Giusto Gusto

Megs and I have been talking about moving downtown (or ITB meaninng Inside the Beltline) for almost 3 years, but selling a house by owner is not the easiest of tasks. Nevertheless, we managed to get that ish done and we’ll be in our new diggs as early as this weekend.

What can we all look forward to? The answer is two-fold:

1. It’s a 5 minute walk to the Raleigh Farmers Market, home to all things local and delicious and the subject of so many @TheFarmersMarket posts. This will inevitably have a prominent role to play in the seasonality of my recipes, good news all around.

2. The new GiustoGusto kitchen is huge compared to my current crotch-rocket of a catering hall. But what I’m most excited about is the ample light provided thru the ginormous 15′ windows and the 150 year old floors acting as a photography backdrop. No more dimly lit plates on the edge of the table begging for character, no more I say!

It will take a few days to settle into our new home, organizing and reorganizing the kitchen as I become more comfortable, but I expect the wheels to spin uncontrollably thanks to the inspiration of a new kitchen and a world-class farmers market an arms-length away.

It’s sad to leave our first home together with so many memories built at the dinner table, breaking bread and passing wine behind the hum of a rolling pasta pot. It’s almost improbable to think nearly every recipe on this site was born over uneven electric coil burners or on a 5′x5′ patio/grill holder. It’s been a rad journey and I’ll miss this little kitchen (kind of), but it’s on to bigger and better things and new memories to be made and retold until the next venture. Cheers!

Social Networking is no joke. Facebook Albums, hashtags and live tweeting turned a Miami beach wedding into a social extravaganza this past weekend as my friends, and GiustoGusto loyalists, Mark & Erica said their vows on the south beach sands. We mentioned, uploaded, shared, commented and connected our way thru 3 sun-soaked days, keeping the majority of the guest list in touch and up-to-date by the minute during all wedding activities.

It was the first, but hopefully not the last, social-networking laced wedding I’ve ever been to, and it’s success inspired me to share some of my favorite Twitter handles to follow. Twitter is an instant source of news, inspiration, and shared musings by people you actually care to follow- perfect for something as creative and versatile as cooking:

@andreaweigl

Andrea Weigl, the editor for the News & Observers food blog Mouthful, is a loyal patron to all things tasty in the triangle. She’s a consistent source of news and updates on restaurants, chefs, deals or events in the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill areas. She’s also connected to every food-related handle in the triangle making it really easy to track down other events/news/etc.

@DavidRoccosVita

David Rocco’s been featured on Giusto many times, no surprise really, but his twitter handle is as much a taste of Italy as his tv episodes. Between posts of the day’s meals, daily Italian lessons and updates on his travels, every post by the Candian Italian makes me long for the motherland like ET and wherever the hell he came from. Bravo ciccio!

@TheTuscanGun

Gabriele Corcos, married to actress Debi Mazar and cohost of Extra Virgin, is another source of Italian inspiration, but he’s also hilariously witty. He shares recipes, tweets from international food events, and gives you a taste of what it’s like to be an Italian in the US. More than anything else, I enjoy his pictures of the family enjoying meals just like everyone else, brings it back home. Bravo anche ciccio!

@poolesdiner

Lastly, I dig following chef Ashley Christensen for two reasons: 1. She tweets about her daily specials or upcoming events at all of her 4 locations downtown. 2. Because she’s such a badass, she’s often mentioned or retweeted by other interesting culinary handles from which you can also learn some cool stuff. Education through association – social networking at it’s best.

Twitter acts as a seemingly never-ending, hand-delivered and updated news source and inspiration board with everything from new produce at the farmers market to Bourdain’s favorite tube meat and food truck meet ups in my neighborhood.

Knock it all you want, this ‘ish works and it keeps me well fed! And don’t forget to follow your’s truly @giustogusto for recipes, site updates, or just pictures of things I find delicious. Congrats again to the happy couple and chow down on some Pad See Ew in Thailand for me!

Welcome back everyone! It’s well into 2012, and I apologize for the design delay but look around and tell me this wasn’t worth the wait? We’ve got some new branding, social network links, twitter updates, ad space, and even recipe card tabs for all new recipes! That means every time I post a recipe, at the bottom of the post will be a tab that says “recipe card.” Give it a click and you’ll open a new window with a print-ready version of the recipe. Splooosh!

Own a smartphone? Follow the social network links in the header to follow me on Twitter and “Like” the all new GiustoGusto Facebook Page!  There’s even an app-style layout for phone-browsing when using your smart phone’s web browser.

