Tag Archives: Italian Cooking
Cooking with Friends!
When I was in Italy, one of the most enjoyable parts of the day or evening was cooking lunch or dinner with friends. We would talk, cook and drink wine and then enjoy the meal. Many times my friend would cook for me and I would help a little. This was a new concept for me because generally when home, I am the one doing the cooking and someone else will help with the cleanup! Reality, it is not as much fun as cooking with family or friends!
My friend in Italy suggested I learn Italian. So upon my return for …
Garlic Goodness
garlic from eatingwell.com
One word: Garlic. I use garlic in so many things when I cook. Tomato sauce, mashed potatoes, stir-fried veggies; they all taste so much better when I add a little (but usually a lot more than a little) garlic.
For the amount of garlic I use when I cook it’s surprising that I don’t own a garlic press. Chopping garlic the old fashion way, mincing and slicing on my wooden cutting board, works pretty well. I still get the same delicious flavor, it just takes a little longer and leaves my fingers smelling like garlic for a couple days, …
Simmer Down
Cooking is fun and rewarding, but at times it can also feel overwhelming. Between chopping, peeling, sautéing and stirring I often feel like I need four more hands to get everything right. A pot of simmering sauce left alone a moment too long can be scorched to ruin before we even realize.
And what about those sauces, soups and stews that need your constant attention for multiple hours on end? I for one would rather not stand in front of the stove, spoon in hand, for half the day and stir without rest. But, if it’s all for a fabulous outcome, …
Prima Pasta
One of my favorite comfort foods has always been pasta. No matter how you serve it, with butter and melted parmesan, or doused in sweet red marinara sauce, it’s always satisfying and delicious. It may sound strange to some but one of my favorite ways to have pasta growing up was casserole-style, mixed with tuna fish, mayonnaise and dill pickles, mmm. And I can’t forget to mention my mother’s scrumptious pasta salads that are the staple at most of our barbecue’s all summer long.
As of late, pasta has gotten a bad rep. Many of us hold the noodle accountable for …
James Beard Award winner, Marcella Hazen teaches us about Insaporire
Insaporire: “to make tasty…what you do to draw out and develop the flavor of a single or several ingredients.”
This past week, the James Beard Foundation celebrated the legacy of old and new chef’s alike. All the celebration, James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award winner Marcella Hazan introduced fresh pure flavors of Italian cooking to Americans. Along with writing six cookbooks with her husband Victor, and teaching numerous cooking classes, she also introduced us to balsamic vinegar along with many others new “tasty” Italian ingredients.
She encouraged me and countless others to re-think how we cooked. What good …
