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Oysters On The Half Shell And Balsamic Vinegar Recipe
March 16th, 2012 | by Editor
Delight your palate with the perfect balance between saltiness and sweetness with fresh oysters and balsamic vinegar • Prep. Time: 10 min. • Serves 4 • Measurements are U.S. standard and metric units. INGREDIENTS 24 Fresh Oysters such as Malpeque, Kumamoto, Belon, or Blue Points Chives 8 Tablespoons (120 ml) Balsamic Vinegar Lemons Red Pepper Crushed Ice DIRECTIONS Scrub the oysters under cold water with a stiff brush to remove the dirt. Shuck the oysters with an oyster knife or dull butter knife. Bend the top shell back and discard it. Run the knife ...
Read This >>Cooking Tips And Use Of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar Of Modena And Reggio-emilia
March 15th, 2012 | by Editor
Browse Through TasteArts Traditional Balsamic Vinegar Collection Initial Tasting To Gauge Aroma And Flavor Traditional Balsamic Vinegar has different stages of evolution during which its aroma, flavor, and density undergo profound changes acquiring unique characteristics. Its final and most precious evolution culminates around the 25th year of aging. Alongside the natural chemical evolution, Traditional Balsamic Vinegar is affected by the artistry of the producer coupled with subtleties in production techniques. All together it can be said that a bottle of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar possesses its own intrinsic and unique personality. For this reason before ...
Read This >>Essential Tip To Prepare Italian Balsamic Vinegar Dressing For Green Salads
January 21st, 2012 | by EditorIt is imperative to follow a precise sequence when preparing a Balsamic Vinegar Dressing for all types of salads. Differently, the often expensive flavor of Italian Balsamic Vinegar is lost at the bottom of the salad bowl. The sequence is the following: Salt goes first, followed by Balsamic Vinegar; and, last, Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Toss salad vigorously at every step. First Step Salt is used in food preparations for its ability to extract flavor from ingredients. Salt is like a magnet. Without it food flavor remains dormant inside the ingredient. In fact, a saltless ...
Read This >>Authentic Recipe For Parmiggiano Reggiano Cheese And Traditional Balsamic Vinegar Of Modena
January 20th, 2012 | by EditorItalian Tradtional Balsamic Vinegar Of Modena (or else Reggio-Emilia) and original Italian Parmesan Cheese is a sublime combination of flavors and aromas. The pairing of the two transcends personal preferences. It's impossible not to like it. Our primordial taste buds immediately respond to the goodness of the simply perfect tastefulness. However, to savor the experience to its fullest it is necessary to follow a very simple methodology used by true connoisseurs of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar. Here it is: INGREDIENTS - 200 grams Parmiggiano Reggiano Cheese (best to use a young Parmiggiano Reggiano Cheese) - ...
Read This >>Italian Soup Recipe: Clear Soup With Lentils From Castelluccio Di Norcia
August 26th, 2011 | by Editor
• Prep. Time: 45 min. • Serves 4 • Measurements are U.S. standard and metric units INGREDIENTS 1 box of lentils from Castelluccio di Norcia (8.8 oz) (250 g) 1 medium-sized garlic clove; peeled; split into two pieces 2 or 3 stalks of celery; diced in small cubes salt extra virgin olive oil DIRECTIONS Peel a garlic clove and cut it in half. Chop a few celery stalks in small cubes. Because of its unique characteristic Lentils from Castelluccio di Norcia don't have to soak in cold water prior to cooking. Hence, simply put the lentils in a ...
Read This >>Original Recipe From Cetara: Spaghetti With Colatura Di Alici (anchovy Syrup)
July 22nd, 2011 | by Editor
The picturesque fishing town of Cetara in Southern Italy is home to a very unique condiment: Colatura Di Alici, a direct offspring of the Garum, a type of fermented fish sauce condiment that was an essential flavor in Ancient Roman cooking. Like in Ancient Rome Colatura Di Alici can be used as condiment for raw or boiled vegetables, or other preparation according to will. Surely an inventive cook will devise 1001 ways to employ it. However, in the town of Cetara, by and large, Colatura Di Alici is a perfect summer sauce ...
