After the extravagance of December, January is the month for cutting back. Resolutions abound, as we promise ourselves to spend less, eat less, and exercise more. But when chef Vincent Scotto of Scopa takes over the stoves at the Beard House this month, diets be damned. Scotto's robust Italian food doesn't come in small portions, and we bet you'll stop worrying about that after your first seductively delicious bite.

Scotto, a graduate of Johnson & Wales, got his start as sous-chef at Al Forno in Rhode Island under Beard Award-winners Joanne Killeen and George Germon (1993 American Express Best Chef: Northeast). It was there, incidentally, that he learned to make the grilled pizzas that have since become a signature item at Scopa. As Hal Rubenstein wrote in New York, "No one in town makes a better grilled pizza crust-thin as a bad excuse and crisp as an unforgiving response." After three years at Al Forno, Scotto went straight to the source, traveling to Venice to work at the renowned Ristorante Vini al Covo. He discovered the foodways of Tuscany firsthand and incorporated the region's restraint, its genius for simple flavors into his own cooking. Returning to the States after that eye-opening year, Scotto spent time at Bacco, the Brennan family's Italian place in New Orleans with just a breath of the Big Easy in its food, adding Cajun to his culinary vocabulary. In 1993, he moved back home to New York to run the kitchen at Fresco, a warm Italian eatery, and quickly won a devoted following.

Today, as chef proprietor at Scopa, Scotto continues to make diners very happy. Daniel Young of the Daily News described his food as "original and big," singling out the onion salad as a "wondrous surprise...a showstopper." Rubenstein went for "a deliriously seductive ragoût of onions, leeks, scallions, garlic, cherry peppers, and olive oil. This is a great pasta dish," while WCBS radio's Bob Lape summed up his experience in three letters: "Wow!"

Go ahead. Cut yourself some slack. Give "Sugarbusters" or "The Zone" a rest for the night. Frankly, as your surrogate Italian grandmother, we think you look too skinny anyway. (And believe us, this meal will be worth any amount of calories.)