Happy Hours for February and March

Every Wednesday Night, 5-8pm.

If you are unfamiliar with the Happy Hours at Di Bruno's Italian Market location, it is time to familiarize yourself. The concept is simple, casual and, remarkably, FREE! Every week, a local brewer brings a mixed case of his or her craft and samples it to customers. A complimentary sample of cheese, hand-selected by Hunter or Zeke to pair harmoniously with the beer, will also be provided. If you are so compelled, you can buy a half pound of three of the cheeses for $25, and we will throw in a free t-shirt for free! And for good measure, everything else in the store is 10% off. Not a bad deal!

Here is a list of upcoming breweries that will be joining us:

February 17th: Tony and Dean from Philadelphia Brewing Company
February 24th: Mike from Stoudts Brewery
March 3rd: Curt from Noddinghead Brewery
March 10th: Robin from Flying Fish Brewery
March 17th: Johnny from Yards Brewery
March 24th: Jen from Triumph Brewery
March 31st: Sebbie, representing Rogue and Elysian, a rare treat from Seattle

We hope to see you here!

Super Bowl Mac and Cheese

by Hunter Fike

In honor of what could be the single greatest American sporting event, my family came together for a pot luck, all-American feast. Cornbread, Beef Chili, Potato Skins, Sweet Potato Chips and Mac and Cheese...starchy, yes, but quality comfort food for this time of year. And if there is an occasion to splurge on calories, its Super Bowl. We finished the evening with my mother's Angel Food Cake, which may or may not be strictly American, but was nonetheless worth the exception if it isn't.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to pass on the recipe for the Mac and Cheese, which was my greatest to date. Here are the ingredients you will need:

1 bag Bartolini Rocchetti Pasta (Bartolini maintains a firmer texture, and this cut traps a lot of the cheese inside.)
6oz of Nodines Bayou-Smoked Bacon, or 6oz Pancetta, diced into centimeter-width strips
4tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
5 1/2 cups Whole Milk, warmed on the stove before use
1lb Ascutney Mountain Cheese, Pleasant Ridge Reserve or other Gruyere-style cheese, grated
1/2lb 3-Year New York Cheddar, grated
1/4lb Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook the pasta until al dente.
3. As you wait for the water to boil and pasta to cook, put the bacon or pancetta in a pan over low heat and cook for approximately 15 minutes. You are looking for browning but not a crisp texture.
4. Put the cooked pasta and the bacon into a large bowl, one big enough that the pasta only fills the bowl half way.
5. Add the butter to the rendered bacon fat and melt over medium heat.
6. After the foam subsides, add the flour, a quarter cup at a time. and whisk into a roux. After this step, it should look like a small amount of Cream of Wheat in your pan.
7. Begin adding the milk, a half cup at a time, being sure not to add the next half cup until the previous is fully incorporated. When this is completed, it should appear as Alfredo sauce.
8. Add the grated Cheddar and your choice of Gruyere a handful at a time. Whisk aggressively to avoid clumps.
9. After the cheese is fully incorporated, taste, and add salt and pepper as desired.
10. Pour the cheese sauce into the pasta and bacon bowl, mix thoroughly, and pour into a buttered, oven-proof platter, preferably something wide and narrow.
11. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with the Parmigiano Reggiano, and put under the broiler for around 10 minutes more. Be sure to keep an eye on it so that the desirable browning does not become embarrassing char.

Here is what mine looked like:




If all goes well, here is what it will look like five minutes later:



Good luck, and please comment. Let us know if it worked for you, and any successful alterations you made.

Italian Market Happy Hour

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Hooks 12-Year Cheddar

by Hunter Fike

At DiBruno Brothers House of Cheese, new cheeses infiltrate our counter every week, but very few generate the kind of excitement that has been swirling around our newest discovery. It’s Hook’s 12-Year Cheddar, a masterpiece of a cheese from Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

What makes this cheese so loveable? Many things. First and most importantly, it is delicious. Aged for 12 years in cool, humid caves, it is given the time to develop rich, sharp, earthy flavors not commonly found in American Cheddars. The extended maturation also allows the calcium crystals to form on the rind, adding a subtle layer of crunch amidst the otherwise smooth texture.

But as important as the quality of the product, the producers of this cheese are the kind of people you want to support. College sweethearts, Tony and Julie Hook have now been making cheese together for over 35 years, accumulating accolades along the way. With humble aspirations, they opened their facility in 1976. Just six years later, in 1982, Julie’s Colby was named Best in Show at the World Cheese Awards, an honor usually bestowed on the likes of time-tasted favorites like Carles Roquefort, Berthaut Epoisses and Montgomery’s Artisan Somerset Cheddar. Julie was and still is the only female cheese maker to ever win this award. By 1987, demand for their award-winning cheeses escalated to the point that they needed to move to a larger facility.

