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# Chef Ludovico

Gourmet cooking for the home chef

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://lighthousegourmet.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Dinner at the Red Shrimp](https://lighthousegourmet.com/dinner-at-the-red-shrimp/) - Recently I was on travel for the umpteenth time in Rome. On this particular occasion I decided to check out a culinary institution with the most improbable name of Gambero Rosso (Italian for Red Shrimp). This place is a mélange of activity that includes a cooking school, a rooftop restaurant and venue for all sorts
- [Sea Shells By The Seashore](https://lighthousegourmet.com/clam-and-mussel-soup/) - As a Rhode Island native I was drawn into the usual saltwater pastimes like fishing, boating and swimming. After all Rhode Island is officially called the Ocean State, don't you know, even though it has about 1/100th the ocean shoreline as Florida. For me the most rewarding saltwater time killer was capturing sedentary and helpless bivalves
- [Michelin Up Close](https://lighthousegourmet.com/gone-michelin-fishin/) - I recently signed on to a two-week tour of northern Italy together with a small group of veteran travelers who have an appreciation for upscale dining and vintage wines. The organizer was Laurel Pine Living Luxury, a name that immediately signals the high caliber of the trip's content. I was out of my comfort zone
- [Pasta Crime & Punishment](https://lighthousegourmet.com/how-not-to-cook-pasta/) - Most chefs are pretty capable of cooking pasta, regardless of their cultural or ethnic background. I say "most" because there are huge numbers of self-styled professional cooks who suffer from a serious defect whenever they attempt to expedite the process. The defect involves the manner in which they set up to serve up pasta dishes
- [Tomato Junction](https://lighthousegourmet.com/marinara-sauce/) - For a plant that started out in ancient history as a weed amongst the cornfields of South America, to be rooted out and tossed in the trash by the Inca farmers, the tomato has come a long way. Much has been written about the tomato's transformation from nuisance weed to an ingredient in cooking loaded
- [Extreme Lasagne](https://lighthousegourmet.com/lasagne/) - There are a few dishes than I can make with eyes closed and one hand tied behind my back. Lasagne is not one of them. My approach to this classic pasta dish requires two hands, blood, sweat and tears. The features that make my version laborious and time-consuming are these: (1) the pasta sheets are home made
- [Smith Island Cake](https://lighthousegourmet.com/smith-island-cake/) - To introduce this recipe we must turn the clock back to around 1607. At the time history records the epic journey of John Smith et al. to a location that became Jamestown in Virginia, the first permanent settlement by non-native Americans in what eventually became the U.S. Soon Jack Smith befriended a native American woman by the
- [Biotech Throws a Party!](https://lighthousegourmet.com/party-in-milan/) - Here is an insider's view of a full-blown no holds barred reception and party held not long ago in Milan, Italy at the five-star Hotel Principe di Savoia. The host and chief party giver was the U.S.-based Biotechnology Industry Association, affectionately known to us insiders as "BIO." The event was the annual European Partnering Conference. We're talking about business
- [Scratch Pizza DOC](https://lighthousegourmet.com/pizza-margherita/) - Nothing beats a perfectly baked pizza made from scratch, with just the right texture, taste, crunch and shape. After 40+ years of effort I claim that I can produce one or two, especially if there is a handy wood-burning brick oven within reach like the one in the photo! It shouldn't take you that long
- [From Caponata to Ratatouille](https://lighthousegourmet.com/eggplant-caponata-ratatouille/) - One day recently I nearly lapsed into a catatonic state watching the Food Network's "Pioneer Woman" whip up a hearty batch of steak n' eggs for all the buckaroos on the ranch. Before passing out I had a straight off the wall idea flash before me. I imagined that I would become the world's leading
- [Agnolotti Are Not Ravioli - or are they?](https://lighthousegourmet.com/ravioli/) - There is another name for stuffed pasta found on menus just about everywhere in Italy but apparently nowhere in the U.S. except maybe in the high end restaurants. The name is Agnolotti and you don't ever pronounce the "g". These tasty items are normally stuffed with ground up braised veal or pork and parmesan cheese.
- [Cruising Down the River](https://lighthousegourmet.com/schnitzel/) - Learning how to make authentic German schnitzel dishes
- [The Authentic Bagel](https://lighthousegourmet.com/bagels/) - Home made bagels following the Montreal tradition
- [The Purple Gnocchi Eater](https://lighthousegourmet.com/gnocchi-2/) - I thought I had a winner. Had I won it would have been two years in a row because last year's entry, my lasagne bolognese, was the champ. I'm talking about a pasta recipe contest sponsored by the Delaware chapter of a national Italian-American service organization called UNICO. And you would be correct, members are
