Appetizers:
Caprese Tartlets
Baked Fontina
Salads:
Orzo with Sun-Dried Tomato
Caprese Pasta Salad
Italian Deli Salad
Meatless (almost) Meals:
Linguine and Clam Sauce
Angel Hair Pasta with Arugula
Pizza with Ricotta
Pasta with Chickpeas
Butternut Squash Lasagna
Baked Stuffed Shells
Eggplant Parmesan
Lemony Shrimp Scampi Pasta
The Real Deal:
Italian Sausage Lasagna Roll Ups
Chicken Puttanesca
Panko Crusted Chicken Stuffed
Italian Meatloaf
Old Classic Meatballs and Sauce
New Classic Meatballs and Sauce
Braciole
Sicilian Rice Balls (Arancini)
Sides:
Kalamata Olive Garlic Bread
Italian Grinder
Baked Zucchini Sticks
Minestrone Soup
Homemade:
Egg Noodles
Lasagna Noodles
Linguini
Ricotta
Sweet Stuff:
Biscotti
Ricotta Cheesecake
Angeletti
Italian Rice Pie
Tiramisu
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I spent a good deal of my teenage years with two Italian families and
there is where I learned to cook. My very basic cooking skills have evolved from this.
Italian recipes require very basic ingredients, the fresher, the better. The meats are processed, but
in a good way. When you read the ingredients on a can of italian tomatoes, it says 'tomatoes' and nothing else.
The cheeses are amazing and varied (and you can add Parmesan to just about any recipe). The pasta is so
varied and for different reasons: shells hold fillings, lasagna sheets stay flat, the ribbed pastas hold
the sauce, etc. The basic herbs of Italian food are basil, orgegano, and garlic.
I've been to Italy several times and the foods vary greatly. In northern Italy (close to the Tirol area of Austria) the foods
are made with a lot of cream sauces rather than tomato, and the sauces are only lightly flavored. As you move down towards the south,
you encounter richer, more of the tomato sauces until you get to the southern part of Italy where you have the spicey highly flavorful
dishes. Italians take full advantage of local foods - so the cheeses will change from sheeps milk, goats milk to cows milk.. and the
vegetables change by season and location. Also the variety of meats change, so that a sausage from northern Italy is guite different
than a sausage from southern Italy.
All of the women who taught me how to cook were from the southern Italy areas, so I tend to use those techniques and ingredients, however
as of late, I've been combining the two techniques and have been enjoying a rich (southern style) lasagna laced with a cheese cream sauce
(northern style). It works! and I'm experiementing more and more with this concept. I think we go through more olive oil and garlic than
anyone I know.
I can't say that I have a 'favorite' Italian dish, it's just everyday cooking, but I really do enjoy a plate of spaghetti and meatballs with
an italian style salad, some fresh Italian garlic bread and a glass of Chianti.
All of the recipes to the left are 'suggestions' and should be adjusted to your own taste. Since I do use a lot of parmesan, I add very little
salt to the recipes -- and since we make our own Italian sausage, I tend to put a lot of spices and herbs in that for flavoring rather than into
the sauce itself. The selections of ingredients down here in Florida has been terrible and quite a challenge until lately. Apparently a lot of
Rhode Islanders have complained loudly and several 'Venda Ravioli' type shops have opened up. I'm thrilled! I was at one shop getting some
cappacola and mentioned that I was from RI - the lady standing to my right said "I'm from Warwick" and the lady to my left said "I'm from
Bristol".
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