ITALIAN... ongoing thread- ethnic cooking

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Keven, olive oil has a much higher burn point than does butter alone, so when you mix the two together, you inherit the flavor of the butter, and the higher flash point of the olive oil. Otherwise, with butter alone, you could never get it just hot enough to fry/sautee without it starting to turn brown in the pan.
 
Most Italian food, in case any American Italians here are wo

Hi Kevin,

I think what you may be missing is that for such a small coutry it has very diverse cooking styles which use very different ingredients. To my knowledge there is a huge difference between northern and sothern Italian food. My great grandfather came from a city and my great grandmother came from the mountains. My other great grandfather came from Cicily. All three brought very different styles of cooking with them to the USA. All very wonderful but very different. The only one to use Oregano was the one from Cicily. ALL THREE of them used a lot of GARLIC!!! I remember some of my great uncles would eat raw Garlic!!! They never got colds because nobody could get close enough to them to infect them!!! :-)

I do suspect, Kevin, that you may be generalizing based on your own experiences. No harm done but I'm just telling my own experiences as an second generation American Italian who ate MUCH home grown, home butchered (we had a large farm) Italian food made by "off the boat" Italians. Those experiances contradict some of what you claim.

BTW..We weren't allowed to eat ANYTHING with a Chef-Boy-ar-DE lable :-)

Rich (Cincotta, Bertonazzi, Castignetti, Fillipo...you gat the picture)
 
I don't know how authentic this is, but I like it:

Tuscan Spareribs

1/4 cup minced garlic, plus two cloves sliced
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp salt (I usually use 1 tbsp)
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp plus 2 tsp crushed redpepper flakes
7 lbs pork spareribs - slice into individual ribs
7 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 1/4 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 1/2 tbsp hot pepper sauce
1 1/2 cup water
1 cup dry white wine (this recipe makes a red sauce - I used a red wine and it was great)

Combine minced garlic, sage, rosemary, salt, black pepper, and 1 tbsp red pepper flakes. Rub ribs well with this and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 24-48 hours.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat large baking pan with 1/4 cup olive oil and lay ribs in pan. Roast 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Turn ribs over and roast 1 hour more. Check periodically: if bottom of pan starts to burn, add water. While ribs are roasting, coat large skillet with the rest of the olive oil. Add sliced garlic and 2 tsp red pepper flakes. Saute over medium until garlic starts to color. Add tomatoes, Worchestershire sauce, and pepper sauce. Add 1 1/2 cup water and bring to a simmer. Cook 30 minutes. When ribs have browned on both sides, drain pan (important or recipe will be too oily). Add tomato mixture and wine, cover with foil, and braise in oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil and roast 20 minutes. Serve.
 
Keven,

Rich got to the computer before me.

What I wanted to reply was that everything has its place. Perhaps your cooking doesn't span as many different styles, ethnicities, or methods as I try to, but how, exactly, would you make a dry rub for chicken, ribs, or brisket without granulated garlic?? How would you season, say, chicken breast before dredging it in flour or breadcrumb without granulated garlic?? I keep saying granulated, as I don't use powder. It clumps too easily (though onion powder doesn't- curious!).

Also, imparting subtle flavor to sausage, bone fide Italian or not, is probably best done with granulated vs. "real." Unless you take the peeled cloves for a little trip in the blender with some of the water, maybe? Nah. Too harsh.

I stand by my use of what I consider the trinity of garlic, to be used as suited to the dish: fresh, granulated, and roasted!

Chuck
 
Chuck and Rich,

I love garlic. Eat it cut fine on butter on bread.
Eat it baked.
Eat it smoked.
Never, ever fry it.
Never use it powdered.
Granulated is fine.
Rubbed with salt to dissolve, never put through those horrid presses.

I never attacked American Italian cooking. Ever. I like it. I enjoy it. Since I live right around the corner from Italy and since I had a real Italian Grandmother, I am in the very lucky position to compare the two cuisines. Yes, as many here have mentioned, what we frequently encounter in American Italian cooking is strongly southern Italian/Sicilian in influence.

That is fine.

In Italy of the 21st century, garlic and oregano are used, as are many wonderful sausages and meat.

However, meat does not play anywhere near the role it does in American Italian cooking. Oregano is a minor, reserved note, not the predominate. No Italian, nowhere in Italy would ever voluntarily use dried garlic if he or she could possibly avoid it, including starving for three days first. What we call 'Italian Sausage' in America does not exist in Italy. What we call meatballs is purely American - the closest Italian equivalent is to be found in the wonderful Wedding Soup. Pizza as found at Pizza Hut is an abomination before the gods.

I won't discuss cheese.

When served with a sauce, the pasta would be 3 or 4 times the quantity we find typically in the US, the sauce much less. That is a definite advantage to the American Italian style, in my opinion.

OK? I am not attacking anyone or their cuisine. Just pointing out the difference. Honestly. I love American Italian.

And (feel free to all hate me for this) I shall be in Italy this spring, in the Tuscany at a seminar. For an entire week. I'll be thinking of you all.
 
ok bitches *SMACK*, *SMACK*, *SMACK* here is another opinion.

