Gourmet Italian

photo credit: silas216 Palermo, the capital of Sicily, is the birthplace of the one of the most famous Italian Dessert recipes – the fabulous cannoli.  Way back when, wealthy people would make a gift of cannoli to their friends at the time of their annual carnival.  Cannoli is actually the plural of cannolo.  You don’t [...]

photo credit: jessicafm You won’t find a more authentic Italian food than the Italian pasta and bean soup called Pasta e Fagioli or Pasta Fagioli.  This is an ancient peasant dish and some say you will find the best ever made in Tuscany.  It always includes lot of vegetables, beans  and herbs and some smallish [...]

photo credit: gildas_f Italian food and wine lovers know the secret to a good stromboli is to have a good dough to start with.  The stromboli was actually given its name in a hoagie shop outside of Philadelphia in 1950.  The chef named Nat Romano was selling these lots of these baked sandwiches he thought [...]

photo credit: stevendepolo The Italian gourmet salad of Caponata is most associated with Sicily, although it is believed that the Arabs originally brought it to Italy.  The salad is a mixture of eggplant, anchovies, and vegetables that are cooked together in olive oil.  Although Caponata was once served as a main meal, these days we [...]

photo credit: Maggie Hoffman Cioppino with Italian rustic bread is a meal fit for a king!  I remember the first time I had it.  We were literally sitting in the Pacific Ocean off of San Luis Obispo, California.  We had to drive our car out onto the pier and park.  The meal was one of [...]

photo credit: badlyricpolice There are many traditional Italian cookies, but it is believed that the lovely pizzelles are the oldest.  The name comes from the Italian word pizze for round and flat.  Pizzelles are thin, waffle-type cookies made with a special pizzelle machine.  Long ago, a family would have an iron with their family crest [...]

photo credit: The Marmot When I first ran across the simple Italian dish called Risi e Bisi, I just loved the name.  Sounds so much cuter than rice and peas.  I thought it was pretty much just a risotto with peas added, but I found I was incorrect.  This dish is actually considered a soup [...]