(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: that’s my mother, grandmother, and aunts leaning on an Oxen in rural Calabria) If you haven’t noticed, Scordo.com has been posting on all things Italian as of late (salami, mushroom hunting, espresso, Italian cocktails/Amari, Italian immigrants and money, dry pasta, pesto, cheese, etc.) and I wanted to reassure my readers that while the editorial theme of Scordo.com will not […]

Embrace the Bitter- Introduction to Italian Digestives and Amari Drinks Do you do bitter?  No, no I’m not asking you if you like to complain or wake up each morning looking for a fight with the world (or worse your spouse)!  What I’m asking is if you’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing what the Italians refer to as Amari?  Amari […]

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. […]

I love pasta; in fact, I’d venture to say it is a glorious food product and it’s why we put together our guide To dry pasta!  And it doesn’t really matter how it’s prepared (condiment or sauce-wise, that is); I’ll eat penne rigate with good extra virgin olive oil  and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano,  Bucatini with a fresh, tomato, pan sauce , […]

Fresh Basil Pesto Sauce Recipe Growing up in New Jersey I was surrounded by people from all over the world; on my block alone I remember families from Italy, Egypt, Lebanon, England, Spain, etc.; needless to say, the aroma of food hovered on our small block like haze hovers over Los Angles. One of my favorite food smells came from my […]

How to cook and eat like an Italian   Everyone loves “Italian food” and it’s many authentic and inauthentic variations, but many people (including chefs at top restaurants) get Italian food wrong.  In turn, here are ten ways to cook like an Italian at home: You hear it all the time, but ingredients are key.  Buy fresh and local whenever […]

Recipe: Homemade Sun Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil One of my favorite, all purpose, condiments on this little planet is sun dried tomatoes preserved in olive oil.  Authentic sun dried tomatoes capture the essence of the tomato and can be enjoyed year round.  There is a difference between tomatoes that have been truly dried in the sun and dehydrated tomatoes (click here to […]

There’s been a ton discussion over at thekitchn.com recently about fritatta (the omelet like dish popular in many European countries).  As a small child my mother prepared a fritatta as a quick weekend meal, and now as an adult I make frittata about every week (it’s nourishing, full of flavor, and can usually be prepared with whatever leftovers one has in the fridge). […]