Cucina Chatter

On this week’s Cucina Chatter, we’ll talk about some wonderful events coming up like my talk at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill Tuesday night. Admission to the chat is just $15 and it includes a copy of “Gravy Wars, South Philly Foods, Feuds & Attytudes.” The neat thing about this Walnut Hill College gig [...]

I have come to two conclusions regarding the widely held notion that success often results from being in the right place at the right time. First, in order to be successful at anything—businesses, relationships, personal ambitions, etc.—you have to recognize an opportunity, seize it, and be persist in your pursuit of it. Secondly, you have [...]

This week is Cucina Chatter’s back-to-school special. Don’t worry; we didn’t miss the bus on this. With the way the start of the school year is staggered, I thought we’d wait until mid-September to role out this show.

I love potpourri….not the mini-satchel stuffed with over-perfuminated (Yes, I made up that word) dried flowers, but the whole concept of potpourri–a collection of miscellaneous items. That’s what this week’s show is all about.

by Johnny ”Meatballs” DeCarlo It’s a pretty basic concept that when you eat too much, you gain weight. Anything in excess is bad. This aint brain surgery. Most people know their limits and balance in other areas of their daily lives, but too many don’t seem to know them (or care to know them) when [...]

I was duly humbled yesterday by young Chef Johnny DeCarlo of Bonnie & Clyde Catering, whose meatballs were voted best—not once but twice—at Chef Central locations in Paramus, NJ and Hartsdale, NY. As General Washington likely told his troops at Brandywine,

“SUNDAY GRAVY, ALLA JOHNNY D” This post comes courtesy of Johnny “Meatballs” DeCarlo. Growing up in my North Jersey family, the big thing was rich, red homemade “Gravy,” which was much more than just a meat-based sauce—hence the name—and as the full name for it, “Sunday Gravy” implies, it was cooked and enjoyed on, as [...]