(photo: various food mills; ours is the top left above) How many of you own a food mill?  Uh-oh, I only see a few hands and I’m getting some quizzical looks!   OK, let’s jump out of the role play and get down to why I think everyone should own a food mill; after all, like a chef’s knife and a cutting board, the […]

(photo: Capezzana Olio Nuovo 2010 with fresh whole milk mozzarella dried oregano, Kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper) About 25 minutes northwest of Florence in the small wine growing region of Carmignano you’ll find the estate of Tenuta di Capezzana – an estate that has been producing olive oil since the year 980.  I was lucky enough to sample the 2010 Capezzana November […]

(photo: two of the Gelato di Babbo flavors: key lime and coconut) Existential Thoughts on Gelato in America  Update: Gelato giveaway from Gelato di Babbo and Scordo.com (see below for details and how to enter) I’ve recently realized that one needs the psychological resilience of a Cylon to get through the winter months here in the Northeast.  And it’s not […]

Guide to Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano Parmigiano Reggiano is a hard Italian, cow’s milk (during production the milk may not be older than one day), cheese produced in Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, and Bologna all south of the Po River in Emilia-Romagna as well as in the Mantova area in Lombardia north of the Po River.  Parmigiano referring to the […]

Canned Tuna, Really? As Suzzane Hamlin points out in her well written 1997 article for the New York Times, canned tuna in olive oil is the best selling seafood in the country.  And your first reaction may be something akin to, “what, canned tuna, why don’t American’s buy fresh fish?”  Well, high quality fresh fish is, indeed, best but if you don’t […]

For as long as I can remember my father has foraged for wild mushrooms both here in the United States and, of course, in Calabria.  And while my mother would use the mushrooms in pasta sauces and fried with bits of tomato and garlic it was the pickled mushrooms that drove (and continues to motivate) my father to acquire as many prized […]

See Below for Contest and Book Give Away! contest closed You have to admire any book that documents well over 110 authentic Italian pasta sauces and the hundreds of pasta shapes that marry best to a given sauce.  If a book goes further and contains beautifully rendered graphic shapes for each pasta then you have a timeless cookbook that should be […]

Our friend and avid home cook Dr. K. continues his mastery of all things Italian with a terrific homemade bread from Sicilia; namely, Durum Pane Siciliano – a bread shaped in the form of the Occhi di Santa Lucia (i.e., a pair of eyeglasses in homage to Santa Lucia, the patron saint of vision). Dr. K. utilized a recipe from Carol Field’s, The […]

(photo: close up of panforte made by Pasticcerie Sinatti in Siena) We’ve never been much of a dessert type of site here at Scordo.com – holding the view that sugar and chocolate can’t compete with salt and fat!  So, when we had the opportunity to try a traditional Italian dessert we were a bit skeptical given our countless posts on pastas, salumi, crocchette, eggplant parmigiana, […]

(photo: some of Dr. K.’s homemade duck prosciutto sliced thin and eaten with bread and Prosecco)   I’m a big believer in chasing happiness in life and not the 30 minute kind that’s associated with a new car, electronic device, or a bigger house (sorry all you hedge fund managers and Goldman employees).  Happiness, after all (and there’s empirical evidence for this) is derived […]