May 14, 2010
Il Cantuccio is a great little artisanal bake shop that just opened in the West Village in Manhattan. It offers a nice array of pastries including its famed Cantucci which come in a variety of flavors such as Cantucci with Almonds (original version), with Chocolate, with Prunes and with Apricots. Owned by three partners, Camilla, Simone and Leonardo, this lovely spot on the corner of Christopher Street really brought me back to Florence.
-Susannah Gold
Camilla noted that Americans haven’t yet caught on to the joys of eating schiacchiata. Schiacchiata is the name for Tuscan flatbread. It comes in both sweet and not sweet versions. Schiacchiata all’olio is one of the most typical afternoon snacks in Florence. Schiacciata is more familiar to Americans with the name Focaccia.
It is delicious as a sandwich bread with prosciutto or other meats or cheese or on its own.
Il Cantuccio is a sister restaurant to one in Florence on the Via Nazionale. There is also a third location in another town in Tuscany called Campo Bisenzio. The bakery has seating and is open from 800am to Midnight. They serve coffee and other treats for breakfast or brunch as well.
Although they have only been open for 19 days as of this blog post, it already feels like a neighborhood hangout. Warm and friendly, Il Cantuccio is a great place for a coffee. They also serve an almond paste cookie not to be missed called Brutti Buoni – loosely translated it means ugly but good.
-SG
1 Comment | 
Baking, Cooking, Dessert, Italian Regions, olive oil, Tuscany | Tagged: Cantucci with Almonds, Cantucci with Chocolate, Cantucci with Prunes, Florence, focaccia, Il Cantuccio, New bakery in West Village, Schiacchiata, Schiacchiata all'olio, Tuscany | 
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Posted by radicchioblog
May 6, 2010
Trippa or Tripe is often considered a delicacy in Italy despite having very humble origins, much like the craze for Roman peasant cooking that has taken New York by storm. In Florence for example Trippa alla Fiorentina is a very well known dish. Tripe is made from cow’s stomach and sometimes other internal parts. In Florence, tripe is often sold off of carts the way hot dogs are hawked on the streets of New York. A very famous version of Tripe in Florence is called Lampredotto, a well cooked version of the food. Florence isn’t the only place in Italy where tripe is well loved and tripe can be cooked in many ways as these recipes show.
Tripe is often cooked with tomatoes but it can also be flavored with mint, typical in Rome or cooked with an eggplant dish, a staple in Palermo or with parsley in Turin. Tripe is seen in menus throughout Italy and is used by traditional cooks and well as modernists.
In New York City, tripe can be found in many ethnic restaurants but it hasn’t yet created the splash that other parts of the quinto quarto or internal organs have. It will surely have its moment in the sun. It is just a question of time.
-Susannah Gold
Leave a Comment » | Cooking, Dining, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italian Regions, Piedmont, Sicily, Tuscany | Tagged: Florence, Friuli Venezia Giulia, internal meats, Italian humble dishes, lampredotto, Quinto quarto, Rome, tripe, trippa alla fiorentina, trippa alla romana, Turin | Permalink
Posted by radicchioblog
April 29, 2010
Italy is renowned for its wealth of fruits and vegetables. One such vegetable is Asparagus. The Consorzio Asparago Piacentino has been actively promoting the healthy attributes of this elegant vegetable with the tagline – a Sana Tentazione or a healthy craving.
According to materials from the Consortium, Asparagus are famous for its characteristic as an antidepressant, as an antioxidant and for its high level of fiber. Additionally it has a variety of amino acids that can be considered a diurectic.
In promoting Italian products, consortium countrywide are now referring to the length of the chain between suppliers and consumers. The shorter the better is the idea. Additionally, food producers are once again promoting the idea of eating fruits and vegetables in season and the use of few chemicals.
This asparagus consortium is located in Northern Italy in the province of Lombardy but there are numerous consortium throughout the country. Piacenza is a town that most people associate with salami and other charcuterie products as well as the delicious but not dietic gnoccho fritto.
Whether eating gnoccho fritto with charcuterie or tasting the delicious asparagus from these parts, this lower part of Lombardy has some interesting food and wine traditions.
-Susannah Gold
Leave a Comment » | Cooking, Fruits, Italian Regions, Lombardy, Vegetables | Tagged: charcuterie, consorzio asparago piacentino, Gnoccho fritto recipe, gnocco fritto, Italian fruits and vegetables, italian vegetables, Lombardy, piacenza, salumi | Permalink
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April 27, 2010
Food is a topic that is on everyone’s mind and these days what is genuine Italian is a hot topic. This evening, three owners of Italian Specialty shops in New York city will share their secrets and talk about smart shopping. The lecture is part of a series of six educational lectures organized by Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo’ and the Gruppo Ristoratori Italiani.
