Sautéed Escarole with White Tuscan Beans + Uccelletto

Sautéed Escarole with White Tuscan Beans + Uccelletto

The last episode of Lunch with Gianni was a special episode. After the privileged opportunity to cook with expensive winter black truffles for which I am grateful, I’m back in the kitchen cooking what I describe as my “cucina povera”, my “cucina rustica”, the rustic 

Cooking Foraged Chicory in Roma

Cooking Foraged Chicory in Roma

The last time I was in Italy I hooked up with my friend Luca and the crew from his video company, HB Productions. We spent days together shopping and shooting episodes of me cooking in my apartment near the Spanish Steps. Here’s the first of those 

Pasta Primavera: Bow tie pasta with early spring vegetables

Pasta Primavera: Bow tie pasta with early spring vegetables

Don’t miss the next recipe video: Subscribe now to my YouTube channel. I love this time of year when the first of the early spring vegetables start to hit the market. Pencil-thin asparagus, tiny peas, and tender fava beans are among my favorites, so I just had 

Spring Asparagus Frittata

Spring Asparagus Frittata

I made this asparagus frittata last spring while in Rome. Allesandro, my friend and produce vendor in Campo de Fiori, the huge open air produce market in the historical center of Rome, showed me wild asparagus he had foraged the night before. It took him all 

Risi e Bisi: Venetian Rice & Spring Peas

Risi e Bisi: Venetian Rice & Spring Peas

In the run-up to Ash Wednesday earlier this week Venetians ended their 12-day Carnevale celebration. It was their last raucous blow-out before the arrival of Lent and 40-days of fasting. The traditional festivities and the arrival of the first of the spring vegetables in the market 

Baked Baby Eggplant via Japan

Baked Baby Eggplant via Japan

Don’t miss the next recipe video: Subscribe now to my YouTube channel. Baked Italian baby eggplant is a favorite blog text recipe post so we decided to show you how to make it. Let me know if there are other recipe posts or other Italian dishes you want me 

Black Kale Steam/Sauteed with Garlic & Chili

Black Kale Steam/Sauteed with Garlic & Chili

Don’t miss the next recipe video: Subscribe now to my YouTube channel. I love leafy vegetables cooked using this easy steam/saute method. You can have delicious and healthy vegetables on your table in about 15 minutes. Heat up olive oil, garlic and chili flakes in a 

Start Thanksgiving Dinner with Crab & Vegetables in a Hot Bath

Start Thanksgiving Dinner with Crab & Vegetables in a Hot Bath

The dungeness crab season started a couple of weeks ago and the harvest is superb. So here’s a simple delicious start for your Thanksgiving dinner, steamed crab and vegetables with bagna cauda, a flavorful anchovy-garlic hot dipping sauce. This is a super easy dish. Buy 

Cabbage Steam-Sauteed with Pancetta

Cabbage Steam-Sauteed with Pancetta

Desperation one night led to this tasty dish. I bought a head of cabbage intending to make an Italian-American cole slaw. It didn’t happen. Now what? As I looked in the fridge for something to eat when I got home from a long day at 

Broccoli Rabe and Italian Sausage

Broccoli Rabe and Italian Sausage

Here’s one of my favorite dishes that’s easy and quick to make for a weeknight dinner. You’ll be eating in a half hour or so. Roast the sausage in a hot 425 degree oven until they’re golden brown. While the sausage is roasting steam/saute the broccoli 

Veal and Spring Peas from Naples

Veal and Spring Peas from Naples

We trained to Naples from Rome and settled in to our apartment in the Spanish Quarter high above Via Chiaia and Via Toledo, Naples major shopping streets. We have a half floor of an old palazzo and our landlady Filomene lives right next door. She 

Pasta & Chickpea Soup (Pasta e Ceci)

Pasta & Chickpea Soup (Pasta e Ceci)

I’ll be in Rome and Naples soon so I’ve been cooking dishes from both cities to get ready for the trip. Here’s another Roman favorite that would be at home in Naples as well. The Romans prefer long pasta in their chickpea soup and the 

Roman Stewed Spring Vegetables

Roman Stewed Spring Vegetables

La Vignarola, stewed spring vegetables, is a simple dish that’s a real crowd-pleaser in Rome this time of year and you can be eating some in about 30 minutes. Quickly braise each of the 3 spring vegetables separately. Brown guanciale or pancetta with a little 

Eggplant Rollatini

Eggplant Rollatini

You know how much I love eggplant and this is one of my favorite dishes. On my restaurant’s menu in the 80s, Eggplant Rollatini was a popular main dish. I ate it often at the end of the evening service. Make the marinara sauce, fry 

49ers Super Bowl Meatballs and Roasted Peppers

49ers Super Bowl Meatballs and Roasted Peppers

What do you expect from a guy in San Francisco’s Italian North Beach who hopes the Lombardi Trophy comes home with the 49ers? Here’s an Italian-American appetizer for your Super Bowl buffet that sports the Niner’s red and gold. The meatballs are easy to make and