I’m also working with some new hardware, a shiny Fujifilm X100 to be exact, so the quality of food-porn imagery should improve exponentially. Hope you brought an extra pair of pants.

Which leaves us with the content, the most important area of reformation. My goal is three fold:

1. Post twice a week, preferably Tuesday & Thursday.

2. Post atleast 1 recipe per week.

3. Post almost exclusively on recipes, booze of the month reviews, and kitchen tunes.

So now that the tour is over, let’s do this dance and get the next chapter of GiustoGusto underway. Cheers!

To friends, family, loyal readers, browsers and internet vagrants alike,

Don’t worry, I’m not signing off. But it has been almost 2 years since I started this crazy thing called GiustoGusto and a short break is due. So, this will be my last post until early 2012 and the start of a new chapter and year for GiustoGusto.

During the break, I’ll be focusing on a few things:

1. Updating the layout of the site. I really dig the current set up, but it has more bugs than a chinatown buffet and a new design will bring both simplified usability, social network integration and a refreshing face lift.

2. Focusing on the core values of the site. Obviously, wild language and obscene jokes are a given, but I’d like to tighten the reigns and give my readers a more consistent resource. Whether that’s more recipes, less travel, longer discussions, or in-depth reviews…who knows. BUT, I’d really like your input so write a comment or email me at info@paultuorto.com to give your feedback. What is it that you dig about Giusto, what brings you back or which posts do you look forward to? Like a busty bombshell on the corner, I’m here to serve you.

3. Improving my photography skills. My abilities have most certainly grown since the site’s origin, but with some new equipment and a little art direction I’m hoping to bring Giusto’s imagery to the next level.

In the meantime, I’ll be tweeting my adventures in all things delicious so make sure to follow me and keep up with the latest progress on the site here.

And so it is with bright eyes towards the future that I’d like to raise a virtual glass to you. Whether you’re here for the first time or one of my fervent followers, Happy Holidays and I’ll see you on the other side. Ci vediamo subito, 2012 OR BUST!

The countdown is dwindling dude, we’re less than a week away from flying half-way around the world to feel more at home…ironic, no? Our past trips, with a revolving cast and varying lengths, have had one great thing in common: a legit playlist of da kine tunage. Take your shirt off, pop a Hinano, and slip of your slippah’s ’cause it’s about to get really relaxed in here:

Toots & The Maytals

My brother’s friend Hankito, a character worthy of an entire post himself, first tuned us on to the likes of Toots when he made a Kauai-cameo in ’03. Bouncing down a clay path to our most sacred of beach spots, Hanky made a cd change that would forever alter our Hawaiian memories. We’re a reggae loving family to begin with, but Toots – a lesser known hero of Jamaica – offers up a nostalgic style of reggae. Organs, reverb, heady beats and uplifting lyrics masked in the soulful rasp of Toot’s voice is ideal before paddling out into the pacific in search of tasty tubes or huddled around a hanalei beach fire with frosty Primos. Toots will forever be Hawaiian in my ears, if not by birth anyways.

Bruddah Iz – Israel Kamakawiw0′ole

Iz became mainland popular after his cover of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” went viral. And well deserved, but I have yet to meet many who can name a second title by the hawaiian legend. Iz was bigger than life, physically and emotionally, and continued to belt out traditional lyrics while strumming a concert ukulele until his weight inevitably won the fight. His death was tragic and foreseen, by himself especially, but his lineage of music is both optimistic and inspiring. He was as large as a car but songs like ‘Opae E’ and ‘Ulili E’ are tender and beautiful beyond comprehension. From the makau around his neck to his skills on the baby uke’ I respect everything about Bruddah Iz, even had to squeeze him into our wedding for Ma and I to sway to.

Ziggy Marley

Jawaiian is a style of reggae born on the hawaiian islands. I’ll claim ignorant on the fact that I do not know many musicians in the genre, but it’s all over the local radio stations. Megs and I fell in love with the dj’s playlists on our honeymoon but neglected to write any of the names down…we were far too relaxed to take notes. Back on the mainland I needed Jawaiian in my life and found the fix in an old friend – Ziggy Marley. Damien is amazing, but too angry for hawaiian sunsets. I heard his dad was a big deal too…but Ziggy is a happy-go-lucky reggae star with a knack for cheerful lyrics and funky rid-ums. It’s no Three Little Birds, but hits like ‘Dragonfly’ and ‘True To Myself’ could make Ghidafi rock his body in time.

Am I anxious to get there? Does a bear shit in the woods? I’ll grab a bowl of Poke, check the swell reports, and pluck along on the uke’ until the time comes – one week dude. Hana Hou!