The panel includes Lou DiPalo of Dipalo’s Fine Foods whose family originally hails from Basilicata. DiPalo’s family opened its first shop in 1910. Today’s store is much larger than any of its previous incarnations and Lou’s son has opened his own wine shop next door.
The second guest at the lecture will be Louis Coluccio Jr of DColuccio & Sons in Brooklyn. Louis Jr. is very entertaining and passionate about food, especially those that his family has been importing for decades.
The third speak is Antonio Magliulo of Buonitalia in the Chelsea Market. Buonitalia is very well known in New York restaurant circles and many order directly from his wholesale business. There is also a lovely cafe’ within the premises and many consider it to have some of the best espresso in New York. All told, the evening should be exciting with tidbits and new information. I’m looking forward to going.
-Susannah Gold
8 Comments | Cheeses, Coffee Bars, Cooking, Cured Meats, Dining, Events, Fresh Pasta, Fruits, Grains, Ingredients, Restaurants, Uncategorized | Tagged: Anthony Magliulo, Buonitalia, Coluccio & Sons, Dipalo's, Gruppo Ristoratori Italiani, lectures on food, Lou DiPaolo, Louis Coluccio Jr., NYU Casa Italiana, Zerilli Marimo' | Permalink
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April 26, 2010
Whenever the munchies overcome my weak will power and I feel like something tasty but not too heavy that is authentic Italian and reasonably priced, one of my favorite destinations in NYC is Bocca. An elegant eatery in Gramercy, a neighborhood packed with culinary heavyweights, Bocca is a Roman restaurant that offers culinary specialties for every palate. Executive chef David Buico has designed lunch and dinner menus that feature the most savory old time Roman classics, like Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe, home made pasta served with precorino romano and coarse black pepper, Maccheroni alla Gricia, bronze casted and slowly dried pasta served with guanciale, coarse black pepper and pecorino di fossa, Maialino al forno e carciofi alla romana, slow roasted suckling pig with roasted fingerling potatoes and artichokes, and many other favorites.
But that’s not all – something else is worth mentioning, something that many restaurants don’t really pay too much attention to: the bar menu. At the bar it is possible to satisfy any craving and the crowd’s favorite is Supplì al telefono (Fried rice balls “on the phone”).
Filling yet smooth, Supplì al telefono is a dish that is very popular in Rome and it’s not unusual, when making risotto, to make some extra on purpose in order to make these delicious rice balls using the leftovers (common belief is that when the rice is older it holds together firmly so that the balls do not break during the frying process). The name comes from the dish’s visual effect, meaning that when you bite into the supplì the melted mozzarella that is hiding in the flavorful rice flows out in long strips, somehow resembling the cord connecting a telephone handset to the hook. Arborio and/or Carnaroli rice is perfect for making supplì.
Supplì can be seen as a variant of Sicily’s arancini or Naples’ palline di riso or as a kind of croquette.
By Natasha Lardera
2 Comments | Dining, Grains, Ingredients, Lazio, Rice | Tagged: Bocca NYC, Dining, Italian Regions, Lazio, rice | Permalink
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April 22, 2010
While visitors to New York might stop at Zabar’s or Dean and Deluca looking for local delicacies and foreign foods, no visit to the Northern Italian city of Milan would be complete without a stop at Peck. Peck is a Milanese institution and has been around since 1883.
Peck is renowed for both food and wine. It offers products for sale as well as prepared foods to take out and has a restaurant and a tea shop. It also has a very well stocked wine shop where you can find many foreigner as well as Italian wines, somewhat of a rarity.
Peck has also begun to sell some of its wares under a private label at airports in Italy so if you can’t make it to Milan but are flying through Italy, be sure to pick something up. They sell all sorts of sauces, pastas and olive oils made specifically for the store. The best way to sample Peck’s foods though is to come to Milan, a city which is much overlooked but which is always ready to welcome weary travelers.
Peck is located in the center of the city right near the Duomo of Milan in via Spadari. Try not to miss it on your next trip to the Lombard capital.
1 Comment | Cooking, Dining, Italian Regions, Lombardy, olive oil | Tagged: dean and deluca, duomo of milan, famous italian food store, italian delicacies, italian foods, Lombardy, Milan, peck, wines, zabars | Permalink
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April 20, 2010
The urban winery has become part of city life in many parts of the world, including New York City with City Winery. At City Winery, you can learn how to make wine with winemaker David Lecomte.
In Milan, La Vineria has taken the concept a step further and has reproduced what many Italians grew up with, vino sfuso (wine from the tap) in containers to bring home in the city.
La Vineria is located in a side street off of the Navigli, the canals of Milan. They offer wines in large tanks which can be put into your own containers or they will bottle it for you. La Vineria also sells olive oil. Both the wines and the olive oil are offered at farm prices just as if you went to the winery to buy it out in the country. This was the idea of the founder of La Vineria, Aaron Brussolo, and the experience that he wanted to recreate.
