I have been making my own sausage for a few years now, ever since I picked up the book Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (Revised and Updated) by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. Charcuterie is probably my favorite cookbook, even though the only recipes from the book I have actually made are…
About a year or so after my father sold his restaurant and retired, I decided to get back in the restaurant business part-time, mostly to earn some extra money. I got a job waiting tables at a restaurant called Biscotti in Ridgefield, CT where the chef, Silvia Bianco was doing some amazing things in the…
I was going to include this pizza in the same post as the Grilled Pizza with Cherry Tomatoes I featured recently. At the time I was just topping it with chopped olives and capers and it was very good that way, but I still felt something was lacking. So, I held off on sharing the recipe, while…
I recently came across some delicious cherry and grape tomatoes at my local farmers market. I was planning on making some grilled pizza and as soon as I tasted them, I knew that they had to go on least one of the pizzas. I did two versions, one replaced the sauce completely with the tomatoes,…
Stracciatella Gelato is kind of like American chocolate chip ice cream, except completely different. Instead of the chips and sometimes chunks you find in American product, Stracciattella has fine bits of chocolate throughout, which results in a smooth texture with just the slightest crunch in every bite. This is achieved by drizzling in a thin stream of melted…
When I decided to add this blog to ItalianChef.com, I thought it would be a good forum for occasionally writing about other types of food. The main focus will always be Italian cuisine, but I do branch out and would like to share my experiences with cooking in general. My wife, Sandy, is Portuguese and since we have been together…