Read This >>Biology Of Truffles Fungi
May 13th, 2011 | by EditorBuy Italian Fresh White Truffles From Alba Truffle Knowledge All About Truffles Index <Previous | Next> The truffle's fruiting body (sporocarp) stems from a symbiotic association with particular plants, whereby in the course of its growth the truffle has supplied the plant with additional nutrients like phosphorus, and in return the plant has provided the immature truffle with nutrients such as carbohydrates. The mutually beneficial relationship is called mycorrhiza. The term derives from the Latin word "myko" (fungus) and the Greek word "rhiza" (root). The term was first used by mycologist Albert Bernhard Frank, ...
Read This >>Anatomy Of A Truffle
May 13th, 2011 | by Editor
Buy Italian Fresh White Truffles From Alba Truffle Knowledge All About Truffles Index <Previous | Next> The word truffle derives from the Latin term tuber, meaning "swelling" or "lump", which became tufer and gave rise to the various European terms: French truffe, Spanish trufa, German Trüffel, Dutch truffel, Croatian tartuf, Italian Tartufo, Portuguese trufa or tubera. Truffle is the generic name to a species belonging to the genus Tuber within the larger fungi group. The truffle's sporocarp (also known as fruiting body or fruit body) grows underground thanks to a symbiotic relationship (mycorrhiza) with the roots of ...
Read This >>How To Store Fresh White Truffles From Italy Or French And Italian Black Winter Truffles
May 13th, 2011 | by EditorBuy Italian Fresh White Truffles From Alba Truffle Knowledge All About Truffles Index <Previous | Next> Learn How To Preserve Freshness And Quality Of Fresh White Truffles From Alba or Black Winter Truffles From France or Italy Truffles grow, live, and ripen underground sheltered in a natural air-tight cocoon. As soon as they are dug up from the ground a gradual and inexorable decay begins that quickly strips away the potency of the delicacy. The most obvious cause for the quick deterioration is the obvious dispersion of the mixtures of volatile organic compounds present in the ...
Read This >>How To Clean Fresh White Truffles From Italy Or French And Italian Black Winter Truffles
May 13th, 2011 | by EditorBuy Italian Fresh White Truffles From Alba Truffle Knowledge All About Truffles Index <Previous | Next> Experienced Truffle-hunters will never clean the truffle after it has been dug up from the ground. That's because any residual soil covering the truffle provides a protective layer that conserves flavor and aroma, and even allows the truffle to continue its ripening. Of course, upon cooking, the truffle should be thoroughly cleaned. Besides general rules of food hygiene, the truffle has to be cleaned because its outer peel (peridium) is never thrown away. Like with the inner mass (gleba) the truffle's ...
Read This >>Types Of Fresh Truffles
May 13th, 2011 | by Editor
Buy Italian Fresh White Truffles From Alba Truffle Knowledge All About Truffles Index <Previous | Next> Main Truffle Types Black Truffle (Tuber Melanosporum Vittadini) The Black Truffle is harvested between late November and early March. When mature the outer surface (peridium) can range from reddish brown to brown or black. The peridium is ornamented with polygonal, four to six-sided slightly raised irregular warts. The peridium is firmly attached to the underlying issue, the gleba. The gleba is whitish in immature ascocarps then turns purple-black as it matures and finally jet-black, with thin whitish veins that can become ...
Read This >>Bruschetta Al Tartufo Nero – Bruschetta With Fresh Black Truffles
May 12th, 2011 | by Editor
All About Truffles Index There is bruschetta and there is Black Truffle Bruschetta. The latter of course is majestic and rarely found at the average mom-and-pop Italian restaurant, or even at chi-chi places. Moreover, if you do find a black truffle bruschetta at some spiffy place, how do you know that actual fresh black truffles were used and not some preserved stale specimen. That said, like for many other culinary experiences, "God Bless The Child Who's Got His Own," since he will rip the benefits of the real thing. Hence, herewith, please ...
Read This >>How To Slice Fresh White Truffles From Italy Or French And Italian Black Winter Truffles
May 8th, 2011 | by EditorBuy Italian Fresh White Truffles From Alba Truffle Knowledge All About Truffles Index <Previous | Next> Useful Tips For Shaving Fresh Truffles Paper-thin A customary way to serve truffles, especially white truffles, is to shave very thin wafer-like slices directly over a steaming plate of pasta, omelette, or risotto. Thinness is not necessarily the result of avarice due to the high cost of truffles; the truth is that a thick sliced truffle will overpower the nostrils and the base dish, rubbing from the subtlety of the experience. Let's just say that the proper size is a balanced ...
