Nick Cascino: Simple Cooking Equals Pure Magic

I met Modern Italian member Nick Cascino in the wonderful world of Facebook. He actively posts pictures of his food creations to his friends who literally cannot get enough of Nick’s small capolavori or masterpieces. In fact, Nick’s been told that his cannoli are “better than sex”. Originating from Montreal, Canada, Nick grew up in a Sicilian household. With a degree in computer science and a professional background in financial accounting, Nick currently works as a credit manger which allows him to work from home. This permits him to indulge in his passion of creating his own fresh home-cooked meals every day which he also shares with his neighbors living in his condominium complex. While Nick is not only limited to cooking hot meals, he also enjoys baking desserts. One elderly neighbor in particular never gets tired of Nick’s cakes and provides him with special requests of such desserts.

When asked how Nick learned to cook, I was not surprised to hear that he learned from his Nonna. The oldest of 4 children, Nick spent much of his childhood over his Nonno and Nonna’s house. Nick described himself as a child with “ants in his pants”. So his Nonna let him learn from her in the kitchen, as she let him roll meatballs and observe her seasoning tomato sauce.

In 1985 Nick decided to leave his full-time job and alongside his father open up his own business. It served as both a delicatessen and also a small eatery where people enjoyed Italian sandwiches for lunch. Nick was seen as a pioneer in Montreal’s Little Italy for opening the first eatery there of its kind. The business was soon serving 350 people within the lunch hour alone. He found that his clientele enjoyed his a la carte style and could not resist the cheap prices. His customers were later providing him with the idea of serving hot sandwiches with both veal and chicken cutlets.

Besides occasionally lending a hand in the kitchen to his friends who own restaurants (he’s previously worked in a 5-star restaurant), Nick no longer works in the food industry. If anything, he may decide to one day open up a bistro in the U.S. around the New York area serving 40-45 people. For now instead, he enjoys posting unedited photos of his meals online as a hobby to his friends who ask him on a daily basis, “What’s for dinner?” A modest cook, Nick admits, “I’m in competition with no one. I only compete with myself”. Nick does not shy away from experimenting with other ethnic foods as well. “Food is food”, he says “I experiment with Italian, Greek, French, American, and Canadian.” He enjoys infusing many cultures into his own style of cooking. For Nick, cooking is “creating magic”. “Putting a plate in front of someone and seeing a smile come to their face is my goal. That is my throne”, he states.

Nick's tips for cooking:
1) Always use fresh ingredients.
2) The origin of water is a key ingredient to making pasta & pizza. The water in Canada comes from snow-peaked mountains. Nick tells his friends in the States that it would be difficult to duplicate his dough due to the differences in water.
3) Give food its proper time to cook. Never rush.
4) Try cooking according to different cultures.
5) Observe different cooks in the kitchen. Especially in Italy!

Check out Nick’s step-by-step demonstration of Stuffed Ricotta Shells:
Slide Show of Stuffed Ricotta Shells
To view Nick’s photos of his mouth-watering food creations, please visit Nick’s Facebook Profile



-Gina Andracchio

Old Sayings from our Ancestors - More than Just Words

These are true words of wisdom. Simple phrases, simple words, most of which are in Italian dialects. More than anything else, these are pieces of history. These are small treasures that are to be preserved because for many of us, these are pieces of our childhood. More profoundly, they derive from the experiences of our ancestors, most of whom are no longer with us. Their words, however, remain instilled in our memories and have probably become part of our identities and personalities. Thank you to all of you who have been sharing little pieces of your own history with us. Please keep them coming in!

