cookbook Archives - Quatro Fromaggio and Other Disgraces on the Menu

[Thoughts on the Table – 99] Taste and Flavor Flashbacks with Jason and Paolo

As Thoughts on the Table approaches 100 episodes, I chose to dedicate episode 99 to the series’ beginnings, dating back to August 2013. I was an avid podcast listener and, inspired by great productions like This American Life and Stuff You Should Know, I involved my friend and then-coworker, Jason, and branched off from my blog to try the more colloquial format of a podcast.

Today’s issue contains extracts from the first six episodes where Jason and I discuss taste and flavor, as well as cultural differences between Italy, North America, and Japan. Among other topics, we touched on why as an Italian I would never try to put salt on pasta, whether eating spicy food can damage our taste buds, the reason why desserts tend to end the meal, why many people learn to appreciate “spoiled” foods like Gorgonzola and Nattō, what exactly astringency is, and the path to appreciating subtle flavors. To wrap up the selection, I couldn’t help but include extracts from episode seven, a recording that took place right in the center of Milan on Jason’s impressions from visiting Italy for the first time.

After these seven episodes, Jason could no longer continue as a co-host. So I started looking for a new podcast partner by enlisting some of my dearest blogger friends as collaborators. This eventually gave me the idea to turn the podcast towards the format of the interview. I enjoyed it a lot. With practice, I learned to connect with my guests in a way that would capture their spontaneity in entertaining and informative chats, and I made many lasting connections as a result, for which I’m grateful. My guests included food bloggers, writers, cookbook authors, chefs, food professionals, food photographers, event organizers, cooking instructors, and fellow podcasters. Overall, in nearly nine years of activity, Thoughts on the Table saw a total of 65 collaborators for a combined playback time of 39 hours, 19 minutes, and 13 seconds.

[Thoughts on the Table – 97] Cookbooks and the People They Were Written for, with Diana Pinto

Is a cookbook on a cuisine a mirror of what takes place in its people’s kitchens? Or does it reflect more the desires and needs of its intended audience? And if that’s the case, are these desires of a practical nature, or for something that people like to dream about? What is the relationship between cookbooks and the people they were written for?

These are some of the questions that Diana Pinto has been asking herself while going through lots of cookbooks as part of her “2-week cookbook project” – less-known cookbooks, cookbooks from the past, cookbooks written in Italian for Italians, cookbooks that were translated and adapted, and just plain out bad cookbooks as well!

Join us in our conversation and let us know your thoughts by adding your comments here or by connecting directly with Diana on Instagram.

To learn more about Diana Pinto, please check out her interview in Episode 92 – The Quest for Authentic & Original Recipes .

Eleven years of blogging, eight of podcasting

Another year! The good news is that this blog is still active and luckily keeps being found by those searching for Italian specialties like pizzoccheri or canederli or Italian misconceptions like my 6 Italian myths. The bad news of course is that I haven’t posted any new articles or recipes this year. I know, it’s terrible – but it’s also okay, given that social media has taken the place of blogging in many ways.

But I did resume podcasting (yay!) and produced 16 new episodes with as many guests and collaborations this past year! This continues to be a lot of fun for me and I’ve already started to work on a new round of episodes to hopefully reach my dream milestone of 100 episodes very soon!

Here is a list of the episodes this year. Thanks again to all of my wonderful guests!

79 Introducing Valeria and Benedetta from Local Aromas with Valeria and Benedetta Bianchini
80 Dining Out and Traveling During a Pandemic with Raffaella de Amicis
81 Questions Italians in North America Can’t Help But Wonder About with Sim Salis
82 Dissecting Ragù alla Bolognese with Tina Prestia
83 Introducing Cooking with Mamma Marzia Cookbook with Marzia Bellotti Molatore
84 Introducing Christine from Italian Dish Podcast
85 Introducing Local Aromas’ Advent Calendar and More with Valeria and Benedetta Bianchini
86 Christmas Traditions from Growing up in Sicily, Canada, and Milan
87 Introducing Eva from Electric Blue Food with Eva Grosso
88 Chinotto – The Other Way of Drinking Dark, a solo podcast on the somewhat obscure Italian soda
89 Introducing Kristie Prada from Mammaprada
90 Italian Words Gone Wrong – Mistakes on the Menu, another solo podcast, a reading on one of my older blog posts
91 Introducing Podcaster Wendy Holloway from Flavor of Italy
92 The Quest for Authentic & Original Recipes, with Diana Pinto
93 Introducing Becca and Sarah from Dietetics After Dark Podcast
94 Podcast Recording, Editing, and Production, with Sound Designer Geoff Devine

On a personal level, we keep well here in southern England, still working from home and enjoying plenty of homecooked food. We pretty much spend our time planning meals, cooking, cleaning the kitchen, and being grateful for having a dishwasher. As the government lifted all social distancing measures exactly two weeks ago, we are far from back to normal, unfortunately. Traveling is still not really possible, including to and from Italy which of course breaks our hearts. But we enjoy our area, which is wonderfully green after a very wet summer, and spending time with our cat Rascal, who just turned 19, overall doing great and still a great source of comfort and inspiration to us both.

I hope you’re all well, wherever you are, and please get in touch for collaborations, to be on the podcast, or just to say hi – I’d love that 🙂

[Thoughts on the Table – 83] Introducing Cooking with Mamma Marzia Cookbook

Marzia Bellotti Molatore from Bella Cibo introduces her first cookbook titled Cooking with Mamma Marzia – Authentic Italian Recipes for the Whole Family.

In the episode, Marzia describes how much this cookbook means to her and the importance of creating family traditions in the kitchen. In the second part, Marzia talks about a few of the recipes featured in the book: Casatiello Napoletano (savory stuffed bread), polenta Taragna (buckwheat polenta with cheese), pizzoccheri, pesce all’acqua pazza (“crazy water” poached fish), vitello tonnato (veal with tuna sauce), and crostoli (fried sweets)!

You can order Cooking with Mamma Marzia on www.mammamarzia.ca. You can hear Marzia’s touching story from her own voice on episode 71. For daily updates, Marzia is also on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

[Thoughts on the Table – 73] Introducing Francesca Montillo’s new paperback – The 5-ingredient Italian Cookbook

In my chat with Francesca Montillo back in 2016, we talked about her cooking classes and culinary tours of Italy. In today’s episode, Francesca introduces her first cookbook which stems from her experience as a cooking instructor. The 5-ingredient Italian Cookbook is an overview of traditional Italian cooking with 101 regional classics described step-by-step.

During the episode, Francesca shares a behind-the-scenes on the making of the book, from the choice o the recipes to the use of a test kitchen to validate them and photograph the resulting dishes.

You can buy Francesca’s cookbook on Amazon and follow her at Lazy Italian Culinary Adventures as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

[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 – 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.

[Thoughts on the Table – 44] A Culinary Tour of Abruzzo with Domenica Marchetti

Food writer and cookbook author Domenica Marchetti is back on the show to talk more about her mother’s native land – the Abruzzo region in central/southern Italy. In the episode, Domenica paints a colorful picture of the region – from its geography which spans from majestic natural parks on the Apennines to beautiful beaches on the Adriatic coast, to its people, and – naturally – to its traditional food.

Domenica also describes a culinary tour of Abruzzo that she organizes along with her partners at Abruzzo Presto. The 2016 edition took place on September 18-25.

Music by: www.purple-planet.com.