Bella Figura and Zucchini Flower Zeppole

I am so embarrassed that it has been so long since I have written a blog entry. Our only daughter is getting married and I have been preoccupied with making sure that everything is perfect because god forbid I make a “brutta figura”! But I ended up making a “brutta figura” with all of you … Read more

Traditions and Memories! Broiled Shrimp Scampi

What is General Patton doing at Coppola’s? As 2017 comes to an end I wanted to share a memory of the restaurant.  You see our restaurant wasn’t all about my family and I.  It was also about our customers.  Their memories became our memories.  I learned so much from our customers. The following story is … Read more

Take a Walk through Ischia Ponte and enjoy a recipe for Panettone di Ischia

This post is going to be a little different. Different is that I will be living surreptitiously through my sister in this story. Even though she lives thousands of miles away in a different time zone we keep in touch through all the current forms of communication. Not only do we FaceTime on our iPhone, we email, use … Read more

Shrimp Marinara for Feast of Seven Fishes

Just days away from Christmas Eve, I have been thinking about what seven fishes I should make for our traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner.  Being that both of my parents grew up near the Gulf of Naples in Italy (my dad from Monte di Procida on the mainland and my mom on the Island of … Read more

All My Firsts! ‘Chicken Scarpariello Recipe’

 As I reach this new phase of my life with the last of my kids planning her wedding, I wonder how I got here?  I think it all started with a bunch of firsts: I was the first born American in a huge Italian family. I was the first to go to school without knowing … Read more

Spaghetti and Meatballs (American-style vs Italian-style)

One of our most popular dishes that we served in the restaurant was “Spaghetti and Meatballs”.  A big dish of spaghetti with 2 large meatballs doused with our delicious tomato sauce was a big seller.  Twice a week the chefs would be busy mixing the ground meat in a huge mixer and then rolling 500 meatballs … Read more

Ham and Cheese on Scooped Out Italian!

This holiday season I bumped into a longtime customer of ours while shopping.  We were on a long line together at Toys R Us and chatted as we waited patiently.  Patience is a great virtue to have during the holiday rush. But I was happy to have this time with her because she shared her … Read more

The Story of My Mamma the Movie Star and Spaghetti Putanesca Recipe

I always thought of my mom as a movie star. Not only was Mamma beautiful but she dressed the part, too! Many would think it odd that I would regard her in this way since she came from a remote volcanic island off the coast of Naples, Italy. When she was born, this underdeveloped tiny … Read more

Italian Easter Bread (Casatiello Dolce)

I just can’t let Easter go by without writing about my family’s Easter tradition of Easter Bread. It is a paschal ritual in my dad’s hometown of Monte di Procida in Italy. The old fashioned way is to start with a mother yeast that everyone makes themselves called “criscito” which is mixed into sweet bread … Read more

Fresh Italian Herbs

Italian cooking is a very simple cuisine. What sets it apart from other cuisines is not by technique but by knowledge of the ingredients.  Italians know that it’s the authenticity of the ingredients that makes their dishes absolutely delicious!  There are not a lot of ingredients in a typical Italian dish but each of the … Read more