Lidia Bastianich and her fabulous shows on Italian cooking have always had a special place in my heart. As an Italian American originally from New York, I love to not only watch Lidia cook up a storm but hear her talk about how Italian food has influenced American culture. Watching Lidia is something my mother and I do together when she visits, and her shows invariably lead to my mother telling animated tales of enormous family meals at her Neapolitan grandparents house in the Bronx and remembrances of my own grandmother’s take on various dishes. But more than that Ms. Bastianich inspires us to get into the kitchen and cook.

When I was a kid I didn’t realize that the food I was eating on a daily basis was not actually eaten in Italy. My mother’s Sunday Gravy was a cherished weekly event and I figured Italians were eating this dish not only in New York and California, but Naples and Palermo as well. Same with her tangy vinegar pepper Chicken Cacciatore and Christmas Eve black olive pizza. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized Italian American food falls into its own special category, full of ingredients that immigrants found after my great grandparents and others traveled through Ellis Island or landed at airports later in the century.

You see, it wasn’t until recently that ingredients like farro, San Marzano tomatoes and Parmigiano-Reggiano started to appear regularly in American grocery stores. Before this, Italian immigrants and their children were limited to using ingredients that were local to their new homes and often distinctly American in taste. So America’s love for beef led to the aforementioned Sunday Gravy, a rich tomato-based sauce full of meatballs, sausages and bragiolle that isn't made in Italy itself.

I have quite a few of Lidia Bastianich’s books, but I use them a little differently than my other cookbooks. While I might open up my new "Sunday Suppers at Lucques" by Suzanne Goin or the gorgeous "Tender" by Nigel Slater to drool over the photos and feel inspired to try something new, Lidia’s books are like visiting my grandmother’s and mother’s recipe files. So much is comfortable and familiar, but with the clear difference that they also provide well-detailed instructions -- something my mother and grandmother thought was covered by phrases like “cook until done” or “add a little of this and that until it tastes right” (all said with a heavy Bronx accent).

Ms. Bastianich’s new book “Lidia’s Italy in America,” which she wrote with her daughter Tanya Bastianich Manuali, is no different. The focus here is the unique ways Italian American immigrants interpreted dishes from their homeland throughout the United States. The book is broken down into the standard sections of antipasti, zuppe, pasta, etc., but within are pages that highlight specific specialties from different areas along with descriptions of the Italian American neighborhoods that created them. So in Poultry we find a vignette about Federal Hill in Providence Rhode Island but soon after follows a recipe for Roberto’s Chicken Piccante from a chef on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx (a neighborhood dear to my heart as it’s where my father grew up). The gamut of Italian American cooking is covered with descriptions of the people who make these neighborhoods distinct and some history as well.

Although I’ve never met her, Ms. Bastianich’s is sort of like my TV culinary mother. Sweet and nurturing while also firm with her advice and directions, I trust her to help me navigate the path of Italian cookery. I will admit that I have occasionally been disappointed, as I was with the deep dish pizza in this book which was more bread than pizza. I can’t really complain, however, as the recipe says “it is a cross between focaccia and a pizza," so she warned me. My suggestion if you make it is to cut the dough in half and add more filling to the top, but remember I’m a Neapolitan-American raised on thin crusts so I’m a bit biased. More often than not, however, I have been quite happy with the results. The baked Rollatini of Sole offered a delightfully lemony take on fish cooked with breadcrumbs and the Italian American Meatloaf is, without a doubt, the best meatloaf I have ever made. My kids and husband raved about it and we all had seconds. Note, however, that the recipe is so big it makes either one incredibly large loaf, or, if you’re like me, one for your own family and one to share with the mom who took your kids for the afternoon.

"Lidia’s Italy in America" has that type of easy cookbook style I like best when reading recipes I will actually use. The recipes are laid out clearly and are easy to follow. I also enjoyed her stories on American neighborhoods and their Italian citizens. My only criticism is that there are hardly any pictures of food (most are of the people in the neighborhoods she visited). I love recipe photos in cookbooks because it’s reassuring to know what dishes are supposed to look like when you cook them and I felt this book could have used a few more. But that is a minor criticism. As she’s done many times before, Lidia Bastianich has provided a solid compilation of Italian American recipes, this time with an emphasis on those that truly reflect the diverse and eclectic nature of the many types of Italian neighborhoods there are in America. So if you’re in the mood for authentic Italian American recipes from the embodiment of Italian mama-ness, pick up a copy of "Lidia’s Italy in America."

Italian American Meatloaf, salad and roasted potatoes. Photo by Denise Santoro Lincoln.

Recipe: Italian American Meatloaf (Polpettone)

One would think that meatloaf is very American, but its origins are actually in a German colonial dish of minced pork mixed with cornmeal. Italians serve it a lot as well, and in this rendition the cultures blend deliciously with the addition of a pestata, a paste of carrots, celery, and onions. Not only does the meatloaf taste delicious, but it is foolproof, moist every time. The leftovers reheat as if just cooked, and Italians love to serve it with roasted potato wedges.

Serves 10 or more

2 cups cubes of country bread with crust
1 cup milk
2 medium carrots, cut into chunks
2 medium stalks celery, cut into chunks
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano
1 cup marinara sauce or puréed canned tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Put the bread cubes in a medium bowl, and pour the milk over them. Let the bread soak until it is soft. Meanwhile, combine the carrots, celery, and onion in a food processor, and pulse to make a fine-textured paste or pestata.

