The Daily Dish: Devastating Earthquake In Italy Destroys Town Famous For Its Pasta Sauce

Devastating Earthquake in Italy Destroys Town Famous for Its Pasta Sauce

At least 73 people have been killed and hundreds more are missing or injured following a devastating 6.2-scale earthquake that struck central Italy early Wednesday morning. Particularly hard hit was the small town of Amatrice, in the Lazio region, which was reduced to rubble.Though fairly remote, Amatrice occupies an important place in Italian culinary culture: Sugo, or salsa, all'amatriciana is an iconic Italian pasta sauce made with bacon-like pieces of pork jowl, olive oil, white wine, chiles, and pecorino.The sauce is so popular that Italy even released a stamp in honor of the dish in 2008. Amatrice is also home to the Festival of the Spaghetti all'Amatriciana, which would have taken place this coming weekend.

The Top-Secret KFC '11 Herbs and Spices' Recipe May Have Just Been Revealed

Since the mid-twentieth century, one of the biggest marketing ploys by Kentucky Fried Chicken was the mysterious 11 herbs and spices used to coat their fried chicken. There have been many attempts to crack the recipe code before, and until now it's stayed under lock and key. But when Joe Ledington, a former KFC employee who is Colonel Sanders' nephew, let Chicago Tribune reporter Jay Jones leaf through a family scrapbook, Jones came upon a formula for an 11-herb-and-spice mix on the back of an old will. He may well have uncovered the secret that the Colonel's descendants have closely guarded all these years. The secret ingredient, according to Ledington, was white pepper. Back in the 1950s, when the recipe was first developed, he says, "no one knew how to use white pepper."

Beijing Restaurant Puts Lady Gaga's Meat Dress on the Menu

Lady Gaga has worn a lot of odd things in her career, but her most iconic outfit was probably the complete ensemble — hat, dress, handbag — made entirely of strips of raw meat. She sported it back in 2010, but it made such an impact that people are still talking about it, and one Beijing restaurant has actually turned it into a menu item. A Beijing hot pot restaurant has taken to serving dishes of raw, sliced mutton, draped over a doll into the shape of a ball gown. The idea is that customers will remove the doll's dress piece by piece, cooking each strip in the hot pot and eventually winding up with a full belly and a naked doll.

This Seafood Restaurant Has a Marine Biologist on Staff

A new "island-themed" restaurant called Ocean Blue that just opened in Sterling, Virginia, takes its décor to the next level. For the past few months, marine biologist James Karanikas has been slowly introducing the species into the tanks. Two 3,000-gallon ocean reef aquariums are inhabited by 150 marine life species and will eventually contain more than 300. The restaurant's centerpiece is a ramen bar, where customers can choose between two broths, a selection of noodles, fresh veggies, and seasonings.

Papa John's Debuts Bite-Sized Cinnamon Rolls
Papa John's has introduced a new dessert to its menu: Cinnamon Pull-Aparts. These are "bite-sized treats" made with sweet-roll dough covered in cinnamon and sugar. They are topped with cinnamon crumbles, baked, and finished with a drizzle of icing. At the same time, the pizza chain is also running a special NFL kickoff offer of two medium two-topping pizzas for $6.99 each