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The History of New Jersey’s Italian Hot Dog

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Monday, February 19th, 2024 | 8,367 views

A single Italian hot dog from Johnny & Hanges in Fair Lawn topped with onions, peppers, and cubed potatoes

An Italian hot dog topped with onions, peppers, and potatoes.


Italian Americans are well known for a variety of sausages, but hot dogs aren’t usually considered an Italian sausage. However, that didn’t stop the Italians in New Jersey from adopting the hot dog, and making it uniquely their own.

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The History of Chicago’s Italian Beef Sandwich

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Tuesday, January 30th, 2024 | 30,973 views

An Italian beef sandwich from Al's Number 1 Italian Beef in Chicago

An Italian beef sandwich from Al’s Number 1 Italian Beef in Chicago

Chicago’s meatpacking industry helped make beef a staple on American plates, but it also shaped an iconic Italian sandwich.

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The History Spiral Lasagna

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Thursday, December 14th, 2023 | 3,621 views

spiral or pinwheel lasagna has become a viral sensation in part due to Chefs Angie Rito and Scott Tascinelli who started selling the dish at their restaurant, Don Angie. Here a baking dish of a copycat recipe

Don Angie’s pinwheel lasagna has been a viral sensation since the restaurant opened in 2017. Their beautiful and delicious dish has deservedly attracted buzz, but spiral baked lasagna actually has a long history before their restaurant opened.

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2023 Italian Cookbook Guide

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Tuesday, December 5th, 2023 | 3,824 views

2023 Italian cookbook gift guide including Katie Parla's Food of the Italian Islands, Leah Koenig's Portico, The Food of Sicily, SLow Food Fast Cars, Cucina Povera and more

This past year saw plenty of great Italian-inspired cookbook. There were a few trends of course like the popularity of “cucina povera,” a style of cooking associated with Italian peasants, like those who came to the United States during the great migration. Seafood and coastal regions were also popular this year, from the Amalfi Coast to Sicily to Italy’s many smaller islands.

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The Red Sauce America Guide to Christmas Panettone

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Friday, December 1st, 2023 | 4,896 views

A tall panettone in the traditional style

A panettone with the dome-like shape


Nothing is quite like cutting open a panettone on Christmas morning. It’s a tradition that has been in my family since before I even liked eating bread filled with candied fruit. While Panettone has become an important Italian Christmas tradition, the modern recipe synonymous with the holiday only evolved in the mid-twentieth century.

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Lasagna for Thanksgiving? It’s more likely than you think.

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Sunday, November 19th, 2023 | 4,506 views

Lasagna, for Thanksgiving? You bet. A lasagna side by side with a freshly roasted turkey

Turkey is an iconic food of the Thanksgiving table. There are many ways of preparing turkey–roasted, fried, or stuffed with a duck and chicken come to mind–but for most people, their Thanksgiving meal becomes their own through the side dishes they serve.

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Breadsticks and Pasta: How Olive Garden Americanized Italian Food

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Wednesday, November 8th, 2023 | 5,585 views

The Olive Garden restaurant in Times Square arrived in New York City just as the theater district was being revived. Here the restaurant sign has been updated to an LED screen and towers over the subway entrance at 49th Street

The Olive Garden restaurant chain is often ridiculed by Italian Americans. The experience is inauthentic, the pasta overcooked, and the Alfredo sauce made with heavy cream. Yet, in one respect, the success of the chain represents the acceptance and integration of Italian American culture as simply mainstream American culture.

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Q&A With Agata De Santis: New Short Film Looks at E Rossi & Company

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Monday, October 30th, 2023 | 3,671 views

E Rossi and company is the oldest souvenir shop in Little Italy

E Rossi Company is a souvenir shop in Little Italy, Manhattan, the oldest in the neighborhood


E. Rossi & Company is the oldest souvenir shop in Manhattan’s Little Italy. Over the last century its had three locations and faces an uncertain future. Filmmaker Agata De Santis has a new film celebrating the shop and the owner, Ernest Rossi. I spoke to her about the project screening this week at the Big Apple Film Festival.

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A Brief History of New York City’s Oldest Pizzerias

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Tuesday, October 10th, 2023 | 33,729 views

Patsy's Pizza in East Harlem is the first NYC slice

Pizza was born in Naples, but it was the Italian immigrants in New York City who mastered it. Today, pizza grown into a truly American food available in every corner of the country. Yet, a little more than a century ago, it was an unknown ethnic food few Americans had ever heard of.

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The History of Philadelphia’s Italian Roast Pork Sandwich

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Tuesday, September 26th, 2023 | 8,682 views

Philadelphia Italian roast pork sandwich from DiNic's in Reading Terminal Market with provolone cheese and broccoli rabe on a sesame seeded bun

Philadelphia might be best known for its cheesesteak, but there’s a secret sandwich lurking in the city of Brotherly love. The Philadelphia Italian Roast Pork sandwich is a local delicacy created in the city a century ago by Italian immigrants, and it’s since become a local favorite that’s hard to find outside the city.

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