When the bread is soft, squeeze out the excess milk and put the bread in a large mixing bowl. Mix the pestata, ground meats, scallions, grated cheese, marinara sauce, parsley,salt, and oregano with the bread, using your hands to distribute all of the ingredients evenly. Oil a 10-by-15-inch Pyrex or ceramic baking dish with the olive oil. Form the meat mixture into a loaf in the oiled pan.

Place in the oven, and bake until browned and cooked through (the center of the meatloaf should read 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer), about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza. Photo: Lidia Matticchio Bastianich.

Recipe: Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza (Pizza Alta di Chicago)

One could call this dish pizza bread, and it is a cross between a focaccia and a pizza. In Sicily, they make a high pizza called sfincione, topped with tomatoes, oregano, and a few anchovies. It is sold in warm squares as street food from a cart. The idea for deep- dish pizza came from the early Sicilian immigrants that settled in Chicago, although the excessive toppings are not something one would find in Sicily.

Makes 1 pizza

FOR THE DOUGH
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 packet instant dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading the dough
1/2 cup fine cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl and pan

FOR THE TOPPING
4 ounces provolone, sliced
4 ounces mozzarella, sliced
1 to 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
2 ounces pepperoni, sliced
1/2 cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Pour 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons warm (90 to 110 degrees F) water into a bowl, then stir in the sugar and yeast. Let sit until the yeast begins to bubble, about 5 minutes.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, cornmeal, and salt on low to combine. Pour in the yeast mixture and the olive oil to combine while still mixing. Once the dough comes together, switch to the dough hook, and knead on medium-high speed to make a smooth dough, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little more water or fl our as needed to make a soft dough. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, from 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Punch down the dough, and press it into a 14-x-10-inch oiled baking pan or an oiled 12-inch cast-iron skillet, gently pressing the dough up the sides to make a shell. Fill the shell with an even layer of the provolone and mozzarella, then spread the sauce to cover the cheese completely. Top with the pepperoni, and sprinkle with the grated cheese and oregano. Cover with foil, and bake 45 minutes. Then uncover, and bake until the crust is deep golden brown and the pizza is bubbly, about 20 minutes more. Let sit about 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

---

Recipes excerpted from Lidia's Italy in America by Lidia Bastianich. Copyright © 2011 by Lidia Bastianich. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

---

Related Programs:
• Watch Lidia Celebrates America -- Holiday Tables & Traditions on KQED TV tonight 12/20/11 at 8pm. View additional airtimes.

Whore-y Pasta

Pasta Puttanesca roughly translates as "pasta in the style of a whore" -- no doubt an enterprising whore who's a little salty, a little spicy, and has plenty of bite to her. You may be wondering how this dish got its colorful name. Legend has it "ladies of the night" would lure customers into houses of ill repute with the enticing aroma of this sauce simmering away. Alternately, they would make this for themselves because it was a quick and easy meal that wouldn’t take much time away from their biznaz.

Quick, easy, cheap, delicious…qualities any busy working girl/harlot could appreciate. Pasta Puttanesca makes a great spur-of-the-moment meal because it can be thrown together using ingredients in your pantry.

Pantry staples

The dish is full of salt and brine -- olives, capers, anchovies -- flavors typical of Southern Italian cuisine. Canned Italian tuna soaked in olive oil plays well off of the anchovies and tomato sauce, and adds protein and body to the meal.

Fresh elements

I've thrown in some fresh touches to this Puttanesca, but in a pinch you could omit the eggplant, onion, garlic, or fresh herbs, and the essence of the dish would remain intact.

Chive blossoms

I would normally garnish this with fresh oregano or parsley, but a sly animal had just stolen the parsley from under my nose. Luckily, my mom’s garden had a lovely bunch of chive blossoms still intact. The faint oniony twang worked well with the other aromatics, and the tiny purple blossoms even accented the deep hue of the eggplant.

In no time, we had a steaming hearty bowl of pasta to dig into, full of vibrant, sassy flavors. Those ladies of the night were on to something when they came up with this. Who would've thought? Whore-y pasta: customer satisfaction, guaranteed.

Recipe: Pasta Puttanesca

Summary:
A quick and easy pasta dish full of vibrant, sassy flavors (purportedly invented by "ladies of the night" who lured in customers with the scent of this simmering away).

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 24 ounces tomato sauce
• 16 ounces spaghetti or angel hair pasta
• 5 ounces Italian tuna, packed in olive oil
• 2 ounces anchovies, packed in olive oil
• 1 eggplant, diced (and peeled if you prefer)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olives (green or Kalamata), roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon capers
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• A handful of fresh oregano, parsley, or chives (finely chopped)

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta.
2. Over medium heat, pour the olive oil from the tuna and anchovies into a large saucepan. Add the onion and sautee until translucent. Add the eggplant and garlic; sautee until the eggplant is softened and the onions begin to caramelize.
3. Add the anchovies and stir until they have melted down. Add the tuna, breaking it into small chunks, and saute for another minute or so.
4. Add the tomato sauce, olives, capers, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer. Serve over pasta and garnish with fresh herbs.

Culinary Tradition: Italian

Every family has its own version of comfort food. For us -- an Italian American clan that immigrated 100 years ago from Naples and Sicily -- vegetable pasta dishes have supplied not only nourishment for each generation, but a sense of well being. The continuity of eating something your great-grandparents, grandparents and parents ate is both reassuring and calming. The premise for these dishes all starts with the same idea: take whatever vegetables are in season and fresh, sauté with olive oil, garlic or onions, and maybe throw in some tomatoes for good measure. Mix with pasta and you have a meal.

