(photo: the three Pastificio Vicidomini pastas and extra virgin olive oil included in the contest – six total items – the photo was taken in our basement pantry so excuse the appearance) We love making people happy with food and nothing warms my heart here at Scordo more than giving away great Italian food products to our loyal readers and fans. […]

(photo: The cover of John Mariani’s How Italian Food Conquered the World.) After reading through the first chapter of John Mariani’s How Italian Food Conquered the World I felt both enlightened and stimulated and overwhelmed and short of breath.  The former feeling was a result of the numerous “fun facts” scattered throughout the first chapter ranging from the history of the restaurant in Europe […]

(photo: Stovetop espresso with tiny pears soaking in grappa.) Spaghetti alla Carbonara, Baby Coffee, Classic Pizza Dough, Fennel Love, and Culinary Awards!   NY Times Dining Section– David Tanis’ article states that enthusiastically that “fennel is under appreciated no more” and offers a nice baked fennel dish recipe.  We applaud David for making a bold statement, but who knew the vegetable was ever “under appreciated” […]

While in Italy this summer we ate a tremendous amount of seafood given our location along the Mediterranean Sea.  We feasted on swordfish, mussels, dried cod (though caught elsewhere),  prawns, sardines, etc.  Sardines are a particular favorite of mine and one of my favorite seafood dishes prepared this past summer by mother included fresh sardines, expertly filleted, and quickly pan grilled […]

My favorite way to cook chicken is to roast it whole (butterflied so it shortens the cooking period) on either an outdoor, wood charcoal fired, BBQ or in the oven.  I also like braising chicken parts in herbs, potatoes, onions, and white wine and of course the standard chicken cutlet. A simpler chicken preparation includes roasting chicken breast fillets on […]

The variety of kale known as Lacinato is critical to Italian food history and specifically to the second-most-populous region of Italy known as Campania (Napoli being the most well known city in the province).  Lacinato kale has a bitter and sweet flavor profile and is comprised of a rich blue green color.  Lacinato kale is traditionally used in minestrone soupand […]

The common, everyday Frittata, is a critical dish to master if you’d like to eat in the Italian tradition – especially the Potato, Red Pepper, and Onion Frittata (Frittata di Patate, Peperone e Cipolla).  The dish will allow you to make a delicous lunch or dinner at any point during the week and it’s incredibly versatile and able to be made from leftovers […]

(photo: cubed Sicilian, round, eggplant just prior to roasting) Our roasted eggplant with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano contains two ingredients (not including Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and extra virgin olive oil) and I’m very proud to assert the lack of ingredients in the dish!   The dish, like much of the cooking in Italy, is dependent on the ingredients.  The eggplant we used […]

(photo: ingredients for our mafalde fish pasta include wild or standard dandelion greens, garlic, onion, salmon, and grouper) When I speak to my mother on the phone each night (yes, don’t snicker there’s no way around avoiding your Italian mother) she inevitably asks me, “so, what did you make for dinner?”  And while I often answer back with a southern Italian classic […]

When it comes to Italian food and wine pairings we’re big believers in two things: Don’t listen to critics, but rather find your own combinations of wine and food (based on pleasant things happening in your mouth). If possible, and this is a big “if”, try to map the ingredients of a given area to the wine of the same region […]