Ingredients: History, Uses & More
Aperitifs to Coffee
Sauces and Condiments
Breads & Pizza
Principi -- Antipasti & Other Beginnings
Soups, Gnocchi and Polenta
Pasta Recipes and Sauces
Rice & Risotto
Fish-based Italian Dishes
Italian Meat Recipes
Vegetables and Side Dishes
Cakes, Pies, Pastries, Biscotti and More
Italian Regional Cuisines
Italian Holiday Dishes & Meals
Weekly Recipes & Recipe Indexes
Before You Buy
Product Reviews
Top Picks
Sites in Italian
Elsewhere On The Net
Central Italian Travel
Cooking Schools & Organized Tours
Culinary Philosophy & Other Things
Italian Art: It's Not Just in the Kitche
Northern Italian Travel
Italian Travel & Exploration
South Italian Travel
Online Shops and Stores
Tips & Tricks: Advice & Assistance
Wines & Wine Considerations
Northern Italian Wines
Central Italian Wines
Southern Italian Wines
Italian Grapes (and Wines) Abroad
Arancini, Fritters, And Snacks
Fish Based Antipasti
Meat Based Antipasti
Vegetable Based Antipasti
Fish Soups
Hearty Legume and Pasta Based Soups
Light and Clear Soups
Minestrone and other Vegetable Soups
Gnocchi Recipes
Pasta Basics
Cream Sauces
Fish Sauces
Meat Sauces
Green Vegetable Sauces
Lemon, onion, and other sauces
Red Vegetable Sauces
Mushroom-Based Vegetable Sauces
Baked Pasta
Stuffed Pasta
Miscellaneous First Courses
Creamy, Cheesy, and Wine Risotti
Fish Based Risotti
Meat-Based Risotto
Vegetarian Risotti
Polenta Recipes
Boiled Beef and More
Beef: Braciole, Involtini, Steaks, Etc.
Beef & Veal-based Stews and Roasts
Chicken, Capon, Gunea Hen...
Cured Meats: Salami's just the beginning
Lamb, Kid and Other Ovines
Venison, wildcat, snails, and more
Pork-based Italian Dishes
Duck, pigeon, game birds and more
Rabbit recipes
Italian Egg Recipes
Vegetables: Artichokes
Vegetables: Beans & Green Beans
Vegetables: Bell Peppers
Vegetables: Broccoli & Broccoli Rabe
Vegetables: Eggplant
Vegetables: Salads & Greens
Vegetables: Tomatoes
Vegetables: Zucchini
Sundry Vegetables and Other Things
Cakes
Biscotti and other Cookies
Cooked and Stewed Fruit
Gelati, sherbets, and more
Puddings, creams and so on
Pies and tarts
Fritters & Other Tasty Sweet Treats
Preserves, Frittate, and Other Treats
Sleeping and Dining in Italy
Getting Around In Italy
Regional Cuisines & Specialties
Central Regional Cuisines
Northern Regional Cuisines
Southern & Island Cuisines
It's great to find something in your market, but even the vegetable or spice you think you know all about can reserve some surprises. Or so I've discovered.
Lots of delightful things to dring, some soothing and some bracing.
The word "Sauces" is cursory, because sauces cover an awful lot of territory: Sauces to go with fish or meats, sauces for veggies, sauces to go into things, and more. Condiments, in short.
Breads, Pizza and other savory delights from the oven.
Everything from bruschetta to arancini di riso, foods to snack on or begin the meal.
Pasta is the best known Italian first course dish but is by no means the only one. In the north polenta is just as popular, and then there are gnocchi, and every region has soups, zuppe and minestre to warm the heart.
Pasta comes in an amazing variety of shapes and forms, which can be sauced in an equally varied number of ways, from refreshing pesto to hearty meat or Alfredo. And then there are the stuffed and baked varieties to enjoy too...
