(photo: grilled chicken, fennel and feta salad, a few pieces of good bread and a bottle of Brooklyn Pilsner) We eat tons of fennel during the winter months and usually consume it in a salad or immediately after a meal (as a digestivo).  Recently, we put together a fennel salad comprising of a simple vinaigrette and lots of good feta cheese […]

Crostini literally means “little toasts” in Italian and they are Italian appetizers or tapas consisting of flavorful toppings.  Crostini are usually made from Italian baguette, sliced about 1/2 thick and quickly toasted or grilled.  In the US, the word bruschetta is used to refer to crostini with a fresh tomato, basil, salt, and pepper topping.  Bruschetta, like crostini, can be topped […]

One of the tricks to eating well, in my humble opinion, is to eat simple meals comprised of high quality ingredients. The high quality ingredients will allow you to “cheat” because they’re, A priori, spectacular food items to begin with and the simple meal part will ensure you (read me) won’t screw up the cooking process because simple means little manipulation or […]

(photo: homemade yogurt courtesy of bfeedme.com) History of Yogurt Historical fun facts about food provide great joy for me; I can’t explain the phenomena but I enjoy the epistemological randomness that, for example, yogurt prior to the mid and late 19th century was used primary as a cleaning agent (that’s right, including as a body wash and shampoo)!  In the early […]

(photo: chicken soup with tortellini) 1. Pasta e Fagioli Pasta e fagioli is found in every region of Italy and the only two common ingredients tend to be beans and pasta.  In northern Italy, you’ll find cranberry beans used for the dish while in some southern provinces you’ll often see cannellini beans.  You’ll also hear folks refer to it incorrectly […]

(photo: locally produced bacon from a nearby butcher) By now, you’ve read my countless references to salame, prosciutto, capicola, cured pork, etc. and you may be thinking: what’s wrong with this guy, does he have a thing for pigs or something?   The short answer is yes and the pork obsession is centered on the cured kind – that salty and spicy […]

(photo: cooking at home begins with basic ingredients; olive oil is key) “By becoming a cook, you can leave processed foods behind, creating more healthful, less expensive and better-tasting food that requires less energy, water and land per calorie and reduces our carbon footprint. Not a bad result for us — or the planet.” Why Don’t Americans Cook at Home? […]

(photo: Typical Italian breakfast, brioche with gelato.  Image courtesy of THE MUESLI LOVER) Italians Love Coffee and Sweets for Breakfast! News break: if you’re Italian, you can have cookies for breakfast.  Seriously, cake is a traditional breakfast food in Italy and so are other sweets including cookies, brioche, pastries, croissants,etc.  Coffee is consumed as well and it’s usually a quick espresso […]

Chickpea Soup with Perch and Roasted French Fry Potatoes We had a simple, yet satisfying, dinner last night consisting of chickpea and scallion soup, Perch with savory Italian breadcrumbs, baked French fries, and arugula salad. Process and Ingredients: We layed our fish fillets (about a pound) in a baking dish and added 1/2 cup of white wine and the juice of 1/2 […]

The History of Pasta Shapes – The Italian People and Pasta Just in case you were having sleepless nights concerning the birthplace of pasta, the esteemed food critic, Oretta Zanini de Vita confirms that there were records of pasta in Italy 500 years before Marco Polo returned from China; so pasta was, in fact, invented in Italy.  I’m glad we cleared the […]