Read This >>Make Your Own Truffle Butter And Store It For Later Use
May 1st, 2011 | by Editor
All About Truffles Index A good way to savor fresh truffles all year round is to freeze them mixed with butter. This way it's possible to have "summer truffles" in the middle of the winter and "winter truffles" in the middle of the summer — over pasta, rice, eggs, grilled steak, or a simple slice of toasted country bread; in other words, nothing short of the entire repertory of truffle based gourmet dishes. What's more fascinating is that your truffle butter base was home-made with your own hands; no preservatives, no ...
Read This >>Gourmet Pasta Recipe With Black Truffle Sauce: Spaghetti Alla Norcina
May 1st, 2011 | by Editor
All About Truffles Index "Spaghetti Alla Norcina" ('Norcina' stands for "Norcia" a town of the "Umbria" region in central Italy) is a delectable way to savor fresh black truffles, anyone of the many types of black truffles: "black summer truffles," or "black winter truffles," whether from Italy, France, or anywhere else in Europe. This gourmet pasta sauce has originated in the town of "Norcia" in central Italy where winter black truffles are usually harvested between mid-November and early-March. The "Norcia Winter Black Truffle" is considered a very fine specimen of winter black ...
Read This >>Garlic History And Use
April 17th, 2011 | by Editor
CENTER OF ORIGIN Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is believed to have originated in Central Asia. A different view places its origin in the desert of western Siberia. Today it is cultivated just about anywhere in the world. BRIEF HISTORICAL NOTES Garlic has been cultivated by humans since the beginning of recorded time. Archaeologists have found evidence for garlic in Egyptian tombs dating back to 3750 BCE. It is believed that slaves in Egypt were given Garlic as part of their daily food ration. Moving forward in time, Aristotele mentions the value of garlic ...
Read This >>Pasta Recipe: Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, E Peperoncino
April 16th, 2011 | by Enzo Capone
The following recipe for "Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, e Peperoncino" (Spaghetti Garlic, Oil, and hot chili pepper) is the second in a series of twelve classic Italian pasta recipes constituting 12 fundamental pasta sauces. The mastering of all twelve pasta sauces will turn anyone into a full-fledged pasta chef. Before anything else, the novice pasta cook should master the art of cooking pasta. We have provided a guideline for this essential first step with Pasta Cooking Fundamentals inside our 'Cooking School' category. HISTORICAL NOTE Garlic sautéed in olive oil is a primary, ancient, ...
Read This >>Extra Virgin Olive Oil Facts And Tips
February 9th, 2011 | by Editor
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil Shelf Life Ideally an Olive Oil should be consumed within 12-15 months from production. After such period, olive oil begins to lose its its overall organoleptic qualities (color, flavor, scent, etc.). • How To Store Extra Virgin Olive Oil Extra Virgin Olive Oil should be stored in dark and ventilated places, away from extraneous odors, with temperatures of 59-60 Fahrenheit (15-16 Celsius). • Guiding Principle For The Purchase Of Extra Virgin Oil Always choose a young or newly made Extra Virgin Olive Oil, packaged in a dark glass bottle. ...
Read This >>How To Taste And Choose Extra Virgin Olive Oil
January 30th, 2011 | by Enzo CaponeAnyone who's ever entertained the idea of cooking his own meals or hosting a home-based self-cooked dinner party should get acquainted with extra virgin olive oil. Extra Virgin Olive oil is a basic first step to any cooking enterprise. It matters little how refined the cook may be, a fine extra virgin olive oil will rescue even the worst of cooks. The proof of my assertion is easy. Simply Sprinkle a terrible tasteless industrial supermarket tomato with excellent extra virgin olive oil and I bet you will immediately delight with the difference. ...
Read This >>Guidelines For Pairing Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
January 30th, 2011 | by Enzo CaponeNorthern Italy Slightly fruity Olive Oils with light taste and fragrance (suggesting dried fruit), typical of North Italy from regions like Liguria and Lago di Garda, pair well with simple dishes with delicate flavors.They can be used for delicate sauces like mayonnaise, salads with subtle flavors like endive and simple lettuce. They go well with rice soups, bruschetta, vegetable purée. Also, for example they can be used for steamed fish, or even fritture di pesce (mixed fried fish), both marine and fresh water fish. Central Italy Tastier Olive Oils with with more accented flavors (suggesting ...
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