Crisp, nutty, and perfect for dunking. This Italian classic belongs in your cookie jar. These almond biscotti strike the perfect balance between traditional Italian crispness and American tenderness. After testing various butter amounts, I’ve landed on a half-stick, just enough to create a biscotti that’s satisfyingly crunchy on the outside while maintaining a pleasant bite…
Part mousse, part custard, all romance. This is the Valentine’s dessert your date will actually remember. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and I wanted to make a special dessert so I decided on a twist on an Italian classic, Zabaglione. Zabaglione is a traditional Italian custard made by whipping Marsala wine with sugar…
If you are looking for a show stopping main course for your Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes Dinner, or any special occasion, look no further. This selection of fresh seafood in a delicious, light tomato sauce served over linguine will please any seafood lover. This classic Italian seafood pasta brings together the best…
Every year for Christmas I get pastries and biscotti from Del Prete pastry shop in Bridgeport. Everything there is great, but they make the best cannoli in Connecticut. So you can imagine my disappointment to find out they had a fire and are temporarily closed, so I need to get my cannoli for the holidays…
This refreshing Italian Seafood Salad (Insalata Frutta di Mare) features tender calamari, shrimp, and scungilli tossed in a bright lemon and olive oil dressing. It’s a classic antipasto that lets the quality of the seafood shine through with minimal fuss. The simple dressing of fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and parsley enhances the…
The holidays are here, and if you have an Italian food lover in your life (or if you’re looking to treat yourself), I’ve put together a list of items that I either use regularly in my own kitchen or have been eyeing for a while. These are the kinds of tools, books, and ingredients that…
Fried Calamari has become ubiquitous, I see people ordering it everywhere from pizza places, to the local sports bar alongside a plate of Buffalo Wings. It perturbs me to see the dish lowered down to the level of deep fried bar food. Sometime I even catch myself raising an eyebrow when I see it on…
These melt-in-your-mouth ricotta gnocchi were a staple at my father’s restaurant, and I never really saw them on the menus of other Italian places back in those days. Potato gnocchi seemed to be much more prevalent—probably because they’re a bit easier to work with and hold up well to heavier sauces. But these ricotta gnocchi…
You don’t need a fancy culinary school degree to sauté green beans in olive oil and garlic and toss them with penne, but that doesn’t mean it still isn’t a great idea. Fagiolini are green beens, also known as string beans. Green beans sautéed in olive oil with garlic are delicious on their own. Toss…
Making fresh pasta at home might seem like a daunting task, and while it is time consuming and with definite effort involved, it is not all that difficult and you will be handsomely rewarded for the extra work. Fresh pasta is not a replacement for the dried, factory produced pasta you find on the supermarket…
