Mama mia – fa caldo qui! (Man, is it hot here!!)  Summer is in full swing here in the eastern US.  And with the heat, lighter meals are in order. Thankfully,  the treasures of the summer garden have arrived. The local markets have piles of beautiful eggplant, onions, corn, tomatoes and the omnipresent zucchini.  My own garden makes the weeknight meal a breeze.  Just a short trip out beyond the garden gate and dinner is practically at the ready. 

Continue reading Mama mia – It’s hot! Grilled Apricots with Ricotta Cream at Our Italian Table.

I had an opportunity to hang out in the kitchen with the staff at Sotto earlier this year. Reality food TV would have you believe that professional cooking is all about what you can do with a secret ingredient in 60 minutes, or marshmallow peeps in 20. The truth is that real professionals are focused on repeatably and consistently producing dishes, night after night, that have been fine-tuned way before the actual restaurant service. Every time I asked the staff at Sotto about an order being made, I got quite exact answers about technique, quantity, time and seasoning level.

Continue reading Grilling a Sicilian fish at Sotto in Los Angeles @SottoLA at Our Italian Table.

Grilled fresh sardines. One of life’s simple delectable pleasures. I actually never tasted grilled sardines until I started traveling to Sicilia. We would spend afternoons at la spiaggia baking in the hot summer sun with all the Italians and when we had had enough, we would saunter up to the restaurant just alongside for vino and a bite to eat.  At first, I would turn up my nose with memories of those awfully salty canned things we had as children.

Continue reading Grilled Sardines with Salmoriglio Sauce (Sardine alle Griglia con Salsa al Salmoriglio) at Our Italian Table.

This is a classic Sicilian dish that is perfect for the summer. It’s adapted from Evan Kleiman’s 1993 cookbook “Cucina del Mare” which remains a go-to source of Italian seafood recipes.

A lot of people are scared to grill fish because of its potential to stick. This problem can be nearly eliminated with a really hot grill and oiling the grill right before placing down the fish.

You can use this recipe with other firm fish such as tuna or mahi-mahi.

Continue reading Swordfish with lemon-oregano bath (Pesce spada al salmoriglio) at Our Italian Table.

So very excited! I have been reading report after report about the perils of sitting all day at your computer. ‘Shortens your life by 5 years!’ scream the reports. And given my real job is in the tech industry mostly sitting in front of a computer, I had a mission – change how much I sit. So after a few google searches, I found my solution – the treadmill workstation! After some further research, I realized that this wouldn’t be too difficult to build rather than spend a fortune for the pre-built varieties.

Continue reading Blogging from the Treadmill: Pasta with Grilled Eggplant and Radicchio at Our Italian Table.

Once spring hits and the mornings turn a bit warmer, I find it really difficult to sleep late. I hear the birds start their early morning chirps then I see the sky start to lighten. My mind starts thinking about being outside digging, planting or watering.  Yesterday morning was no exception. After being away for the weekend, I was chomping at the bit to plant my little tomato plants that had finally grown from their teeny seeds to a size ready to take on the world.

Continue reading Grilled Steak Salad – Italian Style (Tagliata con Rucola) at Our Italian Table.