Podcast Archives - Page 6 of 12 - Quatro Fromaggio and Other Disgraces on the Menu

[Thoughts on the Table – 55] Discovering Cinque Terre, Lake Orta, and Como with Nick Zingale

As promised, Nick Zingale is back with his great storytelling and distinctive charm to talk about his journey throughout the Italian peninsula, which took place about a year ago. With the ultimate goal of reaching his ancestors’ towns in southern Italy, Nick explored several destinations along the way, and some out of the way. In this episode, he shares entertaining tales from short trips to the beautiful Cinque Terre, Lake Orta, and Como.

As a visual reference, the Cinque Terre National Park includes the municipalities of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare, as well as portions of the territories of Levanto and La Spezia, to which the frazione of Biassa belongs.

About Lake Orta (Lago d’Orta, in Italian), Nick mentions the little island of San Giulio as well as the town of Orta San Giulio and its Sacro Monte.

About Como, Nick talks about the funicular, the Star Wars filming location: Villa del Balbianello, and describes his unexpected performance at a local Karaoke bar 🙂 (this post’s featured image!)

Did you know these locations? Do you have any stories you’d like to share?

The music in the episode is by: www.purple-planet.com.

[Thoughts on the Table – 54] True or False? 15 Stereotypes on Italy, with Nick Zingale

Is it true that Italians drink espresso all the time? Live with their parents until they’re 30 years old? And that they all know how to dress up? In this entertaining episode, Nick and I will try to debunk these and many more stereotypes on Italy and on the Italians. But will we succeed?

As usual, your feedback is appreciated! Please share your thoughts in comments or by contacting me.

This episode uses sounds from freesound: Ringing bell by domrodrig, and Buzzer by Timbre.

[Thoughts on the Table – 53] The Boom of Italian Food in the US, with Food Writer Mark Preston

Mark Preston is a food writer, a blogger, and the author of California Mission Cookery, a cookbook on the early cuisine of the Californio population, which he discovered while working as an archivist for the UCLA library.

Last October, he got in touch to tell me about his research on ragù, the Italian meat sauce; he wanted the opinion of an Italian on what he had found. This is how we started collaborating!

In this episode, Mark talks about his encounters with Italian cuisine while growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, and how this experience prompted him to travel to Europe, as he says, “just to go to Italy to eat!”

He also analyzes how the popularization of the Mediterranean diet may have caused a shift in preference from Thai to Italian in Los Angeles, where he now lives.

Finally, he reveals his thoughts on what, in the fifties, caused the Americans to go crazy for pizza! A trend which of course goes strong today.

To end the episode, Mark shares one of his best Italian-inspired recipes: Crayfish Simmered Shrimp and Pesto Penne with Cherub Tomatoes, and invites everyone to try making it!

You can follow Mark on his blog, as well as on Instagram.

[Thoughts on the Table – 52] Italian and American Culture with Nick Zingale

Nick Zingale is an American of Italian descent who lived and traveled in Italy and Europe for seven months last year. He joins me in this episode for a fascinating overview of his experience abroad, which he documented on his personal blog – from working as an English teaching assistant, to his discovery of his ancestors’ native towns in Sicily and Molise, to his solo travel around the Italian peninsula. Throughout the episode, Nick shares plenty of insights on Italy and the Italians from his special point of view of someone who grew up in an Italian-American family.

During the episode, Nick mentions a documentary on the massive immigration of Italians in the United States and on how difficult it was for them to amalgamate with the American culture. You can get more information on this production at http://www.pbs.org/show/italian-americans.

Nick’s travel blog can be found at http://www.nickzingale.com/nickztravels.

[Thoughts on the Table – 51] Introducing Cooking Instructor Francesca Montillo

Thoughts on the Table is back with a new guest, Francesca Montillo from Lazy Italian Culinary Adventures. In this feature, Francesca talks about her unique upbringings, with her family straddling between Boston and a small village in southern Italy, and between adopting new traditions and maintaining their old ones, while living abroad. In the second part of the episode, Francesca describes how she made professional use of her Italian background both by teaching Italian cooking classes and by organizing and conducting culinary tours of Italy.

[Thoughts on the Table – 50] Balance in Food – 50th Episode Special with Jason

Jason and I used to be co-workers and in our lunch breaks we often talked about food, trying to explain the logic behind it, and comparing North American, Italian, and Japanese cultures. Being an avid podcast listener, and missing the days when I was an amateur radio host in Italy, I pitched to Jason the crazy idea of making a podcast from our chats. Of course he accepted without hesitation! As a result, Thoughts on the Table was born just over three years ago.

Even though Jason is no longer a co-host, the podcast continues to thrive, thanks to its notable guests and loyal listeners – including Jason himself, of course. In fact, I’m very happy to be publishing episode number fifty (that’s five-zero!) today.

In this special episode, Jason is back on the show with one of his topics. With our usual investigative approach, Jason and I theorize on why North Americans seem to focus on high ranking foods (the so-called “proteins”), relegating the rest of the dish to mere accompaniments, whereas the Italians – and the Japanese – value dishes in which the various components are paired harmoniously, and they have meals in which the dishes follow one another in a balanced progression.

As always, please join us in our discussion and let us know what you think by commenting on the episode. Thanks to everyone for your support and feedback!

The music in the episode is by: www.purple-planet.com.

[Thoughts on the Table – 49] Introducing Food Blogger and Recipe Developer Giulia Robert from Alterkitchen

Thoughts on the Table is back with another Cannolo Award winner: Turin born and raised Giulia Robert from Alterkitchen. I’ve known Giulia for more than five years and it was very special to finally meet face to face, albeit via Skype. Giulia has been a constant presence on the web with her fabulous recipes ranging from classic Piedmontese dishes to modern creations. She is also an active member and editor of MTChallenge, a virtual competition between bloggers, and of the Italian Association of Food Bloggers, best known for its food calendar. Join us in our chat to learn more about Giulia’s background and to hear her describe some of her most successful creations, a series of iconic dishes with a Piedmontese twist! For pictures and recipes, please check out the links below.

You can follow Giulia also on Facebook, Twitter @alterkitchen, Instagram, Pinterest, and Flickr.

[Thoughts on the Table – 48] Introducing Ale Gambini and her Cookbook: A Queen in the Kitchen

This episode’s guest is Cannolo Award winner Ale Gambini, food blogger, recipe developer, and web series host. Ale just published her first cookbook titled A Queen in the Kitchen, which she dedicates to her grandma Fernanda and to the cuisine of her Milan and of northern Italy (which is where I’m from as well). Join us in our chat to hear us compare our notes and memories, and to learn more about northern Italian dishes which are largely unknown around the world.

You can follow Ale Gambini on her blog A Queen in the Kitchen, as well as on Twitter ‎@alegambinidt.

The music in the episode is by: www.purple-planet.com.

[Thoughts on the Table – 47] Introducing Food Writer and Cooking Instructor Giulia Scarpaleggia from Jul’s Kitchen

My guest today is Giulia Scarpaleggia from Jul’s Kitchen, an incredible project which includes a blog, food writing, food photography & videos, and a cooking school! Join me to hear from Giulia’s own voice how it all began and how it has evolved. During the episode we also talk about the recipe development that led Giulia to writing her fifth cookbook (currently being finalized) which will feature 100 recipes inspired by tradition, and which will not include Chicken Parmigiana – a dish you will not find it in Italy!

You can follow Giulia also on Twitter @julskitchen, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube.

The music in the episode is by: www.purple-planet.com.