THE FLAVOR OF SARDINIA

September 17, 2010

We had our first taste of Sardinia some years ago at the Rialto food market in Venice, and it had the quality of revelation. Daniela, whose vegetable stall is our favorite, offered each of us a small, round, deep red tomato, about 1½ inches in diameter, its top dimpled and marked by splotches of vivid malachite green. “These are from Sardinia” she said. “Pop one into your mouth as though it were a cherry.”

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A Cruising Cooking Class Adventure in the Baltic

September 17, 2010
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During the cruise, Giuliano and I will teach you how to make fabulous fresh cuisine so that when you return home you can delight your friends, not only with your beautiful photos but also with delicious food!

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Poppy Seattle, a Restaurant Review

September 10, 2010
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Poppy is a must experience restaurant. The food is made with care and the passion that goes into the creation of the recipes is apparent. The entire experience is one of relaxation, unpretention, and ease. When you go, you will gain taste memories that will last forever.

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Dressing an Italian Salad

September 1, 2010
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“Italian dressing” is about as Italian as spaghetti with meatballs or chicken Tetrazzini. That is, you won’t find any in Italy. Instead of a recipe, we have a proverb for how to dress a good Italian salad.

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Making Spaghetti alla Carbonara on Daytime

August 26, 2010
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Making Spaghetti alla Carbonara on Daytime

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A Tropical Aperitif

August 26, 2010
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Welcome to our brand new look!  We are excited about all the new features of our blog.  Recipes, divided according to categories, is an easy way to search or browse the recipes we’ve posted.  Our Forum will be a place for you to share your opinions on a variety of topics and ask questions.  Giuliano’s [...]

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Boiled Meats

August 22, 2010

Victor and I had a most succulent dinner today, but anyone who would ask what I cooked would be dismayed by the answer: boiled beef. Why does the word boiled turns people off? If they are really boiling something they prefer to call it steamed, although usually they are doing exactly the same thing. In [...]

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How to learn to cook Italian

August 22, 2010

I would start with an introductory course on the spot. My son gives some in the wine country above Verona, see his website. I would then rent a small place in two or three cities and towns, for a few days each. Choose places with great markets such as Venice and Rome, get to know [...]

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One of the top cookbook authors of all time

August 22, 2010
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Marcella Hazan on being named one of the top cookbook authors of all time. August 16, 2010 Thank you my dear Friends for your kind messages and your loyalty. It was enormously flattering to find my venerable cookbook – 37 years old this past spring – landing on the Guardian’s list as it did on [...]

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The Easy Way to Finely Chop an Onion

August 22, 2010

from How to Cook Italian, by Giuliano Hazan 1.  Cut off the top of the onion, but not the root end with a chef’s knife, then cut the onion in half lengthwise and remove the skin. 2.  Place the onion cut side down and use the tip of your knife to make lengthwise cuts close together, [...]

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Peeling and Deveining Shrimp

August 22, 2010

from How to Cook Italian, by Giuliano Hazan 1.  Pry open the shell from the belly of the shrimp, working your way to the tail. 2.  Snap the center part of the tail back then gently pull the shell off by grabbing the very tip of the tail.  You should end up with the flesh [...]

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Increasing and Decreasing Number of Servings

August 22, 2010

from How to Cook Italian, by Giuliano Hazan When a recipe serves 4 people but you want to cook for 2 or maybe 8 or 12, you don’t simply divide or multiply the quantities of ingredients.  In general, the ingredients that make up the bulk of the dish, meats, vegetables, tomatoes, can all be multiplied, as [...]

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How to Cut a Chicken into 12 Pieces

August 22, 2010

from How to Cook Italian, by Giuliano Hazan 1.  Pull the legs away from the body and cut at the upper joint with a heavy knife or cleaver to remove the leg and thigh from the body. 2.  Run your finger on the inside of the leg to find the joint that attaches the drumstick [...]

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Basic Techniques for using a Chef’s Knife

August 22, 2010

from How to Cook Italian, by Giuliano Hazan 1. Hold the knife close to the blade with your index finger on the blade itself for better control 2.  Hold the food with your fingers curled in so that your knuckles are touching the blade, not your fingertips. 3.  Always move the knife in a back [...]

