From American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza by Peter Reinhart (Ten Speed Press, 2003) This dough needs to be very extensible and supple because it is pressed out quite thin, almost as thin as a flour tortilla. The dough is easy to make, but the technique for properly grilling a pizza, as perfected…
Every once in a while I pick up my copy of Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan, and flip through it looking for inspiration. Most times that inspiration comes in something that is so simple, that I kick myself for not thinking of it on my own. Prosciutto, cream and Parmagiano-Reggiano makes an…
You don’t see mussels and/or clams Posillipo on too many menus anymore, which is really a shame because it is a great dish. Foodie “purists” will claim that dishes such as this are not really Italian but Italian-American inventions. I am pretty sure that in Naples, which Posillipo is a neighborhood in, you will find…
I made this Rack of Lamb paired with Risotto Milanese as part of a Valentines Day dinner for my wife, Sandy. I discussed making it and possibly featuring it here to some co-workers during lunch the week before. Suprisingly, one of them, Mark said he didn’t think Rack of Lamb was a good Valentines Day…
This recipe actually comes from my friend Michael who prides himself on his risotto skills. He feels the error that most people make when cooking risotto is that they go overboard on the stirring and end up with a gummy blob. Risotto is supposed to be creamy with distinct grains of rice not a mushy…
This is not the healthiest dish in the world, but like I always say, everything in moderation. Treating yourself to this classic pasta dish once in a while won’t kill you. The short cooking time for the pasta is because we are using fresh homemade fetuccine, if you are using dried pasta cook until al…
I am extremely allergic to shellfish, which would not be a problem if had this condition my whole life and I really didn’t know what I was missing out on. Unfortunately, this is not the case; I developed it as an adult, long after Shrimp and Lobster were entrenched near the top of my favorite…
Recently, we went down to visit my parents in New York. I needed to stock up on some essentials to bring back home to Connecticut, so my Father and I took a drive down to Arthur Avenue, the Little Italy section of the Bronx, to do some shopping. While there we stopped at Randazzo’s Fish…
This recipe is a very tasty shrimp dish, the key to which is making sure that it stays moist and does not become dried out. If the bread crumb mixture feels too dry, you may have to add a little more oil, use your judgement. Serves 4 2 cups bread crumbs 1/4 cup olive oil…
Marinara derives from the Italian word for sailor, marinaro. Due to these origins I have seen many people say that marinara sauce must contain something from the sea, usually anchovies. Actually, this is not the case, the origins of marinara sauce are that it is the sauce that they made in Naples for the sailors…
