Wine Pairing: Grilled Crostoni & Vernaccia di San Gimignano
The Pairing: Grilling food not only boosts its own taste level, but it’s a great way to spike it toward wine-friendly territory. Vernaccia di San Gimignano is an alluring white wine – delicate,...
View ArticleWine Pairing: Ricotta Tortellini & Le Grillaie Sangiovese
Jove, the Roman God (aka Zeus – his Greek identity), blessed the Italians with Sangiovese (literally “Blood of Jove”). He had a scandalous love affair with a beautiful, young Tuscan woman, which...
View ArticleWine Pairing: Ragu de Nobili & Wilridge Nebbiolo di Klipsun
A popular legend unfolds the tale of an Italian monk who tended a small garden and vineyard near his hut, producing just enough food and wine for himself. One morning he awoke to find the entire...
View ArticlePollo di Carnevale
Pollo di Carnevale is a splendid country dish of braised chicken with wild mushrooms, herbs, green olives and a rich, tomato-laced sauce. The recipe is pilfered from Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s The...
View ArticleFlorentine Crostini Bar
We thought it might be fun to have a small gathering of foodie friends over this weekend for crostini and Italian wines. Crostini are tasty little crowd-pleasers — specialty ingredients can dress...
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Easy Pizza Dough – Make It/Freeze It
5 ingredients, 5 minutes in the Kitchen Aide, 5 pizza crusts. Article and Recipe Updated January 2008 Article and Recipe Updated May 2012 I’ve been experimenting with pizza crust recipes and methods...
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Tosco-Americano and Polpettini di Carne
Recipes are narratives that speak of their cooks. If you can’t meet my friends, know them through their food,” — Faith Heller Willinger in her new book, Adventures of an Italian Food Lover. It’s a...
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Ossobuco (Osso Buco) in Bianco alla Milanese with Gremolata
Braised dishes are my all-time favorite bunker-down, snuggle-up fare. Even with April coming next week, it’s still raining (nix that … it’s now snowing), a touch chilly, and gray outside, so I’m...
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Risotto alla Milanese
A few weeks ago, while thumbing through the butter issue of Saveur, a photo of Risotto alla Milanese jumped off the page. Traditionally from Italy’s northern, buttery half, Risotto alla Milanese is...
View ArticleChateau Ste. Michelle Ethos Chardonnay & Risotto alla Milanese
I confess. Until recently, I’d always dismissed Risotto Milanese as just a side dish — something buttery other than mashed potatoes; something to hold up a lamb shank. While leafing through the tasty...
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Lasagne alla Bolognese
(Reading the following quote with a Tony-Shalhoub-Italian accent is both more effective & entertaining.) You will love this place. Bologna is… is sad, a little. The city is old. No, old is...
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Convivial Dinner Party: Winter Supper for Close-knit Friends
Warm up an otherwise cold January evening by gathering a few close friends for supper. Stoke up the fireplace, turn on Paolo Conte, light a zillion candles, and feast on Italian comfort food. A...
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Braised Rosemary Chicken with Green Olives, Raisins and Capers
Braising is insanely easy and tastes even better the second day, which makes it an ideal dinner party dish. A good braise depends on a flavorful braising liquid and a long, low simmer in the oven or...
View ArticleStripper Affogato di Gelato
An affogato di gelato, or “gelato drowned by espresso”, is a simple, entertaining finish to a meal. Ah, but an affogato presented in a stripper shot glass procured from the Las Vegas airport, is...
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Gnoccho Fritto con Affetati
My mother taught me at a very young age how to eat and still maintain the integrity of one’s lipstick. So, when Signor Morandi served me my first plate of gnoccho fritto in Modena, Italy, and I picked...
View ArticlePizza Margherita
Simple dishes, like a Pizza Margherita, require impeccable ingredients. My French Chef Instructor used to say, “You can’t make a good soup out of garbage.” Or something like that. With something as...
View ArticleItalian Sausage Pizza with Roasted Red Peppers, Olives & Rosemary
I wish I didn’t have such a penchant for pork products of all kinds. (Well, it’s a little stronger than a penchant, but probably less than an obsession.) Because when eating pork is banned because of...
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Pesto
There’s nothing quite like pesto pounded by hand with a pestle. It fills the kitchen with the most delightful fragrance, gives your arms a nice workout, and is indescribably more tasty than anything...
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Clam Pizza with Smoked Tomato Sauce
This is one of my all-time favorite pizzas. It makes a gorgeous appetizer for an outdoor dinner party, both in flavor and presentation. Smoky tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella give pizza a delicious...
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