But I’ll tell you what is a master of disguise, and that is cavatelli, which can cover the past of any sauce or vegetable. If you like broccoli, you will like it even more with cavatelli.  And if you don’t like broccoli, you’ll barely know it’s there. It’s the best way I know to get spoiled kids of all ages to eat their veggies.

Buon Appetito!

Ed Garrubbo

p.s. Check out our wine pairings to complement this dish.

Another major difference, of course, is that while asses can be fun dinner guests, horses are just no good for witty conversation.  Luckily, however, where horses go, go horsey people, and even though they may dress like it’s 1950, I share with them a common fondness for pinot noir, thus proving once again what everyone in Umbria already knows: that a beautiful view, a bowl of pasta, and a few guffaws is all you really need to be happy.

Surprisingly, horses have also taught me a couple things about Italian cuisine. For example, this week’s pasta, “paglia e fieno” translates into “straw and hay.” If you didn’t know the difference, hay is green (and is eaten by the horse) and straw is yellow (and is used for the horse to sleep on). This rustic favorite from Emilia-Romagna is generally made with the combination of yellow and green tagliatelle. Some folks like to add peas or mushrooms (or both), plus prosciutto and cream.  You’ll love it regardless of whether your neighbors are horses or asses.

Buon Appetito!

Ed Garrubbo

p.s. Check out our wine pairings to complement this recipe.

Now don’t get me wrong, I kinda like penthouses and townhouses and yachts with helipads and private jets, so let me also appeal to the capitalist in you: If we don’t start cleaning up our food supply, we’ll never be able to afford healthcare, which is almost 20% of our GDP. (Meanwhile, 10% of NYC is now diabetic, but everyone cried Nanny when Bloomberg tried to ban that 32 ounce Big Gulp, which contains 24 teaspoons of sugar!)

But not everyone can afford to shop at Whole Foods, which I affectionately refer to as “Whole Paycheck.”  So from my view, all we can do right now is to start changing the way we think about food. To get my kids headed in the right direction, I’ve come up with the following nicknames for our daily drive-bys:  McDonald’s is now “CrapDonald’s.” KFC is “Kentucky Fat Chicken.”  Burger King is “Burger Kringe.” Taco Bell is “Taco Hell.” The Waffle House is “The Awful House.”  Pizza Hut is “Pizza Smut.” And deep down, we all recognize that wolf in sheep’s clothing – that dessert shop masquerading as a coffee shop – “McStarbucks,” home of the 500 calorie “frappuccino.”  The whopper of them all, in my humble opinion, is The Olive Garden, which I  simply refer to as “Satan’s Den.”

The following recipe feeds a family of four for about $15 total. It takes less than 30 minutes to prepare, and is chock full of protein, vegetable, carbohydrate, some healthy fats, and lots of vitamins and minerals. This is why I’m all about pasta.   It’s fast food that can make a nation strong!

Buon Appetito!

Ed Garrubbo

p.s. Check out our wine pairings to complement this recipe.

Enough said.

Fast forward a few thousand years, the artichoke is still wildly beautiful, and is a key figure in Italian cuisine. Delicious when stuffed, sauteed, roasted, or fried alla giudea, they are full of fiber and antioxidants, and are also said to aid in digestion and have medicinal values. Almost all artichokes in the U.S. come from  Castroville, CA, which in true American fashion,  bills itself as “the artichoke center of the world.” The only problem with this self proclaimed title, however, is that Italy produces ten times the volume of artichokes.

The artichoke is a variety of thistle. It must be eaten before the flower blooms. The globe variety can grow up to 4-6 feet tall. The immature florets in the center are the “choke,” which cannot be eaten in more mature flowers. And finally, for negroni fans, when the Campari in the drink is replaced with Cynar (an artichoke bitter), it is called a Cin Cyn.

Cin Cin e Buon Appetito!

Ed Garrubbo

p.s. Check out our wine pairings to complement this dish.

But there must be some beacon of light in this whirlwind of darkness.  And we can only hope that it’s Miss Porter’s School, where I’m certain that manners and details are still de rigueur.  But, of course.  I mean who needs Mandarin when you can study French? Luckily, one of their more famous Italian alumna, Cristina QZ, writing in from SW3 4QE, has provided us with the following recipe. It’s fast enough for those of us with ADD, and yet posh enough for those of us who care about ADD.

