Ok all you Italian Cooks,

[NMDemDist2]

Inform me, educate me, inspire me.

I am sick of red "gravy" and never learned at my (insert gender neutral relative here)'s knee how to cook "Italiano"

give me some easy (and fast if possible) hints of stuff to pour over or toss with pasta. I loved H2S's Asparagus/Balsamic Vinegar recipe http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=236&topic_id=6419

but honestly, I almost never have fresh herbs around and until I get the suckers to grow in my window, I'm not paying $4 an ounce for them.

What I DO have (usually) is EVOO, Butter, Fresh Romano or Parmesan Cheese, Various Seasonal Veggies, Onions, Mushrooms, Minced Garlic (but DH doesn't much care for heavy garlic) and a spice cupboard full of dried spices.

Teach me, trash me, tease me, but please HELP ME!

:yourock:

[The empressof all]

1. I'm doing spagetti with chicken, artichoke and pesto tonight

Heat up some cooked chicken with canned artichokes (not the marinated kind) and sauce with some quick Pesto butter. (I process basil, olive oil, garlic, Romano/Parm, butter and cream cheese) (this is a great spread for brushetta btw)

Toss it all together and dinner is done in less than 15 minutes.


I can talk Italian food till the cows come home....

[NMDemDist2]

2. yanno, I've never really been a big pesto fan. I love Basil, but the

pine nuts (or whatever they are) always had a funny taste to me. Is it still called Pesto if there are no nuts in it? Your recipe sounds lovely, do you use fresh basil? and how much of each?

see, I really am clueless here. x(

[The empressof all]

3. I don't include the pine nuts most of the time

I've done it with walnuts but most of the time I leave it out all together. I still call it Pesto....

I don't measure.... sorry. I can guess about 2 cups of basil to about 3 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup oo, 1 stick of butter and 1 lg pk cream cheese. Romano/Parm to taste. This keeps in the fridge for a few days. You can leave out the butter and cream cheese and freeze the base to mix later.

[NMDemDist2]

4. I"m so clueless, thanks! is it like paste when your done? dry? damp?

fresh basil only I assume. (I really really have to get those herbs to grow in my windows)

i guess I'll just have to mess with it until I find the "sweet spot"

[The empressof all]

7. Yes fresh Basil

You want it to be the consistancy of a gravy or sauce. Not too thin, not too thick. I know that if you like Basil you will love this. (I don't care for the pine nuts either and half the time I forget to add the cheese) Mixed with butter/cream cheese it's great on toast, crackers, whatever.....

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Cooking Italian is the subject of countless cookbooks .... but here are ..

... some hints.

One hint, actually: Use the freshest ingredients you can find and cook them simply and (generally) quickly.

It is more a matter of feel and sensibility than recipes. That said, recipes matter. That rule, above can apply to most any cuisine, but to Italians, it really is true. Even today.

Here's a way to make an alternate macaroni thing. This is based on the classic Vermicelli Aglia Olio. (Aglia Olio means garlic and oil.)

Start your macaroni water. Cook the macaroni per the box directions. The classic is vermicelli.

While that's happening, put some olive oil in a frying pan. Let it heat, but don't allow it to get too hot. Add some very, very thin sliced, or finely chopped, garlic (see side note, below). Let it just start to get a tiny bit golden. Add some herbs. I use fresh, but growing up, my mother and both grandmothers used dried when fresh was out of season. You want to use basil, oregano, and parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Add a splash of white wine. (I know you don't cook with wine. My mother just added plain old water. You can also add some of the macaroni water; it adds a bit of thickening and 'cling' to the sauce.) Salt and pepper to taste.

That's it. You're done. Put it on the macaroni and toss.

Eat.

Now, you can vary this one six ways from Sunday. We often add tuna to it. Oil pack is waaaay better than water pack. Light is better than white.

Add roasted peppers to it. The kind in the jar. Or fresh ones you've grilled yourself.

You could add chicken. Or mushrooms. Leave out the basil and add clams along with the juice from the can. Or shrimp. Use clam broth with the shrimp; its great.

Add some anchovies to it. Open the can and pull out the anchovies. Don't use the oil they're packed in unless you absolutely **love** anchovies. Smash 'em to a pulp. Put them in and let them just sorta melt. I like to omit all the herbs for this. This is also the ***only*** variation that you should use parmesan cheese on. Think of it as a celebration of salt! And no. It does NOT taste fishy.