There most recent recognition is a Best in Show at the 2006 American Cheese Society meetings for their 10-year Cheddar. The 12-Year takes the 10-Year and amplifies it. It is a true powerhouse of a cheese, and something we are proud to offer to you. Come on in and ask for a taste. You’ll be Hooked.

Italian Market Holiday Hours and Announcing Happy Hours on 9th Street!

Anthony’s Gelato

Part of the Italian Market for over 70 years. A neighborhood favorite in the Italian Market for its highest quality goods, exceptional customer service and attention to detail. A family-owned business spanning generations. Sound familiar? Well, we shouldn’t be the ONLY folks you’re thinking of…

Anthony’s Gelato, now being served at Di Bruno Brothers, shares many qualities and values with us. The Anastasio family has been a mainstay of the Italian Market for four generations, and is committed to sharing the most authentic Italian products with the public.

In 2001, Anthony’s began by selling gelato made by an Italian company. When the company decided to move back to Rome in 2007, Anthony’s purchased the company, and trained for 1 whole year with the Italian Gelato maker to ensure consistency and the highest quality, most authentic gelato. Now you can find Anthony’s Gelato all around the Philly area.

But let’s get down to it - what makes it so tasty?

Each batch of Anthony’s Gelato is made fresh to order in Chester Country, with only the finest and freshest ingredients: no additives, shelf-life enhancers, or artificial flavors. The gelato and sorbetto are both made using the “hot process” method, which involves cooking a base with either milk, eggs and sugar (for gelato) or fresh fruit, filtered water, and sugar (for sorbetto) and then allowing the base to sit for at least 12 hours to fully develop the flavors before processing. (There’s also a “cold process” which just involves adding a powder to water before processing. As Alton would say, this would NOT be good eats.) The small batches mean the utmost in flavor and texture!

Gelatos and sorbettos may taste indulgent, but gelato actually has much less fat than regular ice cream. Anthony’s Gelato has less than 6% fat, and the Sorbettos have less than 2% fat. However, since both are processed with less than 10% air (called overrun in the biz), the flavor is actually MORE rich and intense than any commercial products. Indulgent, yes; sinful, NO!

Anthony’s Gelato can be found at both our Chestnut Street and Comcast locations. What better way to break up a long, steamy summer afternoon than a sweet, icy treat that won’t kill your beach bod? Both stores carry a wide variety of flavors including Pistachio, Stracciatella, Raspberry, a killer Blood Orange Sorbetto, and my new favorite, Almond Biscotti… really, do you need any more convincing??

Click below for a printable coupon for $1 off a large gelato at Di Bruno’s Comcast!

Why America is Awesome!

(Read this article to find out how to save 20% off one of our great products).

America is a product of its heritage. A hodge-podge of hundreds of different ethnicities, religions and beliefs. The same can be said of the beers and cheeses being produced in the US. Interestingly enough, only a few true originals can be boasted of in either category despite the thousands of cheese makers and brewers operating here today. Americans have taken the recipes our grandfathers and great grandfathers brought with them and used them to keep in touch with something important - our history. There are niches and markets carved in almost every city and state across the US, allowing us to reach back in time and taste a little bit more of home. While a lot of our food and drink culture comes from our ancestors, the one binding tie that makes all the great things in our country unequivocally American is our desire and ability to make it bigger and better.

For instance, take Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA I'm drinking and the Fiscalini 18 month bandaged cheddar I'm eating right now. Both inspired by very traditional British fare. They are proudly brewed in Delaware and hand made in California, respectively. If you've never had this big beer, you're in for a surprise. This beer is continuously hopped for 90 minutes, but it's not very dry and overly puckery. This beer is balanced with a generous amount of barley and a solid malt presence. At 9% abv, it's not the kind of beer you should drink by the case, but if you want to sit back and relax with a well-crafted beer, this one's for you.

The question now is; what can be paired with a beer like that? One of my favorite is a big, unabashedly sharp and complex farmhouse cheddar. There might not be a better one for than Fiscalini. It delivers in such a big way that you'll know a good sharp cheese once you taste it. Fiscalini cheddar is much more than a one-note cheese. You get all the earthy, leathery and faintly herb and garlic notes you'd expect from a farmhouse cheddar. There's also a hint of sweetness before you feel the sides of your tongue start to tingle from the bite.

A notable fact about Fiscalini is that in 2007, it won "Best Mature Cheddar" category at the World Cheese Awards in London. This is a contest of cheddars held in the country that invented cheddar! While I have the utmost respect for cheeses from other countries, these days I'm just as likely to recommend a great American cheese, as I am a European classic. America is after all a country of dreamers and innovators, and I invite you to come to Di Bruno's and see just what America has to offer you!

To receive 20% off Fiscalini Cheddar online, enter the promotion code fisca1. To place an order click here.

Click on the image below for a printable PDF coupon to save 20% off Fiscalini Cheddar at the 1730 Chestnut Street & 9th Street locations.