Italian

Crostini

September 1, 2010 by Charles 1 Comment

Sometimes you just have to say, “Prego,” and go for it.

Between switching jobs, moving, and studying for the bar, Caitlin and I were having a whirlwind summer. Which is why, perhaps, it was only fitting that we decided to book a trip to Italy and Croatia with only two weeks to plan for it. But sure enough, a day after the bar exam, and three days after my belongings and I arrived in Cincinnati, we were on a plane headed to Florence.

As I said, sometimes you just have to say, “Prego.”

We arrived in Rome Friday morning, and scrambled …

Peach Italian Ice

August 13, 2009 by Charles 5 Comments

Angelo Brocato’s Italian Ice Cream Parlor is an unassuming place, sandwiched between an Asian restaurant unsure about its own ethnicity, and a sports bar with saloon doors for an entrance. On one corner of the street sits a warehouse, with stacks of rolled carpet piled high in all directions; on the other corner rests Junque Antiques, the building itself looking several birthdays older than its wares.

Parking for Angelo Brocato’s is limited to an empty gravel-filled lot, or whatever spaces are available at 45-degree angles on the wide sidewalk on the river side of North Carrolton Avenue. The parlor itself occupies a one-story storefront in the mid-city neighborhood of New Orleans, a safe distance from the reverie of the French Quarter. Inside, the store displays the black-and-white portrait of its founder, and the wire-rimmed chairs, apothecary jars, and …

Melon Granita

July 12, 2009 by Charles 2 Comments

Granita siciliana, as the name suggests, is a granular, semi-frozen dessert with Sicilian origins. (Granita means “grained” or “granular” in Italian). Granita is a simple dessert, usually made from pureed fruit and sugar. The mixture is then frozen, and periodically scraped to give the dessert its granular texture. Indeed, breaking up the ice crystals is essential: it gives the dessert its signature crunch, and works to enhance the flavors within the dish.

The sugar and alcohol in the recipe help prevent the mixture from getting too solid. Beyond that, it helps to …

Three-Cheese Suppli al Telefono

April 19, 2009 by Charles 3 Comments

I wasn’t quite sure what to name this dish.

After making my three-cheese risotto, I ended up with several servings of left-over, cold risotto. Cold risotto, it turns out, is perfect for making fried risotto balls, alternately known as suppli or arancini.

Suppli is short for “Suppli al Telefono,” which translates as “telephone wires.” Traditional suppli is fried risotto that has been stuffed with mozzarella cheese. The idea, of course, is that biting into a good suppli produces a low-hanging mozzarella string, reminiscent of telephone wires.

Arancini is Italian for “little orange,” because …

Three-Cheese Risotto

April 15, 2009 by Charles 4 Comments

Having a food blog doesn’t stop me from asking silly food questions.

On a recent trip to the grocery store, I could not find the risotto. After several minutes of scrounging around the different rice and grain shelves, I decided to solicit help. As I explained to the store clerk, I was making three-cheese risotto, and all that was left on my list was what the recipe referred to as “risotto rice.” He kindly pointed me to arborio rice.

Risotto, I learned, does not refer to an ingredient, but rather to a dish.

The key to risotto…