Italy and the US: what a history our countries have. So many things in common, they are only superficially different. Yes, there are many beautiful things we share, two of them are the love for good food and the attachment to our country. Italian-Americans made of both a mark of distinction and we Italians, I sometimes think, should take a page off our US cousins’ book and learn how to love our country a bit more.

But it’s not the right time to talk about that, let’s focus on food. Italian and Italian-American food are definitely not the same thing. Purists would argue that Italian-American food should not be considered “Italian,” but to be honest I don’t agree with them. I mean, I draw a line at putting mushrooms in carbonara and using pesto with chicken, but there are plenty of delicious Italian-American recipes and deserve to be appreciated.