“’Bon come na fette de pane’ Good like a piece of bread said of someone who has integrity” – Toni Stanfield

“Mia nonna dice, ‘Che puo fa? Fa niente!’ My grandmother would say, ‘What can you do? You can't do nothing!’ That was her motto for anything gone wrong! She'd look right at you, shrug her shoulders, put her hands out...’Eh, che puo fa? Fa niente!’ Loved it! Miss you Fannie!” – Claire Cookie Perri Mielnicki

“’Mangia e statti zitto!’ My grandmother would always yell ‘mangia e statti zitto’ at my grandfather across the dinner table.” – Bob Abbate

“My Mom used to tell us that ‘chi vuole mangiare troppo non mangierà niente’ which she explained meant that: ‘If you are greedy and continue to gamble to get more or spend more than you make, you will end up with nothing to eat at all.’ I can't tell you how many times these words would come true. My sisters and I laugh...” – Anna Gallerizzo Colandreo


These quotes were taken from our Facebook Group Page Italian Proverbs, Phrases, Sayings, and Quotes! Please share!

Our New Favorite Read: "Elizabeth Street" by Laurie Fabiano

We have a great new book to share with all of you that will relate to every Italian-American allowing you to get completely lost in this elaborate story. Elizabeth Street authored by Laurie Fabiano takes place in the early 1900’s and tells the story of a family that recently emigrates from Italy now living in New York City and is terrorized by the Mafia. The twist is that Fabiano is writing about events that actually took place, and the characters are based on her own family members.

After extensive research through the 1909 New York Times publication and visiting the town of Scilla, Calabria, from which her family emigrated, Fabiano delivers this story seven years in the making. Fabiano’s grandmother had been kidnapped at the age of 17, and this was kept as a family secret, which Fabiano felt the need to uncover. In 1989, Fabiano interviewed her grandmother in front of a video camera in order to get the facts. Upon realizing how complex the story was, Fabiano became aware of the need to map out her family tree (which is featured in the book) in order to better-understand the events within the proper time frame. During her research, Fabiano did not initially have the intention of publicizing the story until she herself became a mother and realized how important it was to tell the tale.

When she finally did start writing the book, Fabiano learned that she needed to actually visit Scilla, Calabria in order to better-illustrate the detailed events, images, and general feel which the reader now gets to enjoy in the book. She even met distant relatives for the first time during her visit to Calabria who had each given her a fragment of the story about the kidnapping.

On September 11, 2001, Fabiano was in New York City and injured in a stampede of people when the tragedy hit. At that point, her daughter and husband were the only things in her life she wanted to focus on. Having the need to regroup, Fabiano did not write again for an entire year. After that time, however, Fabiano was now in too deep into telling this story and needed to complete it. Now that she did, she’s identified how healing it has been to many other Italian-Americans whose ancestors were terrorized by the Black Hand.

Elizabeth Street tells a truly compelling story with complex characters while delivering an accurate depiction of the settings (both Calabria & NYC), immigrant experience, and American society during the early 20th century. When you read the book, please tell us your thoughts!



Click here for purchase information!

Photos Photos Galore!

Well you continue to show your passion for Italy & the culture through your EXPLOSION of member photos! MILLE GRAZIE to all of you posting! Our Modern Pictures of Italian Culture group page has been bombarded with your photos and we love them! Please keep them coming! This is why the expression: a picture is worth a thousand words every came about. Whether it be a shot of the local dark-suited Italian businessmen on their cell phones reading newspapers, an elderly man on his street corner watching the passersby, or the window display of the world-renowned Chanel boutique in Venice, each photo tells us your story in Italy. It tells where you’ve been and what you have seen. For those of us who have been to the same places, these shots allow us to reminisce on our own experiences. Of course, if we have not been to that particular location, it allows us to plan on visiting that location in the future.
Post your photos and include captions to share the stories behind the photos. We are a network of people passionate about Italy who are continually looking to learn more! Add comments and meet others in the group in order to share information on where you stayed in Italy, which hotels you stayed in, which restaurants you dined in, etc. Continue to share the enthusiasm and share the passion!



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Modern Italian Fan Page
Italian Proverbs, Phrases, Sayings, and Quotes
1,000,000 People Passionate About Italy