It Ain't Just Pasta

I like most Italian, Chinese, Thai, and the other ethnicities that you find in this great nation. However, I must admit that the worst pizza I ever ate was in Italy. Everything about it was bad: crust, sauce, cheese, and toppings.
 
Italian cuisine to much good food to list, for the cool weather I make a rich meat sauce with fresh mushrooms and sliced green olives. For warmer weather I do a great tomato basal “lite” sauce served over angle hair. Finally baked ziti either with meat or veggie is a favorite with the “lovely and Charming.”

P.s the lovely and Charming does the greatest fried pasta with garlic and olive oil, so I always make sure to add to much pasta to the pot when I cook it.
 
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Whenever, my wife and I go out for Italian; I almost always end up ordering my fave; Veal Parmasean (?). There's this little "family" style Italian place that makes the best!!! They also make their own pasta and great wood fire oven pizzas. It's like a melody of flavors in my mouth! They also make a great White Zinfadel salad dressing!
 
Paglia e fiena; sausage and peppers rustica; eggplant parmigiana; ziti al forno; spinach stuffed squid with white wine sauce; GOOD thin crust pizza with everything on it...including anchovies!
 
DeathGrip said:
The Italians got the tomato from S.America. I always wondered what their dishes were like before the New World discoveries.

No matter where they got them, The Italians perfected the use of tomatoes and peppers.

The best thing I ever tasted was Swordfish Steak Casserole made by my friends father. Mr. Ventura was a true Italian Gent. and always made me eat before his son and I went out chasing coda.
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Swordfish steak casserole sounds pretty good. Now I'm hungry and it's almost coda chasing time :D
 
Being of British descent (yeah, I drink a lot of tea, mostly from Twining's, estb. in 1706 www.twinings.com ) and living in Texas, I have scant Italian connections. My brother once married an Italian girl, and her family was nice, despite cultural and religious differences. My faith, they do like to talk with their hands and get excited easily...

I don't even go to Olive Garden, but am intrigued with this Osso Bucco thing that author Stuart Woods has his Stone Barrington character eat at Elaine's in NYC. And I might try some chicken dishes, if I knew a good Eytie restaurant here. Maybe some veal...

We had one upscale one, where a friend took his wife a lot, but it closed.

I do know that Italians inspired French cuisine, following an Italian girl marrying a French king. She brought her cooks with the rest of her entourage.

I have had many French and German wines, just a few
Iitalian, none too serious, although Valpollicella is okay for a summertime cooler if you don't prefer Sangria, which I do. I have wanted to try a really good Barolo, but my doc told me not to drink any alcoholic beverages after I had to begin taking a med. that conflicts with alcohol. I truly miss good wine. Alec Waugh was right: a meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.

I have decided to try more pasta, and have some bottled tomato sauce with mushrooms and olives. I'll boil some spaghetti and add some chicken and see how that works.

My brother eats a lot of spaghetti and other Italian stuff, but he is not a culinary enthusiast. He orders the same simple fare everywhere, even in Switzerland and Brazil, where I'd be eager to try local foods. But he's a computer geek. That's his world...His wife is Mexican, not a US citizen yet. She gets him to try some of that cuisine. We did often eat Tex-Mex food as kids, even now, although I usually go to Outback when I eat out. I enjoy asking the waitstaff to name the Aussie states in the flag on the wall. None knows any of the states! I'm too nice to bet them that I can name them, and they're too smart to take the bet.

One reason why I avoid Italian food is that I'm afraid of some hoods walking in and machinegunning the diners in a mob "hit." Not a real problem in my cultural heritage. .. (Sorry: this is a Quick post; I can't post a laughng Smilie here.)

Oh: I have enjoyed some German food, inc. those good sausages and kraut at Hans Mueller's restaurant at the Texas State Fair. They also have good German beer. And I prefer German potato salad to the usual sort. And I quite like Sauerbraten.

For what it's worth, the only place where I've enjoyed asparagus was at the Four Seasons hotel in San Antonio. They steamed it and used a very nice cheese sauce.

Aha! I do have one or two happy Italian experiences: I like the Beretta Gallery here, and once met Daniel Perazzi at the SHOT show. I admired his guns and said, "Incisione magnifica" about the engraving. His face lit up and he jabbered something to his cute interpreter.

She said, "Signore Perazzi thanks you, and says that you are only the second American to speak Italian to him at this show. He thanks you for that, too."

I didn't admit that this was most of my Italian vocabulary. But I do own a 9mm Beretta, and have read, "Caesar's War Commentaries. "
 
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Mussels Fra Diavolo is one of my Italian favorites. :)

......moon
 
bobsdad said:
We've travelled in Italy (northern Italy mostly). I find pasta cooked to many different textures there.
I love Italian food. And cooking is fun. The wine that goes with it is a blessing!
My favorite recipe is one for Pasta Fazul (or pasta ***ioli - it has several different spellings - which one is correct?)
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Italian cuisine varies radically from region to region.

I lived in Rome for many years and became accustomed to the food there, which is based on fish and olive oil. You'll never seen any tomato sauce there, except for tourists.

The soup you are asking about is called pasta e ***ioli.

labworm said:
Boston's North End

We have Italy at our fingertips.
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My Italian friends who have been to Boston tell me it's like going back 100 years in time compared to Italy today.

I ate real Italian food in Italy for years, and it's not like the Americanized version, which is heavy on sauce and cheese compared to the real thing. I also *never* saw olive oil poured over bread, but that might happen in other regions.

Besides pasta, real Italian food includes a lot of vegetables (usually at room temp), fruit, cheese, garlic and olive oil. A little wine, but only a little. Have you ever seen people leave a partially-drunk wine bottle or flask on the table? It's common there, because wine is drunk as part of the meal, and not to get a buzz.

I ate a lot while living there, but didn't gain any weight even though I didn't exercise.
 
^^^^ Your post sounds just like my conversation with my wife just minutes ago. She's German but has been to Italy many times.

She's a great cook.
 
I make (I am told) a very good Cioppino, that and our New Year's Eve main dish, Osso Bucco, are my favorites.
Steve W.
 
I grew up just south of Seattle, and the vast majority of the folks in our neighborhood were Italian, many of them first generation. Needless to say, there was LOTS of fine food to be had! Our favorites here at the house are baked chicken with red sauce over linguine, chioppino, and my favorite, Steak Sinatra. Favorite Italian place to eat is a little place in a strip mall near me called Ristorante Isabella. Genuine 4 star food!
 
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