A few weeks back I was talking to my Mom about quick and easy pasta dishes. She mentioned that my grandfather used to make pasta and toss it with fresh ricotta cheese, a little grated pecorino and salt & pepper. I thought that was a great idea and planned on trying it out, eventually. I…
Some of my fondest memories of my (too few) visits to Sicily are of sitting in the café in the morning and having a Granita di Limone (Italian Lemon Ice) and brioche for breakfast. That’s right, I said for breakfast. In the summer in Sicily, granita and gelato are breakfast foods. That’s what I call…
What is gelato? Some might say gelato is just the Italian word for Ice Cream. While close, that wouldn’t be exactly accurate. There are two big differences between Italian gelato and American ice cream. The first is that gelato contains less butterfat; it is typically made with whole milk rather than cream (in some rare cases…
Grilled Chicken with lemony Sicilian Salmoriglio Sauce is an iconic summer dish to me. It has been part of my barbecues for as long as I can remember. Not only is it simply the best grilled chicken but making it evokes such great memories from the past: Cookouts in my parents backyard. Visiting my Uncle Vinny’s on…
A few weeks back I featured a Fig and Prosciutto Arancini recipe. One of the great things about Arancini is that you can take the basic recipe and change the flavors up by varying the stuffing. This slightly more traditional but no less tasty variation with smoked mozzarella and basil comes from my sister in-law, Diana. Another great thing about…
When I went to the pasta shop this weekend to buy tortellini, I noticed that they had two types – meat and cheese. This seemed odd to me because I had always know those little rings of pasta as being stuffed with meat. Back when I was working at my Father’s restaurant, some nights he…
Whenever possible I like to feature Sicilian inspired dishes here for a couple of reasons. First, my family is Sicilian in origin. Although my parents met here in America, both of their families are from the same town in Sicily, Francavilla di Sicilia. Second, and more importantly, Sicilian cooking is awesome and unique! In it you can…
You don’t have to wait for the next Italian festival or carnival to enjoy some fried dough. With this recipe you can make delicious Zeppole right at at home. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and let the memories of eating them out of the bag while enjoying the sites and sounds of the feast come right…
Arancini, stuffed risotto balls, are a traditional street food in Sicily. The most common stuffing is meat sauce, peas and cheese. However, I wanted to try something a little different and the the inspiration for this version actually came from a pizza. We have been ordering the fig and prosciutto pizza from a local restaurant,…
Just about every region of Italy has its own version of a Ragu, a slow cooked meat sauce, but perhaps the most famous is from the city of Bologna in Emilia-Romagna, Ragu alla Bolognese. Where in other areas, especially in Southern Italy, the Ragu typically starts with large cuts of meat which are cooked slowly…
