A few things I learned in Italy about Italian food

[Yakuta]

Hi YankeeinSeattle the author whose name slipped your mind is Rick Bayless and yes his cooking shows are great (they air on PBS) and his book is great and so is his restaurant in Chicago where I live (It's called Fontera Grill).

 

[subfuscpersona]

-"Marinara Sauce"... They do exist, but they are sauces with seafood, as "marinara" indicates something to deal with ocean. "Marinara sauce" as you guys know is simply referred to "Sugo pomodoro" (Tomato sauce), or just simply "Sugo".

Thanks! I've always been totally confused by this nomenclature. To me, "marinara" has *something* to do with seafood. I can never remember that, for many, it refers to a tomato sauce (with nothing from the ocean in it)

I can't understand how an adjective connoting seafood has transmuted into one connoting tomatoes. Any ideas from you experts out there?

 

[lindatooo]

Thank you all for the wonderful posts! Unfortunately now my tummy is growling and there is drool all over my keyboard!

I've tasted a few Thai and Indian dishes and loved them mostly but I'm certain they were very much Americanized. Can someone recommend a restaurant in or around Portland Oregon which would most likely offer "true to the cuisine" fare?

Thanks!

 

[licia]

Probably many of the recipes from other countries started out as authentic as possible considering some of the original ingredients were probably not available. I have no problem with anything being authentic or not - just that it is as good as it can be. If a different ingredient makes it better, that is fine with me - I'm no purist when it comes to food.

 

[buckytom]

well said licia, and this is a great thread urmaniac, thanks.

just remember that whenever anyone speaks of original french cuisine, remind them that it owes its beginnings to the italian born wife of the french king henry II, catherine dei medici. so even haute french cuisine isn't french, but italian based, just like many american dishes.

i do not recommend beginning this arguement in paris, however.

and if you keep going, italian food owes it's beginnings to the greeks and arabs.

 

[ironchef]

Thanks! I've always been totally confused by this nomenclature. To me, "marinara" has *something* to do with seafood. I can never remember that, for many, it refers to a tomato sauce (with nothing from the ocean in it)

I can't understand how an adjective connoting seafood has transmuted into one connoting tomatoes. Any ideas from you experts out there?

From what I learned, the name marinara does not refer to having any seafood in the sauce, but because it was often served to sailors when they returned from the sea. A lot of Italian dishes/sauces get their names from the significance of why it was created and not necessarily from the ingredients in the dish itself. The sauce originated in Naples and was also served on top of pizza, which also came from Naples.