A Food Obsession

A Food Obsession a place to share with those who follow me and my blog: http://afoodobsessionblog.wordpress.com/ on a

Traveling has given me an open mind regarding food. Even if I don’t like a dish or ingredient I’m very respectful of it ...
06/03/2026

Traveling has given me an open mind regarding food. Even if I don’t like a dish or ingredient I’m very respectful of it and live to learn its history. Regional foods are a passion for me and I would like to start sharing the many foods and dishes I’ve encountered in my travels. I’ll start with these breakfast rolls I had on a visit to Budapest, Hungary. 🇭🇺. Poppy seeds are a very popular and traditional ingredients in many of their breads and baked goods. I was familiar with the pinwheel style rolls before I went. But these sweet brioche like dough rolls with poppyseeds were new to me. Some had chocolate chips and some had nuts like almonds or walnuts. I didn’t catch the name of these and they may just have been the creation of the baker. But they were soft. Chewy. Earthy from the poppy seeds. Mildly sweet. If any Hungarian followers out there know the specific name or history of these please comment. TRAY TABLES UP AND IN THE LOCKED POSITION. FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS AS I’M TAKING YOU ALL ON A FLIGHT AROUND THE WORLD TO SHARE THE TRAVEL FOODS I’VE ENCOUNTERED!! Btw. There’s no food shaming or snobbery allowed on this “trip”. High end. Street food. Home cooking. Fast food. It’s all allowed

DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE WORD ARTICHOKE COMES FROM?? Artichokes were introduced into Europe via the Arabs, they called the...
06/03/2026

DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE WORD ARTICHOKE COMES FROM??

Artichokes were introduced into Europe via the Arabs, they called them Al-kharshufa. Spain was the European entry point and in that language the word morphed into ALCARCHOFA. From there, it made its way into France and Italy, where depending on what region it was in, the word morphed even further...in Napoli the word is CARCIOFFOLA or CARCIOFFULA...In Sicily it cacocciula, caccioffula or cacocciulu...In Standard Italian it's Ca****fo. The legend which supposedly named the food after the "choke" inside of the flower (artichokes are a flower bud) is simply the Arab word modified over time. Here's a pic of my stuffed Artichokes as I prepare them. In our ItalianAmerican home, my grandparents referred to them as A'Carcioffula. If left on the plant and the bud blooms they become inedible.

TUCCI IN ITALY...in this season's SICILY episode, you find out that there are two spellings of Sicily's beloved RICE BAL...
06/03/2026

TUCCI IN ITALY...in this season's SICILY episode, you find out that there are two spellings of Sicily's beloved RICE BALLS...On the Western side they are called ARANCINA/ARANCINE....On the Eastern side they are called ARANCINO/ARANCINI. Here in the USA ARANCINI is the usual name used for them. But don't call them that in Palermo!! Here in one of Palermo's markets he's getting taught the difference. My favorite is ARANCINA AL B***O. I was just in Sicily, and I lost count on how many of these I ate. These are Saffron colored Risotto balls filled with a Bechamel Sauce, Parmigiano, Mozzarella, Black Pepper, and a bit of Prosciutto Cotto. I love the Ragu' Meat Sauce with peas and cheese style but these were even more delicious...and Stanley enjoyed them too as we see here in the series. So, The season is over but WHERE CAN YOU STILL WATCH BOTH SEASONS OF TUCCI IN ITALY? You can watch them ON DEMAND on Nat Geo Channel, or DIRECTV. You can watch also streaming on DISNEY + and HULU. Purchase and Rent options are on APPLE TV STORE, AMAZON VIDEO and FANDANGO AT HOME...(these are all for the USA, and as of June 2 2026). I'll be posting lots of these bits of the Italian regional foods Tucci has brought to us through his 2 Series, Searching for Italy, found on CNN On Demand, and Tucci in Italy, information above. RiceBalls are formed into balls or cone shaped, then rolled in plain breadcrumbs and fried till golden. They are one of the best foods in the whole world!!

