Happy Memorial Day -- Thank You To All Service Men & Women

In Honor of All Veterans & Active Service Men and Women Who Risk Their Lives Everyday For Our Freedom!

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Italian American, Serena Palumbo Competes in THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR

Food Network’s number one series, The Next Food Network Star, returns this June 6th with the most exciting and intense season to date. Shot in Los Angeles on a brand-new studio set, season six follows 12 hopefuls competing for the ultimate dream job: his or her own Food Network show.

This time around one of the contestants is one of our very own. Serena Palumbo, 31 a New York corporate attorney and former ballerina. She taught herself how to prepare food with unusual ingredients while growing up in southern Italy. She currently hosts an online instructional cooking show, “Cooking in Manhattan,” on YouTube and believes the cooking process should be simple and healthy.

Italian American celebrity chef, Giada De Laurentiis, kicks off the show with a two-hour premiere Sunday, June 6th at 9pm ET/PT as finalists get a taste of Hollywood with a trip to Paramount Studios and a six-course lunch for L.A.’s biggest celebrity chef, Wolfgang Puck.

We sat down with Serena to find out more about her Italian American life and culinary expertise.


You’ve been selected as a contender for the Food Network’s very successful show, “THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR,” how big of an honor is this for you?

Being selected to be one of the 12 finalists on season six of The Next Food Network Star was a big honor! I have been a fan of the show since I moved from Italy to the US in 2004 and I followed every season. Just the fact of meeting Bobby Flay, Susie Fogelson and Bob Tuschman, the selection committee is fantastic and this season is really full of surprises, starting with the fact that it takes place in Los Angeles! It is a very exciting adventure and I cannot wait to see the premiere Sunday June 6th at 9PM ET/PT.

First things first! Where in Italy is your family from and could you tell us a little bit about your cultural/ culinary background?

I was born near Salerno, in Southern Italy and I have spent all my summers on the Amalfi Coast – there is no better culinary background, believe me, being Italian and from the South! I do not have a culinary training, as a matter of fact I am an attorney in New York and I am the in-house counsel for one of the biggest Italian Banks operating in North America. But I have seen all the women in my family cooking all my life and they taught me pretty much everything I know about food. Add to the family tradition the fact that I love to travel and eat new dishes and I am pretty fearless when it comes to experimenting in the kitchen and you understand why I am not afraid of the competition!

As an Italian American, do you feel a strong connection to the culinary arts and do you think there’s a fine distinction between Italian and Italian American cooking?

The common denominator is the same flavor combination. I really love Italian food in every way shape or form. My culture defines me so deeply that it really does not matter who is cooking and whether the person lives in Italy or learned from their “nonna” [grandma] like me: if there is respect for the flavors and the ingredients of Italian cuisine, I will surely appreciate the dish!

On the show, what types of dishes do you think you’ll be motivated to create? Italian dishes or do you have a love for other cultural flavors?

My inspiration is usually the Mediterranean diet. I am very fond of Italian flavors but I also love experimenting, so I will probably come up with dishes that have Spanish, Greek and Moroccan influences as well. I have a couple of aces up my sleeve - I am going to make my mother proud of all the hours we spent together in the kitchen when I was a child.

As you progress your culinary career, do you feel that expressing your known cultural background as an Italian American is an important factor to your success?

Being Italian or Italian American in the culinary world means having discerning taste, refined palate and respect for the ingredients and the traditions. I will definitely use these aspects to prove that my skills, innate in an Italian, can overcome the lack of proper culinary education: what I cannot do with knife skills I can do with the taste buds!

With the success of other celebrity Italian American chefs from Food Network, what skills and characteristics will make you stand out?

Cooking is the most important outlet for my creativity. I am a corporate attorney by trade and as such, I do not really have a creative job (actually it would not be appropriate to be creative in my day job), so I convey all my creativity in the kitchen. I love to create new recipes, sometimes tailored to my friends’ requests and needs, and I love to teach people how to cook. I started my very own homemade webisodes about homemade food called “Cooking in Manhattan” and I cannot describe how great it is when one of my viewers drops me a line to say that the recipe was a success!

Who is your favorite celebrity Italian American chef and why?

My favorite Italian American Chefs are Giada De Laurentiis because she is the “Grace Kelly” of Italian food and Mario Batali because his food is honest, rustic and delicious!

Lastly, the show; THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR premieres this summer, June 6th on Food Network—why should the Italian American audience watch? What can they expect from you as their representing Italian American?

I hope the Italian American community will root for me because I am Italian, of course, but also because I believe I represent the real hard-working Italians and Italian Americans that succeed on the basis of their own merits and strength. These are the real Italian and Italian Americans, strong willed, creative, hardworking and charming people who are pursuing their American dream. Sadly they have not been very well represented on television recently. I want to show America what we are really made of!

I would like to thank the Food Network and Serena for this interview! Grazie Serena!

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Happy Easter ~ Buona Pasqua A Tutti !!!

Happy Easter To Everyone e Buona Pasqua.

May your day be filled health and happiness. I made biscotti this morning with my mother. Then its off to church, then we come back and eat again. Have a wonderful day.