Pasta Piselli is one of those dishes. A dish made with peas, tomatoes, herbs and onions, it is simple and forthright. There is nothing showy about this dish. Yet the mix of fresh spring onions and just-shelled English peas makes it not only the perfect family meal, but also elegant enough to serve to guests.

Now I need to confess that my use of fresh peas is unique in my family. Somewhere along the way -- I'm guessing during the Depression -- canned peas were employed as the main ingredient. My grandmother made the dish with canned peas, as did my mother. Yet although I adored this dish as a child, I have always made it a little differently, using fresh or frozen peas instead. This is probably because I really don't like canned vegetables. Plus fresh peas are only available for a short while in the spring, which means I need to take advantage of their wonderful verdant sweet flavor while they last. Prepared with small spring onions, and, if you're lucky, some nice early tomatoes, and you have a dish that celebrates the end of winter.

I made this pasta dish earlier this week after finding some crispy English peas and spring onions at the market. I wasn't lucky enough to stumble upon heirloom tomatoes, so used my standard can of San Marzano plums that I rely on so much throughout the year. And, because the day was rainy and cold, I added in some pasta water to make the dish soupy. If it had been warm out, I most likely would have left it out. But that's the great thing about a dish like this; its innate simplicity allows you to easily transform it for whatever mood you're in. Like all good simple foods, it is malleable, which, I suspect, is why it's been around for so long.

Recipe: Pasta Piselli

Summary: Pasta Piselli is one of those dishes. A dish made with peas, tomatoes, herbs and onions, it is simple and forthright. There is nothing showy about this dish. Yet the mix of fresh spring onions and just-shelled English peas makes it not only the perfect family meal, but also elegant enough to serve to guests.

By Denise Santoro Lincoln

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb pasta (tubetti is traditional, but any smallish pasta is fine. I use whatever my kids pick out.)
• 1/4 cup chopped pancetta or salt pork (optional)
• 1/4 cup spring onions finely chopped (a regular onion can be used)
• 2 garlic cloves smashed and roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 cups fresh English peas (one large bag of pea pods should give you enough; also you can use frozen but fresh are worth it if they're available)
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes or 8 oz whole plum tomatoes (half a 15 oz can)
• 1 cup pasta water (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (or 1 Tbsp dried basil)
• 1 Tbsp fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried oregano)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A dash of crushed red pepper (optional)
• Grated Parmesan cheese (as much as desired)

Instructions

1. Shell your peas while you heat a large pot of water.



2. Place your tomatoes in a blender and pulse about three or four times (don't over blend). Meanwhile chop up your pancetta, onions and garlic.
3. Heat a separate medium sauce pan on medium heat and then add in enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add in your pancetta and sauté for 3-4 minutes or until the meat starts to look golden brown around the edges.



4. Add in your onions and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes.



5. Mix in the peas, stirring to make sure they are evenly distributed throughout, and then add in the tomatoes, oregano, basil and some salt to taste.



6. Your water should come to a boil right about now. When it does, add in a tablespoon of salt and then pour in your pasta and cook until al dente.
7. Simmer your sauce for 10 minutes, adding in about a ladle of pasta water if desired. Add salt and pepper as needed.



8. Drain the pasta and mix into the sauce. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Culinary Tradition: Italian

Cantaloupe and Prosciutto

There are some things in life that are just meant to be together: peanut butter and jelly, cookies and cream, and yes, melon and prosciutto. Who would've thought that fruit and meat would go so well together, but it does. Sweet juicy cantaloupe and salty cured prosciutto bring out the sweet and salty best in one another.

When Chris first told me about Melon and Prosciutto Risotto, my eyes widened in disbelief that I had not thought of this brilliant idea sooner. It made perfect sense. Take the classic combo of melon and prosciutto, and reinvent it via a creamy divine risotto.

Mama mia, the result was just beautiful. The risotto starts out like a risotto typically does -- by softening an onion in some butter and oil, toasting off the Arborio rice, and then adding a generous splash of white wine before simmering broth is added bit by bit until the risotto is creamy and each kernel has a nice toothsome chew to it.

Now here is where the magic comes in. To the risotto, we now add cubes of ripe cantaloupe, ribbons of paper-thin prosciutto, and a shower of parmigiano. The cantaloupe is the real surprise here. This is the first time I've ever tasted it cooked, and the temperature confusion makes you pause for a second. The freshness of the melon comes through though. It really lightens up this comfort meal and makes it fit for spring -- which is not to say that it is any less luxurious. It is still, after all, a lush risotto trimmed with melt-in-your-mouth prosciutto, and garnished with bits of crispy prosciutto. That pork on pork action is celebration enough. The beauty, however, is in the balance.

*****

Recipe: Melon and Prosciutto Risotto

Summary: The classic combo of melon and prosciutto is combined into a divine risotto. Sweet, salty, and not too heavy.

By Stephanie Hua

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cantaloupe, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 pound prosciutto
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 32 ounces chicken stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
• 1/3 cup grated parmigiano
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a medium-sized pot, bring the chicken stock to a simmer. Keep at a simmer the entire time the risotto cooks.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened, about 6-8 minutes. Add the rice and lightly toast, about 4 minutes.
3. Stir the white wine into the mixture and allow it to evaporate and absorb into the rice.
4. Add the warm chicken stock one ladle at a time, allowing it to absorb into the rice each time before adding the next ladle. Stir frequently to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. If it starts to look like you'll need more liquid to finish cooking the rice, add boiling water to your simmering pot of stock.
5. Continue adding stock and stirring until the risotto is soft and creamy. The rice should still have a nice al dente chew to it though. It should take about 30 minutes to finish cooking.
6. Meanwhile, roll up the prosciutto and slice it into thin ribbons. Toast a handful of it up in the oven (I use my toaster oven) until it is crispy, and reserve for garnishing.
7. When the risotto is almost done, stir in the melon, uncooked prosciutto, and parmigiano. Allow everything to warm through. Season with salt and pepper if needed, top with the crispy prosciutto, and serve immediately.

