Father’s Day: Mussels with Hot Tomato Sauce

Father’s Day: Mussels with Hot Tomato Sauce

Father’s Day is June 15. You know me. Holidays bring back food memories. Here’s one from my Dad Gennaro (aka Jerry). My Mom was always at the stove so my Dad didn’t cook often.  But when he did Dad made some really good dishes. This 

Hamburgers with Cheese In & Out

Hamburgers with Cheese In & Out

Here’s a twist to your standard hamburger. Since it’s reported that Americans eat 3 hamburgers a week I thought you’d want to customize one. Mix in some chopped garlic, parsley and Worcestershire sauce to perk up the beef. I stuff mine with fresh mozzarella and 

Panzanella: Summer Tomato & Bread Salad

Panzanella: Summer Tomato & Bread Salad

A few days ago in a post on my pasta e fagioli video episode, Markus asked that I make panzanella, a simple Tuscan peasant summer salad. I said I would when the summer tomatoes hit the farmers market. The first crop of Early Girls won’t be 

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 

A New Ship Docks in North Beach

A New Ship Docks in North Beach

Just kidding. You know that North Beach really isn’t a beach anymore. If you took my tour you know why. Look at the new North Beach Library Branch that opened today. The beautiful sleek design looks like a modern ocean liner slipped it’s Fisherman’s Wharf 

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