Search the Community

I can do this right? Or is there a reason I should not? Any precautions or particular method to getting a smooth dough? Talking about a stand mixer BTW.

I've heard plenty of times that when cooking dried pasta you should never break the pasta prior to putting it in the pot. Is there any logical reason for this? I've searched the Internet and found references to "Don't do it!" but nothing that gives any rationale. Every other piece of advice regarding cooking pasta makes sense, and I would assume that after millions (billions?) of people cooking pasta for hundreds of years the conventional wisdom would be true. Can anyone prove or disprove this theory?

This topic on whole wheat pasta has shown that there are some very strong opinions on it. The consensus seems to be not to bother. Gluten and I have a very antagonistic relationship, and if we're going to socialize, I want to get as much out of it as possible. So now I'm wondering about spelt, which would be a better option for me anyway. Has anybody tried any of the dried spelt pastas available? Any brands you can recommend?

I received an email this morning from Gambero Rosso adveristing one cooking class for la pizza alla pala and one for la pizza tonda. Other than the obvious difference in shape, do they differ from one another in any other respect?

Does anyone here have exact weight measurements for making pasta with Farina 00 flour? The chef that I work for only wants yolks, 00 flour, and salt as the ingredients. He told me to just add the yolks to the flour in a robo coupe till it forms a dough but I've found that if I add too much yolk, the dough starts to buckle and warp as I roll it out. Any suggestions?

I want to tackle Italian next in my bag of tricks. I know the basics, have made pasta with the help of a machine, and can do the American version of sauce etc. Where do I start to learn proper technique, especially pasta, and classic recipes. All suggestions are welcome.

I was thinking about scaloppine with marsala and as I looked up recipes online, I found it described both as scaloppine AL Marsala and scaloppine ALLA Marsala. Which is the correct Italian spelling? Or are they both correct but mean different things?

Hello Everyone - I am a new member trying her hand at joining this forum. When in France and Turkey this year, I bought some beautiful white dried beans. If anyone has any interesting ideas/recipes as to how to use those, I would be most grateful. Although of french origin, I enjoy italian cooking, therefore my request in this part of the eG forum.

I haven't been thrilled with any of the whole wheat pasta I've tried. Any recommendations for a good brand of dried whole-wheat pasta? If I can find it at the local grocery store, great -- but not necessary.

Hi just rewatched Heston B's perfect Risotto program with a brief interlude with Cracco. Does any Italian speaker actually know the correct ratios of the Basmati & cream & procedure, as it it just isn't working for me in my Thermomix. Does he toast the Basmati first etc, etc? What to do!

Philadelphia Inquirer reports Tony Luke's plans to roll out a whole line of his products nationwide including steaks, roast pork, broccoli rabe and rolls into supermarkets, home shopping TV and an online store. I'm not too sure how a frozen roast pork will be but I guess if I couldn't easily get the real thing, I'd try one. He's working with Rastelli Foods on the launch. The article goes on to mention his plans for more shops including a new one in NYC to replace the one that apparently failed.

i'm looking for a handful of suggestions as to the best italian restaurants and/or chefs in chicago....have never been to chicago before and need the recommendations for....a group of italians! and myself. all suggestions and descriptions greatly appreciated! cheers, marlena

Since our trip to Italy I have been giving my manual pasta machine a real workout and we are enjoying wonderful homemade pasta. To save myself time, I would like to make a large batch of dough and freeze what I am not using right away. My question to those with more experience than I: Can I freeze the dough just after it has been kneaded but not rolled into thin sheets...just as a ball of kneaded dough? Or does the dough have to be rolled into flat sheets first? I have successfully frozen the flat sheets, but would prefer to freeze the ball of dough and roll out on the day I want to prepare it. Any comments or suggestions?

In "The Invisible Ingredient in Every Kitchen," an essay on heat that's one his regular food science pieces for the NY Times, Harold McGee writes, I've never heard of this pre-soak method before, and McGee doesn't say anything more about it. Does anyone do this? Results?

