Red Sauce How Italian Food Became American




The Many Foods of the Feast of San Gennaro

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Friday, September 22nd, 2023 | 201 views

Sausage and peppers on a roll are the classic san gennaro food

The Feast of San Gennaro festival in New York City started in 1926 when a group of men from the same village in Naples decided to roast a few chickens to celebrate their beloved saint.The neighborhood block party quickly evolved into a street fair organized by Italian Americans in Manhattan.

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The Feast of San Gennaro Returns to NYC This Week

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Friday, September 15th, 2023 | 685 views

sausages grilling at the Feast of San Gennaro in 2022

The Feast of San Gennaro kicked off last night in New York City. One of the largest celebrations of its kind in the United States, the feast has been celebrated since 1926.

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Vodka Sauce Is Having A Moment

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Monday, April 17th, 2023 | 737 views

Bon Appetit article on vodka sauce becoming trendy

Vodka sauce is suddenly trendy again. The creamy, sometimes spicy, pink-orange sauce is an Italian American classic. Ella Quittner at Bon Appétit takes a look at why this dish is suddenly popular.

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Celebrate National Pizza Day With Great Pizza History

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Thursday, February 9th, 2023 | 526 views

A cheese pie from best pizza

February 9 is National pizza day. Don’t worry if you thought this was in October, which is National Pizza Month. Today is dedicated to pizzas of all sorts — so don’t confuse today with September 5, dedicated to National Cheese Pizza Day, September 20 for Pepperoni Pizza, and October 11 for Sausage pizza. Apparently, the nation loves pizza.

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Shrimp fra Diavolo

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Tuesday, August 30th, 2022 | 502 views

Shrimp Fra Diavolo with squid ink pasta -- tomato sauce and black pasta

Lobster fra diavolo was an early Italian American invention combining large American lobsters with southern style flavors. Shrimp is a low cost alternative.

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History Through Travel in Mark Rotella’s Memoir Stolen Figs

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Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022 | 436 views

Mark Rotella's Memoir Stolen Figs

Mark Rotella’s memoir is not entirely focused on food, but it does speak to the Italian American immigrant experience.

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Knickerbocker Hotel Spaghetti Alla Caruso

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Tuesday, August 16th, 2022 | 622 views

Italian opera singer Enrico Caruso helped make Italian food mainstream, so perhaps it is unsurprising a spaghetti dish was named in his honor. However, not everyone agrees what that dish should be. Caruso loved chicken liver, and he believed it was essential to help him sing opera. Most spaghetti alla caruso recipes are similar to […]

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Artusi’s Polpette

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Tuesday, August 9th, 2022 | 510 views

American Meatballs

Italian meatballs were very different than American meatballs, and rarely served with spaghetti and red sauce.

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Eggplant Rollatini: How To Make It

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Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022 | 497 views

baked eggplant rollatini

Eggplant rollatini is one of the those classic Italian American red sauce dishes that persists today.

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Lobster alla Diavolo

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Tuesday, July 26th, 2022 | 502 views

Ada Boni’s Il talismano della felicità collected Italian recipes from across the country when it was published in 1928. However, the English translation The Talisman Italian Cookbook often changed the content.

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