Culinary Tradition: Italian

Osteria Coppa bar interior

Perfectly acceptable pasta and mediocre slices of pizza are easy to find. If you haven't had a decent interpretation of either in a while, you can easily forget what a great version tastes like.

Let's just say I've now been reminded.

Osteria Coppa in San Mateo is owned by the folks who run Sam's Chowder House in Half Moon Bay; a Peninsula institution. Executive Chef Chanan Kamen takes pride in his handmade pastas and hand-stretched pizzas, and it shows. His resume includes Michelin-starred Quince and Jardinere in San Francisco, and Picholine and Tabla in New York City.

Osteria Coppa is a farm-to-table restaurant, meaning they use organic, locally sourced, artisanal ingredients. They cure their salumi in-house, fire up hand-made pizzas in their stone ovens, and artfully make their own pastas.

I paid two visits to the restaurant and each time focused solely on the pizzas and pastas. The pastas in particular have gotten rave reviews in the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News and The San Francisco Examiner.

Braised Radicchio, Panchetta and Aged Balsamico Pizza

I tried both the house-made sausage, speck and crimini mushroom pizza, as well as the pancetta, braised radicchio and aged balsamico. Both thin-crust, Neapolitan-style pies were fantastic for this simple reason: the fresh, creative topping combinations worked perfectly on an exceptional crust.

The flavors on both pizzas were well conceived, but I was particularly impressed with the pancetta, braised radicchio and aged balsamico pie. It was one of the best pizzas I have had in a while. I fell in love with the wonderfully tangy sweetness of the balsamico. It made me wonder why I hadn't tasted balsamic vinegar on a pizza before! It was the perfect match for the meaty, fatty goodness of the pancetta bits. And the radicchio was an edgier stand-in for the typical red onions.

My dining companion at one point declared, "Even the crust is great on this pizza!" The crust was perfectly crisp and charred on the bottom, pillowy soft and sweet on the inside. If you order just one pie while you're there, this is the one.

As far as Osteria Coppa's pastas go, the San Jose Mercury News has called them "exquisite," and even named the Tagliatelle Bolognese one of the Top Ten Dishes of 2010.

Tagliatelle Bolognese

There are plenty of places that make their own pastas, but they either make the mistake of overcooking it so that it becomes mushy (fresh pasta should take no longer than a few minutes to cook), or the flavor is way too doughy and floury, without enough focus on fresh, quality ingredients.

There's no risk of either here. Preparation, ingredients and technique all have equal importance. The Fettuccine Marinara with cauliflower and broccoli rabe was perfectly al dente, and the noodles were delicious with a wonderful eggy, almost buttery flavor. The freshness of the vegetables was obvious and actually made the dish seem light.

But I can confirm that the recent attention on the Tagliatelle Bolognese is well warranted. The dish was nothing short of fabulous with its smooth, rich pork and deliciously creamy sauce. And once again, the noodles themselves were the star in both texture and taste. But for all the richness of this dish, it never seemed overly heavy.

Blood Orange Lemonade

Aside from the pizzas and pastas, the house-made blood orange lemonade is more proof of the inventive items on the menu. It's a fun twist on the typical lemonade and it shows how the restaurant takes advantage of having access to a wealth of fruits and vegetables. They use unconventional ingredients and combine them in a way that makes you feel like every item is fully realized.

Service is casual but professional. There's no pretentiousness from the staff, and families are welcome. In the Bay Area, that's a welcome change for a restaurant of this caliber. They've done a successful job creating a warm, sophisticated yet relaxed atmosphere. Chef Kaman was an expert pasta maker while at Quince, and the peninsula is lucky he's decided to bring his four-star talents to suburbia.

Osteria Coppa
Address: Map
139 South B Street
San Mateo, CA 94401
Phone: 650-579-6021
Hours: Lunch 11:30-2:30, Mon-Fri (closed for lunch on weekends)
Dinner 5:30-9:30pm Mon-Thurs, 5-10pm Fri-Sat, and 5-9 Sun

Facebook: Osteria Coppa
Twitter: @osteriacoppa

Pizza is probably America's favorite default dinner, but it's a dish that a lot of people take for granted. When the average person is hungry, it's easy to call a favorite delivery place or walk down to a local pizzeria to grab a slice. Pizza is cheap, portable, incredibly savory, and seems to have an eternal half-life when left on a unrefrigerated countertop. It makes sense that it claims the position as America's favorite food.

But what if you can't eat the primary component of pizza, the part on which all savory toppings rely -- the crust? For decades, gluten-free folk were out of luck. Aside from making any number of pizza-like concoctions at home, it was all but impossible to order for delivery or find a sit-down place where you could enjoy a pie with your friends. Pizza, as heartbreaking as it sounds, was off limits. Serious fail.

GLUTEN-FREE PIZZA PLACES AROUND THE BAY AREA
I know I keep saying how lucky we are to live in the Bay Area, where a huge variety of gluten-free options are available to everyone. We live in a place where, on a moment's notice, anyone with a gluten-free constitution can get an allergy-friendly baguette at a local bakery and cupcakes at the supermarkets. So what about pizza? Thankfully, we have many awesome pizzerias around the San Francisco Bay that serve up a dish so good, so dripping with ooey-gooey mozzarella and fresh pepperoni, that you've never miss regular, gluten-laden pizza again. Here are a few of my favorite places.