Don't go by me, but garlic other than oven-roasted tastes bitter to me, so garlic powder (NEVER BITTER)has a great place in the pantry for me. Or course I try to eat as much garlic as I can for health reasons but it ain't easy, Mary.

That and lactose intolerance and you can KEEP ITALIAN CUUISINE *LOL* anyhoo............

Here is one opinion on Itlian-American cuisine. The spousal unit is of Nothern Italian heritage and does dairy like crazy. Tomato sauce? Not so much. Actually I get teased for how much I use. (It's a Greek technique derived from the Turkish called YAXNI, but I digress...)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian-American_cuisine
 
I understand it's mostly about

pasta
cheese
tomato sauce and
garlic

What about some vegetable recipes?

and for a bonus 100 points what can be done in italian cuisine WITHOUT the four above-listed holy food groups? :-)
 
OK? I am not attacking anyone or their cuisine. Just pointin

Hi Kevin,

I didn't feel like you were attacking the cuisine :-) I just didn't agree with some of your observations. I'm at a disadvantage in that I've never been to Italy. I do hope to go someday. No offense taken by me :-))

I've never heard of smoking Garlic!! Does it come with a filter? Menthol??? Seriously I'm curious as to how it's done and how would it be served?

Rich
 
When we moved back here 2 yrs ago I found out that my next door neighbor is the son of what way back when was the best pizzeria pizza in town, my fave at least. I ordered one soon after moving back and it tasted awful and then when talking to him found out his folks had sold it and retired about 20 years ago. Anyways I bugged them to get the dough recipe from mom and I got 20 lbs of flour a handful of salt and about a 1/2 handful of yeast and a bit of oil. That's it. I'm still no further ahead.
 
smoked garlic

lots of recipes out there, basically you use a fruitwood to smoke.
Tastes great with lighter cheeses.

Toggles,
How about a risotto? That can be done without any of the four.
 
Um... roasted veggies as a side dish to almost anything?

Cut desired veggies into large pieces/chunks, but proportional so they'll cook in about the same time. Any color sweet peppers, onions, zucchini.... Toss in evoo and season as you will (salt & pepper is a good base, but you could use rosemary or anything else you like).

Roast in a hot oven (450f) until lightly charred and al dente.

Do I get 100 points Toggie?

Chuck
 
Keven,

I was only responding to your following statement:

"dried and powdered garlic are abominations which one never sees in good cooking"

Am I to understand that you were not referring to granulated (dried and pulverized) garlic as in your "Chuck & Rich" post? They really are different as you no doubt know.

Thanks for clarifying!

Chuck
 
Toggle-

Try putting some EVOO in a pan on the lowest heat you can, and putting some thinly sliced garlic in there as well. If you have patience, and very low heat, the garlic will infuse the oil with flavor sans bitterness, soften, and sweeten. If you need to raise the heat on the oil, say to cook a little chicken, scoop the garlic out first. Rich just made some pasta tonight doing just that and it was yummo!

Chuck
p.s.- I do much prefer the oven roasted. I have a tube of heads from BJ's (about 30-35 heads) that I'll roast this week and store for long-term use!
 
veggies drenched in olive oil

and roasted in the oven, now that is truly Italian.
Yum!

Of course I meant that hideous product which is both dried and powdered and not, of course, freeze-dried granulated which has its purposes. Yes, I am familiar with it, but, no, living as I do where all those wonderful Italian ingredients are an easy drive away and worth stocking up, I don't use it.

Once again for the chorus, Panthera loves American Italian food, he merely was noting that it is very different to Italian food in Italy.

Toggles, you must surely be familiar with the different flavors of olive oil, no?

Also, lactose intolerance can be handled with those wonderful tablets.

Thought of another one: Gnocchi done gluten free. No, now the Italian-Americans don't flame me and the Italians don't all die of shock, they aren't bad. Really. With a fresh basil pesto and a decent white wine sauce quite good - (remember Toggles list of no-no's).
 
Frittata

!
OK, Toggles, how about a frittata? That can be done without the horrible four!
(Those without a sense of humor, no, I love all of that list, that was a joke).

Seriously good, a fresh frittata with mushrooms and spinach or anchovies and potatoes, to die for.
 
but I'm too ill to dig up my recipe right now.

Lawrence,
I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope it's nothing serious :-)

Kevin,
Thanks. I've never heard of that. Sounds interesting!!
 
A Twist On Roasted Veggies....

Take previously mentioned oven roasted veggies - such as butternut squash, sweet potatoes, onions or leeks, carrots, etc, that have been roasted with just olive oil, salt, pepper and a sprinkling of garlic powder....(whole garlic is optional here!!) and puree the whole mess in a food processor. Sautee some onions and garlic and olive oil and butter, add some fresh chicken stock and the puree mixture until you have the "right" consistency, and you have a wonderful soup for dinner. Serve with some warm, crusty Italian bread....it's outta this world. Sorry guys, don't know how much of anything I put in here, but add chicken stock until it's of a desired consistency. You can be very creative with this one, making use of many fresh ingredients you may have laying around the fridge. You can even add some fresh cream to the finished product but that adds lots of calories and fat too!! Toast some fennel spice and add to the soup if you like that flavor, along with a little nutmeg, too....and other spices to taste, but toast them all in a pan first...gives it all a nice rustic flair.

