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Who was the daring chef to make the very first omelet and defy all manner of French economical thinking? She or he was a courageous being, for anyone who knows the French knows they are thrifty and clever in all ways. Which means that to make an omelet meant breaking many eggs and those eggs …
Could it be true that the people of Campania and nearby Naples are the most patriotic in the world? I wouldn’t know how to measure this, except perhaps by their cuisine. And if you look at the two major dishes they’ve exported to the world, you might be tempted to answer in the affirmative. Go …
Before our recent trip to Naples, I lined up a restaurant kitchen so that Sami and I could film a video for you. I had vague ideas for subjects but knew that once there I’d find something specific. It turned out even better than that. Go to Video Villa del Carmelo Some background. We were …
Nonno’s Spaghettone with Simple San Marzano Sauce Read More »
There is something about fennel that you may not have known. It’s part of a group of vegetables called “diskènes” which can be consumed as a spice, an herb, and a vegetable. If you love fennel, you instinctively know that, but who knew it was an actual category? And it’s a pretty big one at …
When I was a child, my mother served us artichokes whenever she could find them. I was the only one I knew who ate them, delighting in pulling off each leaf and dipping it into wonderful melted butter. We were a big family, and food was our heart and soul. Getting a big, fat artichoke …
Go to Recipe Go to Video What do you get when you melt peppers, onions, and garlic in olive oil over heat that caresses, then wrap the mixture in buttery pastry and bake again? Frita! Frita From the Maghreb Frita is a dish from the Maghreb, and I know it through the hands of my …
Frita, the Gorgeous Dish You Will Love Forevermore! Read More »
Go to Recipe Go to Video That’s what a little American girl said when she was visiting and I served soft boiled eggs with toasty, buttered “mouillettes” for dinner. She was beside herself with joy to dip toast into her soft yolk over and over. “We only eat eggs for breakfast,” she said, her mouth …
Go to Recipe Go to Video A wonderful thing about French cuisine is its flights of fancy. With a few, simple “tours de main” or tricks, the French chef transforms one thing into another, always managing to keep the integrity of the original. Examples Let’s take some examples. The lemon. Leave it to the French …
Go to Recipe Go to Video I love going to a friends’ house for dinner, particularly when the friend might be French, and might love to cook, and might just be making something amazing like Tomato Mustard Tart as either a first or main course. Learn Dishes Like This and So Much More at Live …
Go to Recipe Go to Video It all began with Pope Clement VII in the 16th century. He was a seed collector, it seems, and he gave some bean seeds to an Italian humanist, Valeriano, who had links with the Medicis family while they were in Florence. Valeriano shared the seeds with Clement’s niece Catherine …
