Meet Giancarlo and Veronica Palazzone, the Italian couple behind two of northern New Jersey's beloved Italian eateries.

The Italian Couple Who Came to New Jersey for Their American Dream

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<p>Emmy Nominee, Cara Di Falco is host and executive producer of the cooking series “Cara’s Cucina.” The first show of its kind to receive an Emmy nomination.  She is also a culinary expert appearing on QVC, as well as a TV and radio host in the New York metro area. Cara hosts a culinary tour of Italy, giving fans an opportunity to vacation with her and learn about her beloved heritage through its regional cuisine.</p>
<p>Born and raised in New Jersey, Cara is a proud graduate of Rutgers University and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She’s been featured in We the Italians, Where Women Cook, and The Italian-American Podcast.</p>
<p>On top of her 2018 Emmy nomination, Cara is a Columbian Foundation Honoree for 2023, the 2012 &#8220;Woman of the Year&#8221; for the Italian-American Policy Society of NJ, and the 2019 &#8220;Woman of the Year&#8221; for the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders.</p>
<p>Cara&#8217;s free time is spent enjoying nature, a good meal with friends and family, or snuggled on the couch with her dog Roxie.</p>
<p>Learn more about Cara at her <a href="https://www.caradifalco.com/"><u>website.</u></a></p>
<p>Follow her on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/caradifalco"><u>Instagram.</u></a></p>


Cara Di Falco

Features

A Visit to Cucina Fresca, an Italian Market on the Jersey Shore

<p><strong><b>Samuel Ghelli</b></strong> is an Italian scholar and educator based in New York. He teaches and directs the Italian and Food Studies programs at York College, CUNY.</p>


Samuel Ghelli

A group of three sitting around a table looking at each other.

Parla Come Mangi: When Speech Is Measured at the Table

<div dir="ltr">Planted, harvested and aged in NY, Li Valentine has a background in education and marketing, with a passion for travel and all things wine. With roots in the boot, she has a special interest in Italian wine and travel. She is a certified wine professional and Italian Wine Specialist. In addition to writing about wine (<a href="http://discover.thewininghour.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://discover.thewininghour.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1697217195025000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2tvR1J02Hhj2IanKTun4fa">discover.thewininghour.com</a>), she is the founder of The Wining Hour, Inc., which includes a wine boutique that caters to the wine lover, as well as the vinous winechat (#WiningHourChat) on X (formerly Twitter).</div>
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<div dir="ltr">Follow Li on all social at @thewininghour.</div>


Li Valentine

photo of the panel at Sicilia En Primeur.

The Cultural Significance of Wine in Italian Cuisine

<p>I am the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Appetito magazine. I like Italian food &amp; drink, a lot. I am also an award-winning novelist and a regular contributor to the New York Times. More about my work can be found at <a href="https://andrewcotto.com/">Home &#8211; Andrew Cotto</a>.</p>


Andrew Cotto

Our Editor-in-Chief in EAT PRAY LOVE mode.

Cinema Purgatorio: American Movies Set in Italy Are So Bad

<p>Ankish Shetty is the Corporate Executive Chef at Restaurant Associates (Compass Group), where he oversees the culinary program for one of Wall Street&#8217;s most prominent financial institutions in New York City. Mumbai-born and Michelin-trained, he cut his professional teeth at Rasoi by Vineet — the Michelin-starred Indian restaurant at Mandarin Oriental in Geneva — and at the Kempinski Grand Hotel Des Bains in St. Moritz. His cooking sits at the intersection of classical Indian technique and European precision, a perspective he has explored through his fusion concept, Fusion Chef, which has built a following around the idea that Indian and Italian culinary traditions share more than food media ever acknowledges. He works and cooks in New York.</p>


Ankish Shetty

Spaghetti al Makhani by Chef Ankish Shetty.

When Makhani Met Spaghetti

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<div class="py-[3px] whitespace-pre-wrap u-break-words">Mario Traina is a Sicilian chef, gastronome, and educator based in Catania. A graduate and ambassador of the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo (founded by Slow Food&#8217;s Carlo Petrini), he is the founder of the Comunità Educativa Gastronomica Etnea, Sicily&#8217;s first educational gastronomic community. He works as a private chef across the island, cooking for travelers with a zero-waste philosophy rooted in local ingredients and Sicilian tradition.</div>
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<div class="py-[3px] whitespace-pre-wrap u-break-words">Website: <a title="https://chefmariotraina.com" href="https://chefmariotraina.com/">chefmariotraina.com</a> | Instagram: @chefmariotraina</div>
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Chef Mario Traina in the kitchen with an apron on.

Chef Mario Traina

What a Sicilian Stuffed Artichoke Can Teach About Memory and Family

A rustic Italian kitchen with broth simmering beside vegetable scraps and Parmesan rinds

Tutto Fa Brodo: The Italian Expression That Refuses to Waste Anything

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Appetito Editors

Travel Italian Style founder Cassandra Santoro in Mattera.

Travel

Appetito Recommends Travel Italian Style to Plan Your Next Trip

<p>Hello. My name is Joanna Moeller, and I am a passionate home cook residing in downtown Manhattan for 20+ years. I started my Instagram cooking page <a href="https://www.instagram.com/spaghettiroots_nyc/"><u>@spaghettiroots_nyc </u></a>in April, 2023, as a way to showcase my cooking, as I initially intended for it to be more of an inspirational cooking page featuring my &#8220;No recipe, recipes.&#8221; It has truly been a wonderfully creative outlet for me.</p>


Joanna Moeller

Recipes

Italian Tuna Salad Featuring Bona Furtuna’s Everyday EVOO

<p>I am the idea behind and the co-founder of Mama Mancini’s. I am also a home cook, an obsessed entrepreneur, traveler, foodie, and I love sharing all of it with anyone who wants to listen. I believe passion fuels ideas and there is no such thing as a bad idea or too much passion. I look at the picture of my grandmother, Anna Mancini, holding me as a baby and think wow if my grandmother only knew that all those countless days of me learning how to cook by her side in Brooklyn would turn into this. After 25 years in the garment industry, I decided in 2007 it was time for a change. My idea: real meatballs made the authentic Italian way and sold in real sauce. To me there was no other way they should be offered, that was my big idea and Mama Mancini’s was born. The rest is history. So, I say this to everyone who has an idea: never give up; don’t listen to the people who say it won’t work. No idea is a bad idea and always chase your dreams. Let’s cook.</p>


Daniel Mancini

Creamy Balsamic Dressing by Daniel Mancini.

How to Make Creamy Balsamic Dressing at Home

The rear facade of Hotel Santa Chiara in Venice.

Reviews

Hotel Santa Chiara: Luxury & Serenity on the Grand Canal in Venice

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<p>Paola Marocchi is a NYC-based pastry chef who has worked for some of the world&#8217;s most acclaimed chefs and restaurant groups. Her passion for Italian food was ignited from early childhood, growing up in an Argentinian household of Italian background that valued all things homemade and food as the main guest in any celebration. In her free time, she travels all over Italy mingling with locals and sharing in the culture, food, language and love for all things Italian.</p>
<p>Follow Paola on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/paola_marocchi_/"><u>Instagram.</u></a></p>


Paola Marocchi

View of Sanremo on the Italian Riviera with boats and mountains at sunset

The Italian Couple Who Came to New Jersey for Their American Dream

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