---

Moraga: Pennini's Ristorante Italiano
Pennini's Ristorante Italiano is tucked away in the Rheem Valley area of Moraga, a town hidden on the south side of Highway 24, halfway between Oakland and Concord. I visited Pannini's with a friend who used to live nearby. He claimed to have found the best gluten-free pizza on the face of the planet, and me being the suspicious foodie that I am, I scoffed. That night we visited the restaurant, and I was shocked to find a pizza crust that rivaled most regular pizzas that I've eaten in my life. The soft, thin crust was filled with a perfectly stretchy mozzarella cheese and a ton of spicy pepperoni. Suffice it to say, this has become one of my favorite pizza places. Note: Last I heard they were planning on carrying gluten-free beer, though I can't say for sure if they sell it at the moment.

Pennini's Ristorante Italiano
1375 Moraga Way, Suite D
Moraga, CA 94556
(925) 376-1515

---

Oakland: Pizza Rustica
Pizza Rustica in Oakland is a favorite place of mine, mostly because they deliver gluten-free pizza right to my house. They use crusts made by Patti Furey Crane over at Oakland's Mariposa Baking Company, another East Bay gluten-free business. While Rustica offers your standard pizza flavors -- margherita, meat lovers, and straight cheese -- you'll also find a delightfully creative selection of pizzas that you've probably never tried before:

• Salsiccia: Fresh house-made Italian fennel sausage, garlic, house-made tomato sauce
• Capricciosa: Smoked lean ham, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted garlic, Kalamata olives, Roma tomatoes
• Hellenic: Tomatoes, roasted eggplant, Kalamata olives, feta and garlic
• Carnivore: Molinari Pepperoni, house-made Italian fennel sausage, pancetta, spicy cajun sausage, garlic and tomato sauce

Really, how could you go wrong with toppings like that?

Pizza Rustica
5422 College Ave
Oakland, CA 94618
(510) 654-1601

---

San Francisco: Eagle Pizzeria
If you're in San Francisco and you're looking for a quaint little sit-down pizzeria, check out Eagle Pizzeria in the Sunset. A recent convert to the gluten-free army, the owners of Eagle are intent of offering some of the best gluten-free pizza in SF. With a solid lineup of toppings and a fanatical neighborhood following, Eagle Pizzeria is sure to sate that reptilian PIZZA-NOW urge that has become a huge part of American physiology.

Eagle Pizzeria
1712 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA 94116
(415) 566-3113

---

All Over: Amici's East Coast Pizzeria
Being a fan of paper-thin crust on my pizza, I always missed dining at Amici's Pizza once I learned that I was unable to eat gluten. Then, last year, a friend informed me that they started making a gluten-free pizza that very closely resembled their regular pie. I jumped at the chance and headed down to their Menlo Park location that very night, and was stoked to find that indeed, their gluten-free pizza was just as good as the regular Amici's offerings I'd grown to love.

With several locations throughout the Bay Area that span the South Bay, North Bay, East Bay, Peninsula, and San Francisco, there's no doubt that you live within a half-hour drive of one of their shops. While many of their locations already carry the gluten-free menu, some are still implementing the change -- so I recommend you call ahead of time to make sure your local Amici's can meet your dietary requirements.

Amici's East Coast Pizzeria Locations

• Cupertino
• Danville
• Dublin
• Menlo Park
• Mountain View
• Redwood Shores
• San Francisco
• San Jose
• San Mateo
• San Rafael
• Vacaville
• Complete list of Bay Area locations

---

Make it at Home!
If you're interested in making your own gluten-free pizza at home, locals will tell you that the best prepared pizza crusts come from Oakland's Mariposa Baking Company. They sell crusts frozen in packs of two, and they slip easily into a freezer for future nomming. Mariposa Baking also sells pizza by the slice for lunch, with a wide variety of exciting configurations that change by the day. If you're in Oakland and miss those days when you could just pop into a pizza place for a quick slice, I highly recommend stopping by -- and grabbing a handful of the bakery's other goodies, such as brownies, cupcakes, and coconut lemon bars. It's gluten-free heaven, I tell ya!

Eggplant Parmigiana

Holy Smokes. This Eggplant Parm is friggin amazing. I was sitting at the kitchen counter back home in NJ, hunched over a Tupperware container holding what might as well have been hidden treasure. I ate quickly, stealing furtive glances at the door. I'm a thief. This eggplant parm wasn't meant for me.

My big brother T had come home as well to help me plan my bridal shower menu, and well, there are a few things that are a given whenever we go home. 1) My mom makes us drink healing potions of Chinese herbal teas and soups (that's for another post), 2) We start our diet of a bagel a day, and 3) Our Italian childhood friends bring us leftovers from our #1 most requested dish – homemade Eggplant Parmigiana.

Making of Eggplant Parm magic

It sounds funny now that I write about it, but yes, it's true, my brother and I each have our own eggplant parm suppliers. Mine is my girl, Michele, who I've known since the first grade, whose mom was my CCD teacher, and who recently stood next to me as my maid of honor. My brother's eggplant parm connect is Corinne, who he's known since the second grade, whose house he goes to every Christmas for their massive dessert spread featuring about a dozen different pies and cakes, and who will be a bridesmaid at his wedding next October. I know, the parallels are frightening.

In any case, it happened that my brother left behind his container of Corinne's eggplant parm. Big mistake bro. Huge. At the Im household, ya snooze, ya lose. Especially when it comes to an unguarded eggplant parm.

