Spicy Apricot Pork Ribs and A Braai Under The Wire

I haven’t been using my grill very much this summer. I don’t  know why, since I love to barbecue. Yesterday, I got a wild hair and decided to grill up a rack of ribs. Normally, I would do more traditional ribs with a green chile rub and barbecue sauce, but I didn’t have all the [...]

Heirloom Tomatoes, Chef Justin Wangler, Smoked Fennel and Tomato Soup

Ten years ago I was poking around the vegetables at Tacoma Boys market in Tacoma, Washington when I first saw them. They were all sizes, colors and shapes. Some were green or orange with stripes, some were deep red with green around the core. Now, a decade later heirloom tomatoes are no longer a rarity, [...]

Attention Wine Country and Bay Area Readers

 If you are going to be in the Napa/Sonoma area next Sunday you should toodle on up to NapaStyle in Yountville for the Italy Cooks book release party and fundraiser. There will be a ricotta making demo, and Italian wine tasting and book signing. The event itself is free, a the book for signing is [...]