Any Italians in the house?

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SizzlininIN

Master Chef
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
Messages
5,022
Location
USA,Indiana
Anybody catch the Emeril Live show that showcased the winners of his Italian cooking contest? I was glued to the couch. I love Italian food! I def. plan on trying these recipes myself.

I'm wondering if any fellow members are Italian or related to an Italian. I'd love it if you could share a recipe that is a must at family gatherings or in your own home.

I once posted on a local website to try to find someone who cooks Italian that would be willing to teach me but no luck. I don't think there are many in the area I'm living in. I do think I'll get ahold of the college and suggest it though. They already have a Japanese and Chinese cooking class......which I do plan on taking next time they come up.
 
Ciao

Come va? I didn't see that Emeril but it sounds great. I'm addicted to Italian food (just bought, yet another Italian cookbook this past weekend), as I married into an Italian family, thus becming "IBM" or "Italian by Marriage." I could eat Italian 3 meals a day, just about every day (but than again I could say that about most cuisines of the world, I'm a food lover :mrgreen:).

I'm on my way out the door right now, but I'll post a couple must have recipes here when I return for you (and everyone). Feel free to ask me anything you''d like to know about Italian food.

Arrivederci!
 
Hi Sizz,

my dh is Italian, and I've learned to make many of the things his mom use to fix for him and his brothers. You will find however that with each Italian family the recipes will vary. My m-i-l's food was very different than what most people find in an Italian eatery...Her ravioli sauce was a deep rich brown color not red, pesto was not serve often, but was much the same as others but she topped hers off with chopped tomatoes accross the top of the pasta, plus a sprinkle of more toasted pine nuts. She made a wonderful rice torta that my kids have me make for every party and for birthdays..We make our own ravioli, but, do purchase the sheets of pasta from an Italian deli when time is short. Focaccia or Fugazza as we call it is a staple for all get togethers..If I can help in some way, please ask, I love sharing and passing on what I learned from a sharp lovely lady and from my mom.
kadesma
 
SizzlininIN said:
kadesma....whats Focaccia or Fugazza?
Sizz,
foccacia is an Italian flat bread, it's easy and delicious, we make it on the thin side,and cut into squares, to make a single slice type sandwich then, top with any Italian lunch meats, such as mortadella, coppa, salami, and Italian cheese of some sort..If baked in a smaller pan, it gets fuller and can be sliced through to make a two slice of bread sandwich..either way it's yummy.
Foccacia,,MY very first recipe from an Italian friend..
4-c. a/p flour
2-Tab. salt
2-packets of yeast
2-c.lukewarm water
2-Tab. Evoo
Mix altogether til tacky. Let rise two hrs. til double covered. Dough should still be tacky when you turn it out onto a floured board. You will find many say to oil your hands to knead the dough, I just dampen mine and then knead about 10 times. Oil a large cookie sheet with sides, put dough in pan and dampen hands again and just pat the dough into the pan, it will fight you so just let it rest about 5 min and try again..I don't worry if it isn't right into the corners, as it rises it tends to fill in, just come as close as you can..Then dimple it all over with your finger tips or knuckles, and brush on a layer of evoo...cover with a plastic wrap that you've sprayed with pam and let rise another 1-1/2, do not let it go over the sides of your pan. Carefully redimple and re oil, then give a light sprinkle of either kosher or gray or even table salt. Heat oven to 400, if you have a pizza stone put it in the oven to get hot, then place the cookie sheet in the oven, spritz with water and cook ten min. spritz again cook another 10 min spritz, finish bakeing..In all it should take about 20-25 min. depending on your oven...You want it to be a nice light golden brown. Remove from oven and immediatly brush with more evoo and give another sprinkle of salt. It sounds complecated, but it's easy and the dough is very forgiving...I also have another recipe that make a sponge first and uses white wine..If you would like it, I'll post for you.
enjoy:)
kadesma
 
Yo! *combing hair* Im Italian! *combing chest* Im tired of Italian food though. I've had it soooooooooo much. I often look for something different. *oiling up for a few hours in the sun*
 
i'm a smidgen italian and i love love love italian food.
i missed the shoe though grrrrrrrr. well i guess i'll have to
catch it as a rerun.
 
-DEADLY SUSHI- said:
Yo! *combing hair* Im Italian! *combing chest* Im tired of Italian food though. I've had it soooooooooo much. I often look for something different. *oiling up for a few hours in the sun*

lmao - you're too funny sush
 
-DEADLY SUSHI- said:
Yo! *combing hair* Im Italian! *combing chest* Im tired of Italian food though. I've had it soooooooooo much. I often look for something different. *oiling up for a few hours in the sun*

Me thinks someone needs a cold shower:LOL: Thanks for the laugh sush!
 
Hi all,

Sushi - that was hillarious it made me think of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever :ROFLMAO:

Greens of all sorts are really popular in Italy everything from kale to thistles (aka nettles - the poison is banished with proper cooking). Here is a super easy spinach recipe that I often multiply for larger crowds.

Spinach with pine nuts
This is a lovely little side dish to go with endless things, it’s largely an Italian dish and is simplicity itself.

6 cups fresh spinach leaves, washed, cleaned and dried as much as possible

1/3 cup pine nuts (pre-shelled)

a pinch of nutmeg

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (both optional)

a drizzle of good quality olive oil



To begin heat a few drops of the olive oil in a medium sized frying pan over medium-low heat (or just plain low if your stovetop veers more towards molten hot than icy cold), or coat the pan well with a shot of Pam spray. Allow heating for a moment or two and then add in the pine nuts. Watch them like a hawk, they can burn instantly, you want a “just there” hint of gold, not campfire marshmallow black. Stir often until the desired colour is reached and then transfer to an uncovered bowl.

Next (or meanwhile) steam the spinach in a steamer insert or one of those petal steamers that unfold and expand, over a pot of boiling water (but not enough water to actually touch the bottom of the steamer). Cover and steam for a couple of minutes you want the spinach to be just slightly wilted (not soggy and falling apart).

Once cooked transfer the spinach to a mixing bowl and season it to taste with the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Divide between four individual bowls (or more if you are serving it as one of many side dishes), drizzle with a little olive oil (if you want) and toss over the toasted pine nuts.

This can also be stirred through a pot of cooked pasta; I like something like farfalle or even buckwheat noodles. The option of sprinkling a little Parmesan is entirely up to you. Should you have any spinach left over, it is divine – pine nuts and all – baked on a pizza crust or used as a sandwich filler. Enjoy!

Serves 4 as a side dish
 
As soon as I started dating my husband I tried to learn as much as I could about Italian cooking and culture, one of the neatest websites I encountered is "Italiansrus.com". It has a very decent sized collection of recipes - oh and you can swing by the online store and pick-up a "Got Wine?" t-shirt!

http://www.italiansrus.com/resources/famousitalians.htm

As one would gather from the name it is a thesaurus of all things Italian :mrgreen:
 
Thank You guys!
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LOL! And..... yes. I have combed my chest hair before. :rolleyes: No.... im not a gorilla. Just want to look good.
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