From last month's vacation in Sicily...Breakfast with a view....I love the Italian custom of pastries for breakfast...He...
06/03/2026

From last month's vacation in Sicily...Breakfast with a view....I love the Italian custom of pastries for breakfast...Here's some of one day's breakfast...Almond Paste cookie, Cannolicchio (mini Cannoli with the most delicious local Sheep's Milk Ricotta EVER), and a Pistachio Almond Paste cookie...i tossed a "Confetti", a jordan almond onto the plate too..why not?? There was a double espresso waiting for me on the table!!!!

Today's is the FESTA DELLA REPUBBLICA ITALIANA, Italy's National Holiday .....to Celebrate ItalianAmerican style, try th...
06/02/2026

Today's is the FESTA DELLA REPUBBLICA ITALIANA, Italy's National Holiday .....to Celebrate ItalianAmerican style, try this "HERO" ....Seeded Semolina Italian bread, sliced ripe tomatoes, Fresh Basil leaves, still warm fresh mozzarella (fior di Latte), Slices of Prosciutto imported from Italy by Veroni, Maldon Sea Salt flakes, cracked black pepper, Extra Virgin Olive Oil imported from Sorrento. Classic Italian Summer tastes (please don't say, where's the roasted peppers, lol....those are for another sangwich, for this one, i want the tastes of the cheese, tomato, basil to compliment the prosciutto. ) Bread and fresh mozzarella from around the corner from me, Jimmy Pecci's Taste of Italy here in Tinton Falls. The Prosciutto from Pastosa's.. The Basil, from my garden and Tomatoes are from Matt's Farm Market here in Lake Como. A pleasant Summer's Sunday way to celebrate this important Italian Holiday. BUON APPETITO and Happy Cooking!!

BUONA FESTA DELLA REPUBBLICA JUNE 2, 2026ITALIAN NATIONAL /REPUBLIC DAY, one of Italy's National Symbols.Here's an idea...
06/02/2026

BUONA FESTA DELLA REPUBBLICA JUNE 2, 2026
ITALIAN NATIONAL /REPUBLIC DAY, one of Italy's National Symbols.
Here's an idea to celebrate this festive day ItalianAmerican style:
PEPERONI IMBOTTITI.
Translate to Stuffed peppers. Now there’s some general traditional versions in Southern Italy and ItalianAmerica. I went with sort of a few different styles to create tonight’s version. Cheese and Parsley sausage meat. Ground chuck. Fresh mozzarella. Parsley. Basil. Egg. Soaked stale Italian bread. Locatelli Pecorino. Garlic. White wine. Olive oil. Fresh basil. Combined and stuffed into colorful pepper halves. Then roasted with olive oil till almost done. A sauce made from fresh tomatoes,onions,olive oil ,fresh basil thr. Tops the stuffed peppers along with basting with the pan juices. Then top with grated pecorino. Diced mozzarella. And finish baking just until the cheese gets bubbly and slightly browned. Protip: fresh mozzarella (2 days old. I never cook with it the day it’s made. That’s for eating fresh)when baked goes from melty to hard plastic so you need to watch it

Buon Giorno!! Good Morning! Wishing you all the best day possible!!
06/02/2026

Buon Giorno!! Good Morning! Wishing you all the best day possible!!

Monday night. One pan dish. Cervellata (cheese and parsley sausage) sauteed with red onion and garlic. Then simmered in ...
06/02/2026

Monday night. One pan dish. Cervellata (cheese and parsley sausage) sauteed with red onion and garlic. Then simmered in brandy. Olive oil. Black pepper. And roasted red pepper strips. Turned into a seeded semolina slider. It’s really fun to create in the kitchen. Delicious btw.

WELCOME JUNE!!! Summer treats and dishes will begin to happen in our kitchens and yards!! This pic I post every June ...
06/01/2026

WELCOME JUNE!!! Summer treats and dishes will begin to happen in our kitchens and yards!! This pic I post every June 1st. It just feels like Summer to me. A Spremuta and Granita kiosk on Capri from a trip there a few years ago.

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