Italian-American recipes, & more.
Welcome to A Simple Palate!
Here you’ll find some of my favorite Italian and Italian-American recipes, plus a little bit of everything else I love to cook. My hope is that these meals bring your family together the way they’ve always done for mine.
About Bethany
Hey, I’m Bethany 😊 I’m so glad you’re here.
A little bit about me personally…I am the youngest of four kids, born in Bergen County, New Jersey, before my family later moved to Pennsylvania. While most of my years were spent putting down new roots in PA, I was always drawn back to our original roots in Jersey and New York, especially through the food we cooked.
Food played a huge role in my life growing up. My mom and many of my aunts were incredible cooks, and they always brought our family together through the food they made. At a young age I often found myself sitting with the women in my family, watching cooking shows such as Ina Garten, Martha Stewart, and Giada (to name a few).
I started helping my mom in the kitchen around eight years old, reading her recipes written on envelopes or pieces of old mail, while Frank Sinatra played in the background. Even though I was the baby of the family, I was my mom’s helper, whether that meant helping her in the kitchen or preparing meals for my family when she couldn’t. That’s really where it all began for me.
Italian food was the first cuisine I learned to cook, and you’ll see plenty of that influence here on my blog, along with other favorites I’ve picked up along the way.
I realized early on that food isn’t just about eating-it’s about bringing people together. Some of my favorite memories are from being gathered around the table with my family, sharing these very recipes that were at the center of our time together.
My hope is that these recipes help spark those same kinds of moments with your own family and friends.
From my family, to yours. xo
About the Youtube Channel
After 10 years of blogging and sharing recipes, I finally stepped out from behind the camera and started our YouTube channel in April of 2024. What started as a leap of faith has turned into one of the greatest joys for Drew and me. We’ve been able to connect with so many wonderful people from all over the world through it.
Even though Drew works full-time, he still gives up his days off to help me film. It’s just the two of us, so we wear a lot of hats to make this all come together, but we truly love doing it.
From the beginning, it was important to me that our cooking videos felt approachable. Like something you could actually cook along with. Growing up, I loved watching the classic cooking shows with my mom and aunts, and the heart of that has been a big inspiration for how I wanted our videos to feel. In a fast-paced world, my hope is that these recipes give you a chance to slow down, enjoy the process, and share a meal with the people you love.
We’re always learning and trying to get better, but above all, I genuinely love making these videos. I look forward to each one, and I’m so thankful for your support along the way. 🙂
Fun Facts
I run A Simple Palate with my husband Drew. When he's not working as a full time Web Designer, he is A Simple Palate's official taste tester, web developer/designer, film crew for our youtube channel, and tech support. He wears many hats and I couldn't do any of this without him!
Drew and I have an English Springer Spaniel, Hudson (also known as "Huddy") whom we completely adore. If he’s not chasing birds outside, you can find his little snoot sniffing behind each recipe or YouTube video hoping a delicious ingredient falls to the floor (preferably cheese).
I've been cooking for as long as I can remember. From being my mom's helper in the kitchen, to cooking full meals for my family by the time I was 12.
I am a former competitive figure skater so cold ice rinks were where I spent most of my childhood. My dad played ice hockey when he was younger, so he was the one who first taught me how to skate. I skated competitively for most of my childhood then continued skating lessons in my 20's. You can still find me lacing up my skates and hitting the ice a few times a week to skate for fun or coach at my local ice rink. :)
My Most Popular Italian Recipes
Get my top 10 tried and true Italian recipes right to your inbox! From my family to yours.
My Italian Cooking Playlists
I grew up listening to oldies while cooking with my family, and that music still fills my kitchen today. Here are some favorites!
Frequently Asked Questions
Are you Italian?
No 🙂 A lot of people may assume I am, but I’m not. My mom was taught by Italian relatives how to cook, and she taught me those recipes while I was growing up. We also love Italian-American food because it’s a common cuisine in the NY/NJ area, where we are initially from. I never knew any different. Italian-American dishes were what I grew up knowing and loving.
Where can I find you on social media?
Who does your photography and videos for YouTube?
I handle all the photography and food styling for A Simple Palate, while Drew handles the filming for our YouTube videos. 🙂 Although the editing of our videos is my job!
Can I share your recipes on my own website or social media?
I am always happy when anyone wants to spread the word! However, I kindly request that you refrain from sharing my recipes on websites or other platforms. You are welcome to share my photography with a link credited to the original post! Please do not copy or paste my recipes to your blog, site, or any other platform.
Who designed your website?
My husband, Drew! To find more details, head to our Resources for Food Bloggers page.
