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Exploring Food and History in Rome: A Conversation with Katie Parla

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Tuesday, November 18th, 2025 | 307 views

Katie Parla eating in Rome and her latest cookbook, Rome

Cookbook author, food journalist, and tour guide Katie Parla launched her latest volume, Rome, focusing on the food and history of the eternal city. We discussed creating the book, Rome’s culinary history, and more.

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Pizza’s Global Journey from Naples and Back Again: A Conversation with Luca Cesari, author of The History of Pizza

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Tuesday, November 11th, 2025 | 669 views

Luca Cesari, author of the history of Pizza and the book cover

Photo by Thomas Prior



Historian Luca Cesari is an expert on Italian food. In his new book, The History of Pizza, he explores the origins of this iconic Neapolitan dish, looks at the migration of pizza to the United States, and the evolution of the dish from working-class flatbread into global sensation. I caught up with him earlier this month to talk about the book.

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The History of Italian Ice in New York City

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Friday, October 10th, 2025 | 769 views

Lemon flavored Italian Ice -- aka water ice in Philadelphia

Summer tastes like Italian Ice. The sweet cold treat was introduced to American cities with Italian immigrant enclaves in the early 20th century. Those early vendors launched the Italian Ice industry from pushcarts selling penny licks before eventually growing a multi-million dollar industry.

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A History of Eating Contests at The Feast of San Gennaro

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Sunday, September 14th, 2025 | 1,107 views

San Gennaro bunting and lights across the street with the Italian flag and the empire state building

The feast of San Gennaro once hosted competitive eating contests for cannoli, meatballs, pizza, and zeppole, but then in 2023 all that changed. Here’s a look back at the history eating contests at the Feast.

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Marcella Hazan’s Secret Sauce: A Conversation With Filmmaker Peter Miller

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Wednesday, May 7th, 2025 | 3,736 views

Marcella film poster and Marcella Hazan in front of her cookbooks, image courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment

Marcella a documentary examining the life of Marcella Hazan will premiere in New York City on May 9. Image courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment

Marcella Hazan changed the way Americans cooked and thought about Italian cuisine. Now filmmaker Peter Miller has made a documentary about her life. We had a chance to speak to him about the making of the film, Marcella’s philosophy, and cooking Italian food.

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A Brief History of Chicken Francese

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Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025 | 3,012 views

Chicken Francese in a pot

The French have never heard of it. Neither have most Italians. Today, it’s a widely eaten Italian American staple, an icon of wedding buffets for decades. So where did this buttery, lemony chicken come from?

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The History of Minnesota’s Spicy Sausage Sandwich That’s Too Hot To Talk About

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Friday, January 24th, 2025 | 5,408 views

Italians settling in the Twin Cities developed a unique sandwich with spicy sausage known today by a slur for people of Italian heritage.

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2024 Italian Cookbook Guide

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Thursday, December 12th, 2024 | 2,443 views

2024 Italian cookbook, a guide

Cookbooks featuring Italian cuisine were as popular as ever in 2024. There were a few trends that emerged.

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The History of Pesto Genovese

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Friday, September 20th, 2024 | 6,252 views

homemade pesto sauce

Pesto sauce made in an electric food processor with basil, garlic, pine nuts, parmigiana, oil, salt and black pepper.



Spicy, creamy, and bright green, Pesto Genovese has become synonymous with modern Italian cuisine, particularly in the United States. But that wasn’t always the case…

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The History of Chicago’s Pizza(s)

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Monday, August 19th, 2024 | 14,124 views

Thin crust tavern style from Aurelio's

Tavern style pizza in Chicago is more common than deep dish



Chicago has a deep history of pizza, and there’s a lot more than the thick crust pizza most Americans associate with the windy city.

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