The Recipe Thread

[Hobbes]

Hi folks, I thought as we have people from around the world here it might be a good chance to share simple food recipes (yeah I know a bit odd but what the hell).

I wish I had known this at 20 :-

Hobbes Chicken.

Roll some good chicken legs (free range/corn fed) in flour with some salt and pepper.
Fry for a few minutes on each side with some butter and vegetable oil, adding some mushrooms,
bacon pieces (lardons), a little crushed garlic and onion.
Add a pint or so of water (beer or wine also if you feel like it).
Put on a lid and simmer for 40 minutes turning the chicken occasionally.
After 35 minutes boil some peas and onions.
Then chuck them in the chicken pan for a few minutes and serve (fresh crusty bread goes well).

This must be the wierdest post I have ever made. I would love to see some simple recipes from around the world - I will certainly try them!

Here is an random picture of the American Civil War to give the thread some validity :-



Chris

[Aphrodite Mae]

What a great idea, Hobbes! I was thinking of the same thing, except I was going to start a social group for recipes. But then, I started thinking about how my experience with social groups so far hasn't been very successful, and so I decided to just pout, instead. So I'm really happy that somebody else did it instead!

So: here's my recipe for
Lime Jello with Stuff in it
1) Make sure your spouse isn't watching
2) Open box of Lime Jello, and prepare contents in accordance with instructions on box
3) Add stuff
4) Chill in refridgerator

I recommend hiding it behind milk and juice cartons, while its jelling.

[jastaV]

Pollo alla Marengo
Magengo Chicken

Ingredients:
1 chicken from 1200 kg, 3 peeled tomatoes cut into clean nuts, 1 clove of garlic, 100 grams of raw mushrooms cut into pieces, 100 g of cooked shrimp, 1glass of white wine, 1 onion, chopped fine, toasted bread, fried 4 eggs, salt and chopped parsley.

Preparation:
Cut the chicken into pieces, add salt, dreade chicken meat with flour and brown it with butter or oil, add the onion. When just brown, wet with white wine. Reduce the cooking liquid to half, add tomatoes, crushed garlic and mushrooms; wet with a calf or water. Cook covered for 12 minutes, add the shrimp and parsley. Trimmed with fried eggs laid on tosted bread.

Historically it was offered to Napoleon to celebrate his victory in Marengo!

L.F.

[Hobbes]

What a great idea, Hobbes! I was thinking of the same thing, except I was going to start a social group for recipes. But then, I started thinking about how my experience with social groups so far hasn't been very successful, and so I decided to just pout, instead. So I'm really happy that somebody else did it instead!

So: here's my recipe for
Lime Jello with Stuff in it
1) Make sure your spouse isn't watching
2) Open box of Lime Jello, and prepare contents in accordance with instructions on box
3) Add stuff
4) Chill in refridgerator

I recommend hiding it behind milk and juice cartons, while its jelling.

Nice idea Mae, but I had a feeling the social group thing would be doomed.
You look great when you pout though!

Chris

[Hobbes]

Pollo alla Marengo
Magengo Chicken

Ingredients:
1 chicken from 1200 kg, 3 peeled tomatoes cut into clean nuts, 1 clove of garlic, 100 grams of raw mushrooms cut into pieces, 100 g of cooked shrimp, 1glass of white wine, 1 onion, chopped fine, toasted bread, fried 4 eggs, salt and chopped parsley.

Preparation:
Cut the chicken into pieces, add salt, dreade chicken meat with flour and brown it with butter or oil, add the onion. When just brown, wet with white wine. Reduce the cooking liquid to half, add tomatoes, crushed garlic and mushrooms; wet with a calf or water. Cook covered for 12 minutes, add the shrimp and parsley. Trimmed with fried eggs laid on tosted bread.

Historically it was offered to Napoleon to celebrate his victory in Marengo!

L.F.

Jasta, I will try this next Sunday. Thanks for posting - it's an Italian dish so it must be good! I'll let you know how I get on with it. I like the historical reference

Chris

[tagwyn]

If Obama wins election; we will be looking to hide our money behind the milk, in the fridge. If we have any after he "redistributes" it. apy:

[jastaV]

Jasta, I will try this next Sunday. Thanks for posting - it's an Italian dish so it must be good! I'll let you know how I get on with it. I like the historical reference

Chris

You had a good idea with the "The Recipe Thread"!
One of the problem could be with local ingredients : so my suggestion is to go after dishes using commonly world-wide components.

