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Popular Italian Food

When people think of popular Italian food they most likely think of spaghetti, lasagna, or tortellini. However, the popular Italian food in Italy is actually a little different and much more diverse.

A very popular Italian dish is the minestrone soup. This soup makes excellent use of one of the most popular ingredients in Italian food, beans. Beans are widely used in Italian food and are the feature ingredient in many soups, not just the minestrone. Along with beans are nuts as another popular ingredient. The main nut preferred for Italian food is the pine nut. This nut is used to not only accent pasta dishes, but also as a main ingredient in popular desserts. But, the most common and popular use of the nuts is in pesto sauce. Nothing says Italian food like a good pesto sauce.

Another popular Italian food ingredient is rice. By far the most popular use for this ingredient is in the signature Italian food dish of risotto. Here rice is mixed with broth, vegetables and spices to make a very unique and flavorful dish. Risotto is widely known as the most popular appetizer in Italian food and different regions take great pride in their individual risottos. Rice is also used in many different soups and stews throughout Italy.

The most ubiquitous of all popular Italian food ingredients is olive oil. The best olive oil is known as extra virgin olive oil and many Italian food chefs rely strictly on extra virgin olive oil. The difference between extra virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil is the acidity. In order to be classified as extra virgin the olive oil must not contain more than one percent acidity. Virgin olive oil on the other hand cannot have more than two percent acidity. Extra virgin olive oil is by far the most popular in Italian food where it is used not only to cook food in, but also as a dressing for salad and a dipping option for bread.

When discussing popular Italian food it is essential to talk about the most popular breads and pastries. Breads serve an important role in Italian food. They can be used as appetizers, sides to a meal, and desserts. The most popular breads are flavored with herbs, cheeses, and sun-dried tomatoes. An excellent dessert bread in Italian food is the biscotti which means “twice baked”. This popular dessert is more like a biscuit or cookie and is often flavored with almonds and spices. Fruit can be added to the biscotti and a popular choice is cherries. Biscotti are very versatile in Italian food, being served for breakfast with coffee or as an after dinner treat.

There is much more to Italian food than just pasta and sauce. Italian food is a cuisine of diversity. When traveling in Italy it is often amusing to see the stark difference between what Italian food is popular in America and what Italian food is popular in Italy. If you want to try some different Italian food you certainly can’t go wrong with these time tested favorites.

Southern Cooking Brings Soul to Food

I was born and raised in the heart of the Deep South. From as far back as I can remember I remember long summer afternoons spent drinking iced tea and shelling peas and butterbeans on my grandmother’s porch. I have moved on from my roots and have made my way into other regions of the world. One thing, however, that has remained constant in my life is my deep and abiding love for southern cooking and cuisine.

I was probably well into my teen years before I realized that tea could be served any other way than loaded with sugar and over ice. It was about that same time that I realized some folks would eat vegetables that hadn’t been soaked in batter, dredged in cornmeal, and deep fat fried. Southern cooking is not for the faint of heart though it can cause many hearts to grow faint. One thing that can be said is that you’ll never find anything else like it on earth.

People in the south learned to make do with little in many instances. Some of the poorest people in America live in the southern part of the country. Of course, you will find that many of these people despite their poverty are also among the most generous. The same can be said of food. It’s the one thing that seems to be in ample supply in most southern homes and very few will turn you away with an empty stomach.

Perhaps it’s the seasonings that are often used when cooking southern food. From the crab boil and gumbo file of Cajun Cuisine to the secret ingredient that almost every southern kitchen contains for their fried chicken recipes (and no one on earth can fry chicken like a born and bred southern grandma). Perhaps it’s the Sunday church dinners where everyone shares a little of what they have with others or the love that goes into preparing these meals that are shared with friends and family. Whatever the case may be, if you ever have the occasion to experience real southern cooking, do not pass it up. You might shave a day off your life, but a good southern fried chicken leg is really living and well worth the sacrifice if you ask me.

Of course it would be remiss to mention southern cooking without bringing up some of the more delicious desserts that seem to be perfection for the south. I mentioned banana pudding above but there are so many more. Pralines are a perfect for those living down around New Orleans as is bread pudding. A little to the east there are grandma’s who have taken their lemon icebox pie recipes to the grave with them so coveted were these delicious deserts and the same holds true for pecan pies as well. We should never forget the flavorful Mississippi Mud cake though, and so many other wonderfully delicious treats that southern cooking has introduced to the world at large.