Let your imagination run wild. It is said that you can make this so many ways that in a year you would never have the same thing twice, even if you ate it every night. And that may well be true!

There are brazillians of Italian cookbooks out there. I can't recommend one over another.

**** Side note ****

About that very thin garlic slicing ...... remember that scene from the original Godfather movie? Where Sonny kills the other guy and the whole Corleone familiy has 'gone to the matressess. Fat Clemenza (played perfectly by Richard Castellano) is cooking macaroni with gravy. He gets a razor blade to slice 'his garlic'. Because that was how his mother taught him. I don't know what kind of mother raises a gangster, but on this point, she was dead on (pun intended).

http://www.grueskin.net.nyud.net:8090/pictures/misc/clemenza.jpeg

<edit to add the word 'know' in the very last sentence>

[Sparkly]

6. Notes from a non-Italian

When an Italian says "macaroni and gravy," it's not elbows with that gray stuff people put on turkey. (That took me awhile.)

Oil-pack light tuna really IS better than white tuna in water for pasta, but it took me some time to admit that aloud. I grew up never even knowing anyone who used tuna in OIL. It just "wasn't done," you know.

Freshly roasted peppers are the BEST leftover to have in the frig -- something I never knew before. Add them to anything, and it's better. The other night H2S put some in a salad, and it was awesome!

I still won't admit that I don't mind it when he puts mashed disgusting little oily fish things in the pasta, but I only complain after he tells me they're in there.

And I secretly put garlic in the garlic-press when I cook. I don't like peeling it, and you can get more flavor out of fewer cloves if you press it.

Don't tell H2S I said any of this, of course... ;)

[NMDemDist2]

8. thank you thank you thank you (and I'll never breathe a word...) n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

10. Garlic in a press ...... misses the whole essence of garlic .....

The peeling and slicing ...... its a whole Zen thing.

You wouldn't understand ...... If Italians were Jews, you'd be a shiksa.

But even with all that ... I love you! :loveya: :hug: :loveya:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

18. I agree...gotta be chopped or sliced

;)

[NMDemDist2]

9. seems like it's like the "California Cuisine" I love. Grilled veggies

seems like another re-occurring theme

Thanks for the Agli Olio recipe

I proclaimed this week "Pasta Week" and bought zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, green onion and red bells but have just been brain dead when it came to putting it all together

I'll slice em thin, roast em up, make up some Agli Olio and get that Tibetan tossing bowl busy with some veggies and bowties and see what kinda tuna I have in the cupboard (if all else fails, I'll use the Costco Canned Chicken -- it's really really good, put it on your Costco list)

thanks again for the inspiration, and No, Sparkly hasn't said anything, Why?

:yoiks:

[Stinky The Clown]

11. There are many, many similarities with 'California Cuisine'

The Italians were very influential in the development of the San Francisco and Marin County areas. And in the San Joaquim Valley. And that's where California Cuisine grew up. The climate and growing conditions are very similar to Italy and many of the same crops are raised. The affinity to Italian cuisine is a natural outgrowth of the land there.

[NMDemDist2]

12. i grew up there and lived there for 40 years

i knew CalCuis when CC wasn't cool :rofl:

[OldLeftieLawyer]

14. Slicing garlic with a razor

I've never actually seen it done, except in "Goodfellas," when Paul Sorvino (I think) was fixing sauce in prison. I loved that scene.

[Stinky The Clown]

15. I never saw it either ...... except as related above

Growing up, they just chopped it up.

I slice it thin because I have pretty good knife skils and that's even easier (for me) than the double effort to slice then chop. Also, I like doing it because it is good practice to allow me **keep** my knife skills.

But a razor? Nope ... never saw it in real life.

Akshully, my own knives are pretty damned sharp .........

[anitar1]

16. I prefer the garic and oil version, with a little flat

leaf parsley thrown in. The very best with cheese on top.

[Stinky The Clown]

19. That's the beauty of this method

(I call it a method rather than a recipe because there are soooo mnay variations.)

The beauty of it is you can add almost anything you might think of.

[wryter2000]

13. Get some good blue cheese

I read a long time ago that Lucianno Pavarotti's favorite recipe for linguine, spaghetti, etc. was to melt blue cheese and butter together and put if over pasta. I don't know if I have the combination right, but I melt a bunch of butter and melt/whisk in blue cheese until it seems about right. Then, I put grated Parmesano or Romano on top.