I was looking for Gumbo recipes and I saw your bowl of Chili. The picture looked really good. So I clicked on it and started watching and glad that I did. So I subscribed.
haha, it’s not quite Gumbo but I am glad you still clicked! And appreciate the subscribing to the channel. Thanks so much, Tommy! 🙂
Do you have a cook book?
Hi Ray, I don’t have a cookbook (yet). Maybe one day, but so glad there is interest!
Made your beef chili.its incredible! Can’t get enough of it.
How many is a serving of your eggplant rollatini recipe. I am counting calories.
Just tasted this sauce with Paccheri pasta! 4 hours simmering and a day in the frig. What a delight!! Sause is dense and rich, with right amoutr of kick due to hot italian sauge. It does not need heavy cream, as that would delute/alter the phenomenal taste of Cento Marzzano tomatoes. Cento allows you to track each can to a specific field where tomatoes were grown. Just amazing. I would advice to use small amout of fresh oregano/basileach each plate to keep them as fresh as possible.
So glad you enjoyed the meat sauce, Voytek! Fresh basil is great with it ☺️
Congratulations
Thank you, Carlos!
I love your recipes,
Thank you so much, Terry! I am so glad to hear it.
74 year old retired chemist here. I run the Insecure Chef on Youtube. I almost never do something like this but I just had to comment about the nasty and unfeeling comment made to you regarding one of your videos, specifically Italian Meat Sauce. The individual seem to accuse you of extending the videos for financial gain and he was apparently displeased with your voice, etc. I’m always confused why people feel obligated to submit criticism of that nature. His second comment was a personal attack on your presentation. Personal is the key word there. If he had some constructive criticism and he thought it might help you improve your presentation, that would be one thing, and most likely would be welcomed. But clearly this individual was there to simply try to bring you down and criticize the work you do. And for that I have no tolerance. If he doesn’t like it, all he has to do is scroll. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I think your videos are excellent and your cooking methods are very learned and I enjoy watching your presentations. As I said up front I almost never do this but it’s so irked me to see that comment that I needed to respond directly to you. If you get a chance stop over and say hello
@TheInsecureChef
Regards.
Al
Al, thank you for the kind words! I will most certainly pop over and say hi on your channel. As far as the comment you came across, not everyone has the nicest things to say as I’m sure you know having a Youtube channel yourself😊 But they are not the majority and that’s what matters. I am grateful for all the kind words I recieve every day on the channel, and I take the not so kind ones with a grain of salt but also an open heart if they have some validity to them I can hopefully learn from them. I appreciate your words and support – truly!
Hi Bethany. I LOVE your recipes and videos. I love to try new recipes for my friends and family and your recipes never disappoint. Your videos are so clean, concise, professional and I love your kitchen background. Again so clean. If I tune into a channel with a cluttered, unkempt kitchen, I immediately move on. Haha. I appreciate that you are calm and don’t talk unnecessarily. Amazing website. Keep on being awesome!😋
Mary, that’s so kind. It means a lot to hear you enjoy the channel! Hopefully we can continue to put our best foot forward in making the future videos the best they can be. Thank you so much!!
My wife and I really enjoy your channel and the purity of your cooking…you make it look so easy! We’re wondering what qt. size Staub Dutch oven that is we see you using?
Thank you and have a wonderful autumn!
Dave
Dave, that means so much!! Thank you. I am so glad you and your wife enjoy the channel 🙂 And The green pot I use is 7 quart. The blue pot I use is 5.5 quart. My 5.5 quart I use for every day recipes, then whip out the green one for larger sauces and soups. Hope this helps!! 🙂
Loved the corn tomatoe side dish. I didn’t have fresh corn, but I did use frozen. I thawed it first. Fresh would have been better. Everybody always brings the go to side. This was such a fresh alternative that goes with everything. I did it with shrimp skewers.
Keep up the great job!!
Hi Billie, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Even with frozen corn I’m sure it was great 🙂 I appreciate you sharing how it went and for the kind support! Thank you!!
Last weekend I made your fresh tomato sauce from the last of the tomatoes from my garden. Spectacular! Also made your meatballs but used 1# each of beef, pork & veal. It’s just the 2 of us, but OMG, the recipe made 50 meatballs 😂. Needless to say to say, many are now in the freezer. They are so incredibly tender and tasty. Thanks for your recipes. We are also enjoying your You Tube channel. Great Work!
hahah, yes it does make a good bit if it’s just two people. But they freeze great so I’m glad you could do that!! Thank you so muhc, Beth! I’m so glad you enjoy the channel 🙂 It means a lot!