Stuffed mushrooms are one of those appetizers that always disappear first at any gathering. They look impressive on the table but are actually quite simple to make, my favorite kind of recipe. These savory little bites were a staple at my father’s restaurant, and I’ve lost count of how many trays of them I’ve made…
The Holidays are coming and Stuffed Artichokes makes for an excellent appetizer. We have them on Thanksgiving and Christmas. They are deceptively simple to prepare, the video below demonstrates how easy they are to stuff, and work well as a make-ahead option. You can stuff and refrigerate them the day before you are going to…
The last time I visited Sicily just about every restaurant I went to had a variation of these typically Sicilian stuffed swordfish rolls on the menu. This is one version of the dish, it can also be found with a stuffing that contains currants and pine nuts. I’m a big olive and caper fan so…
My wife made a trip to Arthur Avenue this weekend and picked up, among other things, some fresh ricotta cheese from Calandra Cheese Market and tagliatelle from Borgatti’s Pasta. While trying to figure out what sauce we should serve with the tagliatelle, she suggested that I make a Tomato Sauce with fresh ricotta on top…
Earlier in the week I featured a recipe for Veal Cutlets Milanese that was pretty popular. So, I thought I would keep the cutlet theme going by recommending a very different style from The Italian Chef archives for your Sunday dinner this week. The Veal Cutlets of Trattoria Battibecco is a variation on Bolognese Style…
Veal Milanese is one of those recipes that you should be able to find on a site called The Italian Chef, but inexplicably it has been absent here up until now. I decided to rectify this, but have been struggling with a write-up to go along with the recipe. Everything I came up with about…
I started baking bread about 10 years ago using Carol Field’s The Italian Baker as my reference. That is where I learned about using a starter or biga to improve the flavor of my bread. The next important book in my bread baking education was The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. An essential volume…
Spaghetti alla Carbonara is a classic Roman pasta dish, that has become a standard on menus in Italian restaurants around the world. As with any dish that becomes this ubiquitous, many variations tend to crop up, with people adding different ingredients along the way. One addition that pops up frequently is cream. While I…
With Christmas less than two weeks away this is a good time to encourage anybody who is interested in having a traditional Southern Italian all fish Christmas Eve Dinner to check out our Feast of the Seven Fishes menu. We first published this menu, with dishes like the Fried Calamari pictured above, on The Italian Chef…
My wife picked up some fresh ricotta cheese from Calandra Cheese market on Arthure Avenue this weekend. I love to spread good fresh ricotta on a slice of Italian bread, drizzle it with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle some coarse sea slat and freshly ground pepper on top. I only do this when I have…
