This blog is mostly dedicated to food, but food and drink are inextricably linked. So, from time to time, we consider the wines and other beverages that typically accompany an Italian meal. We’ve taken a look at the apertivo, the before-dinner drinks intended to whet the appetite before dinner. Today let’s … Read More
Sugo di carne (Meat Sauce)
When you mention Italian meat sauce, most people will immediately think of those monuments of Italian cooking, the ragù alla napoletana and the ragù alla bolognese. Those sauces that require hours of cooking and fairly elaborate preparation. These time-consuming ragù are, quite rightly, reserved for special occasions. Ragù alla napoletana is often … Read More
Ada Boni: Il Talismano della Felicità
Writing only about two decades after Artusi, another giant of Italian gastronomy, Ada Boni, produced an even more monumental work entitled Il Talismano della Felicità, literally the “Talisman of Happiness”. Unlike Artusi, who was basically a talented amateur, Ada Boni was a professional food writer. In 1915, she founded a … Read More
Pellegrino Artusi, La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene
This is an Italian cookbook like no other. Artusi–it is quite common to call this book by the author’s name rather than its title–is to Italian cooking what Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire is to the French: indispensable. The author, Pellegrino Artusi, was born in 1820 near Forli, in the region … Read More