I'm making a cheesy baked pasta dish for a potluck dinner on Thursday. I'm basing the recipe on one from Giada which mixes ziti with marinara and ricotta, and is topped with mozzarella. I'm leaving out the meatballs in her recipe and serving Italian sausage on the side, in consideration of the vegetarians in the group. My plan is to assemble the dish on Wednesday and refrigerate it until it's time to bake it on Thursday. This type of dish should hold ok in the fridge until it's time to bake, shouldn't it? Any recommendations for other similar recipes to look at would be appreciated, too.

We had an amazing lunch at a fabulous restaurant called Palatium (via Frattina, 94)in Rome a few weeks ago. My wife had an amazing thick, hearty, lentil soup called "Minestra Brigante" which, like everything else at Palatium, is apparently a specialty of Lazio. I've looked all over, but can't find a recipe for this dish. Anyone have a recipe? Thanks much! - S

I've left all my Italian cook books in Italy....which is killing me, but I just can't carry the full library around with me....although my husband is completely convinced that I DID carry everything. I digress. I'm looking for a real, true, sort of like cookie crumb crostada recipe. The kind that is 3 or 4mm thick, dry, crumbly. Grazie mille!

I'm looking for more information about a type of biscotti apparently made only in Aidone. The biscotti contain wine and are understandably called biscotti con il vino. Their shape is suppose to represent a dove and they are a specialty for Easter. I have seen pictures of them and their shape is strange, hardly bird like. Has anyone seen these special biscotti from Aidone and/or know anything more about them?

Hello, I recently bought a sausage I think is called cottechino without acquainting myself with it beforehand. I think I remember seeing somewhere that it is made with... pork trotters? That would concur with my first impression, which was that it smelled and tasted very porky, and not necessarily in a way I like. - Is this sausage normally very porky, and is this caused by the pig trotters? - Are there any recipes you recommend for this sausage that go well with/ mute its porky nature? - What is this sausage usually purchased for? Thanks for any help you can give to an annoyingly curious person.

I made this twice with poor results. Filling leaking out etc. I need to know what meat cuts work best and any filling recipes would be a bonus. I don't mind the time it takes to make them, I just want better results. Thanks, Jim

Nonna This guy has quite the pedigree. How exciting for Dallas. Brief review from a blog

I'm looking for different pasta recipes to try out for a small article. More than anything I want to try to see the differences that more eggs and different flours contribute to the final product. Also i'm interested in trying pasta doughs that incorporate other flavors and the challenges that extra moisture adds to the equation. Ill post pictures when done TIA

We want to cater a party at work, and the cuisine of choice for the party is Italian. Any suggestions of restaurants that cater? My office manager wants to call Maggiano's and I am sure we can do better than that for food and price.

I just took home a bottle of a really unique liqueur, one which I don't think is readily available in the US. It's called Finnet, a fennel infused liqueur in the style of limoncello. First, a description: weighing in at 30% abv and pouring a pale pea green, Finnet has a flavor that is exactly like raw fennel. In fact, without having a piece of fennel to crunch along side my glass, I can't really discern a difference. It's sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, the sugar offset by the green herbal and anise like flavors of the fennel. I'm really enjoying it's light and refreshing flavor, and I suspect it would be excellent as an served as an aperitif, or a palate cleanser between courses. I think it could make a excellent cocktail, but I can't find any mentions of it online, and nothing readily appears to me. I've been racking my brain to no avail. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm tempted to try it in place of an anissette in traditional recipes, but the flavor difference is as distinct as fennel is from black licorice. Any ideas would be more than welcome. I did try one recipe, an improvised bastardization of a negroni, combining one part plymouth gin with one part vya dry vermouth and one part Finett, garnished with a lemon twist. It was one of those mystical mixological occasions where quality ingredients combine to create something truly horrid. Salty, stale, and musky at the same time. Just nasty, basically. I can't remember the last time I poured out one of my own creations, so I beg the wisdom of cocktalians everywhere.

Every year I bah-humbug about the materialism of Christmas, so this year I'm finally taking action by giving homemade gifts to nearly all (I'm counting on my niece and nephew to take care of me in my old age, so they're still getting toys). One idea I have is to make fresh fettucine and homemade sauce. Usually I either eat or freeze my pasta the same day I make it, so I'm not sure how to keep it for about a week until I give it away. My initial plan is to allow the pasta to dry in nests for a couple of hours, then package it in plastic bags and refrigerate it. Any thoughts?