Pizza

In The Kitchen With Gianna

Gianna is not a Michelin Star cook. She is not the proud chef of her own restaurant. Gianna is simply an “ordinary” Italian Mamma, who loves cooking and is extremely good at it. Everybody who has had the pleasure of trying one of her dishes is raving about her skills: Her pizze, for example, are a mouth-watering combination of a perfect base, genuine mozzarella, homemade tomato sauce and fresh toppings, and reveal their wonderful flavour after their passage in a wood fired oven.

This shy woman lives in Le Marche, a beautiful a beautiful region in the centre of Italy, perhaps less known as her Tuscany or Umbria neighbours but with a strong food culture. Gianna prefers to prepare dishes for guests in the comfort of her own home, surrounded by her beloved utensils, but will on occasions cook in the kitchen of another house should the menu require perfect timing. Other signature dishes of hers include the very simple but heavenly combination of melon and prosciutto (cured ham), pork or beef stews served with grilled vegetables or scrumptious fruit tarts to give the meal a final sweet note.

It goes without saying that she excels at preparing many pasta variations. Her ravioli di ricotta are a must, but even more so is a specialty of the Marches: Lasagna Vincisgrassi. Instead of being prepared with a Bolognese and therefore beef mincemeat, veal is used for the fragrant, non-tomato based sauce. Other ingredients include fresh vegetables in the form of porcini mushrooms, celery, onions and carrots, as well as cream, Marsala wine and a sprinkling of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The recipe originated from the pretty town of Macerata and the story surrounding its name is interesting: Lasagna Vincesgrassi was allegedly invented by a local chef for an Austrian general, Prince Windischgratz, who was leading a branch of the Austrian army stationed in Le Marche at the end of the eighteenth century. His name was given an Italian twist and has remained ever since.

With the importance of the Slow Food movement, which incidentally was started in Italy by Carlo Petrini in the mid-eighties, authentic dishes prepared with local, preferably organic ingredients and traditional farming and cooking methods are getting more popular every day. People’s concern for what appears on their plates is growing, and easily found information is helping them with their food choices.

Given this prominent trend, Gianna’s cooking style and the succulent lasagna Vincisgrassi are here to stay for many, many more years.



Article Source: Articlesbase/Travel/Destinations 
Author: K J S

Eating with the Stars

Article first published as Eating With The Stars on Technorati.

Nowadays, a conversation about food generally means sharing the latest diet miracle trick or focusing on what is deemed healthy and what is not. This is of course important in a world where obesity and its related health problems are dramatically rising. However, there is a certain sadness to realise that often the notion of pleasure associated with eating has disappeared. There is one country that remains faithful to its culinary culture tough, and that is Italy. This explains why food plays such a big part in movies set in this country or featuring Italian characters.

Going back to the fifties and sixties, a prime example is "La Dolce Vita," directed by Federico Fellini and starring Anita Eckberg and Marcello Mastroianni. You can literally smell the aroma of the pasta dishes served in the Roman trattorie and it is a struggle not to get ravenously hungry. You would love to try these recipes yourself? You can still find them on the Internet today.

A bit closer to us, can you recall the famous quotes from Enzo, played by Jean Reno, one of the main characters in "The Big Blue", released in 1988 and a fantastic box-office success for director Luc Besson? Enzo is adamant that "pasta has to be eaten al dente" or is genuinely scared about his mother's wrath: "She will kill me if she catches me eating pasta in a restaurant!".

And how about the ragù sauce, prepared and served to her family on Sunday nights by Sophia Loren in the 1990 film "Sabato, domenica e lunedi"? The famous actress is actually a skilled cook in real life and has published a few recipe books. And one of the sayings attributed to her tells us: "Everything you see I owe to spaghetti".

"The Big Night" is a 1996 movie with Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci. It recounts the story of two Italian immigrant brothers in the fifties struggling to keep their New Jersey restaurant afloat. The older one is the masterful cook who cannot bring himself to offer the mediocre meals that make a neighbouring place so successful. The younger one is the restaurant manager desperately trying to save their business. Without giving too much of the plot away, the key moment is the preparation of a mouth-watering feast, the central piece being a form of timballo, an elaborate baked pasta dish.

Last but not least, "Eat Pray Love" is recent enough for the story and pivotal scenes to still be clearly present in our minds. Julia Roberts, playing author Elizabeth Gilbert, spends time in Italy, India and Bali. How not to love the scene where she is so enjoying her pizza in Napoli that her line is: "I am in love. I am having a relationship with my pizza."

That bit of movie dialogue sums it all up, does it not?

A Trip to Italy with Jamie

Article first published as A Trip To Italy With Jamie on Technorati.

 

Is it still necessary to present Jamie Oliver? The talented chef, who started his career at Neal’s Yard and The River Café before setting up on his own, has become a star. Restaurants, TV shows, a foundation, campaigns to promote healthy eating, kitchen accessories and food range, the list is endless. Of course, there are the cookbooks. Almost twenty of them.

One of my favourites is “Jamie’s Italy”. It starts with the book cover. Jamie may be English, but it looks like his heart belongs to Italy. The chef is obviously very relaxed, sitting outside on a red stool against a wall whose paint has seen better days, his foot propped up against an old Fiat Cinquecento. He is eating spaghetti coated in a tomato sauce, and the expression on his face says it all. It gives you the urge to open the book and start cooking straight away.

To gather the recipes, Jamie embarked on a tour of the country in a VW bus with a kitchen built in a trailer, allowing him to easily cook wherever he stopped. Tuscany, the Marches, Sicily, etc, Jamie clearly had a genuine and deep connection to the people he met during his peregrinations, as the photos attest. A lot of smiles and hand gestures going on, and touching moments such as Jamie observing an old man repairing his fishnet, pouring a glass of wine for a shepherd or making pasta with four generations of women. When I browse through this publication and take the time to look at the pictures, it makes me want to visit the night markets of Palermo to taste these chickpea fritters or to enter a pasta competition in Le Marche!

The book delivers more than 120 of classic and new recipes, classified under:
Antipasti (Starters)
Street Food and Pizze
First Dishes (featuring soups, pasta and risotto)
Salads
Second Dishes (featuring fish and meat)
Side Dishes
Desserts

“Jamie’s Italy” focuses on authentic, mouthwatering food, best eaten with family and friends. Italians “Mamas” revealed their pasta making secrets to Jamie and owners of “agroturismo” inns welcomed him into their way of life. The warmth of the exchanges Jamie had with locals also transpires in the writing and the way the recipes are introduced. Yes, this love of food and sharing makes its way into your home too. I have yet to try all the recipes, but the ones my family and I already prepared received high praise, from us as well as from our guests. Needless to say, only empty plates and dishes were returned to the kitchen.