So I dug in. And wow. I mean really. WOW. Sorry Shell, I love you and all, and no disrespect, but Corinne's square of eggplant parm magic was just that. Magical. It was like the pinnacle of eggplant parm tastiness. Everything I wanted in the dish. Creamy, cheesy, savory, rich, comforting, homey perfection. (Shell: for the record, please don't stop bringing me your eggplant parm. I will always eat it with gusto).

Eggplant breading mise en place

In any case, I was so moved by the explosion of tastiness in my mouth that I had to email Corinne for the recipe and make up for all these years I had been missing out on it.

I was dying to find out more about this magical eggplant parm of my dreams. Was it an old family recipe? Was it something she made all the time or just special occasions? Does it take a long time to make? What kind of mozzarella did she use?! It was astoundingly creamy and seemed to just melt into almost a sauce. I had so many questions. Did she use the big round-bottomed Italian eggplant, or the regular long ones? Did she "sweat" her eggplant before breading? Ok, clearly I was obsessed.

To my utter delight, Corinne was happy to share her family recipe! As it turns out, there are no crazy secrets to it. Except maybe lots of love and some time to devote to it. Interestingly, she says that between her mom, her sisters and herself, they all make it a little bit different. Corinne prefers thin slices of eggplant (as do I), while her sister prefers thicker slices. Corinne likes to make it in a square pan, her mom likes using a round one. Mom usually makes it for all holidays, but she likes it every now and again as a good comfort meal.

Fried Eggplant

I gave the recipe a go – to be honest, it didn't come out as good as Corinne's, but I'm hoping I'll get better with practice. Here's what I learned:

1. Apple-bottom eggplant works best because the bigger bottoms are good for the bottom layers.
2. No need to "sweat" the eggplant, Corinne doesn't do it, nor does her mama.
3. Slice the eggplant thin (a bit under ¼" thick)
4. Use whole milk mozzarella for the creamy results you'll want -- no one said this was a healthy dish! A note on the mozz: Corinne recommended the brand Polly-O for best results. It's a common brand on the East coast, but I haven't been able to find it in SF. She warned against using Sorrento, saying that for some reason, it doesn't work as well.
5. Barilla Three Cheese Tomato Sauce is recommended for the sauce. A great choice if you don't have time to make your own tomato sauce from scratch.
6. Make sure oil is hot in skillet before putting eggplant in -- they'll get too soggy if it's not hot enough. To test, drop a piece of breading in the oil. If it starts to bubble right away, the oil is ready.
7. Complete layers. I realized my eggplant parm didn't look quite right in the end because of the way I layered everything. Next time, instead of neatly stacking everything like I did, I'm going to try layering the pieces of eggplant overlapping one another to create whole uninterrupted layers.
8. Slice mozzarella rather than shredding to safe time.

This Eggplant Parm of my dreams is a bit time-intensive, and it's not the healthiest dish, but mamma mia, is it good. Grazie mille to Corinne and the Testaverde family for sharing their prized family recipe. And Big Brother T, you better guard your Tupperwares now that I know what's up.

Eggplant Parm of My Dreams

Eggplant Parm of My Dreams
Grazie mille to Corinne and the Testaverde family for sharing their prized family recipe. This is like the pinnacle of eggplant parm tastiness. Everything one could want in the dish -- creamy, cheesy, savory, rich, comforting, homey perfection.

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 30-40 minutes (it takes awhile to fry up all the eggplant)

Ingredients:
1 apple-bottom eggplant – make sure it's firm
16 oz. package whole milk mozzarella (Recommended brands: Polly-O, don't use Sorrento – for some reason it doesn't work as well)
1 ½ cups Italian flavored bread crumbs (Recommended brand: Progresso)
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for frying
Tomato Sauce (Recommended brand: Barilla Three Cheese)

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a large skillet, enough so that you have a good inch to fry in
2. Remove skin from eggplant, cut into 1/8 inch slices
3. Dip eggplant into egg & milk mixture
4. Coat both sides of eggplant in breadcrumb
5. Make sure oil is hot in skillet before putting eggplant in (they'll get too soggy if it's not hot enough)
6. Preheat Oven to 350°
7. Place breaded eggplant into skillet and brown on both sides
8. While eggplant is cooking, cut mozzarella into thin slices as well
9. Remove eggplant from skillet once fully browned, place on paper towels to soak up some of the excess oil
10. Spoon a layer of sauce into bottom of baking dish
11. Place a layer of browned eggplant on top of sauce layer, overlapping the slices to create one uninterrupted layer of eggplant.
12. Spoon another layer of sauce (not too much) on-top of eggplant
13. Place a layer of the sliced mozzarella on top of sauce
14. Repeat; eggplant, sauce, mozzarella layers ending on top with mozzarella
15. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in oven for approx 20–30 mins, until cheese is melted
16. Eat and enjoy the gooey deliciousness!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti and Meatballs. Doesn't that sound good? Simple. Classic. Comforting. Makes me want to curl up on the couch with a big steaming bowl, a bottle of wine and some old movies. It's the little things in life.

The inspiration for this comfort meal came from this recipe a friend sent me from Smitten Kitchen: Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion (from Marcela Hazan's Essentials of Italian Cooking)

Tomatoes, butter, and onion

She positively raved about how good this tomato sauce is. And stupid easy. Literally, just three ingredients: canned tomatoes, onion, and butter. You don't even need to chop the onion. Simply peel it and cut it in half. In it goes with the tomatoes and the secret ingredient to all things delicious (butter), and let it simmer. The result is really something phenomenal.

Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion

I tweaked the recipe slightly by adding a spoonful of sugar (I always add a little sugar to my tomato sauce, it helps balance out the acidity). I also added an extra can of whole peeled tomatoes. The original recipe didn't make enough sauce to satisfy my saucy craving, and was a little too rich with the tomato:butter ratio.

A note on the canned tomatoes. If you can find San Marzano tomatoes, they are the best quality, but you do pay a lot more for them. I went budget on this and went for three 14.5 ounce cans of grocery store brand whole peeled tomatoes. The sauce turned out delicious. With that much butter how could it not be delicious?

The butter is the secret weapon here. It adds such a luxurious, full flavor to the sauce, and brings out the best in the tomato and onion.

Makings of some mean meatballs

With a solid sauce done, easy peasy, I turned my attention to meatballs.

I adapted a straightforward, traditional recipe from an episode of Bobby Flay's Throwdown. "Grandma Maronis Meatballs 100 Year Old Recipe" consisted of the classic mix of ground chuck, bread crumbs, eggs, milk, cheese, onion, garlic, and herbs.

Three key changes I made:
1) Caramelize the onions before adding them to the mix. I do this when I make hamburgers too. By developing the sugars in the onion, you end up with a much greater depth of flavor.
2) Brown the meatballs in a pan before sticking them in the oven. Browned meat = More flavor. Plus, you get that nice crispy sear on the outside.
3) Add a few spoonfuls of Concord grape jelly.

Secret Ingredient: Concord Grape Jelly

That's right, the secret to awesome meatballs is Grape Jelly. Shhhh, don't tell anyone.

I picked up this family secret from Dom, a friend from school who studied abroad with me in Bologna. His grandma swears by this. Grazie mille, Nonna Musacchio, you are brilliant. You would never guess that grape jelly is in the recipe, but it adds a little sweet sumpthin' sumpthin' that just works.

Meatball Mania

Sauce, check. Meatballs, check. Now who has an old copy of The Godfather I can borrow?

Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion
Adapted from Marcela Hazan's Essentials of Italian Cooking

Serves: 4 (makes enough sauce to coat a pound of spaghetti)

Ingredients:
43.5 ounces canned whole peeled tomatoes *
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt to taste

Preparation:
1. Put the tomatoes, onion, butter, and sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.
2. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon.
3. Remove from heat, discard the onion, and salt to taste (you might find, as I did, that your tomatoes came salted and that you don't need to add more) and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

* If you can find San Marzano tomatoes, they are the best, but I made this with sauce with grocery-store brand canned tomatoes and it still came out delicious.

Nonna Knows Best: 100 Year Old Meatball Recipe
Adapted from "Grandma Maronis Meatballs 100 Year Old Recipe," courtesy of Mike Maroni

Serves: 8 to 10

Ingredients:
1 pound ground chuck
½ cup dried bread crumbs
4 large eggs
4 ounces whole milk
¾ cup grated Parmigiano
½ large yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons Concord grape jelly
¼ cup finely chopped fresh Italian flat parsley
¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon salt

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil.
2. Caramelize the diced onion.
3. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly in large bowl. If the mixture seems a little loose add more bread crumbs.
4. Roll meatballs loosely about the size of a golf ball and place on baking sheet. Brown the meatballs in a frying pan until they have a nice golden crust.
5. Place the meatballs back on the baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

Butternut Squash

When I lived in Bologna, my Italian roommate Mariangela would make this heavenly Butternut Squash Risotto on special occasions. She would stand there by the stove, stirring away with her ancient looking wooden spoon (she claimed it imparted extra flavor) until a magical transformation took place and plain rice became creamy risotto. She would then finish it off with a generous drizzle of the liquid gold her mother would ship to her from their olive grove in Calabria.

This dish holds a special place in my heart because it reminds me of long, hearty meals around a dining room table that gets cozier as the night progresses and louder as the wine flows. Which, come to think of it, is maybe why I think it's the perfect Thanksgiving dish as well.

Risotto: premature stages

Risotto: fully bloomed

Mariangela taught me a few tricks of the trade to making her risotto:
1) Don't forget to shred a carrot into the mix. Since carrot is a natural sweetener, it will bring out the sweetness of the butternut squash.
2) Don't forget to toast the rice a bit before you start adding liquid. It brings out the flavor of the rice and also helps in getting that nice, slightly al dente chew at the end.
3) Don't forget to bring the broth to a simmer before adding it to the rice.
4) Don't forget to add the broth one ladle at a time, waiting until it is absorbed by the rice until more is added.
5) Don't forget to pour yourself a nice glass of wine while you stir.

Risotto takes time and TLC, but it's well worth it. For Thanksgiving, roast off the squash ahead of time and keep it ready for use in an airtight container. You can even make the entire dish ahead of time and keep it in a large casserole dish ready to reheat in the oven before serving.

Butternut Squash Risotto

This Butternut Squash Risotto is meant to be shared and enjoyed with those near and dear to you. It is warm and comforting, creamy and rich, and taste like home.

Butternut Squash Risotto

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients:
1 small butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds), or 1 package pre-cut
32 oz chicken broth (2 boxes)
1 small onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon grated ginger
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups Arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
½ cup Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated
Olive oil for roasting and finishing

Preparation:

Roast the Butternut Squash
1. Preheat oven to 450°F with the rack in the middle.
2. If using pre-cut squash, drizzle with about a tablespoon of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast on a foil-lined baking sheet for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned. (Skip to step 5).
3. If using a whole squash, microwave the entire squash for 3-4 minutes so that it's easier to cut through. Halve squash lengthwise and discard seeds.
4. Peel one half and cut into 1-inch dice. Put remaining half, cut side down, in an oiled foil-lined baking pan with diced squash and season with salt and pepper. Bake the squash, stirring the diced pieces occasionally, until tender and browned lightly, 20-25 minutes. Holding halved squash in a kitchen towel, scoop out flesh and coarsely chop.
5. Set aside. (Roasting can be done 1-2 days ahead of time and kept in an airtight container in the fridge.)

