How to Make the Perfect Bellini For us, nothing beats the elegance and sensation of starting a meal with a glass of lovely prosecco from the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy.  Prosecco is a sparkling wine and made from the “prosecco” grape; production is made possible via the Charmat method, where the secondary fermentation takes place in stainless […]

We’re going to cover the Top Italian Delis, Markets, and Specialty Shops in New Jersey with an emphasis in North Jersey, for a list of the best shops in New York City, see Gourmet’s excellent article. When folks find out we publish articles on authentic Italian recipes and food and live in the New York metropolitan area the inevitable question follows: can […]

How I Learned to Cook Italian Food and Creative Cooking Like most Italians I learned to cook by watching my mother and grandmother prepare food in their home kitchens. And both woman cooked dishes that were driven by what their mothers cooked at home (and, if I had to guess, this tradition of learning how to cook at home goes […]

The Italian mafia is over 3,000 years old and much of the available literature on the logic behind why the Italian mafia formed is centered on numerous periods of invasion and exploitation by conquering states and armies in Italy.   Thereafter, Italians became “clannish” and started to rely on “familial ties for safety, protection, justice, and survival”, according the FBI. Four Large Mafia […]

Grilled Swordfish Recipe Head to Bagnara Calabra, located on a tiny sliver of the Tyrrhenian coast, during the month of July and you’ll encounter the swordfish sagra (or festival of the swordfish) to honor local fisherman.  The sagra, like all food festivals in Italy, honor not only the food product but the people and traditions surrounding the region (in the case of festival […]

The History of the Negroni Have you ever dreamed of being an Italian Count? You know, a fancy aristocrat with an ocean-side villa, a butler, and a few exotic Maserati’s and Ferrari’s in the “stable?” I have to admit I’ve had a few of these Italophile inspired dreams, but I’m quite happy living the Italian life in the US. There […]

Buona Pasqua – The Tradition Of Easter In Italy Easter is a special time in Italy and it’s the second most important religious holiday behind Christmas for most Italians.  According to the Nicean Council (A.D. 325) Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (if the first full moon also rose on a Sunday, […]

(photo: our favorite Birra Moretti – the traditional lager)  Just the other day I was having one of those peaceful moments informed only by the serene; including an unusually warm and sunny weather, a wonderful match featuring Juventas and Udinese, and a cold beer or birra.  I was consuming Birra Moretti, the iconic Italian brew with the old man with […]

(photo: Wild Fennel Seed (Semi di Finocchietto Selvatico) from Sicilia; you can use the seed as is or crush it via a mortar and pestle for savory and sweet dishes) Wild fennel, or Finocchietto Selvatico, can be found throughout most parts of southern Italy and is part of the staple diet for many Calabrians, Sicilians, etc.  My father tells romantic stories of foraging for wild […]

(photo: fish salad made with octopus, shrimp, squid, scungilli, and scallops; choose just a few fish for a good fish salad) We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday and spent quality time with their friends and family!  We cooked a traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner and wanted to share our photos with you, including pictures of our dinner antipasto […]