The key ingredient in Spaghetti alla Gricia is guanciale, cured pork jowl. Guanciale is also traditionally used in the classic Roman Pasta dishes, Bucatini all’Amatriciana and Spaghetti alla Carbonara. Since guanciale is not easy to find outside of Rome and the Lazio region in Italy, and until recently impossible here in the U.S., substituting pancetta…
Ossobuco is a classic Milanese dish that pairs perfectly with another specialty from the Lombardy region, saffron infused Risotto alla Milanese. The name Ossobuco literally translates to “bone with a hole” which is a reference to the marrow filled hole in the center of the veal shank. You might be tempted to skip the tying…
Recipe attribution and credit can be a tricky thing. The internet is like the wild west when it comes to this, ripe with ripped off recipes and people stealing other people’s ideas without giving credit. Several times I have stumbled across my own recipes copied word for word on other sites without attribution, and I…
Swordfish Sicilian Style is kind of a deceiving name for this dish, considering that swordfish is prepared so many different ways in Sicily. Dishes like Stuffed Swordfish Rolls and Swordfish coated in breadcrumbs and grilled are also very typically Sicilian just to name a couple. But, this tasty lemon, oil, garlic and white wine sauce just never fails to…
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…
Clams Oreganato. Baked Clams. Stuffed Clams. No matter what you call them, they are a great starter for your Christmas Eve fish dinner. It is very important that the stuffing 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,…
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…
There may not seem like a lot to this dish, but boy is it tasty. Pork chops with vinegar peppers is an old Italian stand-by. For a different variation on this dish you can home fry some potatoes and put them on top. Serves 2 4 center cut pork chops 1/4 cup olive oil 6…