[jastaV]

to tagwyn

Please do not go on this way!
You should know political-social threads/posts are soon closed!
If you like be "censured" I suggest you to start a new, own thread.

Take all that friendly: I've been censured too when I tried starting an economical discussion.

Regards

JastaV

[Rafiki]

If Obama wins election; we will be looking to hide our money behind the milk, in the fridge. If we have any after he "redistributes" it. apy:

[color="Red"]Tagwyn, it has been made quite clear on numerous occasions that current politics is not a topic open for discussion at these forums; there are plenty of places on the internet that you can discuss such matters if you feel a need to, but this isn't one of them.

Is this really so hard to understand and to respect? [/color]

[Zebedee]

I like mint. I like chocolate. I like cheesecake.

Welcome to Mint Aero Cheesecake (gratuitously stolen from BBC website because I first got it from Blue Peter )

Ingrediants:
16 milk chocolate digestives
50g of butter

For the Top:
750g Mascarpone
3 tbsp of Icing Sugar
5 tbsp of Mint chocolate drinking powder
1 tbsp of coca powder
1/2 a bar of Mint Aero - crushed

For Decoration:
The other half of the Mint Aero.


Line a springform tin and grease.

Melt the butter in a pan. Crush the Milk Chocolate Digestives and add to the melted Butter. Stir until the mixture has been coated by the Butter and the Chocolate has melted.

Add the Digestive mixture to the tin and cover the bottom, pressing firm so the base is even and compressed. Leave to one side.

In a large bowl add the Mascarpone, Icing sugar, the Mint Chocolate and the Coca powder and stir till the mixture is even. Add the crushed Aero bits so they are even throughout the mixture.

Add the Mascarpone mixture to the tin, making sure the top is even. Decorate with the rest of the Aero.

Place in the fridge to set and chill for about 1 hour.

---

It's very healthy for you because it has mint and chocolate in it.

[jastaV]

I like mint. I like chocolate. I like cheesecake.

Welcome to Mint Aero Cheesecake (gratuitously stolen from BBC website because I first got it from Blue Peter )

Ingrediants:
16 milk chocolate digestives
50g of butter

For the Top:
750g Mascarpone
3 tbsp of Icing Sugar
5 tbsp of Mint chocolate drinking powder
1 tbsp of coca powder
1/2 a bar of Mint Aero - crushed

For Decoration:
The other half of the Mint Aero.


Line a springform tin and grease.

Melt the butter in a pan. Crush the Milk Chocolate Digestives and add to the melted Butter. Stir until the mixture has been coated by the Butter and the Chocolate has melted.

Add the Digestive mixture to the tin and cover the bottom, pressing firm so the base is even and compressed. Leave to one side.

In a large bowl add the Mascarpone, Icing sugar, the Mint Chocolate and the Coca powder and stir till the mixture is even. Add the crushed Aero bits so they are even throughout the mixture.

Add the Mascarpone mixture to the tin, making sure the top is even. Decorate with the rest of the Aero.

Place in the fridge to set and chill for about 1 hour.

---

It's very healthy for you because it has mint and chocolate in it.

Tips from Italian Ice cream preparations.
Use black pure fine chocolat instead of milk or other chocolate bars: reduce it to chips.
Use alcoholic mint essence: few drops needed.

[Zebedee]

Oooo Jasta V. My gf is coming up next week. I think that sounds like a great way to celebrate. Super tips thank you.

[Hobbes]

I like mint. I like chocolate. I like cheesecake.

Yes me too!


Welcome to Mint Aero Cheesecake

No!!!! It's just wrong

[Hobbes]

Pollo alla Marengo
Magengo Chicken

Ingredients:
1 chicken from 1200 kg, 3 peeled tomatoes cut into clean nuts, 1 clove of garlic, 100 grams of raw mushrooms cut into pieces, 100 g of cooked shrimp, 1glass of white wine, 1 onion, chopped fine, toasted bread, fried 4 eggs, salt and chopped parsley.

Preparation:
Cut the chicken into pieces, add salt, dreade chicken meat with flour and brown it with butter or oil, add the onion. When just brown, wet with white wine. Reduce the cooking liquid to half, add tomatoes, crushed garlic and mushrooms; wet with a calf or water. Cook covered for 12 minutes, add the shrimp and parsley. Trimmed with fried eggs laid on tosted bread.

Historically it was offered to Napoleon to celebrate his victory in Marengo!

L.F.

Jasta, my wife bought all the ingredients today so I will try it tomorrow night.
Looking forward to it!

