The Best Italian & Italian-American Recipes on the Internet
Are you ready for your New Year’s Eve celebration? Be sure to include these Italian tips and recipes in your plans. You won’t be sorry in 2014 that you did. There’s an Italian saying that what you do on New Year’s Eve you’ll do all year …
I’m just back from Christmas in the redwood forests overlooking the Pacific on the northern Sonoma coast a few hours north of San Francisco. Our Christmas dinner on top of the ridge included roast turkey and baked ham. When I got ready to head back …
Everyone’s out this morning to get the last few items they need for their holiday table. The lines are out the door at North Beach’s Molinari Deli and Victoria Pastry. Look at all those hopeful people in line at 100-year old Liguria Bakery trying to …
I love these delicate fried dough ribbons that show up on the table at the end of the meal this time of year. I have 2 problems with them though. I don’t know what to call them and once I start eating them I can’t …
For a quick and easy 7-Fish Christmas Eve dinner watch this video recipe to make cioppino, a San Francisco Italian fish stew, all in one pot.
I’m hosting this year’s holiday party with my office mates this week. It’s a challenge because I have to put together a meal that satisfies all of the dietary requirements of the guests at my table. No shellfish, no nuts, one vegetarian and one who’s …
“Make homemade ricotta ravioli for Saturday’s dinner,” my Seattle friend told me before she boarded her plane. And so started a day of shopping and eating in North Beach with friends. Those are my shadows on the dining room wall. I’m holding a tray of ricotta …
The Virginia branch of the family gathered at my nephew’s beautiful new house on Smith Mountain Lake in the Blue Ridge Mountains. No one but my sister and brother-in-law knew I was joining 3 generations for this Thanksgiving gathering. As each wave of the family arrived …
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 …
A northern Jersey friend enjoyed this yellow onion and anchovy whole wheat pasta dish several years ago at da Flora, one of my favorite North Beach restaurants. The food memory haunted her ever since. She hasn’t been to San Francisco since that dinner at da …
There’s been a chill in the air so I decided to make my first soup of the fall season. Minestrone was at the top of my list. It’s easy to make, delicious and good for you. The most difficult part of this recipe is chopping …
I promised to make a lasagna for our office potluck lunch Thursday. As I got ready for a trip to LA I tried to beg off making the lasagna. I knew I wouldn’t be in the mood to make a lasagna because I was flying …
Here’s my friend Susan’s favorite pasta. She has it everytime she’s visiting me in San Francisco. It’s a riff on a Jen McMahon’s dish at the wonderful old-school North Beach restaurant da Flora. Susan bugged me so much I had to ask Jen for the …
I ended my birthday celebration with 3 glorious days in Boston. I knew I had to eat at NEBO and booked a table. It was my birthday and my friends’ anniversary celebratory 4-course dinner. NEBO named for its original location in Boston’s vibrant Little Italy (North End Boston) recently …
North Beach is San Francisco’s Heart
What’s not to love in North Beach, the heart of San Francisco? Carl Nolte’s Chronicle column surveys it all. Plus, a North Beach food shopping spree and a marvelous art exhibit.