Favorite vegetables in the heart of the south as I mentioned above included peas and butterbeans, snap beans, corn, summer squash (after all, it’s summer all year in the south), and okra (fried or boiled in many southern kitchens). Not all vegetables were deep fried though few were off limits. I remember eating my share of fried okra, fried squash, and yes, fried green tomatoes. Life was good back when calories weren’t counted and no one really worried about clogging arteries. While I wouldn’t make these a daily dish in any household, I certainly would recommend trying them out if you ever find the opportunity.

Another great thing about southern cooking is the wonderful fried seafood that seems to abound. From fried fish (almost any variety works well when it’s southern fried) to fried oysters, seafood just seems to taste so much better in the south. If you are hoping to learn some of the southern cooking and cuisine you will most likely need to order your spices and have them shipped unless your grocery store has a rather extensive ‘exotic’ foods selection. You can sometimes find great southern seasonings on the International food aisles in grocery stores as well. If you want to really treat your family to an outstanding meal, you should really try southern cooking for the night.

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Quick and Easy Lunches for the Cooking Challenged

Let’s face it, cooking is not a top priority in the lives of every man, woman, or child on the planet. In fact, far too people have made learning to cook a priority in their lives. This means that we often exist on convenience foods and boxed mixes rather than taking the effort to prepare healthy meals for our families and our own personal enjoyment.

The same holds true for lunches when we often resort to a can of soup or box of macaroni and cheese or some other such product rather than putting our creative efforts into making a quick and easy yet delicious lunch. You will see many ideas in this article and the hope is that these ideas will not only get you off to a great start for ending the lunch rut we all seem to find ourselves in at some time or another but also to try new things on your own.

First of all, not all great lunches require actual cooking in order to prepare. Some of them will require the use of the microwave and some of them will need to be cooked or at least prepared before hand and reheated. The choices are virtually limitless once you understand the creative concept that must be in place. You should also find that many of these ideas are so simple you will wonder why on earth you have never thought of them. I certainly hope that some of these ideas will become main features within your own home.

Lettuce wraps. These mike delightfully delicious lunch treats and the filling can be prepared ahead of time, which leaves only reheating the filling and wrapping when you’re ready to eat. This is a fun lunch to share with your little ones and it teaches them that lettuce is much more versatile than people often give it credit for being. Some people choose to go with a teriyaki inspired filling; my family likes taco inspired fillings for our lettuce rolls. You are perfectly free to come up with a favorite filling of your very own.

Try sandwiches with different breads. Believe it or not, my children love trying new things. It’s a rare trait for which I am extremely grateful. Believe me I understand all too well how fortunate I am. My youngest however, has a little difficulty with thick or crusty bread. Her favorite sandwich choice has become Hawaiian sweet rolls. We put the meat, cheese, mustard, and pickle in her roll as if it were a bun and she’s thrilled. Other great ideas include hollowing out crusty rolls and filling them with roast beef and cheddar. You can broil this in your oven for a few minutes for a rare sandwich treat. The cooking part is very minimal and you do not have to have in depth knowledge of anything to prepare or enjoy these simple treats. Other great bread ideas include croissants with ham and cheese or chicken salad, taco pitas (another great favorite in our household), and paninis (this works really well if you have a George Foreman grill or a panini press).

While this is by no means the end all be all guide to cooking quick and easy lunches it is good food for thought. The hope is that this will get your own creative juices flowing so that you can prepare wonderful lunches for your family without needing to do too terribly much heavy cooking in the process.

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Making Italian Food With Pasta

For many Italian food lovers and aspiring Italian food chefs, the first dish to be attempted from home is typically a pasta dish. Pasta is known as an Italian food that is easy to make. However, homemade Italian food dishes with pasta often end up falling flat. Here are a few things to keep in mind when preparing pasta at home.

First of all, your attempt at Italian food will only be as good as the pasta you use to make it with. When shopping for your pasta make sure you are buying a good brand that uses only quality ingredients. For instance, if buying dried pasta you should only buy brands that use just semolina flour. Any other type of dried pasta will taste like counterfeit Italian food. A good quality pasta will have a rough surface. The texture of the pasta will determine if it will be able to hold onto the sauce that it is served with. Smooth pasta is an instant indicator that you are dealing with an inferior brand. It is also important that the pasta be dense and heavy for its size.

