On June 8, Paul Torre, The Italian Chef who was the inspiration for this website and, more importantly, my father, passed away after a two year struggle with multiple diseases. I knew I wanted to write about this here because he was such a big part of this site, but it took me some time…
This week I had a strong craving for Affogato, a simple but delicious Italian dessert that is made by pouring a shot of hot espresso over a scoop of vanilla gelato. Naturally, to make this I needed vanilla gelato. So, this was as good a time as ever to break out my ice cream machine,…
I love Pasta Puttanesca. The olives, capers, anchovies & garlic. But sometimes I want those bold flavors without the tomato, and faster. This is that dish. The idea is simple: take Linguine Aglio e Olio and add anchovies, olives and capers. No tomato sauce, just olive oil and garlic. It comes together even quicker than…
We have actuallly had a Baked Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus recipe on the site for years. But lately, I find myself making it on the grill much more often. The prosciutto gets nice and crispy and you get a smokey flavor, expecially if you use charcoal. Plus, this recipe is about as easy as it gets….
Saltimbocca is a classic Roman veal dish. In fact, it is so typically Roman that the name Saltimbocca alla Romana seems redundant to me. But, that’s what it was called on my father’s menu, so I am sticking with it. This is a great dish to serve for company. Plate it over some sautèed spinach…
The week after Christmas, I was chatting with my friend Mark on IM. He was telling me about the Christmas Eve fish dinner his Mother (she is originally from Naples) made. He was running down the list, Linguine con Vongole, Fried Calamari, etc. While it sounded like a great dinner, it didn’t really excite me…
For me, a good weeknight dinner must possess two essential qualities: My favorite weeknight pasta dish, Pasta with Grape Tomatoes, satisfies both of those requirements perfectly. I have been making this dish so regularly lately that every time I am in the supermarket I pick up a pint of grape tomatoes knowing that I will…
A few weeks back I was at Borgatti’s pasta shop, down in the Arthur Avenue area in the Bronx. While I was waiting for my ravioli I saw the guy at the counter cutting up some sheets of green(spinach) and white pasta into pappardelle. It looked so good I thought of getting some for myself,…
The magic of sausage! It can take an ordinary lasagna and turn it into something special. Yet, even before the sausage, this is no ordinary lasagna. Fresh homemade pasta for the noodles, the Ricotta-Béchamel sauce from Chef Silvia’s Hand Rolled Lasagna and fresh mozzarella already take this to another level. Add the sausage and it’s…
There is an Italian bakery in Bridgeport, CT called Del Prete, and they make these great mini biscotti. They are the perfect size for dunking in an espresso or a glass of vin santo. I usually get the chocolate and the almond from Del Prete, but have been making butterscotch biscotti off and on for…
