The Italian Cooking Recipe

Can you imagine eating at the same Italian restaurant several times in a row? One of our favorite things to do after church is to eat out for lunch. For the last few weeks, we have been going to the same local Italian restaurant when we could have gone anywhere. Last week when my wife suggested it, I thought, again, we were just there, but it is always good. The chef had cast some sort of spell on us. Once again, it was incredible and we love it each time. Well, I started thinking about why someone would return to the same restaurant time after time. Of course, it was because the food was delicious, but why, I asked myself. What was it that the chef was doing that made us so look forward to his Italian cooking?

I came to some interesting conclusions that you can use in your kitchen and home to create that same love for your cooking. The food was fresh and the homegrown herbs were wonderful but it had to do with more than just the food. The restaurant presented a great atmosphere that was personal, relaxed and fun. Have you seen those Olive Garden commercials with the big families? You know, "when you're here you're family". It was that kind of thing. The chef comes out and talks to you, they put on your favorite music and everyone is friendly and easy going. Italian cooking can be a great way to enjoy food and family.

Set the atmosphere in your kitchen and make the experience enjoyable for your family as you enjoy the cooking. Fix a couple of simple appetizers to enjoy casually around the table as dinner nears completion. Get the family involved in the kitchen or setting the table. Put on some music, sing and enjoy. Now, when it comes to Italian cooking you have to think fresh. Get the freshest ingredients, pastas, vegetables and herbs you can find or better yet make and grow some of your own.

Here are some useful tips and special techniques for Italian cooking. In many ways the basics of cooking pasta is one of the most important cooking techniques that makes Italian cooking great. Make sure that if you are following an Italian recipe that you follow the directions carefully. Always make sure you are cooking the pasta in enough water. You should plan to use about four quarts of water for eight ounces of pasta. Cover the pot and bring water to full boil before adding pasta. Leave the pot uncovered while you are cooking, and use a pasta fork to stir the pasta. You can start testing the pasta for doneness a few minutes before the recommended time to see how it is coming along. You should also be looking for only a speck of white left in the center of the pasta. You need to drain the pasta but do not rinse it. Then return your pasta to a warm pot or skillet with sauce in it. At this point, you can add salt to the water to add flavor to the pasta but if you will be paired your pasta with sauce it is not necessary.

Traditionally, in Italian cooking of meats you would usually use the stovetop. You want to brown meat in olive oil or butter with wine. Don't forget you should loosen scrapings from pan and as alcohol evaporates, lower the heat on the pan and simmer meat until tender.

Here is a nice way that you can make your favorite meal a favorite for your family and friends too. Usually, Italian cooking comes in several courses. Present your family with each course and it will create a memorable and enjoyable experience. The first course is usually a soup, pasta, or risotto. The second course is a meat, like chicken or fish, with a vegetable and followed by a salad. The dessert course is usually a fruit, but you can really make it something special by offering a sweet treat.

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French Cooking Recipes

Although French Recipes and French Cooking may not appeal to everyone, it is always elegant and refined. The masterpieces of royal cooks have become a signature in French cooking and the world's greatest chefs were masters of the recipes and cuisine.

Different from Italian cooking, French cuisine is also noted for the diverse food preparation coming from each of the 26 regions. French recipes and techniques have also had a great influence on European cuisine as a whole. Schools that teach cooking techniques use standards and the cooking recipe of French cooking as the foundation for many other styles. This is especially apparent in western cuisine and recipes.

It is the approach to healthy cooking and food in French recipes that reflects their love of dining, appreciation of fresh ingredients, home cooking and ingenuity in the use of available ingredients in the different territories. Where as interest in French cooking varies, each region in France has a special outdoor cooking recipe for each season and occasion. The different seasons has also challenged the ingenuity of the French chefs in coming up with a gourmet cooking recipe for varied dishes using basic ingredients that are plentiful.

In summer, the cooking is light, salads and fruit dishes give the refreshing and healthful respite from the winters. When summer is gone, mushrooms are plentiful in the countrysides and appear in tasty stew recipes. Unlike Chinese cooking that highlights sea food, cooking venison highlights the well-prepared table during the hunting season that starts from September and runs until February. In spring, French food is spiked with oysters. Hence, French cooking is an art and has introduced gustatory delights to the commoner's table through diversity.

The major tastes and flavors of French cooking recipes were invariably influenced by their proximity to other countries. Alsace, which is near Germany, has sausages, salted pork, raisin cakes, and potatoes as the main ingredient in their recipes for robust meals for all occasions. In the Alps region cheese reigns in almost all its provincial dish's recipes. The Artois-Picardy provinces in the northern regions have fish dishes and terrines. The bouillabaisse a stew of fish, tomatoes and herbs is a favorite starter to any meal and a well-loved dish in the Cote d Azure and Provence areas.

The French cooking recipe in Britanny has made use of fruits in season in crepes; they also have the tasty flat crusty cakes and dumplings. Burgundy made edible snails an exotic dish and the southwest recipe gave the world cuisine pate foie gras a dainty dish of duck liver.

Many French cookbooks make vegetarian cooking recipes difficult. However for the time-harassed French food enthusiast, there are now French cook books that make it easier and more fun to prepare than ever, with cooking tips and techniques. Not to mention the fact that even without cooking school or fancy cooking equipment, you can impress your friends with food, the names of which they cannot pronounce when you master a French cooking recipe.

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