Food Blog
Famous Chef's Best Kept Secret Ingredient
When it comes to excellence in gourmet cuisine, high-quality ingredients and expert cooking techniques are essential for delicious, mouth-watering food. But even more important among top chefs is their ability to create dishes with a signature flair. For food that stands apart from the rest, the special ingredient chefs can't live without is Maldon salt, [...]
A Traditional Italian Easter Feast: Abbacchio a Scottadito
In Italy, Easter is one of the most important holidays. In fact, the festivities start with the Holy Week, which begins a week earlier on Palm Sunday. Along with religious services and elaborate street processions, the celebration is also centered around an epic feast that is typically enjoyed on Easter Sunday. According to tradition, lamb [...]
5 Reasons to Visit Italy in the Spring
Italy is enchanting any time of year, but the spring season is something else entirely. Called the 'shoulder’ season by travel insiders, early spring draws fewer crowds because summer vacation for families hasn't started yet. For those that can get away a few months earlier, this means cheaper airfare, reduced hotel rates, and fewer people [...]
What Are Luxardo Cherries and How to Use Them
The Rolls-Royce of candied cherries, the original Luxardo maraschino cherry serves as the iconic ‘cherry on top’ for a long list of cocktails and desserts. Like a festive and cheerful exclamation point, the dark red and meaty flesh of the Luxardo cherry adds a perfectly sweet flavor and candy-like texture to gourmet drinks and desserts. Made with fresh, all-natural [...]
The Perfect Italian Dinner for Valentine’s Day
Everything about Italian culture is romantic, especially the food. So when it comes to preparing a special Valentine’s dinner for two, trust in the Old World tradition of Italian cuisine and its mouthwatering flavors that satisfy the stomach and inspire the heart.AppetizerPuccia Bread ChipsEasy to make and elegant to look at, these small bites are [...]
Beef Braciole: A Rachael Ray Favorite
A regional dish from southern Italy, Beef Braciole gives classic Italian pantry food a rich and meaty kick. It’s also a family dinner favorite for Rachael Ray, the Food Network star and host of her own daytime talk show. Also included in The Soprano’s Family Cookbook, this recipe comes from her mama’s weekday menu rotation [...]
The History of Panettone
The United States has pumpkin
pie and Italy has panettone, the quintessential cake for the holidays. Made
with a combination of candied fruit and spices, panettone is the Old World
version of fruitcake, a special treat that dates back to the Middle Ages.
Panettone cake might have a rich and storied history, but its
flavor and texture has remained the [...]
The Traditional Italian Christmas Dinner
Italian cuisine varies from
region to region, and the menu for Christmas dinner is no exception. While each
region features their own classic dishes, a traditional Italian Christmas
dinner always includes several courses. For Italians, this is an epic feast that lasts all day and
into the evening. This holiday season, bring the
flavors of Italy to your holiday dinner table with [...]
Italian Wedding Soup
Contrary to what you
might think, the origins of Italian wedding soup actually have nothing to do
with nuptials, although it is often served as an appetizer at Italian weddings.
The name comes from “Minestra Miritata” (marriage soup), an Italian phrase that
describes the blissful marriage of hearty greens and rich, savory meat. First
enjoyed by the peasants of Southern [...]
Grilled Polenta with Spinach and Cheese Recipe
A staple of Italian
cuisine, polenta is a simple and easy way to add a touch of gourmet to your typical
eggs-and-bacon brunch fare. In this recipe, starchy and satisfying polenta
squares are grilled until crisp, and then complemented with a bed of sautéed
spinach seasoned with garlic and red pepper. It all comes together with robiola
cheese, a well-balanced [...]
Italian Food Specialties by Region
For gourmands around the
world, Italy is the number one destination for experiencing authentic Old World
cuisine. From Abruzzo to
Veneto, Italy offers a wide range of regional food thanks to a variety of
landscapes and climates. For centuries, Italians have relied on natural
resources as inspiration for distinctive cuisine in each region. If you
can’t make the trip to Italy, [...]
5 Ways to Spice Up Dishes with Tutto Calabria Hot Peppers
Bring the flavors of Southern
Italy to your favorite Italian pantry food with Tutto
Calabria chili peppers, an
easy way to give your dishes a little kick! The magic of using chili peppers in
cooking is how it balances other flavors—briny, rich, sweet, or tangy—with just
the right amount of heat. Similar to salt, the spice of chili peppers helps [...]