To give you an idea of the difference in price, most supermarket wines in Italy are sold at 3 euro and up for a 750 ml bottle of wine. La Vineria sells its Vino Sfuso at 1.80 euro per liter. They also deliver wine to your home and sell it in a Bag in the Box.
1 Comment | Ingredients, Lombardy, olive oil, Wining | Tagged: Aaron Brussolo, Bag in the Box, City Winery, David Lecomte, Farm wines, La Vineria, Milan, olive oil, Urban Wineries, Vino Sfuso | Permalink
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April 19, 2010
Milan has become quite an international city thanks to its’ stylish fashion shows, design fairs and museums. The city is in tumult and looks more like Shanghai than its previous incarnation as construction companies create skyscrapers, new industrial parks and public architecture. Much of the new construction is in anticipation of the Expo 2015. A large part of the Expo is going to be dedicated to food, according to panels in an exhibit about famed Chef Gualtiero Marchesi at the Castello Sforzesco. The Castello itself which sits smack in the center of the city has undergone many renovations and now is a hot tourist stop with many exhibits, among them one on Gualtiero Marchesi. Marchesi is perhaps the most famous of all Italian chefs with two restaurants, one in Milan and one in Franciacorta in a town called Erbusco. Early on, Marchesi was experimenting with different cuisines such as the Japanese one and mixing traditional Italian dishes with new oriental accents. He is also the first to place gold leaf in risotto and many other innovative tricks. A new exhibit dedicated to the Chef opened Saturday, April 17 and runs until June 2010. Marchesi himself will be on hand for a few cooking demonstrations. Don’t miss it if you are in Milan.
Leave a Comment » | Cooking, Lombardy, Uncategorized | Tagged: Castello Sforzesco, Citta della Moda, Erbusco, Expo 2015, fashion in Milan, Franciacorta, Gualtiero Marchesi, Italian Chefs, Milan, Salone del Mobile | Permalink
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March 18, 2010
What should you have in your pantry at all times in order to be able to whip up an Italian meal? Many cooks have an opinion on this one but there are some basic staples that they all seem to agree upon: dried pasta, olive oil, tomatoes, parmigiano reggiano and/or grana padana. These four items make up the base. Some cooks then add things that are less basic such as Sicilian Sea Salt while others included canned Tuna and Italian fruit preserves.
For years, this writer would have included pepperoncino but a friend rightly pointed out that that spice could be used in many different cuisines not just in the Italian one. Some people say that garlic should be included but that is not the opinion of others and in fact, Italian cuisine doesn’t always use garlic just some of the Italian cuisines….This was another good point that my friend made, Italian cuisine is regional and not all of the regions have the same types of foods so it is hard to discuss an all encompassing Italian cuisine. That said, it seems fairly common to find the first four items on every regional table.
7 Comments | Ingredients | Tagged: Authentic Italian Ingredients, Italian cuisine | Permalink
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March 16, 2010
Most people have heard of the famous thin bread from Sardinia known as Pane Carasau or Carta Musica. You can find it in many places in the United States as well. This bread is the traditional flat crispy bread that one associates with Sardinia and is made from Sardinian flour, yeast and water. The dough is left to rise for half a day and then it is kneaded again and left to rise again, like Lazarus. The dough is then split into balls and rolled ou thinly. It is left to stand for several hours and then is baked.Once it rises, the bread is taken out of the oven and is cut horizontally through the middle. The new halves are baked again.
The bread can be stored for up to one year. In addition to Pane Carasau, Sardinian bakeries make Pane Pintatu which is a tad thicker and Pane Guttiatu, a bread flavored with olive oil and salt. This website gives recipes for a variety of interesting Sardinian breads.
Many pastas are also made in Sardinia. The most famous or well known is fregola made from durum wheat semolina but gnocchetti sardi and malloreddus are other pastas which shouldn’t be forgotten. Despite the fact that Sardinia is an island, the cuisine is not particularly seafood based but is more of a mountain cuisine. Traditionally, many Sardinians lived in the interior and have worked as shepards and the like, tending to a flock of sheep, hence the long tradition of pecorino cheese, roasted lamb and pork.
Getting back to pasta, Malloreddus, is a small, gnocchi-like pasta with some saffron in the dough. Traditionally it is cooked with a tomato or meat sauce. Another speciaty is their version of ravioli called culingiones, which is oval or round and stuffed with spinach and pecorino cheese. Still another dish which abounds is spaghetti with bottarga. Bottarga are dried roe of the grey mullet or Mediterranean tuna. The Sardinian version is a bit different than the Sicilian. Both are delicious but can be an acquired taste.
3 Comments | Cheeses, Cooking, Fresh Pasta, Italian Regions, Sardinia | Tagged: Fregola, Malloreddus, Pane Carasau, pecorino, Sardinia | Permalink
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