Devil Doc
When Death smiles, Corpsmen smile back
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2005
- Messages
- 11,594
There’s no such thing as Italian food. There are 7 distinct culinary regions in Italy, plus Italian American cuisine. Italian American cuisine is the bastardization of the food of Southern Italy. When my immigrant ancestors arrived in America, they found an abundance , but unfortunately, to their palates, it lacked the intensity of flavor that they had been use to, so they improvised. Italian restaurants in this country are of that ilk. There are, of course,exceptions.
My family comes from two different regions. My fathers side is from Lazio. This state includes Rome. So, I could be considered Roman. From my paternal Grandmother, I learned to cook meat. Poultry,especially capon,( castrated rooster) veal and lamb.
My mother is from Sicily, by way of Tunisia. There’s a French, N. African influence in her methods. From her I learned to cook fish, lots of fruit and produce, red sauces and couscous.
Rules of engagement:
1. We only open two cans in the Italian kitchen. San Marinzano tomatoes and anchovies. Everything else is fresh.
2. Use Extra Virgin Olive oil. I use Colivita. It’s consistent from year to year,reasonably priced and available nationally. If you’re trying to duplicate a dish from a certain region, then find an EVOO from that area.
3. Buy imported pasta from Italy. I use Barilla. If it’s good enough for the Italian Olympic team, it’s good enough for you. Follow their directions on the package. They cook more of it than anyone, so they know what their talking about.
4. Use imported cheeses. Every Italian kitchen has Romano and Parmesano Regiano cheese. Domestic substitutes will be disappointing. Romano is reasonably priced. The Parm will shock you at $15 or more a pound.
5. Use whole milk ricotta when called for. This is no place for low fat anything. This ain’t diet food. Fat, is what makes food taste good. And fer Christ’s sakes don’t substitute cottage cheese.
I’m sure there are things I’ve forgotten. Cooking is second nature to me. So let’s start with something simple, Marinara sauce.
Literally translated Marinara means sailor. In Naples, the wives of sailors would wait until they could see their husbands fishing vessels on the horizon, before starting this simple condiment for pasta. Hence the name.
You will need:
4qt. Non reactive sauce pan.. I use Le Creuset or All-Clad. There is no better cookware. It’s expensive, but everything else is inferior.
2 or three cloves of garlic sliced thin. Please, do not chop up the garlic. Give your guests the choice of whether they want to eat it or not.
2 28oz cans of San Marizano tomatoes. There is no substitute. Brand doesn’t matter.
EVOO
Salt and pepper to taste.
A chiffonade of fresh basil
Method:
You may prepare your tomatoes for cooking 3 different ways. Pour the contents of the cans into a suitable bowel and crush with your hands. Run them through a sieve. Process them in a food processor, gently.
You’ll get three very different results. You’ll have to decide which suits you. I prefer crush by hand. My wasp wife prefers the food processor. My mom, put them through a sieve. This makes a much thinner sauce, wich she prefered.
Cover the bottom of your sauce pan with EVOO. Fry garlic till golden brown. What ever you do, don’t burn the garlic. If you do,start over. Add the tomatoes, the oil should be hot enough to make the tomatoes sizzle when you first add them. Add salt and pepper to taste, simmer with the cover slightly off the pot for about an hour. Stir frequently, and that’s it. Prepare your pasta, put it in a warm bowl add enough of the sauce to coat. Grate some Parm all over and sprinkle the chiffonade of Basil on top. You may add some red pepper flakes. Don’t drown the pasta in sauce. The pasta is the thing.
I hope some of you try this. I'll be posting more complicated recipes in this thread in the coming weeks.
Bono appetito
Doc.
My family comes from two different regions. My fathers side is from Lazio. This state includes Rome. So, I could be considered Roman. From my paternal Grandmother, I learned to cook meat. Poultry,especially capon,( castrated rooster) veal and lamb.
My mother is from Sicily, by way of Tunisia. There’s a French, N. African influence in her methods. From her I learned to cook fish, lots of fruit and produce, red sauces and couscous.
Rules of engagement:
1. We only open two cans in the Italian kitchen. San Marinzano tomatoes and anchovies. Everything else is fresh.
2. Use Extra Virgin Olive oil. I use Colivita. It’s consistent from year to year,reasonably priced and available nationally. If you’re trying to duplicate a dish from a certain region, then find an EVOO from that area.
3. Buy imported pasta from Italy. I use Barilla. If it’s good enough for the Italian Olympic team, it’s good enough for you. Follow their directions on the package. They cook more of it than anyone, so they know what their talking about.
4. Use imported cheeses. Every Italian kitchen has Romano and Parmesano Regiano cheese. Domestic substitutes will be disappointing. Romano is reasonably priced. The Parm will shock you at $15 or more a pound.
5. Use whole milk ricotta when called for. This is no place for low fat anything. This ain’t diet food. Fat, is what makes food taste good. And fer Christ’s sakes don’t substitute cottage cheese.
I’m sure there are things I’ve forgotten. Cooking is second nature to me. So let’s start with something simple, Marinara sauce.
Literally translated Marinara means sailor. In Naples, the wives of sailors would wait until they could see their husbands fishing vessels on the horizon, before starting this simple condiment for pasta. Hence the name.
You will need:
4qt. Non reactive sauce pan.. I use Le Creuset or All-Clad. There is no better cookware. It’s expensive, but everything else is inferior.
2 or three cloves of garlic sliced thin. Please, do not chop up the garlic. Give your guests the choice of whether they want to eat it or not.
2 28oz cans of San Marizano tomatoes. There is no substitute. Brand doesn’t matter.
EVOO
Salt and pepper to taste.
A chiffonade of fresh basil
Method:
You may prepare your tomatoes for cooking 3 different ways. Pour the contents of the cans into a suitable bowel and crush with your hands. Run them through a sieve. Process them in a food processor, gently.
You’ll get three very different results. You’ll have to decide which suits you. I prefer crush by hand. My wasp wife prefers the food processor. My mom, put them through a sieve. This makes a much thinner sauce, wich she prefered.
Cover the bottom of your sauce pan with EVOO. Fry garlic till golden brown. What ever you do, don’t burn the garlic. If you do,start over. Add the tomatoes, the oil should be hot enough to make the tomatoes sizzle when you first add them. Add salt and pepper to taste, simmer with the cover slightly off the pot for about an hour. Stir frequently, and that’s it. Prepare your pasta, put it in a warm bowl add enough of the sauce to coat. Grate some Parm all over and sprinkle the chiffonade of Basil on top. You may add some red pepper flakes. Don’t drown the pasta in sauce. The pasta is the thing.
I hope some of you try this. I'll be posting more complicated recipes in this thread in the coming weeks.
Bono appetito
Doc.
