! As some know, for most of us, blogging will barely help us buy a cup of coffee at a year’s end – that is […]
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Posted in balsamico, Bologna, cream, Emilia Romagna, ground meat, Italian, Italy, Meat, Modena, Pasta, pork, ravioli, sandwiches, sausage, travel on Sep 16th, 2009
At Via Clavature 18, hidden in the back streets of Bologna, is the comparatively charmless little Ristorante da Gianni. It’s dimly lit, almost to the point of stumbling darkness — especially if you enter, as we did, from the sharp rays of a late midsummers’ afternoon nursing a fierce hangover brought on by a handful of Negronis the night […]
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Posted in cornichons, game, gherkins, grilled, grilling, Italian, Italy, pine nuts, Sicilian, sour, sweet, vinegar on Jul 30th, 2009
One of the most familiar (and enjoyable) flavor combinations to many cultures – sour and sweet or, as the Italians call it, agrodolce. There is something about tartness and sweetness that just makes you want more. Think Sour Patch Kids, Pisco or Whiskey Sours or your favorite Chinese take-out order. Yes, sweet and sour is […]
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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 […]
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Posted in butter, cream, Garlic, herbs, Italian, Italy, liver, Meat, offal, Recipe, sage, shallots, tourism, travel, veal on Jul 14th, 2009
“Two households, both alike in dignity In fair Verona, where we lay our scene” – William Shakespeare, Prologue to Romeo and Juliet On our honeymoon, almost exactly two years ago today, we arrived in the fair city of Verona thoroughly pissed off. And then things got worse. It wasn’t as if the day had started […]
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Posted in anchovies, Argentina, Buenos Aires, chick peas, crispy, Easter, eating, Food Commentary, Genoa, Genovese, history, Italian, Italy, language, Liguria, onions, Piemonte, Pizza, restaurant, Restaurant Review, South America, tourism, tradition, travel on Apr 24th, 2009
It’s fairly safe to say that no group, with the exception of the enigmatic gaucho, played as significant a role in defining Argentine national character as the Italians. Primarily (and principally, numerically-speaking) from Liguria (particularly Genoa), Piemonte and Tuscany, but latterly also from Naples and other areas of southern Italy, these Italian immigrants, literally by […]
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Posted in fennel, Italian, Italy, Pasta, peas, product review, Recipe, Recipes, sauce, sausage, tomato, wine on Feb 28th, 2009
Awesome dried pappardelle and delicious ragu
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Posted in Alba, celery, culture, Garlic, Italian, Italy, lemon, octopus, Olive Oil, Puglia, Pugliese, salad, seafood, tourism, travel, winter on Feb 25th, 2009
Looking for a ray of sunshine in your diet?
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Posted in Bologna, bolognese, Bon Appetit, bread, easy, egg, Florence, food magazines, ground meat, hearty, Italian, Italy, magazine, Meat, New York City, Recipe, Recipes, sauce on Jan 7th, 2009
It’s a truism of my life that some of the more sickening feelings of depression are experienced immediately after the most smugly satisfying. But, I think this maxim applies almost universally when that wonderful sensation of happiness in having discovered the perfectly authentic tapas bar turns to acrid bitterness and choking rancor as a bloated family in sweatsuits and fanny-packs strolls […]
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Posted in Brooklyn, chops, Coco Lezzone, easy, Europe, Florence, Garlic, herbs, Italian, Italy, Olive Oil, pork, Recipe, Recipes, rosemary, sage, thyme, travel, Tuscan, tuscany on Dec 11th, 2008
I feel kinda cheesy. I admit it, I feel cool about using a butcher. I understand this is lame and that butchers have been around for ages, but, truthfully, in the recent year, we’ve really gotten to know our neighborhood butchers. Growing up in the ‘burbs, meat was only bought pre-cut and pre-packaged. Yes, every […]
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Posted in anchovies, appetizer, butter, condiments, easy, Fall, fondue, Garlic, grilled, Italian, Italy, Liguria, Olive Oil, Piemonte, Potato, Recipe, tradition, travel, vegetables, winter on Nov 29th, 2008
And, while you’re at it, good fellow, I’ll have a warm bath with virtually anything you’ve got on the menu: pasta, potatoes, fish, chicken, soup, bread… Stop me if you’ve heard this one before… A man goes to the doctor complaining of neck ache. The doctor gives him some painkillers telling him to take two […]
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Posted in acorns, balsamico, delicacy, Emilia Romagna, indulgent meal, Italian, Italy, lard, lardo, Modena, pigs, Pizza, Recipe, rosemary, salami, tourism, travel, Tuscan, unhealthy, vinegar on Nov 7th, 2008
Have you ever eaten something so fabulous, so lucious, so decadent that you almost felt the need to run to confession (to confess your indulgent food “sins”), say three Hail Mary’s (that’s for you Catholics out there) and pray really hard that you can zip your jeans up again? Ok, a bit exaggerated, but looking […]
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Posted in butter, cheese, cream, crispy, egg, gnocchi, history, Italian, Italy, parmigiano reggiano, polenta, Recipe, Roman, Rome, semolina, vegetarian on Sep 4th, 2008
As I wrote in the title of this post, the Romans do it again… and again… and again. Roman cuisine is one of our favorites and Rome is one of our favorite cities to visit and eat in. This dish, gnocchi alla romana, is a dish that reminds me how versatile, creative and (I’ve said […]
