Coffee Entertaining Tip #01

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In summer we never toss in the sink whatever coffee is left in our moka pot, rather we keep on filling ice cube trays with it and we make “espresso iced cubes”! Add two or three cubes to a half glass of cold whole milk in a hot summer morning to get going.

Creamy Mocha Popsicle

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Summer seem to have finally arrived in NYC! We successfully concluded one very intense week of food photography for our upcoming cookbook, it has been a continuous feast as we cooked about 10-13 recipes a day; ate a lot, drank a lot. Today we rest, kids are in school for one final week, Debi and I need to make the most of it, maybe a couple of lunch dates?! We met in the kitchen as we do everyday after I drop the kids at school and walk the dog, and started chatting about stuff; we are both very tired because of last week, not really planning much for the day. Continue Reading…

Pasta al Vino (with Sausage and Saffron)

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My wife described this pasta last week, as we were testing the recipe, as “very feminine”… to me it means that this dish makes a perfect lunch!
As much as this sauce is rich in flavor, it is not an aggressive recipe for your palate, it has no kick, so to speak, but more a very round and politically correct aroma that you can feel on the back of your palate… you can smell it from the “inside”… balsamic, yes, that’s the right word. Never described a pasta dish as balsamic in my life though… I guess try the recipe and let me know if you understand what I mean. Continue Reading…

Lemon Brulé Tart

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Do you ever wake up with a craving? Do you ever start titillating with the idea of a luxurious dinner, even before taking the first sip of your morning coffee? I usually do. Very often it gives a whole new purpose to the day I am about to live, setting the pace for what I will shop for, when I will start cooking, and also very often it dictates what I will have for lunch… yes, when I plan my family dinners I often find myself starving throughout the day, to make sure that when 7 pm comes around I am ready to literally attack the table. Continue Reading…

A Lesson in Sangiovese: Tuscany’s Most Famous Varietal

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An Etruscan export since the 7th century BC, Chianti is the 3rd most recognized wine in the world. But how much do you really know about Sangiovese, Chianti’s main grape? Continue Reading…

Italian Wine Takes Over San Francisco, Part 1: Slow Wine 2013

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For Italian wine lovers, last week was epic in the city of San Francisco.

First came the Slow Wine 2013 tasting event, which brought together over 50 producers, all of whom are featured in this year’s Slow Wine Guide. The guide, which was first published in English last year by Slow Food Editore, is something of a counterpoint to the controversial 100-point rating system employed by folks like Robert Parker. In the Slow Wine Guide, much attention is given to winemaking practices from vine to glass, focusing on sustainability. Wines are not scored by number, but described and put into the context of the Italian wine landscape. Continue Reading…

National Drink Wine Day

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I don’t know who’s in charge of making up fake holidays, but I’m happy to partake in National Drink Wine Day, which has been celebrated for at least a few years now on February 18. This year, let’s try something a bit different. Today I’m going to focus on a few suggestions from a local South Florida winery. “South Florida Wine? You can’t even grow grapes in South Florida!” Continue Reading…

Pairing Sauce With Pasta

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If you live in Italy, the best way to get the neighbors to gossip about you is by serving pasta with the wrong sauce. Sure, there are over 600 different types of Italian pasta, but without the sauce nobody will want to eat the dish. While food naturally pairs better with certain wines, so too certain pastas pair better with certain sauces. Pici wants ragù, for example and that’s how Italians see it. Basta. Continue Reading…

Moving? Don’t know where your wine opener is? I’ve got you covered.

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I recently relocated. Beyond what fit in my truck around the carrier for one oversized, excessively furry cat, all of my posessions spent a few weeks under the guardianship of Wheaton van lines. Stumbling into the Trader Joe’s in my new city, desperate for a brief respite from my environs–which looked like Hoarders after the movers left–I zombie-shuffled my way to the wine aisle. And then realized I had no idea where my wine opener was. Now what was I going to drink? Continue Reading…