Making the Risotto
6. In a saucepan bring broth to a simmer and keep at a bare simmer.
7. In a large pot melt the butter and add onion, carrot, garlic, and ginger. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened.
8. Stir in rice and let it toast a bit, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.
9. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed.
10. Then stir in the broth ¼ cup at a time, stirring constantly, until absorbed. Keep the risotto at a simmer throughout. Continue simmering, stirring, and adding broth, letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until about half of broth has been added.
11. Stir in diced and chopped squash, honey, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and continue simmering and adding broth in same manner until rice is tender and creamy-looking but still slightly al dente, about 20-25 minutes.
12. Stir in the grated Parmigiano and combine.
13. Spoon risotto into serving bowls and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few curls of Parmigiano using a vegetable peeler.

Mostaccioli with pork shoulder ragu

I've been making meat sauces for years, but only now -- after two months as an apprentice at Oliveto -- have I learned some of the secrets behind a superlative ragu.

A ragu is a basic meat sauce for pasta. The first authentic version I tried was years ago, in Emilia-Romagna, the region of Italy that invented the classic Bolognese sauce.

That first ragu was bold and brooding -- much like a Pavarotti opera. The sauce was entangled in a nest of perfectly cooked tagliatelle, with the flavor infused into the noodle.

Numerous cookbooks offer suggestions on making a Bolognese sauce and other forms of ragu. Yet nearly all of these recipes, in my opinion, are flawed. Most suggest cooking a mixture of diced onion, carrots and celery before adding your meat to brown it. The sauce that results tends to be lifeless or, even worse, infused with chunks of burnt vegetables.

Vegetables sweating on top of meat as the meat brown

At Oliveto, the chefs have reversed the sequence. First they brown the meat and then allow the vegetables to steam, or "sweat," on top of the meat. This process produces a dark layer of caramelized meat solids at the bottom of the pan -- a foundation of flavor. This foundation, or "fond" as the chefs call it, is then deglazed by the natural juices of the vegetables when added on top. This is allowed to cook down so the fond is rebuilt and deglazed two or three times.

Paul Bertolli, the former head chef at Oliveto, describes the technique in his 2003 book, "Cooking By Hand." Bertolli's successor, Paul Canales, who had a role in developing this technique, has continued to refine and perfect it since becoming executive chef.

Cooking a ragu in this manner is not difficult, but it cannot be whipped out in an hour or two. A ragu is truly slow food -- time-tested and refined by Italian grandmothers over many centuries.

Ragu ready for a long simmer, after broth and tomato paste have been added

Ragu for pasta

Makes: 8-10 servings of sauce

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground meat (Beef, pork or equal amounts of both. For beef, try ground chuck or get adventurous with ground hanger steak, beef cheeks, etc. For the pig, try ground pork shoulder.)
4 medium yellow onions
5 stalks celery
5 carrots
4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano
6 cups dark chicken or veal stock
½ cup white wine
½ cup high-quality tomato paste
1 cup cream (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Dice the onions, celery and carrots into a mirepoix -- cubes smaller than 1/4 inch in size. As you are dicing the vegetables and mincing the fresh herbs, start cooking your meat. Use a heavy bottomed Dutch oven or stew pot. This is essential. The bottom of the pan has to be thick and heavy enough to brown the meat, without scorching it.

2. Use high heat to start your browning process. But keep an eye on it, and adjust the flame accordingly. It’s okay for the meat to stick and brown, but you don't want it to blacken or burn.

3. After you have built an even layer of fond on the bottom, toss your vegetables on top of the meat. Leave them there for at least 15 minutes, allowing them to release their juices to the bottom of the pan.

4. Give your meat and vegetable a rigorous stir with a wooden spoon, and scrape up the fond layer that has now been deglazed by the vegetables.

5. Turn up heat slightly, and allow this to cook down and brown again, then add a shot of wine -- no more than a cup. Stir and scrape.

6. Allow this to cook down again. When browned, add a cup of stock. Repeat the process and add your tomato paste, diluted with a half cup of stock.

7. Watch your ragu carefully at this point. The addition of tomato paste could lead to scorching. Keep the heat up, but stir it regularly as the fond starts to reform. When it is nice and brown, but not scorched, add two or three cups of stock -- enough to make it slightly more soupy than you'd want for a sauce.

8. At this point, your ragu should have a lovely, brownish-red color. Bring it to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Allow it to simmer for two to four hours, stirring occasionally and adding more stock, if necessary.

9. Before serving, you have the option of adding cream -- as much or as little as you want. Too much cream will dilute the intensity of the sauce, so be judicious at first.

10. You can take this basic sauce in many different directions. Add minced porcini mushrooms early in the cooking for an earthier flavor, or cinnamon or nutmeg to give it a spicy edge. Use different combinations of fresh herbs.

11. The final step, of course, is marrying the ragu with the pasta. Don't just ladle it on top. Cook your pasta just short of al dente, then mix it thoroughly in a skillet with an appropriate amount of sauce and then serve it immediately. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top, and you will be ready to sing.

This is what ragu should look like when finished