[NMDemDist2]

22. I love Blue Cheese, Mr. Ketchup, not so much...... n/t

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

17. Do you like clams? Linguini with white clam sauce

Ingredients:

Two small or one large can of white clams (do not strain)
4 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
one small onion diced into small pieces
one cup of white wine
three tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon (or more) anchovy paste
4 tablespoons chopped parsely

In a large pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil and add white wine..bring to boil and reduce until you cannot smell alcohol.

add garlic and onions and cook until both are opaque
add clams and juice
add anchovy paste ( I recommended 1/2 teaspoon but I usually use more..I like it)
when you have heated all the ingredients, remove from heat THEN add parsley.

salt a pepper to taste..shouldn't need too much salt as the anchovy paste takes care of that

After you've cooked your pasta, add the last tablespoon of olive oil for a fresh olive flavor in the sauce.

Enjoy!

[NMDemDist2]

20. dang, these recipes will make me change my sobriety date

:cry:

can I sub broth or something? that sounds delish!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

23. Yes..you can get a bottle of clam juice and reduce it

or use HALF AS MUCH non-alcoholic wine and only boil and reduce for about 10 minutes

[Stinky The Clown]

21. An alternate way to handle fresh herbs .......

Put about 1/2 to 2/3 of them into the pan while it is still on the fire and allow the flavor to blend. Then when you take it off the fire and put it on the macaroni, add the rest of the herbs. This gives two layers of the same flavors. It is more complex a taste and costs absolutely nothing to do.

[A HERETIC I AM]

24. Here's a really good, simple pasta dish........

Start your pasta water and add the pasta of your choice when it boils.
Slice several cloves of garlic thin.
Cut several strips of good bacon into small pieces.
In a hot skillet, add just a little olive oil, just enough to coat the pan.
add the bacon and render out the fat but don't cook till crisp. Depending on how lean the bacon is, you might have to remove some of the bacon fat. Leave what looks like a tablespoon or so.
Add the garlic and some fresh, chopped up basil.
Cook quickly and add a pint of cream. Whipping cream works fine.
Let it reduce for a while and as it starts to thicken, add grated Romano cheese.
Let it thicken till it makes a nice sauce.
Drain your pasta and toss it in with the sauce.
Serve with more fresh grated Romano over the top.

You can dress it up by adding any or all of the following;
chopped onion and/or mushrooms, shrimp, scallops zucchini, chicken, eggplant (you want to steam eggplant till a bit tender first) or anything else that you might like.

The basic sauce takes all of 20 minutes to make from start to finish. Make sure you time your pasta to be done as the sauce thickens and cook it al dente.

I call it Carbonara but that is probably not correct. But what the hell, call it delicious.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

25. I actually add chopped spinach to my clams and linguine, it really

adds a great flavor and I don't have to worry about a veggie.

I am not Italian, but live in an area inundated by South Philadelphian Italians and boy do they know how to cook, (male and female).

Another tip I learned just 2 yrs. ago. Buy fresh bunches of parsley, basil, etc. at the grocery. Clip the stems, wash, rinse and air dry, then put them in a baggie and freeze. It helps to keep the zesty fresh taste. My spice rack has been reduced by this method.

[Jessica]

26. I loved this episode of Everyday Italian -- No Sauce Pastas

Giada prepared four dishes. I tried the Creamy Farfalle with Cremini, Asparagus, and Walnuts ... delicious. She also made Angel Hair with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese; Fresh Fettuccine with Roasted Chicken and Broccoli Rabe; and, Fusilli with Shrimp and Arugula.

Here's a link to the recipes:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ei/episode/0,1976,FOOD_9958_36185,00.html

Here's the recipe I tried:

Salt
1 pound farfalle pasta
3 tablespoons butter
1 pound cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 pound thin asparagus, trimmed, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1 cup mascarpone cheese
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the farfalle and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender and most of the juices have evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and saute until the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the farfalle. Stir in the mascarpone and nutmeg and toss until the cheese coats the pasta, adding the reserved cooking liquid 1/4 cup at a time to moisten. Stir in 1/2 cup of walnuts. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mound the pasta in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and remaining 1/4 cup of walnuts. Serve.

