Rachael Ray

As Labor Day nears, grilling season is upon us.  And just in time, our good friend and one of America’s favorite cooks, Rachael Ray, has come out with her twentieth cookbook, The Book of Burger. Her first single topic book covers in over 300 recipes “burger and his buddies - dogs, sandwiches, and sides.”  What better choice of subject?  As Rachael puts it, “Burgers are iconic because they say who we are. Everyone is included. You can afford this. It’s a moveable feast.” Ain’t that the truth?  Travel across America, and everywhere you go, you’ll find stops you have to make on the iconic food pilgrimage: Louis’  Lunch in New Haven to taste the original burger, according to local lore; [...]...

We are very fortunate to know the Italian hillside town of Montalcino in Tuscany through a very special trip that we took there one September to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Perched on a hilltop in Tuscany, the ancient stone village of Montalcino was founded in Etruscan times. A large fort that now houses a wine shop (enoteca)  towers above the town and the rolling hills covered with the vineyards of the precious Sangiovese grosso grapes that produce the Brunello and other local wines. There are wines shops on every street because this is the heart of the Brunello region. Narrow cobblestone streets and steep paths rimmed by flowers connect one level to another in this delightful village.  You walk [...]...

The Summer Olympics are here and this year they are being held in London for the third time and the first since the Post War Games in 1948.  Millions of spectators are travelling there to see 10,500 athletes from over 200 nations compete in 32 sports at the highest level of competition. Gymnastics, Track & Field, Swimming, Soccer, and Cycling have always dominated the Summer Olympics. Newer sports like Beach Volleyball have grown enormously in popularity. But many of the original events from the Ancient Greek Olympic Games continue on: the marathon, discus throw, javelin toss, running, and wrestling. For too long the world has failed to recognize that the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement are about fine athletics and fine [...]...

March Madness is a national phenomenon. Sports fans of all ages join in. It has everything: buzzer beaters; Cinderella stories; heartbreaking last second losses and hysterically happy upset wins. There are triple overtime games that end with young players sobbing on the bench into their towels, while the victors are sobbing in joy on the floor. David can triumph over Goliath. The highs and lows are intense because the players are all such young men and women. The drama is constant and the pain and joy are almost inseparable stories. I know that I personally may never fully recover from the Final Four of 1989. My brother P.J. Carlesimo was coaching Seton Hall. In the first game of the Final Four, [...]...

We were very tired, we were very merry- We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry; And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear, From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere; Edna St. Vincent Millay Is there anything better than an apple? Fall is my favorite season and apples play a large role. When  October arrives and the leaves turn scarlet and orange, and the air turns cool and crisp, it’s time for apple picking. I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania where apple picking was mixed with a ride in the wagon through the pumpkin patch. A generation later, my daughters had the same experience growing up in Connecticut. We returned home with bushels of apples, [...]...

in Just- spring    when the world is mud-luscious e.e. cummings. It’s May and spring has finally come.  Spring means different things to different people.  For me, it’s being able to walk outside again and see the return of my favorite shore birds, the egrets and osprey.  It’s seeing the brilliant yellow of the forsythia bushes and the dandelions and daffodils.  And the soft pastels of the flowering apple and cherry blossoms.  It’s the beginning of baseball season.  And at last there are fresh greens in the market again.  Dandelion greens… When we were kids, we looked forward to the dandelions.  They were so useful for making mud pies.  How could I know that mud pies weren’t edible?  They sounded edible. I made them for [...]...

Okay, it’s April 1st and we have snow instead of flowers.  What’s up, Punxsutawney Phil and Staten Island Chuck?  You said winter was going to end in six weeks on Groundhog Day.  I just looked up Phil’s accuracy rate and it’s only 39% since 1887, so I should’ve known.  Well, it’s still cold. So what’s good to eat when it’s cold outside?  Grilled cheese.  I have memories of hot tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich when we came home from ice skating or sledding when I was a kid.  I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and in those days, there was always tons of snow in the winter.  Kind of like this winter everywhere. Many’s the night I’ve dreamed of cheese [...]...

Today the sun is out.  It’s March and it’s still cold but you can start to believe that the spring is coming.  And my thoughts turn away from eternal snow to the sweet dreams of having a cookout and grilling burgers, of course. Burgers just seems to make people feel better. I always think of that great line from Norman Lear’s brilliant and hilarious series, Fernwood Tonight.  In the show,  Susan Cloud, the owner of the Butterfly Deli and a convert to vegetarianism, had one credo: I don’t like to eat anything that under different circumstances might eat me. Except hamburgers, Because the human body requires burgers. - Susan Cloud, Fernwood Tonight. When I was a film student in the Art School at [...]...

Put on the Ollies! - Pete Carlesimo I could say that these cold winter nights are the reason I love to have a warm, delicious bowl of pasta at midnight. But then I’d be lying. I love having  pasta at midnight at any time of the year, although there’s something particularly satisfying about a bowl of your favorite pasta when there’s a chill in the air, and it’s been too long since dinner. Or maybe it’s 11:30, and, God forbid, you haven’t even eaten yet! Late night dinners in the Carlesimo family always meant one thing:  It was time to Put on the Ollies! Better known to the rest of the world as Linguini with Garlic and Oil, or Linguini con [...]...