- [Springtime Pasta!](https://lighthousegourmet.com/springtime-pasta/) - Well here we are in the dead of winter on Maryland's Eastern Shore (Bishopville MD to be exact) and not finding much to do outdoors thoughts seem to drift ahead toward spring. Spring brings flowers, vegetable gardens and of course weeds. But in my case the big attraction is springtime food cravings, right alongside summer,
- [Macaroni and Beans](https://lighthousegourmet.com/macaroni-and-beans/) - Inevitably we come around to the No. 1 staple dish for all Italians and Italian-Americans, not to mention a few million Brazilians and Argentinians whose Italian ancestors boarded boats for the U.S. that ran off course. Macaroni and Beans, best known as "pastafazool," is the subject on the agenda today. Skipping the tiresome discourse and getting
- [Featured 1](https://lighthousegourmet.com/featured-1/)
- [Featured 2](https://lighthousegourmet.com/featured-2/)
- [More Anchovy Is Better](https://lighthousegourmet.com/caesar-salad/) - This is for the millions of people around the world who hate anchovies. I want to introduce them to the 250 people who love them and like to eat them right out of the can. Yes, even though they have been salted down and eaten for thousands of years it is amazing that the knee-jerk negative
- [Risotto alla Milanese](https://lighthousegourmet.com/risotto/) - For the longest time I have had the habit of eating rice only with chopsticks. Has to do with the proximity of a great Chinese eatery near our former residence in Rockville MD named "Far East". Without the chopsticks one can explain my reluctance to consume any of the outstanding rice dishes that form part
- [The Veal Jumps](https://lighthousegourmet.com/veal-cutlets-saltimbocca/) - Probably the prize for the most unlikely title for a popular main dish should be awarded to the Romans. Some decades ago they concocted a veal cutlet creation using prosciutto ham and a leaf or two of sage as flavor accents. They gave it the most confounding label that would have the diner believe that the serving
- [Bouillabaisse or Zuppa di Pesce?](https://lighthousegourmet.com/bouillabaisse-or-zuppa-di-pesce/) - At every opportunity I like to remind my three followers that a huge chunk of French cuisine traces its origin to itinerant European chefs of ages past, all of whom hailed from Italy. In the case of the famous French "Bouillabaisse" fish stew however the story is slightly different. Bouillabaisse is a dish of the Mediterranean Sea
- [Ricotta Cheesecake - Crostata di Ricotta](https://lighthousegourmet.com/ricotta-cheesecake-crostata-di-ricotta/) - Despite being the totally unaccomplished baker that I am I foolishly accepted an invitation from the Order of the Sons of Italy in America, Ocean City Lodge, to prepare a seasonal dessert dish for a recent meeting of members. Since the OC Lodge has around 150 members, roughly 100 of whom show up at every meeting,
- [Bolognese Sauce Deconstructed](https://lighthousegourmet.com/bolognese-sauce/) - To demonstrate my ability to nitpick any topic I recently completed a 3 volume study about originality and authenticity of the world famous ragu' alla bolognese or bolognese pasta sauce. The theory sought to be proven is simply this: There is such a thing as an authentic and original sauce of this kind coming from
- [Tiramisu' Buttami Giu'!](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tiramisu/) - Notwithstanding the lack of popular demand I venture into the world of the sweet, leaving the savory aside for a moment. You see my carbohydrate input is restricted by my physician (Guido Santini MD) to pasta dishes and pizza - no sweets. So I rarely make desserts except for special occasions or on request. When the call comes I
- [On Board the QM2](https://lighthousegourmet.com/beef-wellingto/) - QM2 is shorthand for the Cunard liner Queen Mary, Second Iteration, i.e. a remake of the original HMS Queen Mary now resting comfortably in mothballs, disguised as a hotel, in Long Beach California. Being relatively new to big time cruising I never fail to be impressed by the enormity of the tasks associated with moving an
- [Organics 101](https://lighthousegourmet.com/organic-food/) - At a recent cocktail party featuring my favorite Northern Italian wines a guest came up to me and asked the question I always dread. It was this: "OK chef, (guest stops to take a gulp of Barolo) what are your views on organic foods, favorable, neutral or unfavorable? (another gulp). As I started to answer
- [Fry Me To The Moon!](https://lighthousegourmet.com/fritto-misto/) - Among all the various technical skills required to turn out edible meals frying is my most challenging. This is unusual because virtually all ancestors in my royal lineage could handle the job with one hand tied, especially my father. So to gain more confidence I recently decided to seek treatment and was fortunate enough to
