Cold temperatures and bitter winds have parked themselves here in the Northeast over the last 4-5 days and with cold weather comes an increase in the consumption of comfort foods for yours truly.  Comfort foods mean different things to different folks; for example, I’m comforted by the following food items: fresh bread, cheese, olives, salumi, pasta, rice, and stew!  Some […]

(photo: via the Italian Farmer’s Table, rye bread) (UPDATE 1/10/09: Contest is closed.  The winner is SimplyForties!  Thanks to everyone for participating.) If you’ve read any of my articles focused on Italian living and lifestyle over the last 6 months, then you’ve probably come to the conclusion that my Italian roots (and those of my parent’s) are firmly situated in […]

Here’s a goodie from the Scordo.com archive and a recently highlighted post in the What’s New Newsletter (sign up if you haven’t done so already): Material Satisfaction and the Feast of the Seven Fishes Have a great holiday! Best wishes, Vince

While flipping through TV channels on a lazy Sunday afternoon I came across an old episode of the classic TV series, “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home”  The series was tapped in Julia’s kitchen in Cambridge and while Julia was clearly passed her prime the interplay between the two food stars is sincere and straightforward (Jacques wants to do things […]

(photo: Creminelli owner Cristiano with his artisan salami) Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of tasting and reviewing a wide variety of Creminelli salami, including Cacciatore, Sopressata, and Piccante and the salami was some of the best I’ve tasted (and I’ve consumed a ton of both US and Italian salami).  In fact, I was so excited about the Creminelli […]

(Photo: Tommaso staring down a fried sardine: this is one metaphysical moment) A simple rule for buying fish goes as follows: buy what’s fresh, as opposed to what you want.  The idea may sound counterintuitive but freshness is king when it comes to seafood.  I’m mentioning the whole buying fresh seafood concept today because I headed to my favorite fish shop thinking salmon for dinner […]

(photo: notice the natural mold on the exterior of the Creminelli product; this mold imparts lots of taste on meat and also prevents it from drying out, along with the casing) There are certain items or products that are immediately associated with a given country, for example: ice hockey and Canada, beer and Germany, haute cuisine and France, hot dogs […]

As I’ve suggested in a recent post, I’m a dyed in the wool country man, but I live a few minutes outside of the largest city in the US!  You must be thinking: how paradoxical that this guy loves nature yet lives so close to a major urban area?  Well the truth of the matter is I value the rural […]

Guide to Cured Italian Meats: Salami, Salame, or Salumi salame salumi salami cacciatore prosciutto prosciutto cotto, finocchiona, capocollo, soppressata, culatello, mortadella One of the highlights of my summer trips to Calabria as a small child included spending time on my grandfather’s working farm.  Nonno Vincenzo’s farm was a 10 minute drive north of the small village of Pellegrina on Via Nazionale. […]

Essential Kitchen Tools (Part II) Back in October of last year I wrote about essential kitchen tools and kitchen simplicity.  The article attracted a few comments from readers stating that my list was too extreme and left out some key tools and items.  So, I’ve decided to take another look around my kitchen and update my essential kitchen tool list […]