Polpettini are meatballs! Che buono! And while Americans will tell you that “spaghetti and meatballs” are as inseparable as peanut butter and jelly, the way meatballs are served in Italy is a different story. When eating in “La Bella Italia,” traditional meatballs are made of a blend of carne tritate (chopped beef, pork, or veal) and are
La Festa Dei Sette Pesci—or The Feast of Seven Fishes, is a Christmas Eve meal steeped in religious and Italian cultural traditions. The number of fish served—seven— and the practice of abstaining from meat on Sundays, and holidays, are both of Roman Catholic origin: think seven deadly sins, seven sacraments, and seven days to create the world!
On the weekends, droves of savvy New Yorkers head across the Hudson River to Bread and Salt Bakery in the funky, multi-cultural Jersey City Heights neighborhood. There, renowned baker, pizza maker, and owner of Bread and Salt, Rick Easton, satisfies their craving for his specialty pizza, Focaccia Barese, sandwiches, and a stunning array of Italian pastries. Among them is his “super old-fashioned, Italian cookies” that he bakes with pastry chef Diana Valenzuela.