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Simply delicious” Spaghetti with Clams

I have noticed that the so-called great cooking experts are creating a violence against decent cooking that actually is surprisingly simple. They will add complexity for its own sake, add surprising taste sensations when none are needed. Among the unnecessary ingredients I have found are lemon juice, white wine, bottarga, various herbs and extraneous spices.…

Bagels in Italy

What do you do on a snowy day in Bologna? Today it started to rain but ended up snowing—very nicely. But I came across an interesting bagel recipe. It seemed simple enough to make the dough. Once the dough was made I could ignore the rest of the instructions as I knew better how to…

La Famiglia Sagre I: Porcini!

Sagre is an Italian word for a festival. It is a kind of cross between a low-brow foodie event and something like a state fair. Like the Gilroy Garlic Festival, a Sagre has a single theme. The theme is a celebration of some type of famous local cuisine. They have Sagre’s for almost every type…

The Unesco City of Music

I choose to live in Bologna for, among other things, its cultural life. Especially music. And I was not prepared for 3 of the best orchestras I don’t think you’ll ever hear of. I’ve already been to a mediocre performance of Ariadne auf Naxos with an unprofessional soprano who spoke more than she could sing,…