Red Sauce America - Food, Culture, and Italian American Experience




Panzerotti and the Mystery of the Missing Florida-Style Pizza

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Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024 | 4,941 views

A panzerotto from panzerotti bites on Smith Street in Brooklyn, filled with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce, fried in a thin pizza dough

Circulating on pizza message boards and other corners of the internet where pizza enthusiasts gather, a photograph of a sign advertising Florida Style Pizza has been making the rounds. Readers are confused: what is Florida-style pizza?

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The History of Zeppole di San Giuseppe

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Tuesday, March 12th, 2024 | 2,355 views

The zeppole di San Giuseppe are filled with custard or ricotta cream

The zeppole di San Giuseppe are filled with custard or ricotta cream


The Feast of San Giuseppe is celebrated every year on March 19, and is also known as Festa del Papá, father’s day in Italy. The feast day celebrates Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary. But it also means one thing for Italian American bakeries: zeppole di San Giuseppe.

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The History of Pasta Con Le Sarde

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Monday, March 11th, 2024 | 1,732 views

Pasta con le sarde is made in America with canned anchovies and sardines

Italians make pasta con le sarde with fresh fish, but Italian Americans are more likely to use canned anchovies preserved in oil

Macaroni con le sarde, or a pasta con le sarde, is a traditional Sicilian pasta made with a sauce of fresh sardines and fennel greens and tossed with toasted breadcrumbs. While a common dish in Sicily, it’s less well known in the United States, except perhaps, in New Orleans where it has become the cornerstone of the St. Joseph’s Day celebration.

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The History of New Jersey’s Italian Hot Dog

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Monday, February 19th, 2024 | 4,620 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 | 24,741 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 | 1,961 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 | 2,330 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 | 3,411 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 | 2,734 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 | 3,229 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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