Simona Carini

In July of 2006, the Pew Internet & American Life Project published the results of a survey of US bloggers. According to the report, about 12 million American adults keep a blog. More than a year later, I am sure the number is higher, at least by one. Before the idea of joining the food […]

The Farmers’ Market is always a feast for the eyes, and some days the feast includes fireworks. Lately I have been admiring the pyrotechnic display of peppers. Stalls are overflowing with specimens of different colors, shapes and sizes. Looking at this bounty, I feel like a child in front of an amazing array of (vegetable) […]

The rich selection of tomatoes offered these days at the local Farmers’ Market set in motion a walk down memory lane that took me back to a summertime meal featuring pomodori col riso (rice-stuffed tomatoes), one of my mother’s signature dishes. Part of its allure can be attributed to the fact that it is a […]

In previous articles for the Journal I talked about my mother through her recipes. There is more to come from that quarter, but today I would like to introduce you to my father. He was born in the small village of Poggio Catino, located less than 40 miles north of Rome in a region called […]

What foods do Americans miss when they are abroad? I never asked anybody, not even my husband. The only person whose food longings I can relate is Mark Twain. I recently read his autobiographical book, A Tramp Abroad , written in 1879 while on an extended stay in Europe. It includes a scathing assessment of […]

If you visit Italy and decide to explore a grocery store (an expedition I highly recommend on both cultural and culinary grounds), you will notice the sign Biscotti at the top of an aisle. If you enter the aisle, you will probably be disappointed in not finding the array of biscotti you expect. I suffered […]

Risotto is an Italian dish that seems to have acquired, upon arrival in this country, an aura of mystique, as if its preparation entailed some kind of magical procedure. Is this true? Not that I am aware of. What risotto does require is the right kind of rice, a willingness to suspend multi-tasking for about […]

The first time I heard the expression "plain vanilla" I had to ask for an explanation of its actual meaning. Taken literally, "plain vanilla" sounded like a combination of two contradictory terms. Vanilla is one of the most intense flavors in nature, and it is all but plain. I learned that the expression comes from […]

Polenta is one of those ageless culinary lords, like bread. It has sprung from the hunger of mankind, and without apparent effort has always carried with it a feeling of strength and dignity and well-being. M.F.K. Fisher, How to Cook a Wolf Polenta is an ancient Mediterranean dish. The Greeks, Romans and others who lived […]