Warm Italian Potato Salad

Warm Italian Potato Salad

Here’s a twist on potato salad that I’ve loved since I was a kid. Don’t get me wrong I love potato salad with mayonnaise but every once in a while I have to make this one flavored with red wine vinegar and olive oil. It’s 

5-Minute Basil Pesto

5-Minute Basil Pesto

Got 5 minutes? You can be eating pasta with fresh and flavorful basil pesto, pesto alla Genovese, in no time. This pesto hails from Liguria on the northern Italian coast where small leaf basil grows on the hills around Genoa overlooking the Italian Riviera. The 

Eating Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago

Eating Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago

I just flew in to the Windy City and I had to have a deep dish pizza for my first dinner tonight. I can hear my producers yelling at me now. I was starving and the pie’s aroma overwhelmed me. I didn’t think of the 

My Mother’s Day Tribute

My Mother’s Day Tribute

To all the Mom’s out there my best wishes for a wonderful Mother’s Day coming this Sunday. Here’s my video Mother’s Day salute to all of you. My Mom was a wonderful cook. I really can’t remember a bad meal, no, not even a mediocre 

Limoncello: Sunshine in a Glass

Limoncello: Sunshine in a Glass

When some people have a lemon they make lemonade. When I have lemons I make limoncello, the famous liqueur from Sorrento on the Bay of Naples. Limoncello is sunshine in a bottle. One sip and I overflow with memories of Sorrento, Capri and the Amalfi Coast, 

North Beach First Friday Art Crawl

North Beach First Friday Art Crawl

A fingernail moon glowed brightly low in the Maxfield Parrish dark blue sky. Live music, restaurant chatter and laughter filled the night air. The galleries were packed for last night’s First Friday art crawl, the art in the  galleries superb. Don’t miss Nicholas Coley’s new 

Pasta Fazool, Pasta e Fagioli, Pasta & Beans

Pasta Fazool, Pasta e Fagioli, Pasta & Beans

Don’t miss the next recipe video: Subscribe now to my YouTube channel. I ate a lot of pasta and beans growing up in Jersey. My Mom made it often and I loved it. So when pasta fazool, as we called it back East, was a Viewer’s Choice 

Cannoli Siciliani: Crispy Tubes Filled with Sweet Creamy Ricotta

Cannoli Siciliani: Crispy Tubes Filled with Sweet Creamy Ricotta

Don’t miss the next recipe video: Subscribe now to my YouTube channel. Often at the end of a special meal growing up in Jersey Italian pastries would cap off the day’s celebration. I’d visit Ferrara’s Pastry on Bloomfield Avenue in Newark and buy a dozen and a 

Torta Pasqualina: Easter Greens & Ricotta Cake

Torta Pasqualina: Easter Greens & Ricotta Cake

Don’t miss the next recipe video: Subscribe now to my YouTube channel. Easter is a relaxed holiday. There’s a saying “Natale con i tuoi. Pasqua con chi vuoi.” Christmas with your family. Easter with whomever you like. In Italy the Easter celebration spills over to Monday, called 

Easter Roasted Spring Lamb

Easter Roasted Spring Lamb

Don’t miss the next recipe video: Subscribe now to my YouTube channel. This is the time of the year to enjoy baby milk-fed lamb or baby goat. The season lasts maybe 6 weeks running up to Easter. The prized animals are slaughtered before they are weaned and 

A Pile of Chicken Cutlets

A Pile of Chicken Cutlets

It started innocently enough. I had a bunch of stale bread so I decided to make breadcrumbs this morning. I bought chicken cutlets at Little City to make Chicken Marsala today. But the fresh breadcrumbs won me over and I fried up chicken cutlets instead. You can have 

Tiramisu is an Easy Pick-me-Up

Tiramisu is an Easy Pick-me-Up

Don’t miss the next recipe video: Subscribe now to my YouTube channel. Want a “pick-me-up”? That’s the meaning of tiramisu and with its potent hits of espresso and alcohol, it is the perfect ending to a perfect meal. Tiramisu was one of the favorite dolci at my 

Baby Artichokes: Eat the Whole Thing

Baby Artichokes: Eat the Whole Thing

Baby artichokes are in the market at a very attractive price. I bought some to create a crispy delight. Be sure to buy plenty. This is another one of those treats that gets poached off the stove by family and friends before the baby artichokes 

Cacio e Pepe: Spaghetti with a No-Cook Pecorino & Black Pepper Sauce

Cacio e Pepe: Spaghetti with a No-Cook Pecorino & Black Pepper Sauce

It’s ridiculous how a few quality ingredients can make such a sumptuous pasta dish. When in Rome cacio e pepe is one of two pasta dishes that I order at one of my favorite restaurants as soon as I arrive. If you’re really hungry and 

North Beach’s Il Casaro Pizzeria & Mozzarella Bar Opens

North Beach’s Il Casaro Pizzeria & Mozzarella Bar Opens

A couple of months ago I told you about Il Casaro (the cheese maker), the soon-to-open North Beach pizzeria and mozzarella bar. Well it finally happened a couple of days ago and I stopped in to wish my friend Francesco “Buona Fortuna”. He sat me at the end