You can make the same soup with butternut squash and granny smith apples, just peel, cube, roast or boil, and puree into a soup by addind some chicken stock and even some white wine if you like. Experiment with different toasted spices like fennel and nutmeg, cinammon, etc.
 
Here's another favorite:

This recipe comes from a great Tuscan restaurant in London called "The River Cafe". They have a cookbook that I recommend, full of simple beautiful Tuscan food. This is for a pork shoulder braised in milk with lemon.

Maiale al Latte
Pork Cooked in Milk with Lemons
The curdle that results from the slow cooking together of lemon and milk makes a delicious sauce.

Serves 6
1 4-to 5- pound loin of pork or shoulder picnic
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 small handful fresh sage leaves(optional)
1 ½ quarts fresh WHOLE milk
Zests of 2 whole lemons, in big strips, lemon pulp reserved (either as sûpremes or as slices)

Generously season the pork on all sides. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a lid, casserole dish, or Dutch oven, just large enough to hold the pork. Brown the meat on all sides, then remove. Pour away the fat.

Melt the butter in the pan, add the garlic with the sage leaves, (if using), and before the garlic begins to color, return the meat to the pan. Add enough hot milk to come three-quarters of the way up to the pork, Bring to a boil, add the lemon zest, and reduce the heat. Place the lid on the pan, slightly askew, and very gently simmer for about 1 ½ to 2 hours (you can also put casserole in oven at 275 F for slightly longer).Resist temptation to disturb the meat, the less you touch it, the better.

When the pork is cooked, the milk will have curdled into brown nuggets. Carefully move the meat, slice quickly and spoon sauce and reserved lemon pulp over it.

Note: this recipe is from the Rogers/Gray Italian Country Cookbook. Rather than throwing away the fats that the pork is browned in and then using fresh butter in which to sauté the garlic, I just use what’s left in the pan. I didn’t detect a big difference and I don’t like wasting all that fat and browned bits that have a lot of flavor in them.
 
Roasted Garlic

Just came to me- it's been referred to a few times, but no recipe was given. Here's how I do it.

Cut the top 1/4 or so from full bulbs of garlic. You're looking to expose the tops of most of the cloves.

Choose an oven-safe dish that's a little deeper than the garlic, and holds the number of bulbs you're doing with as little etra space as possible. A 9 x 13 glass Pyrex will hold about 12-15 bulbs, depending on size. I usually do about 30 at a time.

Drizzle the bulbs completely with olive oil (I use extra virgin) and have the oil come up about 1/2 way to the bulbs. Seal the dish with foil and bake at 300 for about an hour. Turn the oven off and let the dish cool a bit in the oven.

Take the dish out and remove the foil. Pick or squeeze the cloves out and store under oil. The oil they baked in is well-flavored w/ the garlic and great for pasta or other dishes. Good for garlic bread too!

The garlic lasts over a month in the fridge. I think they officially say a week, but if kept under oil and cool, I've used it probably 2 months or more safely.

Enjoy!!!

Chuck
 
Great recipe, Chuck

I make them exactly the same way, except they never make it a month, three weeks or even two.
Taste too good.

Of course extra virgin, anything else is adulterated or processes with some sort of hideous solvent or such low quality/high acidity that it just doesn't pass muster.

Ironically, the EC has poured hundreds of millions of dollars over many years into expanding the groves and improving the conditions for olive growers throughout Europe. Today, olive oil in outstanding quality is still as rare as it ever was. But really quite good extra virgin quality is cheap and easily available.

There is no 'one' taste to olive oil, just as there is no one 'Italian' cooking style. Thank goodness. I hope by now (at least the emails have died down) that everybody understands that I genuinely consider American Italian cooking a valid and wonderfully good tasting cuisine.

One of the greatest contributions of the many hundreds of thousands of Italians who came to Germany in the post war period to work was their outstandingly good cuisine. German cooking has its high points, but generally speaking, compared to Italian cooking it is a bit like one of the recipes here compared to Olive Garden. You won't die from Olive Garden, but the recipes here are real food.

A quick and wonderful snack which the Italians brought with them is this one. Don't be surprised, in Italy butter is used either alone or with olive oil in enormous quantities. It was only here in America, where butter was too expensive for poor Italian immigrants that the Italian American cuisine moved away from it somewhat.

Slice salt-free bread (Italian taxes on salt were horrendous, thus salt reduced and salt free breads are common, especially in the South of Italy) thick enough not to tear but not thicker.

Slather with a really good butter (Italians in Italy love Irish butter).

Skin several garlic cloves.

Cut into fine slices.

Layer onto the buttered bread.

Heat under the infra-red grill just until that heavenly smell arises of perfectly melted butter and ever so slightly just barely turning brown garlic (fried garlic is bitter, so never done).

Heavenly.
 

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