(photo: our saffron “threads” just prior to adding to the cooking broth for Risotto Milanese) Saffron (or Zafferano) has always had a special place in my heart; more specifically, it’s had a special place in my memory.  I associate saffron with my childhood and the yellow arborio rice my mother prepared for me on special occasions (viz., any time I asked for it […]

  (photo: the highly prized white truffle – courtesy of Alma Gourmet) Truffle Primer  One of my favorite aspects of visiting Italy in the Summer and Fall months is the abundance of festivals scattered throughout the country.  In Calabria alone, for example, the summer months include food festivals focused on bread, salt cod, wild boar, eggplant, red chiles, potato, etc. […]

Pan Fried Skate with Pancetta and Red Onion Risotto One of my favorite ways to eat is to simply head to the market and pick out items that look fresh, tasty, and don’t break the bank (this week a particularly nice item was fresh Skate).  Don’t get me wrong I’m not heading to the market every other day (like Nonna […]

Update: Contest closed; the winner has been notified.   Scordo.com has partnered with our friends over at ItalianBarber.com for a great giveaway, sorry ladies this one is geared towards men who can grow facial hair (but read on if you want to win a great gift for your boyfriend or husband!). ItalianBarber.com is run by two second-generation Italians who live via […]

(photo:Italian durum wheat pasta made by Carlo) When it comes to reviewing Italian products we’re pretty blunt and we’ve, unfortunately, offended a few Italian product manufacturers with not so positive feedback.  In fact, when companies approach us to review already prepared products we often turn them away for fear of writing yet another negative review.  In turn, many of our favorite […]

Over the last few years there’s been renewed interest on the topic of what makes people happy (or happiness studies).  “Renewed” is probably the wrong word since humans have been chasing fulfillment and happiness since we picked up traits such as language, consciousness, and the need to write things down and keep records.  The interest in happiness I’m talking about […]

When folks discover that I have an Italian last time, as well as parents who were born in Italy, they immediately ask if I speak Italian.  My answer is a definite yes though I always qualify my fluency with the fact that I grew up speaking a regional, southern Italian, dialect. Dialects, of course, are examples of full blown languages with […]

You have to love any establishment that sells over 200,000 pounds of Italian cheese in a given week, in turn we’ve fallen deeply in love with the Pittsburgh based, Pennsylvania Macaroni Company.  The Italian food store was started in 1902 by Sicilian immigrants from Trabia and they now carry well over 5,000 Italian specialty items, including an online business that will slice […]

  (photo: note the wonderful golden brown color of the Colatura di Alici) What takes 12 months to age and is extracted during an age old curing process, hint it’s not a pork product (cue the Jeopardy music).  The answer is Colatura di Alici or anchovy syrup and is produced by Ittica Alimentare Salerno, located in the small village of Cetara, south […]

  (photo: spaghetti chitarra with tomato sauce, ricotta, and peas; see below for recipe) The now immortalized copywriter turned French cook Julia Child remarked once that, “anyone can make a bowl of pasta but it takes a skilled chef to put out a fine French meal.”  You can imagine my reaction to the quote and my thinking on Child’s comment; namely, […]