Buon Appetito!

Ed Garrubbo

p.s. Check out our wine pairings to complement this dish.

As for cooking pasta, it’s time to set the record straight.  1) start with a large pot, one that can hold 8 quarts of water. Bring it to a boil. Add some salt. Do not add oil. Bring it to a boil again. Add the pasta. Stir frequently. Cook until al dente (1 or 2 minutes less than the package suggests). Test it by biting into one, look for a slightly lighter color in the very center. It should be firm and chewy. Do not throw it at the wall. Drain it, but do not rinse it. Dress it with sauce, but do not  drown it. When appropriate, sprinkle cheese on it, but do not smother it. Twirl it with a fork if it’s a long variety, but not with a spoon.  And please, no knives.

Noodle the foregoing around for a while, and then repent if necessary.  I may forgive you in time.

Buon Appetito!

Ed Garrubbo

p.s. Check out our wine pairings to complement this recipe.

My friend Paolo Villoresi was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was the founder of La Cucina Italiana magazine and is a prolific author and walking encyclopedia of Italian food and culture. After his diagnosis, he started a new food and life blog called Adventure. He’s now committed to a strict Mediterranean-type diet, focusing on cancer fighting foods (and including a daily glass of red wine and some dark chocolate). We recently spoke about the connection between cancer and the food we eat, as well as the importance of finding your purpose and inner peace. Intuitively, we all understand these connections, but with all the intangibles, and the role of luck too, it’s just easier to keep playing Russian roulette rather than address the broader societal implications. I hope we find another approach, and suggest that we start with our food.  Here is one of Paolo’s anti-cancer pasta recipes. Enjoy it in good health, with family and friends.

According to Paolo, “Black Kale belongs to the family of cruciferous vegetables and is an anti-cancer ingredient. It is ideal to eat different types of raw cabbage, but one cannot eat the same thing three times a day! Food must be appetizing to be digested and assimilated well. This recipe is an alternative,  especially appetizing, nutritious, and good.”

Buon Appetito!

Ed Garrubbo

P.S. Check out our wine pairings for this recipe.

Americans have adopted the opposite approach: trust everyone and eat anything.  This has resulted in big food companies and a complicit FDA, which have kindly provided us with the following: preservatives, pesticides, hormones, and my new personal favorite, genetically modified foods. (With friends like this, who needs enemies?)

Obviously, I favor the Italian approach to food. Trust no one; eat local.   I’m in New Orleans today, and so we’re eating fresh, local crawfish (crayfish), which are in season. Louisiana  produces and consumes almost all of the U.S. supply of these tiny, fresh water crustaceans, meaning that frozen crawfish found in stores outside of Louisiana are generally Chinese imports. Trust that!

In Italy, crawfish can be found in mountain streams and rivers, but are not widely popular. They are often mistakenly referred to as aragosta (lobster) or shrimp (gambero), but they are correctly called any one of the following: gambero di fiume, gambero d’acqua dolce, gambero turco, or gambero di Galizia.

Because there are hundreds of crawfish species around the world, I doubt that you’ll find these “red swamp crawfish” at your local market, so find a fresh local substitute.  That said, and I’ll admit it, the pasta was imported from Naples and the olive oil from Tuscany… some foods have no local substitutions!

Buon Appetito!

Ed Garrubbo

p.s. Check out our wine pairings to complement this dish.

Like ricotta, which is the famous talent in both savory lasagna and sweet cannoli, mascarpone cheese is amazingly versatile. When sweetened with sugar or honey, it makes a great custard, cake, or gelato for dessert. When salted, it makes an equally delicious, creamy cheese, which works in an earlier course.  A star is born.

Buon Appetito!
Ed Garrubbo

p.s. Check out our wine pairings to complement this recipe.

A dying breed, yet she’s about the only one left on earth that can make orecchiette by hand. That mythical, loving, Southern Italian grandmother, almost extinct, is among the few and the proud with the skill and patience necessary to churn out hundreds of quarter sized orecchiette before mealtime. A real attraction, if you’re lucky she’ll come out of her den to shape them while sitting in front of her house. Just don’t touch, or you’ll get whacked with a wooden spoon faster than you can blink an eye.

Give today to “Save the Nonna” today. The world’s culinary pleasure depends on it.

Buon Appetito!

Ed Garrubbo

p.s. Check out our wine pairings to complement this recipe.