Food

To understand something about Italian cooking you must first understand that Italy is a very young country, just over 150 years old, but a very old region. Before becoming a country, Italy was divided into kingdoms, dukedoms, republics,…

Visiting an outdoor food market in Italy is not just a task to restock your kitchen, it is an event for the senses. Stroll the rows of stands to take in the sights, sounds and smells. One moment the waft of flower’s perfume might bring back…

Consider this scenario: You are at New York’s legendary Italian restaurant, Carmine’s. The air is thick with the smell of Italian spices and red sauce, and as you enter heaped plates of spaghetti and garlic bread are placed on red and white…

We’ve almost all done it. We’ve gone to Olive Garden or some similar chain, enjoyed the American-style Italian meal of endless salad and breadsticks followed by a hearty dish of chunks of white-meat chicken breast over fettuccini Alfredo.…

What do Silvio Berlusconi and Paula Dean have in common? They don’t celebrate the same birthday or partake in the same unique hobby. These figures are worlds apart politically and culturally, but they share an affinity for dense corn…

What’s more difficult than learning enough Italian so you can order delicious prosciutto? Choosing what kind of prosciutto to purchase! One of the greatest gifts to mankind is the ability to cure. Curing disease is one achievement and it…

Dinner in Italy has the reputation of being a grand affair, typically made up of many courses and lasting at least two hours. It all starts with an appetizer, or antipasto, perhaps a plate of buffalo mozzarella with slices of prosciutto or…

Salami is as Italian as it gets and each type is almost always made with pork. Prosciutto is also a product of pig. At butcher shops in Italy, nearly every part of swine is available for purchase, including whole piglet. It goes without…

Italians love their coffee, and for most of them it is a four time a day ritual. Breakfast is never an elaborate affair. Instead of those heavy American meals replete with bacon, eggs, cheese, onions, and potatoes, accompanied by…

Wedding cakes have all kinds of significance. From the color of the icing to the cutting of the cake, every part of the tradition means something special, depending on the culture. For example, have you ever wondered why newlyweds smear a…