Italian Wedding Soup: Chicken and Escarole Soup with Veal Meatballs
Chicken and escarole soup with tiny veal meatballs is an Italian-American classic often called the Italian Wedding Soup. It’s easy to make and it’s delicious.
Recent Posts
Join Gianni for a Culinary Tour of Emilia-Romagna
The crowds have thinned and the September weather is glorious. The markets overflow. It’s one of my favorite seasons to visit Italia. It’s a fine time to settle into the region of Emilia-Romagna the culinary heart of Italia. Prosciutto and parmigiano come from Parma and …
Cook with Gianni Live in North Beach
Cooking Class at Cookhouse My friend Chef Tom Herndon of Hipp Kitchen asked if I wanted to do a cooking class showcasing the rustic food of Italia. Tom teaches those with food allergies and sensitivities so I’m cooking without gluten, dairy, shellfish, soy or peanuts. …
North Beach Italian Restaurant List
I found a Yelp list of North Beach Italian restaurants listed 1 to 50. Actually there aren’t 50 places. Some are listed more than once and a couple have closed. Before you get to the list and all of the comments I can’t help adding …
Caponata Siciliana (Eggplant and Vegetable Cooked Salad)
I scored some beautiful small Italian eggplant at Union Street Produce so I just had to make caponata. I love this flavor-packed sweet-sour eggplant side dish (condimento) from Sicilia. Usually I make caponata during the summer when the eggplant and tomatoes are at their prime. I …
Washington Square Park Now Complete
There was just one shuttered space left on the blocks surrounding Washington Square Park. Now there are none. The historic Original Joe’s restaurant re-opened in North Beach Thursday more than four years after a fire shuttered its Taylor Street location in the Tenderloin. “Joe’s Special,” a …
Broadway Corridor Coming Back
“It takes a village,” was the frequent refrain at a community meeting at Broadway Studios. The group gathered to develop a strategy to bring Broadway back. Call me crazy but after years of decline I think it’s happening. Maybe the transformation of Big Al’s sex …
Friday Recipe–Roasted Baby Eggplant
Here’s a really simple dish that brings out all of the sweet creamy flavor of these little gems. It’s one of the recipes from my first eCookbook–North Beach Italian: Vegetable Dishes, Volume 1. https://gianni.tv/giannis-first-recipe-ebook-is-available-now/ It takes about 10 minutes to prepare and get the baby eggplant …
2012 The Year of the Meatloaf?
So says The Chronicle’s Paolo Lucchesi, meatloaf along with pickles will be hot in 2012. Maybe I’m ahead of the curve on the pickle front. Try my pickled vinegar peppers and my giardiniera (pickled vegetables) that I posted late last year. My Mom’s meatloaf or …
SF Examiner in My Kitchen
Gianni’s North Beach was featured in a San Francisco Examiner article. The reporter and photographer joined me while we were filming our 3 new episodes.
Father and Son Reunited in North Beach
The white butcher paper with the funny Italian sayings covering the windows for months is finally coming down. Geppetto, North Beach’s second salumeria (Italian deli) will have a soft opening tomorrow. “God willing,” says owner Giovannni Zocco. Geppetto (658 Vallejo between Columbus and Grant) is …
Oh No! Piazza Market Closed
Piazza Market on Vallejo Street closed on Tuesday. As I reported last month North Beach could lose a critical street on it’s southern edge. Several North Beach businesses were in play and the future of the Vallejo between Columbus and Stockton was in doubt. Now …
North Beach 2012 – A New Dawn
A new dawn in San Francisco’s North Beach? Will the Village be stronger in 2012 than it has been in 60 years?
A North Beach Valentine’s Day
Many of you have been reading last year’s Valentine’s Day post Accidental Heart a cute memory from when I was a kid in Jersey. It’s that time of year again. Valentine’s Day is next Tuesday. I’m not a big fan of going out for dinner on Valentine’s Day. It’s …