Although each year it’s getting harder and harder to remember that far back, I still recall when I was younger, during summers where I grew up in New England, we’d head to the dairy store for ice cream. Often I’d order pistachio; the vivid green color and the crunchy bits of pistachio were somewhat exotic to me. As I grew up, I learned the truth…
A recent post on Marinated Feta elicited some interesting comments and questions about olive oil. Here are a few tips that I follow when buying, using, and storing oil: 1. Keep olive oil out of the light. You may have spent a lot of money on your oil and you want to look at those pretty labels lined up on your countertop. But light destroys olive…
How does one explain, in a few short paragraphs, something that’s such a critical part of Italian life, like gelato? If you’ve spent any time in Italy, it’s hard to look anywhere and not see an Italian balancing a cono di gelato in someone’s hand. Everyone, from suave businessmen in Armani suits to grandmothers chatting on a stroll with friends—all eat gelato. Like the concentrated…
Because I’m out of my mind, once I get something stuck in my craw, I’m not okay until I get it all figured out once and for all. I guess that’s why I’m a baker. Because I’m insane. When I got my new espresso maker, I became obsessed with that too, and I needed to figure out how to pull the best espresso out of…
Trieste is located in the upper corner of Italy, located just at the border of Slovenia. It’s a compact port city and in addition to Slovenian influences, you might be surprised to come across a shop carrying beer steins, since there are residual Hungarian and Austrian influences in the melange as well. But unlike other Italian cities, you’ll find people drinking big glasses of beer,…
When I told a friend that I was going to Italy to learn how to make coffee, she responded, “You just dump the coffee into a filter and pour water over it. What else do you need to do?” Well, since you asked, plenty. Illy barista Giorgio Milos shows off his skill, and one of my first efforts to match his First of all, there’s…
1. One espresso has 2 calories. 2. The word ‘coffee’ is pronounced almost the same in every language around the world. 3. After water, coffee is the second most widely-consumed beverage in the world. (Tea is a close third.) 4. When you drink coffee, your brain shrinks a little, which is why some advise drinking coffee if you have a headache. 5. When making an…
The hardest part about sampling so much good food is that it’s almost impossible to go back to eating the everyday stuff. I challenge anyone who’s flecked a bit of fleur de sel across their food to go back to ordinary table salt. I took one taste of the cloud-like, billowy chocolate-enrobed marshmallows from Pierre Marcolini and now I can’t seem to get enough. A…
After spending years learning the language, I’m pretty comfortable with menus in French and I’m rarely in for any unpleasant surprises when waiters bring me food anymore. But on my trip to Italy, I was completely baffled when handed an Italian menu, scarcely knowing stinco from souris d’agneau. Stinco I Iearned the hard way: a Fred Flintstone-sized hunk of roasted veal knuckle was plunked down…
Join me on my Spring 2026 book tour for my latest book, The Great Book of Chocolate
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