Our first Stanley Tucci Recipe of the Season: Bucatini alla Calabrese Stanley Tucci’s “Searching for Italy” is back and it’s as irresistible as ever.  The season opener found Stanley and his parents in their native Calabria.  The toe on “the boot”, both Stanley’s maternal and…

These are the most tender meatballs I have ever tasted. The meatball is made all over the world. There are literally hundreds of recipes for them. The Italians, however, make what may be the world’s best-loved meatballs. Originally, the meatball was made to be able…

Today we thought we’d take you along on a Wine Tour in Tuscany, bring Guanciale home and make the best Carbonara ever! Carbonara: “Hot pasta tossed with a creamy sauce of raw beaten eggs, accentuated with crisp bits of Guanciale and finished with a shower…

Tomorrow is National Meatball Day Let’s face it: The Meatball is truly a gift. Beef, Pork, Veal, Chicken, Lamb, and Turkey all make a great meatball.  Lately, vegans have started making vegetable meatballs. I have yet to try VeganBalls. But boy do I love meatballs. …

If you’re looking for a great plant-based dinner, you’ve come to the right place. This easy, meatless pasta dinner uses only 6 ingredients and takes 30 minutes to make. Every item is store-bought from the pasta itself to jarred marinara sauce. You can use any…

Polpettone in Crosta. An Italian take on Meatloaf takes the dish to another level! “Meatloaf” never looked more spectacular or tasted anything quite like Sofia’s Polpettone. Its crunchy shell of puff pastry revealed a richly seasoned pork and veal mixture greatly enhanced a handful of…

Don’t miss out on this year’s farm-fresh tomatoes. Make this now. I cannot get enough of this year’s tomato crop.  I would eat them every day if they all tasted like our Long Island tomatoes this year.  And when I made this recipe from Food…

Bon Appetit’s June/July 2021 is a keeper. Not just because its cover heralds “21 Speedy Summer Recipes”.  I’ve already cooked my way through four of them. Earlier this week, it was the jumping off point for our Corn Snap Pea Sausage Rigatoni.  Today it’s this…

This wonderful pasta dish is a great weeknight find.  A hack makes it even better.                       I like to make pasta at least once a week. It is our go-to comfort food. This week, I…

The Bolognese Revelation from Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy – An Authentic Twist You Need to Know When it comes to Bolognese, we’ve all been in the habit of letting it simmer for hours, haven’t we? That slow-cooked, rich, meaty flavor developing bit by bit,…

I was tempted to call this Maiale all Milanese Tonnato. Or Tonkatsu Tonnato. This creamy-rich tonnato sauce, flavored with premium tuna filets, creates a wonderful balance to its richness with fresh lemon and pickled caperberries. The luxurious sauce instantly elevates the dish with a perfect…

Stanley Tucci’s 6-part series for CNN is an Italophile’s dream. For one hour a week, its viewers are immersed in the food of a single region of Italy.  For lovers of the Italian language, there’s a surprising amount of it spoken here. Subtitles are provided…

I would be hard-pressed to find a recipe any easier than this one. As easy as it is, it delivers a wonderfully creamy rich soup so packed with cheese tortellini and fresh spinach and carrots, I’d be tempted to call it a stew.  The secret…

This bowl of cold-weather comfort revealed quite a secret. This hearty Tuscan bean soup is a perfect combination of smooth, silky soup topped with crispy, crunchy croutons.  It also fulfills our promise to put more plant-based meals together this year. And we’re not alone.  Americans…