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Experience Rome with a Plate of Spaghetti alla Carbonara

August 17, 2010
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If you close your eyes while you are eating this, you can imagine yourself in Rome, perhaps sitting across the table from Julia Roberts.

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Home from Camp and a Recipe for Pappardelle with Peppers and Sausage

August 10, 2010
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This sauce is quick to make and is great comfort food. Gabriella perked right up and decided her father should teach cooking lessons at the camp because she wants to go again next year!

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Grilled Ribeye, Italian Style

August 3, 2010
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One of the rites of summer is undoubtedly cooking a nice thick steak on the grill. Ribeye is my favorite cut because I find it’s the most flavorful and succulent, especially when well marbled.

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Sauteed Zucchini with Fresh Mint and Basil: a Hopeful Garden

July 27, 2010
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This easy recipe is so good, that you will find yourself sneaking some before serving, and there are rarely any leftovers.

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Salmon Fish: Recipe for Grilled Salmon with Fresh Thyme

July 20, 2010
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Michela, our six-year old daughter, loves “salmon fish” as she calls it, and this is one of her favorite dishes. It is so simple, and yet so satisfying.

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Decadent Dark Chocolate Gelato

July 13, 2010
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The intense velvety texture of this gelato evokes reminiscences of Venice. You will likely have no leftovers, only a lovely magical memory, much like a visit to Venice herself.

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Italian Baby Back Ribs

July 6, 2010
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You may not think that ribs are an Italian dish, but they are definitely part of northern Italy’s culinary repertoire.

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Beef Tenderloin Steaks with Fresh Tomatoes and Pancetta

June 29, 2010
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Feel like a steak but it’s just too hot to go outside and grill? Here’s a great recipe for pan-seared beef tenderloin steaks.

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Uncooked Sauce: A recipe for Spaghetti alla Checca

June 21, 2010
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This is a sauce for which you either harvest your own well loved tomatoes or purchase them from a local farmers market. No watery, flavorless tomatoes will do here.

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Perfect Roast Chicken

June 14, 2010
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Julia Child once told me that making a good roast chicken is the mark of an accomplished cook.  Perhaps it is because making simple dishes taste delicious is really what it’s all about.  This is a foolproof recipe that has become a staple in our house.  The breast comes out incredibly moist, and the entire [...]

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Recipe for Penne with Spinach and Ricotta and a Tip for Chopping Onions

June 6, 2010
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Photo by Joseph De Leo One of my favorite pasta dishes is tortelloni (the square ones, Romagna style) filled with Swiss chard and ricotta.  My fondness for the dish was evident from the time I was a small boy and my grandmother made them for me while my parents were away.  After polishing off a [...]

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A Magical Venetian Day with a recipe for Fried Zucchini Blossoms

May 28, 2010
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In Italy eating is of supreme importance and a cardinal rule is that local food is the best and freshest. Therefore, anything nostrano “ours”, is more expensive and desirable than anything imported. In Venice, local fish is more prized than anything else.

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Mushroom Medley Risotto Recipe

May 26, 2010
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I sliced the king oyster mushrooms but just cut off the root of the others and used them whole. I sautéed them with olive oil, onions, garlic, and parsley, then cooked the risotto. It was a hit and thoroughly enjoyed by the entire family along with a Morellino di Scansano (for Lael and me, of course).

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Continuing the celebration: A recipe for white truffle risotto

November 29, 2009
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Usually truffles are eaten very simply. Either shaved over sunny side up eggs or egg pasta. They are often eaten only at special occasions like Christmas and New Year. Some people believe that truffles were the manna sent to the Israelites through Moses as they traveled through the desert for forty years.

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Timeless Rice, with a Recipe for Butternut Squash Risotto

October 6, 2009
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We have come to see the Gazzani rice mill. It has been in continuous operation since 1648 and still uses the mortar and pestle method that is found in only one other place in Italy.

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Too hot to handle: A review of CATCHING FIRE

October 2, 2009
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He takes on the trendy raw food community as well as the fast food chemically processed nation. He argues that eating calories that are too easy to digest is now a bigger problem for many than getting enough food. His is a clarion call to gain understanding of how food is actually processed in our systems.

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