In the Company of Chefs.

Introduction
My interest in food started early in life. I would sit in our kitchen in Rome and watch my mother prepare our family dinner, which was served almost every day of the week upon my father’s return from the office. Since we lived in Rome for the better part of 20 years, the menu consisted mainly of Italian inspired dishes with an occasional splash of my Mom’s German upbringing.

The Best Pasta in L.A.

THE BEST PASTA IN L.A.
Italian restaurants are ubiquitous throughout L.A. However there are only a handful of places that can be considered as the best in the city. I grew up in a culture where pasta was the main staple of the family meal. The ingredients and techniques that once made up these delicious recipes have changed dramatically over the years.

The Food of Rome

The Food of Rome
Tagliolini alla Grecia, Da Francesco
Let me make one thing perfectly clear from the start when we speak of the food of Rome we are talking about a great variety of different types of dishes and ingredients. For me to review every facet of this city’s amazing array of flavors in one article would be an impossible enterprise.

French Apple Tart – Easy and Delicious

 
French Apple Tart.
For the Pastry:
10 Tbsp All Purpose Flour (Sifted)
5 Tbsp Caster Sugar (Super Fine Sugar)
3/4 Stick of Butter
1 Egg
For the Filling
2 Lb Granny Smith Apples
2 oz Butter
2 Tbsp Water
4 Tbsp Apricot Jam
2 oz Caster Sugar
Grated rind of half a lemon
1/2 LB of Fuji or any good eating apple.

Spaghetti all’Amatriciana

Just north of Rome, heading northeast towards the Adriatic Sea, skirting the region of Umbria, lies the town of Amatrice recently leveled by the horrific earthquake that hit this area of Italy only a few weeks ago. Not many may know that this same town has given its name to one of the most iconic Roman pasta dishes, Spaghetti alla Matriciana (In the style of Amatrice).