The Most Obscure Italian Food Ever Featured on Pasta Grannies
Here in America, the availability of regional Italian food is booming. Restaurants have shifted away from serving a broad catalog of Italian cuisine in favor of focusing on the culinary delicacies of a specific area. Liguria, Sicily, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna—each of these regions provide a wealth of dishes to populate a menu. It makes sense, too, th...
Jim Croce was about to break through in a major way, but cruel fate intervened and the almost-star all but forgotten: Then Quentin Tarantino came along
With his big old moustache, Roman nose and dark eyes twinkling from a lived-in, olive-skin face, Jim Croce looked like one of the good guys whose families went to America as immigrants, seeking neither fame nor fortune but just a fair crack of the whip. Driving a truck and favouring the blue-collar, sweat-and-smoke image, singer-songwriter Croce wa...
Cameron Diaz also chooses Puglia for her wines
Cameron Diaz decided in 2018 to take a break from the spotlight to pursue her wine project more closely, going so far as to create the Avaline line of organic wines. Today the American actress has chosen the organic line from Cantine Losito in Puglia to expand the range of Avaline labels to be marketed in the United States, including for the first...
Lola Dee dies at 95: Pretty Eyed Baby singer passes away due to natural causes at nursing facility
Lola Dee passed away at the age of 95 on Thursday. The Italian American singer died of natural causes in a nursing facility in Hinsdale, Illinois, according to an announcement by her publicist and CD producer Alan Eichler. She was a popular singer in the 1950s and had toured with Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante and Johnnie Ray. Her 1951 hit song, Pretty Ey...
IAP 304: “Who stole the panettone?” Gianluca Rottura on the best buys to add to this year’s holiday table
Gianluca Rottura, the proprietor of “In Vino Veritas,” New York City’s landmark wine store, returns to the Italian American Podcast to bring us his take on the famed Italian Amari… But, we go completely off the rails and end up getting some of his best recommendations for the drinks and delicacies you’re going to want to try this Holiday Season! F...
Italian Culture in America The Immigrants 1880 to 1930 From Discrimination to Assimilation
"Italian Culture in America: The Immigrants" describes the nationwide anti-Italian discrimination, and often violent retribution, experienced by millions of immigrants during the formative years of an industrializing United States, from 1880 to 1930. This carefully presented work reveals the presence of Italian culture provided by hardworking, fami...
‘25 Years with Lidia: A Culinary Jubilee’ to mark TV chef’s life
The documentary “25 Years with Lidia: A Culinary Jubilee” will celebrate celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich’s quarter century on PBS. The hour-long doc will air at 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18. The documentary aims to capture a portrait of the Yugoslavian-born chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, television host and Italian food ambassador who tells viewers...
NIAF Launches Fundraising Campaign to Establish Academy of Neapolitan Nativity Art
The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) has launched an international fundraising campaign for the creation of the Artisan Academy of Nativity Art in San Gregorio Armeno in Naples, Italy. This new academy will teach the centuries-old artistic tradition of handcrafting Neapolitan nativity scenes, preserving an iconic part of Italian cultural...
What Is The Feast Of The Seven Fishes, According To Four Southern Chefs
For many Italian-American families, the Feast of the Seven Fishes is as synonymous with Christmas as presents under the tree. A Christmas Eve tradition brought by immigrants from Italy in the late 1800s, it has evolved from an effort to abstain from meat into one of the most anticipated celebrations of the year. From its humble Roman Catholic begin...
The National Italian American Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 NIAF Scholarship Program
The National Italian American Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 NIAF Scholarship Program. Since its founding, NIAF has awarded over $10,000,000 in scholarships to outstanding Italian American undergraduate, graduate, medical and law students.NIAF offers over 20 different categories of scholarships all with different criteri...
Ray Romano talks ‘semi-autobiographical’ directorial debut, reveals his ‘first heartbreak’
“The big fear, when I agreed to direct, was that I didn’t really know technically a lot about what a director should know about lenses and apertures,” admits Ray Romano about his initial trepidation about stepping behind the camera on his film “Somewhere in Queens.” The multi-hyphenate talent directed, co-wrote, produced, and starred in the film, b...
New data finds Italian Americans prospering today
Did you know that the median household income of Italian-American households exceeds that of the average U.S. household income by nearly $16,000 annually? Were you aware that the percentage of Italian Americans who have attained a college or professional degree is greater than the percentage of those in the U.S. population who have attained those s...