Meet the family

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Ciao and welcome to Our Italian Table! My name is Michele and together with my brother, Joe, grew up as children of wonderful first-generation Italian-Americans in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, a small town on the Delaware River that saw a large influx of Italian immigrants in the early 20th century. Our love of cooking started with helping our mother prepare her homemade Italian dishes that she was forever sharing with our neighborhood and family. Homemade gnocchi, ravioli, passatelli were staples in our house and luckily she passed on her cooking skills to us.

Mom, circa 1940
Mom, circa 1940

Our maternal grandparents originated in Sicilia (Santo Stefano di Camastra) and our paternal grandparents in Le Marche (Senigallia). Over the years, we have developed a love for all things Italian and creating this blog has brought us great joy.  With Joey on the west coast and I on the east coast of America, our  love of cooking has only deepened, leading us to co-found  “Our Italian Table” blog in 2008. Joey’s wonderful husband Mark is our budding sommelier and always gets to pick the wines for our holiday meals. Spending as much time as possible in Italy, cooking Italian dishes, and documenting it all for family, friends, and many others has become a passion and a joy for us both. Our simple wish is to share this passion and love for our beloved Italy with you.

So we welcome you to join us at our table. Stay for awhile, relax, unwind.  Have a bit of wine perhaps. Please check back from time to time, give us your feedback – but most importantly, take a moment to pause and enjoy the world around you.

We welcome you ‘con piacere’ – with pleasure.  A presto….

Join the Conversation

  1. Michela: So personal and beautiful at the same time! Can’t wait to hear more about your journeys and the delicious food consumed!!! Exciting!!!
    Love, Deb

  2. How beautiful this is! I can’t wait to try every recipe (and wine!) and read more about your travels. It’s almost like being there! And almost as good as seeing you in person (although not!)! I will be visiting here often!

    Ciao!
    Delia

  3. mary Albanese says:

    Michela….I finally found “our italian table” Saw handsome cousin Luca,plus recipes by Felix.This is such fun in fact it inspired me to turn on the oven menu pork roast with roasted potatoes and. mushrooms in olive oil and roasted garlic. Thank you Joey and our italian table for the inspiration Baci a tutti.

    tua zia Maria

  4. Mary Morgan says:

    Hi Michelle and Joey. Carol Morgan’s mom here. Your Mom and Dad were wonderful people to know. PTA, golfing and JayCee era, so long ago. Carol loved eating at your house as a child. I’ve become more and more aquainted with cooking Italian. I know I will enjoy your recipe collection. Good luck, Mary

    1. Hi there! So good to see you out here and that you took the time to comment! Hope you are well and look forward to catching up with Carol….All the best, Michele

  5. I dream of visiting Italy some day, until then I will live vicariously through your blog. Thank you for sharing.
    Heidi

  6. What a wonderful website!!!! A good&delicious subject for our Italian lessons!ciao a presto!!!

  7. Carol(Armenio) Zych says:

    Just came across your Blogg as I was enjoying the daily Notebook with your article. It was wonderful and your blogg is as well.
    I was raised in Connecticut and now live in Charleston SC. We are also Sicilian, my brother is Joey and my Mom was Josie. I will be visiting Sicily in September on a tour but will branch out one day to try and locate a friend that I haven’t seen in 50+years as a child. Any advice??? Thank You

    1. Ciao ciao! Amazing coincidence on names for your brother and mother! You will love Sicilia – I have spent quite a bit of time there – alot in Taormina. My family is from Santo Stefano di Camastra. It is such an amazingly beautiful island and September is such a wonderful time to go. Let me know if you will be spending time in Taormina – can recommend a few great restaurants both in the town and also up in the hills. If you have a chance to get to the interior, it is also spectacular. The lava fields surrounding gorgeous Mt. Etna and the hills are stunning. Enjoy!!

  8. Carol(Armenio) Zych says:

    Thanks for your note, I’m new to blogging so It’s taken me awhile to answer. I’m staying in Giardini Naxos, going to Taomino, Mt Etna and Catania. Can you advise me on how to get to Milazzo to find my friend. The restaurant suggestions would be appreciated as well.

  9. I love that a bi-coastal family can come together via online blog and share such wonderful things with us. My favorite travels were through Italy, experiencing the food, wine, and friend/family-oriented culture. I’m looking forward to exploring these recipes more!

  10. So glad I found your blog today. We, too, love all things Italian, and take our vacation to Italy once or twice per year. I look forward to reading more fun things on your blog. Ciao!

    1. Grazie,Our Kitchen Inventions! On my way to check out your blog as well! Ciao!

  11. Irene Hirschman says:

    Hi Michele, I just discovered your page. I read your post about involving di Manzo and saw that you spent time in my town Taormina. I lived there from 1950-1955 I went to school in the church in the Piazza. We lived at Via Ialia Bassia #13. I don’t know if its still there.we also lived at “La Villa di Pace” just before Porta Messina. We used to go to Teatro Greco and have picnics and we also went to Mazzaró by walking down the mountain through the trees on an old burro path. I absolutely love Sicilian foods, they are so diverse. My Mamma Fichiera used to make the most amazing foods for hr guests at her Penzione Internationale on the Corso Umberto across the street from the Fire house. Made your Involtini for dinner tonight and can’t wait for my husband to get home so I can serve them.
    C’i vediamo. A piu tarde.
    Irene

    1. Ciao ciao, Irene, Thank you for the wonderful note. Sounds as if you have walked many of the same streets as I in Taormina! I think of my times there often and miss strolling Corso Umberto watching the world go by. I hope the involtini turned out well and your husband enjoyed. Should you have any favorite recipes I would love to hear and recreate them on the blog. Grazie mille. Stai bene. A presto. Michele

  12. Happy Holidays to the family and congratulations for the Blog of the year 2012 award for which I nominated you. I hope you will enjoy the recipe that comes along with the award. Buon Natale!
    http://sharingmyitaly.wordpress.com/2012/12/23/from-the-italian-region-of-piemonte-brasato-al-barolo-a-perfect-holiday-dish/

    1. Grazie mille!! And will definitely enjoy the brasato al barolo recipe – one of my favorite dishes when in Italy….Buon Natale to you and your family! (p.s I would love to have you be a guest blogger on my site in the new year…will be in touch!) Michele

    2. Sorry for the delay with my reply. Wishing you all the best for this 2013! BTW I would love to be a gust on your blog!

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