Featured Community Member: Domcondo

Written Monday, September 28th, 2009 by Anne Coleman

In South Philly there is a no-nonsense approach to life: you love the Eagles and you know how to order a Philly Cheesesteak. If you're from an Italian-Amerocan family in South Philly, food reigns supreme and if you don't know how to cook, you might not really belong there.

Half Hour Meals member Domcondo is one guy who definitely belonged there. He is no-nonsense about cooking, but fun at the same time. His blog is redolent with family stories and memories and great Italian-American recipes. You don't want to miss the chance to read about him, but first here's a little more about Dom and his food blogging life.

Cucina Domenico is just shy of a year old, do you expect a 'second season' from it? What is the driving force behind it?

Yes! Actually, I just put together a list of recipes that will allow me to do weekly updates throughout the rest of the year. I look forward to experimenting with many more recipes and sharing them.

Has food blogging changed the way you look at food?

It's taught me to be more aware of my ingredient measurements. I've always gone with 'a little of this' and 'some of that.' Now that I'm sharing recipes, I want to make sure that they're somewhat accurate.
It's also amazing how many people are interested in talking about food and cooking. I've made a lot of new friends and have gotten lots of great feedback from posting weekly blog updates on Facebook.

You are an Italian living in Philadelphia, how is this different, from a culinary standpoint, than Italians living anywere else in the U.S.?

When you're raised in an Italian/American household in South Philadelphia, you're brought up on the best: the best breads, the highest quality meats, the freshest produce, the sweetest desserts, all while at the same time supporting our neighborhood shops and stores. We take pride in serving the best foods to our family and
friends. I still make sure to search out the freshest, top-quality ingredients, whether it be where I live now or when we go back to South Philly to visit family.

Is Cucina Domenico your first blog? If not, what else have you written?

This is my first blog. Many of my friends enjoy cooking, so we are always talking food. I had gotten a Myspace page, but didn't really know what to do with it. One of my co-workers suggested that I post recipes on the page. That eventually led to the idea of starting a blog.

Are you married? Do you have a family? If so, in what ways does that change the way you blog?

Yes, my wife Daria and I have two beautiful little girls, Julianna (age 5) and Ava (age 1). Being that we are both full-time working parents and enjoy spending whatever free time we have available with our kids, there's obviously not much time in the day for yourself. And that's fine, that's what being a parent is all about. I like to consider my food blog to be a practical hobby. We have to eat! Plus, cooking has always been therapeutic to me. Now that Julianna likes to mess around in the kitchen with me, it's fun to write about and take pictures of what we're doing.

Your recipe for Pesto-Stuffed Salmon is so simple, but obviously full of flavor - what inspires the creation of recipes like this one?

I like the challenge of taking a simple, basic recipe and making it a bit more interesting without going over the top. Just a few tweaks here and there. I'm a graphic designer my trade. One of my teachers in art school always stressed the KIS method (Keep It Simple!). I try to keep that in mind, it helps me focus on not going overboard with ingredients if I don't have to.

Name a handful of ingredients that you couldn't live without.

Definitely garlic and olive oil. They're the basis to most of my dishes. I'm also a big fan of fresh herbs and spices. I also like to keep on hand a bottle of Italian dressing, a bottle of soy sauce and a jar of salsa. You can doctor up just about any dish in a pinch using one of those three ingredients.

Where does inspiration in your home kitchen come from?

Being from an Italian/American family definitely inspired me to want to cook. My mom, my grandmother, my aunts, my brother and his wife...they're all great cooks. And my wife bakes like nobody's business. Whenever we all get together, food and desserts are always involved and we always congregate around the kitchen/dining room table. I'm also inspired by the seasons of the year. I'm a big fan of the fall season and the fall spices, so I'm looking forward to soon trying a few new dishes with pumpkin, squash, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.

When and Why did you join Half Hour Meals?

I joined this past summer. I really loved the whole concept of the site and also saw it as an opportunity to share my blog with others who have an interest in cooking and blogging about it.

What's your favorite thing about the site?

The variety on the site is endless! There are so many great recipes and different types of blogs...you can find just about any type of recipe that you want. It's also great to see the different interests.
It's very inspiring!

Have you tried others' recipes from Half Hour Meals?

I haven't tried anything yet, but I do have a bunch of recipes
bookmarked and plan on trying them out ASAP.

If others were to ask you about Half Hour Meals, how would you describe the site to them?

It's a fantastic resource to check out different recipes and different ideas. It is incredibly user-friendly, and the options of searching by either course or ingredient is a big plus!

Tags: community member, food blogging

This entry was posted on Monday, September 28th, 2009 at 08:00 am and is filed under Community Discussions. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.