- [Biscotti for Apicius](https://lighthousegourmet.com/biscotti/) - One day I set out to research the origins of today's Western cuisine, expecting a long drawn out ordeal. But no, after 5 or 10 minutes on line I learned that the inspiration for much of what we eat these days in the U.S. is attributed however remotely to a noble party-loving gentleman who lived
- [Chef's Shrimp "Caprese"](https://lighthousegourmet.com/shrimp-caprese/) - Posting this particular recipe not only highlights one of the tastiest entrees ever to emerge strictly by accident from my kitchen, but also provides pretext for calling attention to one of the most widely-spoken mispronunciations in all recorded history. As soon as this post spreads world-wide people will no longer mispronounce the name of one
- [Eggplant Parmesan - Case & Controversy](https://lighthousegourmet.com/eggplant-parmesan/) - How is it that the eggplant, a vegetable grown since before recorded history and consumed today around the clock like pasta and pizza, still fires up controversy? You'd think we all would be on the same page by now. Or maybe I'm the only one off the page with the rest of the world. I'll
- [Shrimp, Prawns or Scampi?](https://lighthousegourmet.com/shrimp-scampi/) - This posting is inspired by an item appearing on a certain Chef John's website foodwishes.com. I suspect even without my self-imposed enhancements this dish is a winner, so I offer many thanks to Chef John for the inspiration. It appears below after the scholarly dissertation that follows: To begin I must point out that
- [Spinach On the Side](https://lighthousegourmet.com/spinach-on-the-side/) - Here is a universal side dish if ever there was one. Plus it kicks spinach up more than one Legassian notch for sure. Lay it down alongside any preparation based on beef, pork, fish or fowl. Or better yet make it up "family style" in the event you are among the rare parents whose kids
- [Washington Probably Ate Here](https://lighthousegourmet.com/inn-at-little-washington/) - If you have the misfortune of finding yourself on Washington's Capital Beltway, alias Hell's Freeway, where snails can get to your destination well ahead of you, there is an exit that will take you westward to a land virtually unspoiled by urban civilization, noise and pollution. It lies at the foothills of the Blue Ridge
- [Fusion Intrusion](https://lighthousegourmet.com/fusion-intrusion/) - During a recent trip to Italy I had the opportunity to experience a sort of dining double whammy – my first encounter with a Michelin starred restaurant, and my first encounter with an unlikely Italian kitchen that carries out a unique version of “Fusion Cuisine.” Travelling with son-in-law and accomplished home chef Rob Janssen, who
- [Appetizer Favorites](https://lighthousegourmet.com/appetizers/) - In the kitchen my early adult life was spent slowly and absent-mindedly absorbing cooking knowledge from parents and grandparents. At the time I rarely attempted to make anything that wasn’t connected with pasta or pizza. Items of that description were my only output for years, not counting my unremarkable achievements with the outdoor grill. However later in life,
- [Will The Real Bolognese Please Stand Up?](https://lighthousegourmet.com/featured-item-2/) - To demonstrate my unlimited capacity to nitpick any topic I recently conducted a review of an issue that addresses origins and authenticity in cooking. The question on my mind is, what exactly constitutes original and authentic Ragu alla Bologese, the world reknown meat sauce from Bologna, Italy that transforms any pasta you choose to serve?
- [Rhymes With Milwaukee](https://lighthousegourmet.com/gnocchi/) - I know there are hundreds, maybe thousands of high profile dishes around the world whose correct pronunciation is possible only for native speakers of a language. However because “nokeys” seem to have become such a recurring featured item on the cooking shows and websites lately someone should blow the whistle. The spotlight of course is on the
- [J.O. Strigle vs. Gustav Brunn](https://lighthousegourmet.com/crabcakes/) - As a master of trivia you probably already know that Messrs. Strigle and Brunn are the originators of Old Bay Seasoning and J.O. brand spice mix respectively. Both Baltimore-based, they are the two most widely used crab and seafood seasonings here at the home of the Maryland Blue Crab. Statistics will show that Gus and
- [Cacio e Pepe SPQR](https://lighthousegourmet.com/savory-pizza/) - I have an attraction for recipes that, when executed correctly, are basically foolproof. In that context I call attention to a variation of a widely consumed Roman pasta dish called "Cacio e Pepe," a name that refers to the cheese used to flavor the noodles (cacio) and the coarsely ground black pepper that really defines the
- [The Indisputable King of Cheeses](https://lighthousegourmet.com/featured-item-1/) - If I were forced to describe myself to an interrogator my first instinct would be to blurt out "Cheesehead!" I actually picture myself as one of the fans at a Green Bay Packers game wearing - not a wedge of Wisconsin cheese - but a wedge of the almighty Parmesan! TV chef Mario Batali likes to
- [Featured 4](https://lighthousegourmet.com/featured-4/)
- [Featured 3](https://lighthousegourmet.com/featured-3/)

