With okra in season, why not prepare a delicious pasta dish for our upcoming July 4th celebration? While stewing the okra and tomatoes, the rigatoni pasta cooks in minutes - ...
Friday, June 19, 2015
Melon Trio & Feta Salad
Sometimes I just don't know where my tastebuds are headed - do I want sweet or savory foods? Maybe I want both. For this salad, I used three types of ...
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Persian Almond Cookies
Iran is the modern name for ancient Persia. The people of this culture call themselves "Persians". I can see how proud they are when they say they are "Persians", for ...
Monday, May 11, 2015
Peas, Grappa & Thyme
Peas with Grappa? You better believe it!
During the early summer months when I lived in Italy, bushels of pea pods would be delivered to our kitchen. We then went ...
Friday, April 24, 2015
Spaghetti Frittata
Do you ever throw out cooked, leftover spaghetti? While living in Italy, my grandmother (Nonna Annunziata) never threw out extra ingredients. To my amazement, she used the leftover spaghetti to ...


Nancy DeLucia Real is an art historian and chef. She has led culinary courses at the Italian Cultural Institute, The Getty Center and The Getty Villa and is a former member of the Culinary Historians of Southern California. Nancy's gastronomy training took place in the heart of Italy under the tutelage of her grandmother. She has taught international cuisine at Williams Sonoma and Sur la Table Stores. Nancy's art history & culinary courses are ongoing at various institutions. She also teaches private cooking classes.