Best Canned Sardines We love, high quality, canned fish and we think they are one of the culinary world’s secret weapons, especially when a home cook doesn’t have access to a wide variety of fresh fish.  In fact, in our book we’d rather consume superb salt/olive oil cured sardines, anchovies, tuna, etc. than a fresh fish like Talapia any day […]

(photo:  The lovely Taggiasca olive from Liguria in northwestern Italy)  We often talk about the importance of the Italian pantry and how critical it is to have certain staple ingredients in your kitchen at all times.  Keeping a well stocked pantry means you’ll never starve, order out, and be relegated to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner.  Among the universal items we keep […]

Over the last few years there’s been renewed interest on the topic of what makes people happy (or happiness studies).  “Renewed” is probably the wrong word since humans have been chasing fulfillment and happiness since we picked up traits such as language, consciousness, and the need to write things down and keep records.  The interest in happiness I’m talking about […]

You have to love any establishment that sells over 200,000 pounds of Italian cheese in a given week, in turn we’ve fallen deeply in love with the Pittsburgh based, Pennsylvania Macaroni Company.  The Italian food store was started in 1902 by Sicilian immigrants from Trabia and they now carry well over 5,000 Italian specialty items, including an online business that will slice […]

The following is a guest post from our friend and loyal fan, Dr. K.  Click here for all of Dr. K.’s guest posts. You don’t have to be an Italian or of Italian descent to recognize the heralded position that the tomato holds in the pantheon of Italian cuisine.  But without some careful planning, it is not possible for most […]

(photo: at the heart of making great small plates for an Italian themed dinner party is good bread) Piattini: 12 Small Plate Italian Menu Ideas Preparing multi course meals can be a fulfilling endeavor, especially when you’re cooking for family and friends who appreciate food.  However, spending hours in the kitchen to prepare L’antipasto, Il primo, Il secondo,  Il contorno, […]

Any time a fruit, such as the Adriatic fig, boasts a history dating back to 9200 BC it deserves both your attention and inclusion in your diet.  Moreover, if that same fruit is grown all over our planet, including Iran, Pakistan, the Mediterranean, India, the United States, Mexico, Chile, South Africa, etc. it demonstrates our collective, and universal, preference for […]

The simple tomato bruschetta is my go-to dinner party appetizer because it’s easy to prepare and universally accepted as looking and tasting great. Our simply recipe includes: Ingredients and Process: Finely diced ripe tomatoes (Roma, Plum, or San Marzano varieties are best) Finely diced red onion Very good extra virgin olive oil Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper Dried oregano Shredded basil. […]

(photo: close up of a few Villa Cappelli sun dried tomatoes in olive oil) One of the most important aspects of a product claiming to, in fact, be “sun dried tomatoes” is that the tomatoes are indeed dried by the sun.  We’re so adamant about proper sun dried tomatoes because we produce our own variety cured in extra virgin olive […]

If you grew up in a wonderful household full of love, warmth, and good food it was probably a direct result of your mother (sorry to all of the well rounded fathers out there).  In turn, your lovely mother deserves, at the very least, a home cooked An Italian Themed Mother’s Day Menu or meal.  Our selection includes easy to […]