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Palm Sunday -- What Does Your Church Mean To You?

Happy Palm Sunday to all the readers of Italian American Girl. I'm not one for holy rolling or pushing religion on anyone. But as it is, I was brought up with a strong faith in Catholicism. I think everyone has their one way of self Catholic expression and I really don't think anyone is perfect: especially Catholics. In light of all the negative things that have happened in the church which no one denies is definitely bad, we have to also look to our own self expression of what our Catholic churches mean to us.

I think many churches serve as a place to reflect, a place to find peace, family, history and traditions. I recently received a letter from a parishioner in Brooklyn, New York who pleaded for me to read what's happening at her church. She like many others was once the faithful parishioner of a church called our Our Lady of Loreto Brooklyn.

This traditional, magnificent church has been the constant in a changing neighborhood and has served many Italian Americans since the early 1900s in Brooklyn, NY. Many baptisms, communions, weddings, services and masses have happened here and now with the ever changing downturn of economic decisions, church officials have decided to let the church be demolished.

As an Italian American, we fight everyday to preserve our heritage and work on campaigns to raise money to save buildings, (for example; Little Italy) programs, statues, art, language... why is this church being demolished? The driving force behind all bad decisions-- which it seems Italian American history is always getting hammered always goes back to economic factors. Look, I was in church this morning... admiring the beautiful artwork and history....and I thought how you can you destroy something so beautiful for something you know will result as my father would say in dialect (S-K-I-F-E-W --not the true spelling.)

Also, my father worked for the Archdiocese in New Jersey for over 25 years so when I see things like this happen it upsets and actually disgusts me. Do tradition & faith have no place in this world anymore or has the not so mighty dollar brainwashed everyone? I feel for the parishioners in Brooklyn, who love their church. You know the Vatican is old too, are they demolishing that as well for condos in the middle of Rome?

Let us also reflect this is Holy Week with not so holy actions taking place. This parishioner wrote me "I'm praying for a miracle." AMEN TO THAT.

This was also covered in The New York Times: "A Fight for a Church Is Evoking Introspection"

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Faces of America - Immigrant Stories of Famous Americans on PBS

As you know I am always talking about the immigrant story because for me its a very close connection. My father came to America in the 1950s and then my mother later in the 1960s. I am always so intrigued with the story on how my father decided to leave Italy and journey to a place where he knew no one and had nothing. This new show on PBS, called, "Faces of America" really takes an in depth look into the immigrant's story and but what makes it so unique is that they profile famous people, including Meryl Streep, Mario Batali and many others. If you have an opportunity to watch it, you must.. its on PBS.

Faces of America premieres nationally Wednesdays, February 10 - March 3, 2010 from 8-9 p.m. ET on PBS

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/facesofamerica/ Tweet

Happy Saint Patrick's Day To All the Irish-Italian Americans.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all the Irish and including our Irish/ Italian Americans. I think the celebration of St. Patrick's Day in the United States is always celebrated to an extreme stereotype but we have to remember history plays an important role to the meaning behind St. Patrick's Day. Happy St. Patrick's Day!


http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89 Tweet

Travel to Sorrento, Italy -- Advice From A Travel Expert.

Sorrento is a magical place no matter what time of year you visit but it’s especially wonderful in the spring. It’s when this small city along the Amalfi Coast literally springs to life with vibrant bursts of color from wisteria vines to walls of fresh jasmine. There is color everywhere you turn and the scent of jasmine mixes with orange and lemon blossoms…….you know you’re in paradise.

Getting to Sorrento from the U.S. is a bit of a trek. Most travelers choose to fly to Rome and then either drive or take a train down to Sorrento. A company called
Meridiana or Eurofly flies direct from New York to Naples between June and September but they have a limited schedule. The best bet is to fly into Rome and then rent a car for the drive down. Renting an automatic car can be expensive in Italy and hard to find but I have been using Auto Europe for years and they are reliable and affordable. Also, once you arrive in Sorrento, you can park the car and forget about it because everything is within walking distance or reachable by ferry or train.

The Sorrentine Peninsula offers so much to see and do that it would be impossible to list it all in such a brief space so I have highlighted some of the best I have come across in my frequent travels to this Eden on Earth:

Best 4-star hotel

: Hotel Antiche Mura - just feet from the main square (Piazza Tasso) and staffed by the wonderful Savarese family who cannot do enough for their guests. While they do not offer lunch or dinner in their restaurant, the breakfast buffet is one of the best.

Best spa

: Spa La Serra at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria. Spa treatments or a vacation must-do for me and the therapists at La Serra are some of the most gifted anywhere.

Best spot for people watching

: Fauno Bar sits smack dab in the middle of Piazza Tasso. You can sit here and watch the world go by with a morning cappuccino or an afternoon glass of wine.

Finally, for those who may be worried about getting around in this foreign city, fear not, almost everyone in Sorrento is fluent in English and those who aren’t fake it really well! Buon Viaggio!


Lisa Fantino is an award-winning journalist and attorney and the creative force behind
Wanderlust Women Travel.

Photos/Copyright- Courtesy of Wanderlust Women Travel Tweet