Italians have been growing rice for a very long time, and have developed many ways to prepare it. The best known is certainly risotto, which is a delicious and delicate alternative to pasta. It's also much easier to prepare than people think, and is extraordinarily versatile. In short, risotto is perfect in any occasion.
Italy has thousands of miles of coast line, and lakes and rivers too. Lots of ways to prepare a fish, everything from stuffing squid to roasting swordfish.
Like everything else, Italian meat recipes are quite varied, and you'll find something fit for every occasion, from a zesty cutlet or involtino to an elegant roast.
Italy is one great vegetable patch from the Alps on down. Anything that can be grown is grown, and turned into delightful side dishes of one sort or another, many of which can also double as a main course in a light meal.
Italy has incredibly rich pastry traditons, from rich Sicilian cannoli and Cassata to the seductive orange-laced ricciarelli from Siena, and on to the elegant chocolatey wonders of the areas long under Austria. Something for everyone and every occasion!
One really can't speak of Italian cuisine per se, or at least not until quite recently. What we're really looking at is a group of very diverse regional cuisines.
Almost every town has holiday specialties, most of which deserve considerable renown.
Recipe Indexes and weekly recipe sites.
It's much easier to shop if you're informed before you go. Here you'll find tips, information, pointers, and more.
Product reviews and suggestions from your Guide.
Top picks of Italian cooking items and more, to help you with your buying decisions, along with information and price comparison options.
Many readers of my newsletter are also interested in things in Italian, so I now include a link to a site in Italian that strikes my fancy in each issue. Here they are, and happy reading.
Working on the web means surfing quite a bit, and I often come across things that are interesting but non-food. So I pick what strikes me most for the Elsewhere on the Web section of the newsletter, and here they are collected.
Exploring the web for recipes, I have also come across lots of travel information. And living here helps too. Here are sites I have especially liked.
Travel is great fun, but it can be nice to have someone else take care of organizing it all.
There's much more to cooking than just stirring a spoon in a pot. And there are lots of fascinating things on the Web. My favorite section of the site.
One can't live in Italy and not be curious about art. Things I've found and liked.
Exploring the web for recipes I have also come across lots of travel information. And living here helps too. Here are sites I have especially liked.
In surfing for food and researching the travel pieces I write, I find lots of interesting things. Here are general information pieces I have especially liked.
In surfing for food and researching travel pieces, I do come across interesting travel material. Here are some things I've especially liked.
An online store may well be your most convenient bet for ingredients and equipment that are hard to find in your area.
Cooking is full of strange tricks and secrets that make things much easier. Discover some of them here!
In addition to writing about food I write about wine. General information from the Net.
North Italy boasts some of the world's finest wines, from Piemonte's Nebbiolo and Barbera to Friuli's whites.
Central Italy boasts some of the world's finest wines, from Tuscany's Bolgheri and Chianti to the Marche's Verdicchio.
South Italy boasts some of the world's finest wines, from Campania's Taurasi and Basilicata's Aglianico del Vulture to Pantelleria's Passito.
Italian grapes are gaining in popularity among vintners abroad too.
Italy has a great tradition of street food, snacks and such that one buys in a friggitoria, where they fry foods, or makes at home. Wonderful stuff in mid-morning, and excellent party nibbles too!
Fish plays a very important part in the Italian diet, and there are lots of tasty fish dishes with which to begin the meal!
Crostini, salami, prosciutto, ham dip ... An Italian meal wouldn't quite seem the same without antipasti! Lots of variety to meat based antipasti, and some work nicely as snacks too.
Pinzimonio, salads, pickles, sottoli... There's tremendous variety to Italian vegetable based antipasti; some are excellent at the beginning of a meal or to nibble on during a party, while others will also work well as the centerpiece of a light meal. Much variety to enjoy!
Considering Italy's many thousands of miles of coastline, lakes, and waterways it's no surprise that Italians should enjoy fish very much, and be enthusiastic consumers of all sorts of fish soups.