[NMDemDist2]

32. you'd like H2S's recipe then, it was great!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=236&topic_id=6419

[mandyky]

27. I rarely to never buy canned tomato based spaghetti sauce

I get #10 cans of plain tomato sauce and Italian style stewed tomatoes (with onions, peppers and celery). I crush by hand 10 or more canned stewed tomatoes in most of my red sauces.

At Walmart I get oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, minced onions, etc for 50 cents a container (bigger than McCormicks). I also use fresh green peppers, onions, and mushrooms.

Lately, I have taken to adding zucchini, spinach (frozen) and / or brocolli (frozen) - at times.

I also buy quarts of minced garlic, instead of fresh, and use that generously in lots besides Italian sauces.

Probably none of my "spaghetti sauces" are the same twice in a row. I don't measure.

Still learning to make an alfredo sauce worth much. I just google it and try it as I need it.

I am German, English, and Native American, so I learned on my own too!
Don't be afraid to experiment!

[politicat]

28. Greek, rather than Italian, but similarly simple.

This is a default lunch for me when even tomato soup and a grilled cheese is not sounding interesting. I learned part of it from Mike Paulo's Spaghetti Factory over on Mill Ave in Tempe where I worked when I was at ASU. The veggies are my own addition.

Pasta with Myzithra, oil and sauteed vegetables

Cook the pasta - al dente.
Meanwhile, sautee about a cup of mixed vegetables - zucchini, onions and mushrooms are a favorite, but pretty much anything that sautees well (i.e. carmelizes a bit) will work.
Toss the pasta with oil - or butter, in a pinch. Add a pinch of salt.
Add the vegetables.
Grate myzithra over all and serve. Add chicken or meatballs or slices of chicken sausage as desired. (This goes really well with sliced basil, herb and garlic chicken from Whole foods.)

Myzithra is a greek cheese that will last 3/4s of forever in the fridge. It's very hard when aged (more like ricotta when fresh, and rarely seen in the US), has a flavor reminiscent of chevre (it's a sheep's milk cheese), is a bit salty and nutty. It's not terribly expensive and it does last forever.

Obviously, you could sub in any hard cheese you especially like, but my favorite is myzithra.

[eleny]

29. I found a great canned tomato product

Contadina has come out with Italian crushed tomatoes either with garlic or Italian herbs added. I tried it because King Soopers (Kroger) was having their $1.00 sales. The cans are the big ones and it was a good deal to try once. The stuff is so good that I went back this past week for 10 cans when they went on the dollar sale again.

I use one can of each flavor and add some meatballs or some beef on the bone. Maybe a dash of Italian dried herbs and a dash of Maggi. A can of tomato paste if I feel like it. But I've made it straight with my favorite meat and it's wunnerful. No big recipe, no fuss. Open the can pour and heat and you still can't go wrong. Maybe add a tiny pinch of baking soda (my Italian mom in law's secret) just to cut the acidity when you don't cook it for very long.

If I'm not too lazy tomorrow, I might go back for ten more cans. It's a steal.
http://www.contadina.com/ProductCategory.asp?cat=Crushed%20Tomatoes

[mandyky]

30. When I lived in NY, I always bought Contadina

tomato products. Down here we only have Hunts in the big big cans that I get. I'll have to see if they carry Contadina here, and what the price is. $1 a can sounds like a good bargain!

[eleny]

33. Over the years they got many more products out here

It's nice to find the familiar products like Contadina and Entemann's. Maybe if you ask for it they'll get it for you. And yes, these dollar sales are out of this world. I didn't think it got any better than buy and get one free or triple coupons. But at a dollar each, I'm in heaven when it's staples.

[NMDemDist2]

31. thanks for all the responses all, here's what I did last night (you'd be

proud!)

three medium tomatoes
1/4 red bell pepper
handful of fresh mushrooms
chunked a zucchini
a couple thick slices of red onion
fresh basil (about 10 big leaves)
1/2 tsp of garlic out of the jar (I would like more, but Mr. Ketchup... not so much LOL)
italian seasoning (dried cuz I still need to buy an oregano plant) x(
salt & pepper
balsamic vinegar (about a tbsp i'd guess)

sweated that with some EVOO until the tomatoes had cooked down (but the veggies were still firm)

fried up some mild italian sausage cut in chunks until well browned and cooked through

tossed it all with linguine and topped it with fresh grated romano and served hot buttered french rolls on the side

:bounce: it was really really good!

[eleny]

34. It sounds delicious!