If the pasta is too light it will fall apart when it is cooked. You want to make sure to avoid the mass produced and cheap pasta; otherwise your Italian food will not be satisfying. When shopping for fresh pasta you want to make sure that you pay attention to the expiration date, unlike dried pasta, fresh pasta does not have a long shelf life. Take a look at the pasta and if it looks cheap then it is. If it looks to have a good quality color and texture and is heavy, then that is the pasta that will give you the best tasting Italian food. The best bet when shopping for pasta is to see if there is a bakery that specializes in Italian food. Many such bakeries make pasta fresh daily and the quality will far out do anything that you will find at the store. The best way to get authentic Italian food is to get it from Italians.

Once you have bought your pasta you are halfway to enjoying good Italian food. The most important thing to remember when cooking pasta is to not overcook it. Mushy pasta is never good. For good tasting Italian food you want the pasta to be tender, yet firm to the teeth. Fresh pasta will take less time to cook than dried pasta. You want to make sure and use a large pot with an abundance of water. Bring the water to a boil and then liberally add salt. If you don’t salt the water then the pasta will taste bland compared to the sauce it is served with. After you’ve salted the water it is time to add the pasta. If you have plenty of water that is brought to a vigorous boil before adding the pasta then you shouldn’t have problems with the pasta sticking and it should cook evenly. Good Italian food sauce makes use of the water that was used to boil the pasta, so make sure to save a cup of it to add to the sauce. Also, don’t ever rinse the pasta after you’ve cooked it, otherwise you will be stripping away the flavor of your Italian food.

Hopefully these tips will help you make better Italian food. If you haven’t tried preparing Italian food yourself then give it a try starting with the most fundamental Italian food, pasta.

Which Foods are Common for Mexico’s Day of the Dead

Which Foods are Common for Mexico’s Day of the Dead

Mexico welcomes departed souls that come back to earth, at Day of the Dead celebrations. This occurs every year on November 1 and 2nd. Families gather at their homes and cemeteries to remember their relatives. Many Americans have seen Skeletons when reading about the celebration, and automatically think it is Mexico’s version of Halloween, but it is not meant to be scary, it is a time to reflect and honor the deceased.
Many Americans have no idea of how much effort is put into this holiday. Women spend hours organizing flowers for gravesites. Music can be often heard, because families play the deceased favorite songs. Food is a very important part of honoring them.

In homes, families make alters and cover them with flowers and burn incense for the spirits to enjoy. Usually there are photos of the deceased and statues of saints. Also on the table are fruits and vegetables along with other foods that are later given away and eaten. The food is made to please the spirits, so naturally the best foods to make are the ones that the deceased enjoyed the most on earth. Families make the deceased favorite dishes. It is popular to see Moles and Tamales made for the Day of the Dead celebration because they are hard to make dishes and are usually for special occasions.

Breads are common in Day of the Dead celebrations. The breads are sweet and rich with eggs, but they vary in different regions of the country. Bakeries hire extra workers to make more bread during this time. The breads are made into different shapes. Bread that is round shape is the most common, but they can also be shaped as people and animals to represent the deceased.

Sugar Candy skulls are popular amongst children. It is a big treat for them similar to Christmas and Easter candies. Sugar skulls are traditional folk art that is from central and southern Mexico which is used every year to celebrate Day of the Dead. Vendors sell many colorful sugar skulls the week before the celebration. The skulls are made by the sugar being pressed into molds and then dried. Once the skulls are dried, they are decorated with colorful icing and even sometimes with non-edible items such as colorful feathers and sequins. Although the skulls are popular, traditional Halloween candy is now competing with the sugar skulls making the skulls hard to find in the South of Mexico.

Besides the sugar skulls, chocolate is another common favorite. Pumpkin candies can also be found where there are children celebrating the day. It consists of big green Mexican pumpkins that are grown for specifically making the candy.

It takes much planning and hard work to take part in this event. It makes the families proud to remember and honor their family members. If ever in Mexico, try to visit during this time of year. It is beautiful to see how much love and respect people have for their loved ones that have passed away.