There are two major categories of Italian hearty soups, or zuppe: those based on legumes of one sort or another, beans, chick peas, lentils, or whatever, and those that are based on green vegetables -- minestroni, in short. Here we have the former.
Though wedding soup is perhaps the clear soup I get the most requests for it's certainly not alone: there's everything from stracciatella, the Roman equivalent of egg drop soup, to tortellini in broth, without which festive winter meals wouldn't be quite the same in northern Italy.
There are two major categories of Italian hearty soups, or zuppe: those based on green vegetables -- minestroni, in short, and those based on legumes. Here we have the former.
Most gnocchi are potato based, but they can be made with all sorts of other flours. In addition to being good as a first course, some of the latter kinds also do nicely as side dishes. And there are sweet gnocchi for dessert!
Basic information on pasta, and links to many pages of recipes.
Cheese seems like such a simple thing, as does cream. But they can be combined in an extraordinary number of ways to produce exciting results.
Fish can be made into all sorts of pasta sauces, from delicate clam to zesty tuna. And don't forget romantic salmon.
You may think of meatballs, and will find them here, but there are lots of other meat-based sauces too, some hearty and others extraordinarily refined.
Pasta with tomatoes may be a standby, but there are also many green sauces, either based on basil, for example pesto, or with leafy greens, for example broccoli rabe. Or even peas: Much variety to taste and explore!
In addition to the standard red and green vegetable sauces, there is a broad group of sauces that don't fit into a handy category, many of which contain lemons, and are quite refreshing in the summer months.
Marinara sauce is probably the most common red pasta sauce, but by no means the only one: tomatoes are an extraordinary foil for other vegetables, especially eggplants and bell peppers, and also go very well with cured meats and spices.
Mushrooms go very well with pasta, their rich earthy flavors nicely complementing the other ingredients in the sauce, especially tomatoes and cream.
Baked pastas are incredibly varied, from light lasagna al pesto to towering masterpieces such as Neapolitan Carnival Lasagna, with ricotta and meatballs, to cheesy comfort food. Something for every occasion!
Stuffed pasta goes way back, and is incredibly varied, from simple triangles stuffed with ricotta to towering masterpieces such as lobster-filled ravioli with a radicchio sauce.
There are many Italian first course dishes that can't be pigeonholed into the standard pasta/soup categories, for example Tuscany's crespelle or pappa al pomodoro, Liguria's testaroli, or the host of strudel-like dishes of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Risotto is extremely versatile, and though many risotti contain meats or vegetables, some of the most refined (and tasty) are made with cheese or just wine.
Fish works very well in risotto. Especially shellfish, which becomes astonishingly delicate when paired with rice.
Rice is quite versatile, and though it's generally delicate when paired with fish, it becomes delightfully substantial when paired with meats, especially richer meats, resulting in dishes that are wonderful when there's a nippy chill in the air.
If meaty risotti are hearty, and fish risotti are delicate, vegetarian risotti cover the entire spectrum, from the heartiness of porcini or asparagus to the delicacy of leeks or zucchini flowers, and also bring the seasons into play, with warmth in the winter and refreshing lightness in the summer.
Polenta translates as corn meal mush, but it's much more. It's the staple food of the north, where it still outshines pasta, and can be served in innumerable ways, as a first course, baked, with stews, or even as a bread substitute.
Boiled beef used to be of the most common meats in Italy: The cuts used are inexpensive, so almost everyone could afford them, and boiled beef is a byproduct of making broth, which was a staple winter food. Boiled beef is bland, however, so there are many tasty Italian recipes for jazzing it up, and there's more too!
Braciole are either cutlets with the bone, or scallops, and unless specified are usually either beef or veal. They can be rolled up, at which point some Italians call them involtini. Steak isn't any easier; in some places it's bistecca (after beef steak), and in others it's costata. Regardless, these dishes are tasty and for the most part cooked quickly.
