Niccoli’s All Italian Blog

I always look forward to the holidays because the family spends the whole day together. The food is great and the different personalities come out because that is who they are. No fake facades, the real deal. The mothers and the food that they prepare is the glue that brings all this together and makes the memories that we have for a life time.

It is hard to understand the place olive oil holds in the culture of Italians until you experience the passion that they have . It shows in the olive oil produced by Fabrizio, Poggio Cappiano. Once you have used it you will understand.

My wife would not use any tomato product but 6 in 1. Once she used La Valle Tomatoes she will not go back to her previous brand. They give the sauce flavor and body like nothing you have used before.

A customer came into the deli the other day and was very suprised to find the olive oil Poggio Cappiano on the shelf. He said, because this oil is so highly recomended that the only place he would be able to find it was new York.

This olive oil should be used for dipping and drizzeling over just about everything you fix to eat. There is no acid after taste.  You actually taste the olives on what ever you have put it on and it is not over powering. It compliments what ever you put it on.

The food editor for the New York Times, Marge Smith, could not say enough good things about this olive oil. It is simply the best olive oil on the market today. In the 50 years of selling olive oil, I agree.

One of my favorite Italian chefs is Giada De Laurentiis, host of Everyday Italian. She has several books that are easy to follow, and meals are usually quick and always delicious. Check out Giada’s “Everyday Italian” and Giada’s “Family Dinners” for wonderful Italian recipes.

Italy by train is an excellent way to see the country whether you have two weeks or two months to travel.

It is a great way to see some of the Italian countryside without the hectic traffic or crowded busses. Service ranges from the “classic” state room trains whose speeds vary to ultra-modern high speed EuroStar Italia trains with world class amenities.

To get the most out of your Traveling time and to see places off your main itinerary, night trains with sleeper cabins can save you money and time, especially if you have a rail pass. The night trains allow a whole days worth of travel while you sleep, so you could include a distant location like Palermo or Lecce to your visit.

The Italian rail service offers numerous passes and packages to travelers as well as accepting international rail passes like Eurail. Single tickets are also cheap enough to add unplanned daytrips to your vacation.

Try this site for more information.

Pizza means different things in different regions. Here is a look at the styles:

Neapolitan. Normally cooked in a wood-fired or brick oven, good Neapolitan pizza emerges with an extremely thin, bubbled crust. Slightly charred areas will offer hints of bitterness to offset the sweet-tangy flavor of tomato sauce and the licorice flavor of julienned basil. Scattered pieces of fresh mozzarella accent, rather than cover, the tomato sauce. A Neapolitan pizza is never served by the slice, and rarely comes out pre-cut.

Chicago. Chicagoans are all about quantity when it comes to pizza. The thick crust is best when made with oil and butter, providing a crisp, bread like texture and buttery flavor. The sauce is on top and the cheese on the bottom, and a bevy of ingredients, ranging from sausage to cooked peppers and onions, are stuffed in between. Fork and knife are required.

California. Seasonal ingredients, often organic and local, define California pizza. The crust — thinner is better — is merely the vehicle for showcasing the bounty of the season. From stinging nettles to orange bergamot, anything is fair game when it comes to toppings for a California pizza.

New York. A true New York pizza will have a blanket of blistered cheese covering a thin crust and a layer of sweet tomato sauce. Too many toppings are sacrilegious to a die-hard New York pizza-lover — nothing should ruin the pure genius of a plain slice. And it tastes better if you fold it in half.

Here are some basic steps to making that perfect pasta:

1. Use a lot of water and a large pot.
2. Salt the water to add flavor and to help the pasta absorb the sauce.
3. Do not add anything else to the water. No oil, no butter, nothing.
4. Bring the water to a rolling boil, add the pasta and cover the pot to make it quickly boiling again. Remove the lid when it begins to boil for the second time.
5. Do not rinse pasta. You want starch on the pasta to help the sauce adhere to it. The only exception is if you are making a cold pasta salad.
6. Checking pasta for doneness by removing a strand or two with a fork and tasting for doneness.

Olive oil has a very distinctive flavor, and has become more prominent in American cooking today.

Grades of olive oils are determined by the methods of extraction and the acid content of the resulting oil. Virgin oils are those obtained from the first pressing of the olive without further refinement.

The finest olive oil is extra virgin, with an acid content of 1%. Following this are superfine at 1.5%, fine at 3%, and virgin at 4%.

Pure olive oils are those which have been extracted by heat. These are of 100% olive oil, but their flavor can result in a harsh, bitter aftertaste.

Pomace olive oil is refined from the final pressings and under heat and pressure. The taste is inferior to other olive oils and should never be substituted for them.

Olive oil becomes rancid very easily and also burns easily.