March 2, 2007
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.
Parmesan – Hard-textured cheese, cooked but not pressed, named after the producing areas of Parma and Reggio Emilia, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
Mozzarella - Soft, white cheese with a very delicate flavor. Can be dried to an eating cheese, commonly called Sierra.
Provolone - Whole-milk cheese made from cows milk. Fairly firm in texture, pale yellow in color, its flavor ranges from mild and slightly sweet to strong and tangy.
Ricotta - Unripened cheese made of the whey of other cheeses. Slightly sweet and grainy, it is often used in sweets and as a pasta filling.
Mascarpone - Soft Italian cheese that is a delicately flavored creamed cheese. Often used in the same fashion as whipped cream, it is an important ingredient in Tiramisu.
Salami – Cured meat with varying tastes. Made with pork, salt, spices, garlic and wine.
Sopressata – Salami made with black peppercorns. Comes in Hot (with Red Pepper) and Sweet flavors.
Tonno – Tuna in olive oil.
Italian Sausage – Fresh coarse pork usually flavored with garlic and fennel seed or anise seed. Comes in two styles - hot (flavored
with hot, red peppers) and sweet (without the added heat).
Prosciutto – Ham that has been seasoned, salt cured, and dried.
Mortadella – Sausage originating from Bologna, pink in color, and is studded with cubes of creamy fat and sometimes pistachios.
This fantastic Italian dessert is made with whipped ricotta, powder sugar and a licorice liquer. All this is put into a cannoli shell and dusted with powdered sugar. Bon Appetito!
Don’t these look great?
Or you can buy our Cannoli shells and stuff them yourself!
Politics, taxes and religion are always the top 3 in any culture. It Italy you might want to also avoid bringing up the Mafia, the Italian influence of World War II, criticizing Italian culture, negative Italian stereotypes, It’s also considered rude to inquire about the profession or income of someone you have just met. Family concerns are considered off limits along with off color jokes.
But the most important may be not to make negative comments about the local soccer team.
The Italian people are always happy to discuss the architecture of the area and of Italy in general. Art, local and national, also enjoy being among the most common subjects.
Since wine & food are such a huge part of day to day life, you may find this topic seems to be something you are always discussing. Sports, especially Soccer (called Football in most of the world), is a great area of conversation. Italians also really enjoy talking about these subjects in your home country too.
Conversation is an art form in Italy. You can walk along the open cafes in almost any town in Italy and hear people engaged in intense, animated discussions on many different matters. Listen in and you will hear subjects like Italian culture, art, films, food, wine and sports.
There isn’t often a moment of silence in the course of a conversation. It is truly an experience to just listen and observe, even when you can’t understand!
Tiramisu is translated as “pick-me-up” in Italian. This favorite dessert is known for the high energy contents, eggs and sugar with the caffeine in a strong espresso coffee.
There are many different stories about the origin of Tiramisu. It’s a layered cake so some people place its origin in Tuscany, where another famous layered Italian dessert is very popular. It’s called “Zuppa Inglese” (English Soup). It is not English and it is not a soup. Instead is a simple cake of ladyfingers or sponge cake, soaked in liquor, and alternated layers of chocolate and egg custard.
Of course, layered cakes have been around for long time, but the inspired idea of Tiramisu is not in the technique of layering, but in the components. This is the true innovation in Tiramisu!
Fresh, sun-dried or puréed, tomatoes lie at the heart of Italian cooking. The combination of tomatoes, pasta and parmesan cheese make the beginning to many, many Italian dishes.
Fresh tomatoes are grown in many areas and the taste of the tomatoes is just as varied. Things like soil, temperature during ripening and of course which seeds are used, are the basis for the taste of the tomatoes.
Here’s a great site for understanding tomatoes a little better!
Biscotti are crisp Italian cookies often containing nuts or flavored with anise. Traditionally, biscotti are made by baking cookie dough in two long slabs and cutting them into half inch thick pieces. Then they are reheated allowing them to dry them out, the longer the heating, the harder the cookies. Originally the cookies were twice-baked so they could be stored for long periods of time.
Biscotti come in many varieties. In different regions of Italy, biscotti are prepared or flavoured differently. In Tuscany they are often eaten with vin santo, though in other parts of the world (particularly the United States) biscotti are considered an essential part of the espresso bar experience. The generally hard texture of biscotti makes the cookie ideal for dipping in coffee or wine.