(photo: completed pesto sauce in a bowl made from the famous ceramic factories in Bagnara Calabra) Chitarra is similar to spaghetti, but with squared edges. It was once cut on guitar strings, hence its unique name.  Here’s a great link to a “guitar pasta maker“ (photo: Chitarra with pesto and a glass of Pinot Noir from Chile <light years ahead […]

Pasta al Ceppo is literally translated as pasta on a stick and knitting needles were once used to shape the pasta.  The pasta has a nice texture and works well with hearty sauces.   The Scordo Pasta Challenge continues!

  Cannelloni have a special place in my heart as I’ve always consumed them on special days (such as a holiday or a birthday).  My favorite Cannelloni are prepared in a simple manner, that is, with fresh ricotta, parsley, and tomato sauce.  Cannelloni are typically boiled and then stuffed with ricotta and thereafter they are baked in the oven with tomato sauce. […]

Paccheri is one of those shapes I wasn’t aware of until I stumbled across it in the Rustichella catalog.  Paccheri is a super variant of rigatoni (without the ridges) and best prepared with chunky sauces (such as a ragu with rabbit, for example).  However, I cooked up a batch of Paccheri and simply added very good extra virgin olive oil, freshly grated Parmigiano […]

(photo: Latella family olive orchard outside of Pellegrina, Italy) (3/22: Update – Contest is closed and the winner is Joe. D., congratulations!  And thanks to everyone for leaving a comment)  Click here for my other olive oil reviews! Images have always played a large role in my life.  I still have vivid images in my mind of childhood events like playing […]

(photo: Tripolini close up) The Northeast saw a monster wind and rain storm over the weekend with many downed trees and electrical lines.  Some of our neighbors in NJ also lost water pressure.  Luckily our home was spared and we didn’t see any crashing white pine, sycamore, or silver maple, as was the case a couple of years ago when […]

Here we go, the first pasta dish consumed for the Scordo Pasta Challenge or Vincenzo Eats His Way Through Every Pasta Shape Known to Man! #149 Trenne Think of Trenne pasta as the “quill” pasta; that is to say, Trenne are shaped like a writing instrument that is triangular in shape.  Trenne is a more modern and angular version of Penne […]

 I woke up this morning and had a revelation! Well, it wasn’t exactly a revelation of grand proportion like when Einstein told Newton he was all wrong about the physical world back in the early twentieth century rather my revelation was epicurean and it concerned my favorite food on the planet; namely, Pasta!Like Julie Powell’s idea of cooking through all the […]

(photo: Nonno Scordo’s vineyard overlooking the sea near Bagnara Calabra)  Ciro is the most well known Calabrian wine here in the US and it’s for good reason.  The region of Ciro is situated on the eastern tip of Calabria, about a 4 hour trip north from Reggio Calabria.   Ciro is designated a DOC wine or Denominazione di Origine Controllata, […]

Growing up in 1980’s Northern NJ on a densely packed block full of immigrant families (mostly from Italy via Calabria) both Thursday and Sunday were special days.  That is to say, for many of the Italian families in our neighborhood (hailing from Pellegrina, Bagnara Calabra, Grimoldo, and Ceramida) Thursday and Sunday were designated as pasta days ; hence our 8 Tips to Make Great Pasta […]