All sorts of exciting meat dishes for every occasion.
You might be surprised to know that chicken used to be more expensive than beef in Italy. It no longer is, but if you seek out free range birds you'll understand why it was; they're extraordinarily flavorful and versatile too. In short: Much to enjoy!
In the days before refrigeration curing meats, especially beef and pork, guaranteed a supply of meat throughout the warmer months when spoilage was an ever-present danger. Cured meats are also wonderfully tasty, and an excellent way to begin a meal or enjoy a sandwich.
Italians have long raised goats and sheep, both for their milk, which was a staple food of the Romans and still plays a vital role today, especially in the form of cheeses, and for their meat, which is a fixture on the table during spring, and especially for Easter.
In addition to the "standard" veal, pork, beef and poultry, there are a great many Italian recipes for various kinds of game, especially venison.
Pigs are grown throughout Italy, and though many become sausage, salami or prosciutto, just as many do not. As the head of the greek Church said in the 1400s when he visited Florence and was served roast pork loin, Arista! Arista! (Good! Good!) The name stuck.
Chicken is obvious, but Italy has many other kinds of poultry as well, including duck, turkey, and pigeon.
If you go out into the country in the evening, you'll see people picking grasses and such in the fields -- they're gathering food for the rabbits in their rabbit hutch. The meat is tasty, lean, and healthful.
Soft-cooked eggs over a bed of asparagus.
Artichokes are wonderful, and more versatile than you might think!
Lots of ways to deal with beans: in salads, stewed, as side dishes, in soup....
Bell peppers may be native to the Americas, but they have adapted very well to Italy.
Broccoli are surprisingly versatile. And tasty too.
It's hard to imagine south Italian cooking without eggplant -- on pasta, grilled, stewd, roasted, stuffed and more.
Italy is the land of salad, especially Rome. Leafy vegetables also abound, just about everywhere.
They may be American but Italian cooking wouldn't be the same without them.
Zucchini bring with them summer weather!
Almost anything that grows in the garden can be used in the kitchen. Herbs, cardoons, spincah pie and more.
Italy has amazingly varied pastry traditions. Everything from the rich creamy ricotta cakes of the south to chocolaty wonders of the North.
San Giovanni, San Giuseppe, Carnevale... Every holiday has a biscotto of some kind, and there are many more for times in between.
Fruit is, of course, wonderful as is, and is a delightful ingredient in cakes or pies. However, it also adapts beautifully to being cooked on its own, say stewed in spiced wine, and is a perfect way to finish a meal.
Italy has a long tradition of ice creams and frozen ices -- Caterina de'Medici introduced them to the French -- and there's nothing quite so refreshing as a tasty ice cream in summer.
Puddings are a mainstay of Italian meals, and Tiramisu is just the tip of the iceburg.
Here you'll find all sorts of things, from a simple jam crostata to an extraordinarily elaborate fresh fruit crostata, with torta della nonna (and del nonno) too.
Lots of tasty morsels, for the end of the meal or to serve guests at any time.
Italy has all sorts of sweets fall outside the standard categories of pies, puddings and such. Jams, for example, or sweet frittate. So here they are.
Being a wine/food/travel writer means eating out often. These are places in Italy that I have especially liked.
The Italian Highway network's official site. Information on the system, where to expect problems because of construction & such, and also (click on Automap), a route-planning service that even calculates tolls. Necessary if you plan to explore the wine routes.
Italy is an incredibly varied country in all ways, especially culinarily. So varied that one really can't speak of Italian food. it's all regional. And here are links to specific regions.
Toscana, Umbria, Marche, Lazio -- some regions well known and others less so, but exciting secrets everywhere.
From the Valle D'Aosta on east to Friuli and Istria, all sorts of variation.
Puglia, Sardegna, Sicily, Calabria, Campainia... Everything from simple rustic fare to some of Italy's most extraordinarily refined dishes, bar none.