## Pages

- [Home](https://lighthousegourmet.com/home/) - Lighthouse Gourmet is all about the best in Italian and other international foods. Browse around the site to enjoy the recipes and connect with us by writing in the blogs.
- [Chef Ludovico](https://lighthousegourmet.com/about/) - 'Chef Ludovico' After 30 or so years as a Washington lobbyist for the drug industry I retired to the Maryland East Coast to a neighborhood close to the Atlantic Ocean called Lighthouse Sound. A curious name since the closest lighthouse is 10 miles away in Delaware. This transition opened up a long-sought opportunity to pursue
- [Gallery](https://lighthousegourmet.com/gallery/)

## Categories

- [Blog](https://lighthousegourmet.com/category/blog/)
- [Main Dishes](https://lighthousegourmet.com/category/maindishes/)
- [Desserts](https://lighthousegourmet.com/category/desserts/)
- [Appetizers](https://lighthousegourmet.com/category/appetizers/)
- [Chef's Originals](https://lighthousegourmet.com/category/chefsoriginals/)
- [Salads](https://lighthousegourmet.com/category/salads/)
- [Pizza](https://lighthousegourmet.com/category/pizza/)
- [Pasta](https://lighthousegourmet.com/category/pasta/)
- [Side dishes](https://lighthousegourmet.com/category/side-dishes/)
- [Michelin stars](https://lighthousegourmet.com/category/michelin-stars/)

## Tags

- [Pizza Margherita](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/pizza-margherita/)
- [bean soup](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/bean-soup/)
- [pasta e fagioli](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/pasta-e-fagioli/)
- [Beef Wellington](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/beef-wellington/)
- [gnocchi](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/gnocchi/)
- [potato gnocchi](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/potato-gnocchi/)
- [lasagne bolognese](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/lasagne-bolognese/)
- [Chef Patrick O'Connell](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/chef-patrick-oconnell/)
- [Macaroni-and-cheese](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/macaroni-and-cheese/)
- [ragu](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/ragu/)
- [meat sauce](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/meat-sauce/)
- [eggplant parmesan](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/eggplant-parmesan/)
- [caesar salad](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/caesar-salad/)
- [shrimp](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/shrimp/)
- [Italian dessert](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/italian-dessert/)
- [Tiramisu](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/tiramisu/)
- [cookies](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/cookies/)
- [almond biscuits](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/almond-biscuits/)
- [Smith Island Cake](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/smith-island-cake/)
- [shrimp scampi](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/shrimp-scampi/)
- [prawns](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/prawns/)
- [langoustines](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/langoustines/)
- [Risotto alla Milanese](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/risotto-alla-milanese/)
- [saffron rice](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/saffron-rice/)
- [Fried fish](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/fried-fish/)
- [Fried vegetables](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/fried-vegetables/)
- [eggplant](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/eggplant/)
- [ratatouille](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/ratatouille/)
- [caponata](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/caponata/)
- [ravioli](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/ravioli/)
- [pasta](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/pasta-2/)
- [tortellini](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/tortellini/)
- [agnolotti](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/agnolotti/)
- [schnitzel](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/schnitzel/)
- [pork](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/pork/)
- [puff pastry](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/puff-pastry/)
- [bagels](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/bagels/)
- [doughmaking](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/doughmaking/)
- [purple potatoes](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/purple-potatoes/)
- [tomato](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/tomato/)
- [San Marzano](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/san-marzano/)
- [pasta sauce](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/pasta-sauce/)
- [Osteria Francescana](https://lighthousegourmet.com/tag/osteria-francescana/)

## Slideshows

- [Lighthouse Gourmet](https://lighthousegourmet.com/slideshow/lighthouse-gourmet/) - This slide show resides on the home page