Yeah, you heard me: DARIO. As in D-A-R-I-O of Panzano, Italy. Did you read HEAT? Mario Batali’s book? Its bright yellow and exposes the underbelly of restaurant kitchens—trust me, you would remember it if you read it.

Anyway… ‘Dario the Butcher’ is in the book, he was a main cast member who influenced and trained Mario. [...]

I have been spending time on a tomato peel—sliding around the web (I hope you just pictured one of those carnival slides—where you would sit on a burlap bag, and slide down rolling humps and your stomach would flop? Remember that feeling?). And while sliding around might be messy and a bit out of control—it [...]

You may not know that my ‘Italian’ name is Gina. There is no exact translation for ‘Janelle’ so one day mio marito (my husband) slid in the name ‘Gina’ when an Italian was having difficulty pronouncing ‘Janelle.’ It stuck. It became easier to introduce myself as Gina… and really a hoot to adopt a new [...]

For class, we would often do culinary summaries of various regions around the U.S. I enjoyed learning about various individuals who made significant contributions in the evolution of Californian cuisine. It is a huge, wonderfully productive state, famous for their fusion, fresh and locally farmed foods in addition to their international success in the wine [...]

If you know Aunt Vicki—or are my extended family— then you know exactly what cheese ball I am talking about.
We grew up with this appetizer at holiday after holiday party. Christmas primarily. It was its own icon; Aunt Vicki would show up looking splendid, out dressing us all (some have it, some don’t…. she does), [...]

The holidays wouldn’t be the holidays without cocktails. And it had been awhile since I flirted with flavors and mixed up new concoctions. And to be fair, this one isn’t exactly new. Think of it as upgraded for the new year.
We were fortunate enough to spend some time with great friends over the break: friends [...]