After posting the above photo of Pasta with Cauliflower, Garlic, & Anchovy Sauce  my Calabrian born mother prepared on our Facebook fan page, we were overwhelmed with requests for the recipe.  So, without further qualification here’s a simple recipe for one of the easiest pasta dishes on the planet made with a staple vegetable in southern Italy: linguine (and/or capelli […]

(photo: the photos found in the Glorious Pasta of Italy are truly impressive; on the left is a photo of our pasta pesto)  There’s no way around the obvious fact that Italians are slaves to pasta.  The typical Italian (northern or southern in origin) consumes pasta multiple times per week, in various shapes and sizes, and in varying dishes from […]

  (photo: beautiful bread is a work of art and our reader Dr. K is a maestro!  photo courtesy of Dr. K.) I have to admit that I get very jealous of folks who bake with great success as I’ve been slow to experiment with baking bread, for example.   And it’s also why I’m incredibly thankful for skilled Scordo readers like […]

  (photo: packaging is first rate, if not a little wasteful)  We’ve covered the pasta shape tagliatelle here on Scordo.com in the past (via the Scordo Pasta Challenge) but we decided to review the pasta shape one more time given the quality of Caponi Pontedera tagliatelle and the fact that it’s an egg based pasta (pasta all’uovo).   Pastificio Caponi […]

Spinach risotto is an ideal representation of what finely cooked Arborio or Carnaroli rice is all about, namely, creamy and buttery texture.  The spinach in the recipe below adds another layer of silky consistency and the green color emitted from the spinach makes this a beautiful dish, as well. You can serve spinach risotto as a starter or as a side to […]

(photo: Fish Sauce dish with squid, scallops, and clams awaiting pasta) Mention pasta to me and my mind drifts to fresh parsley, sliced garlic, dried red chillies, and high quality extra virgin olive oil.  In my view, the four aforementioned ingredients make up the world’s best pasta sauce or condiment.  Sure, one can argue that a well executed tomato sauce (with or […]

One of our more devout readers goes by the moniker of Dr. K., a doctor by training and food lover by way of passion! Dr. K has contributed many guest posts here and his latest is a favorite in the stuffed pasta universe: Whole Wheat Ravioli with Sweet Potato!  Dr. K.’s version of homemade ravioli include whole wheat flour and a […]

  (photo: La Castellina extra virgin olive oil used to make handmade ravioli with tomato sauce) Every once in a while a particular recipe I’ve made hundreds of times tastes like something completely different.  For example, my wife Erin (who secretly does much of the cooking behind Scordo.com!) made a batch of tomato sauce and I quickly proclaimed it “the best sauce […]

One of our standard pasta dishes here at Scordo is Pasta with Ricotta, Tomato Sauce, and Parmigiano Reggiano.  Our  ricotta is often homemade (see our recipe) and the tomato sauce comes by way of our canned tomatoes.  The pasta condiment produced here is the ideal representation of tomato, rich cream, and hearty flavors (think of it as lasagna or pasta al […]

(photo: Calugi tagliolini, about 1/2 pound) Tagliolini is another variety of tagliatelle that is long and cylindrical in shape.  Tagliolini are generally thinner in shape and more delicate than tagliatelle.   Recently, I was fortunate enough to try Calugi’s dry tagliolini from Cambiano Castelfiorentino situated between Livorno and Firenze in northwestern Italy.  Calugi makes their tagliolini with eggs and flour but adds […]