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Posted in appetizer, batter, broiled, chick peas, chickpeas, Europe, flour, Genoa, Genovese, Italian, Italy, lower fat, pine nuts, Recipe, Recipes, rosemary, sage, salad, salt, savory, street food, travel, vegetables, vegetarian, vinaigrette on Jul 30th, 2008
The Italian region of Liguria is famous for its dramatic landscape of mountains plunging into crystal clear waters, and narrow terraced fields leading down to tiny, colorful villages precipitously perched on the edges of cliffs of which the Cinque Terre (five lands) of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore in La Spezia province […]
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Posted in bunny, culture, dining, Europe, game, hearty, Italian, Italy, Pasta, rabbit, Recipe, Recipes, restaurant, slow cooking, spices, stew, tourism, travel, Tuscan, tuscany, wine on Jul 8th, 2008
Remember way back yonder, when the weather was still cool, we were on the search for some rabbit to make? We ended up calling around to butchers around Brooklyn and found a place that had them and asked them to save two for us. When we arrived, the butcher handed us our babies and, with […]
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Posted in easy, egg, Italian, Italy, Olive Oil, pancetta, Pasta, quick meal, Recipe, Recipes, vegetables on Jun 20th, 2008
Ok, so this is just a quick entry for a nice, summer Friday (where I’d rather be outside than blogging!) for a quick, nice summer meal. It was one of those ‘fridge meals’ where we had to use up some veggies and is not super different from some of the other ‘fridge meals’ (often pasta) […]
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Posted in baking, butter, cream, easy, egg, hearty, Italian, Italy, pepper, Recipe, salt, side dish, spinach, Steak, Tuscan, tuscany, vegetables, vegetarian on Jun 15th, 2008
On almost every diner breakfast menu in the United States you’ll find eggs florentine – a breakfast dish of poached eggs over wilted spinach sitting on half a toasted English muffin (we’ll get into the Englishness of English muffins at another time) and dressed with a hollandaise or bechamel sauce. What makes them Florentine or […]
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Posted in beets, Brooklyn, butter, cheap meal, healthy, Italian, Italy, Potato, Recipe, Recipes, restaurant, vegetarian on Jun 6th, 2008
The first time I ate a version of this very old Venetian meal was at a very popular restaurant in my neighborhood in Brooklyn called Al Di La. The restaurant serves simple Italian food at it’s best and this is precisely why it is so popular. But since that dinner, a few years ago, I […]
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Posted in alcohol, alcoholic drink, beverage, biscotti, delicacy, dessert, drink, Food Commentary, grapes, Italian, Italy, madeira, malvasia, sweet, tourism, tradition, travel, trebbiano, Tuscan, tuscany, Vin Santo, wine on May 29th, 2008
Regular readers must find us horrible bores as we bang on about our wedding and honeymoon in Italy last year almost constantly. On our penultimate day of our three week trip, we raided an enormous supermarket in the suburbs of Montevarchi for the Tuscan products we cannot find or cannot afford here in NYC, and […]
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Posted in butter, Cacio e Pepe, cheap meal, cheese, culture, easy, Europe, Food Commentary, Italian, Italy, language, meal, noodles, Olive Oil, Pasta, pepper, quick meal, Rachel Ray, Recipe, Recipes, restaurant, Roman, Rome, savory, spicy, tourism, tradition, travel, vegetarian on Apr 29th, 2008
I think the title of this post says it all about my feelings (and others) about this famous Roman dish of pasta, traditionally spaghetti, with pecorino cheese and a good amount of freshly ground pepper. The name says is all – cacio, meaning cheese, and pepe meaning pepper. We’re not breaking any new ground here […]
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Posted in beef, cheap meal, culture, eating, ground meat, hearty, holiday, Italian, Italy, language, Meat, milk, Naples, Napoli, pancetta, Pasta, pork, Recipe, Recipes, sauce, Saveur, slow cooking, tomato, tourism, tradition, travel, wine on Apr 22nd, 2008
Click here for more of our photos of Bologna Warning! You are about to read a lot about a dish that many would think could be discussed in one paragraph – Bolognese Ragu. After two trips to Bologna, I really began to understand how seriously the people there take their food. Because we are always […]
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Posted in anchovies, basil, Brooklyn, capers, cheap meal, cheese, cornmeal, culture, delicacy, easy, Europe, Food Commentary, Garlic, important details, Italian, Italy, mushrooms, Olive Oil, onions, Park Slope, pie, Pizza, rant, Recipe, Recipes, restaurant, Roman, sauce, technique, tourism, tradition, travel, truffles, vegetarian, vinaigrette on Apr 14th, 2008
We love pizza. We LOVE pizza. If we could eat one thing for the rest of our lives it would be pizza. During our seven weeks spent in Italy over the past two years, we collectively ate over sixty pizzas. This is not a lie, an exaggeration or a pipe dream. We were not force-fed, […]
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Posted in Alba, Barbaresco, Barolo, butter, compound, delicacy, easy, Food Commentary, indulgent meal, Italian, Italy, Meat, Piemonte, Steak, tourism, travel, truffles on Apr 8th, 2008
I don’t think I’m the most creative person in the world, but I do have lots of ideas. Most of them are very mediocre and often focused narrowly on how I can explain being late for work again, or why I didn’t call my sister, but very occasionally I’ll have a good idea. Marrying my […]
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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 […]
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