Puglia and my Palate
“I urge you to travel – Find out how other people live and eat and cook”- Anthony Bourdain Travel and learn I did. My recent trip to Puglia was an outstanding culinary education on a wonderfully traditional southern Italian cuisine. The geographical make up of this region alone lends itself to gastronomic greatness. Its iron-rich […]
Kicking Up My Heels Over Puglia
In the south of Italy, in what is considered the heel of the boot, you will find Puglia. Despite my many travels to the Bel Paese, this was a region, a treasure, that I had yet to discover. The gleam of this southern gem however was recently revealed to me in the most extraordinary week […]
Zippuli: Frying Up Tradition
Christmas Eve is around the corner and that can only mean one thing, zippuli frying up for our family’s enjoyment. Yes, a five-star cenone of succulent seafood is in the works for the vigilia but we typically whet our appetites with a lunch of zippuli. Not to be confused with the sweet pastries prepared for […]
Calabria: Savouring Italy’s South
In Italy’s south lies a peninsula within a peninsula, the region of Calabria. The toe of the boot as it is often referred to, has an incredible geographic makeup. A mountainous landscape of hill-top towns, juxtaposed against dense forests, overlooking a dramatic Mediterranean coastline. Calabria, much like Sicily, has been shaped by its contact […]
Taste of Calabria
If you’re Calabrese, you likely know, or have heard the word angulèja which is dialect for “craving”. This is a word I often use in reference to the craving I have for Calabrian cuisine every year that I don’t get to travel to the toe of the peninsula. Thanks to the Italian Chamber of Commerce […]
Say Cheese: Pecorino Toscano Dinner
When you think of Tuscany the first thought that typically comes to mind is wine; and wine has no better partner than cheese, particularly when that cheese is Pecorino Toscano PDO (Protected Designation of Origin). This cheese falls into the category of Italian sheep’s milk cheeses and has a unique and delicate flavor. Pecorino Toscano […]
Nonna Carmela’s Melangiani Chini
Melangiani chini, dialect for a southern Italian staple, stuffed eggplants. I have eaten countless numbers of these growing up and the mere smell of these vegetable delights turning golden brown in a frying pan conjures up wonderful memories of unforgettable moments. I don’t know of any Calabrese woman, nonna or otherwise, who doesn’t have this […]
Scarpaccia: The Dish with Sole
Given the choice to live in a shoe or eat one, I’d take the latter particularly in the case of an Italian regional specialty known as scarpaccia. Scarpaccia is a savoury zucchini tart (think zucchini bread but better) originating from the Tuscan coastal areas of Viareggio and Camaiore. Its name roughly translates to “old shoe”, […]
When Life Hands You Zucchini
To paraphrase the old adage, “when life (or parents) hands you zucchini, make zucchini bread!” The recent seasonal abundance from the garden has inspired many a meal. I have battered, breaded, shredded, layered, fried, sautéed, and pureed zucchini turning them into parmigiana, hummus, risotto, frittata, pizza and noodles to name a mere few. My favorite […]
Italian Donuts are the Bomb!
Donuts, deep-fried rings of dough that can be enjoyed glazed or filled. While Homer Simpson’s most sought-after sugar fix appears to be a classic North American confection, variations of this dessert seem to span the globe. For example, the syrup soaked and coconut covered Koesister of South Africa; the fluffy egg-white sphere filled with red […]