Shopping: Holy Pastas!

shareitalian — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:23:43 +0000

Another fabulous Mulberry Street (NYC Little Italy) must visit is the Piemonte Ravioli Company. The store is well over 80 years old and has served Little Italy as well as the entire metropolitan area with great pastas. The ravioli company makes so much more than ravioli. You can order stuffed pastas, dried pastas and fresh pastas. Now, you can order their pastas on-line delivered to your door next day. The site is very easy to use and allows you to choose by pasta type.

However, if you are in New York City you must stop by for the fresh pastas. And if you visiting the neighborhood from Ohio…you must pick up a few bags of dried pasta to take home to your friends.

At the very least, check out the site and order yourself some pastas for the weekend.

http://piemonteravioli.com/

Value Wine of the Day: Salice Salentino

shareitalian — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:53:51 +0000

Today’s value of the day is a select type of wine and not a specific producer. The Salice Salentino is a wine from the Apulia region (the heel of the boot). The wine consists of 80% Negroamaro grapes and 20% Malvasia grapes, both prominent vines of the region. This wine usually will cost $10-$15 for a great bottle of red wine. However, you can certainly find vintages and smaller harvest produced batches which could cost up to and beyond the $40′s. I love the fact that this is a wine that every red drinker will enjoy, with or without food. It is a fruity wine with some spices and smokiness to it. The wine is great with pastas, meats and pizza – especially hot pepperoni pizzas! Most stores with a good Italian selection will carry at least one producer of Salice Salentino. Look for 2003-2006, they are ready to drink today!

Gustare il vino

Wine Pairings: Mixed Bubbles

shareitalian — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:45:27 +0000

The wonderful Italian sparkling white wine known as Prosecco is a lot of fun for entertaining. The name comes from the white grape which grows in the Veneto region. I love this wine especially as an aperitivo, or before dinner drink. Since the wine hails from the Veneto it makse sense that it pairs well with seafood appetizers or cicchetti, as they are called in Venice.

You can also make really great drinks out of Prosecco. Perhaps the most famous sparkling white wine based drink is the Bellini, which mixes one part white peach puree with 2 parts Prosecco. This drink was created by Giuseppe Cipriani who founded Harry’s Bar in Venice.

Prosecco is such a versatile base that you can mix this with a lot of fresh squeezed fruits. I love it in the summer with Watermelon or Raspberries. So find a fruit that is sweet or sour and you have yourself a mixer. You can squeeze the fruit in your hands, but a blender gives you that restaurant quality drink!

boun bere!

Value Wine of the Day

shareitalian — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:57:40 +0000

Cantina Zaccagnini

I know the name is long, but the value goes the distance for you…the Cantina Zaccagnini Montepulciano D’Abruzzo. I would say write it down, but the bottle is unique and once you see it you will remember it…look at the picture on the left. This awesome wine should never cost more than $13 (I usually pay $11.99). I have no problem serving this to guests and I love to have extra bottles on hand for us at home. It is great by itself and compliments pastas exceptionally (meats too). It has great color, a nice flowery nose with balanced tannins and body. The wine is very consistent year to year, 2001-2005 all work great.

Hotels: Il Pellicano

shareitalian — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:24:26 +0000

I have been fortunate enough to stay at some really amazing hotels. But there is one that I will never forget…and hopefully get to visit again someday – il Pellicano Hotel in Porto Ercole, IT. This seaside resort in Tuscany is located about 30 minutes east of Maremma or 2 hours north of Rome just up the coast. It is an amazing place to visit. The hotel used to be owned (originally a co-op) by many famous aristocrats and royalty from around the world. It was the place to be in the 40′s, 50′s and 60′s, it was only open in the summer month’s and no kids were allowed.

Today, the hotel hosts a one-star rated Michelin restaurant called…naturally….il Pellicano. Probably the best meal I have ever had in my life. They even hand cut chocolate (check it out).

There rooms are fantastic, the scenery is outstanding and the people really make this place unforgettable.

It is a must visit!

Wine Pairings: Way Up North

shareitalian — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:11:36 +0000

At the top of Italy and it’s beautiful Alps on the boarder of Austria, is the Trentino-Alto Adige region. A region which is one of the richest in Italy. The region has an incredibly fertile valley which produces wine, olive oil, tobacco, dairy products and more. This region also farms cow’s which produce the milk for Crucolo. A cheese that resembles it’s not to distant neighbor from the north, swiss cheese. Crucolo is becoming very popular in America these days mainly because of how tasty it is. The cheese is young, about 2 months of aging and yeilds a buttery taste and a nice tangy finish. I always serve it to friends and it becomes an instant hit. A great pairing would be a Pinot Grigio from the Veneto region. I usually go with a Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio for around $20 and is widely available.

This is a combe you should not miss serving at your next wine and cheese party.

Value wine of the day.

shareitalian — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:03:35 +0000

This is a super favorite of mine, mainly because of it’s versatility and not expensive. The A Mano Primitivo 2006 is one of the best value wines out there. Primitivo’s are basically the uncle to Zinfandel. The wine pops with fruit, a nice deep purple color and has soft tannins. It can be a little acidic so if that is something you can’t stand, you may not love it. It is perfect to drink now and is awesome paired with grilled meats and barbacue.

It is a must by, ranges from $9-$13 and you can find it online or in many stores.

Italian video of the day: Barilla basic pasta dough

shareitalian — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:13:25 +0000

Barilla is the worlds most famous pasta brands. But what most people don’t know is that barillaus.com is one of the best resources on the web for Italian food. There are great recipes, cooking tips and pairing tips. The site allows you to search for recipes by region or season, which is really cool. You can do all of your holiday shopping at Academia Barilla’s on-line store. Great products, books and gift certificates.

http://www.shop.academiabarilla.com/moda/p.php?p=index

Dinning Out: PIZZA – FOR REAL!!!!

shareitalian — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:45:55 +0000

I had the please of eating at one of New York’s finest and without question the US too – Di Fara in Brooklyn.

The hype has always been there, the 27 rating in Zagat’s backs it up, but the experience confirmed it. Domenico DeMarco is behind the counter working his skills. I went somewhat untraditional with the Sicilian pie. It was everything I could imagine….tangy, yet subtle sauce, perfect dough, fresh cut basil (from his window) and 3 different cheese (Grano Padano, Mozzarella di Bufala and Fiore di Latte). What makes this pizza stand out from the rest, aside from the Pizzaiolo himself, is the Fiore di Latte. This “ “ cheese melts and blends together with the San Marzano tomatoes to create the perfect pizza sauce.

The trip was only 15 minutes from downtown NYC and well worth the ride. Via subway it will probably be 40 minutes on the Q train.

Di Fara
1424 Ave. J, Brooklyn, NY 11230
at E. 15th St.

Shopping: Truly Italian!

shareitalian — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:42:53 +0000

You will hear me talk about DiPalo’s many times in the future. This is my favorite store in New York City. I have been a customer at since I moved to NYC in 2002, shopping there nearly every weekend. The DiPalo family is a 4th generation family run business in Little Italy serving imported cheeses, meats, olive oils and much more.

The quality of the food is the best in the city and the service is remarkable. It doesn’t matter how crowded the store is, you will be treated as if you are the only person in the store.

There reason I am especially excited today is that you can find their products online now and shipped overnight to you for $9.99 (with a minimum purchase…so worth it!).

www.dipaloselects.com

The store is a testament to the Italian immigrants who helped shape not only the foods we eat today as well as the country we live in.

Stop in and feel extra Italian next time you are in New York City!