Cheers, Chris

[jastaV]

On of the secret behind Italian food is the high quality of used products!

Lots of cheeses, world wide available can call themselves "parmesan" but, according to Italian law, not all cheeses can call themselves "Parmigiano-Reggiano", "Grana Padano", "Grana Trentino".

Parmigiano-Reggiano, or Parmigiano.
Made for at least 800 years according to exacting standards covering recipe, methods and areas of production, and aging conditions, real Parmigiano-Reggiano is one of the most famous and beloved cheeses in the world. It is aged for at least two years, and although it is a superb grating cheese, it is a remarkable table cheese, as well. Upon taking a nibble, a burst of fruity flavors jumps onto the palate, followed by a nutty tang, and a minimal, balanced amount of salt. The longer it ages, the more amino acid crystals can be found, taking the form of a pleasant crunch. It's the King of Cheeses!



Grana Padano
Many people think that the massive wheels of Grana Padano, the semi-aged hard Italian cheese, are maybe a cheaper knock-off of better known Parmigiana-Reggiano,
Grano Padano is a subtler and less nutty and salty than Parmigiano, with a more delicate flavor.
Grano Padano and Parmigiano-Reggiano are both northern Italian cheeses originally made by monks, and both come in different lengths of aging.
The flavor differences stem from two big differences between the two: Grana Padano is made only with partially skimmed milk, while Parmigiano is made from a mix of whole and skimmed milk. Second, while they are made in the same basic part of Italy, they are also made in different regions from cows that graze on different pastures - meaning the milk tastes a little different.
Grana Padano can be made in five regions north of the Po River in a northern Italy - Padana basically means the Po River valley - while Parmigiano-Reggiano can only come from the cities of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna and Mantua.



Grana Padano was created at the beginning of the millennium by the Cistercian monks of Chiaravalle who used ripened cheese as a way of preserving surplus milk. Between 1150 and 1200 a large number of cheese-makers became engaged in the production of Grana Padano, and by 1477 it was held to be the most famous cheese of Italy. This sweet and savoury cheese became a particular favourite of the people of Lombardy and its production spread throughout the region.
It began to appear with greater frequency as an ingredient in the foods of aristocrats and commoners alike. Grana Padano is a cylindrical, cooked, semi-fat hard cheese which is matured slowly. It may be used as a table cheese or for grating. A golden oily rind encases a white or straw-coloured fine-grained cheese with crumbly fissures radiating outwards from the centre. The taste is fragrant and delicate, and the cheese preserves its integrity for one or two years.

Grana Trentino
Trento's prominent cheese is Grana Trentino
The "Grana Trentino" belongs to the Consorzio di Tutela del formaggio Grana, but - according to a specific derogation - can use the subdenomination "Trentino" impressed with fire on the cheese rind.
As the name suggets is produced in Trentino region.


But the use you planned for, as an Italian dish ingredient or table cheese be sure to BUY Italian "Parmigiano-Reggiano", "Grana Padano", "Grana Trentino" not a [color="Red"]NON-Italian PARMISAN[/color]!
Probably you'll have to spend a bit more, than buying parmisan but the difference is worth in term of quality and prestige!


note: in the next days I'll go on posting as regard Italian, high quality products typically used for Italian dishes preparation.
Later, I could add simple recipes illustrating their use!

[Korrigan]

Uh... time for lunch...

[Zebedee]

You're making me hungry Jasta... I'm going to hunt down something to it and wait patiently for your recipes

[Adlertag]

Here is an exquisite recipe,highly impressive, especially for a Christmas or New Year menu.
Pocus likes it very much...

Gratinée de Coquille St Jacques
Scallops gratinéed
Prep'Time : 45 minutes
Cook Time : 10 minutes grill Medium

This recipe has his origins in Normandy and is very famous.

Scalllops gratinéed, Ingredients for 4 people :

- 6 big scallops, preferably fresh from shell
- 20 small shrimps (already cooked)
- 100 gr [3 oz] mushrooms all over the country.
- 30 gr [1 oz] butter + a few knobs
- 40 gr [1 1/2 oz] plain flour
- 1 cup of water (250 ml)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (125 ml)
- 2 Tbspoons + 1 drop olive oil
- 1 drop of lemon juice
- 1 big shallot ; 1 bay leaf
- 1 Tbspoon sour cream
- 6 Tbspoons of dry breadcrumbs
- grated nutmeg, salt & pepper

Recipe :

1- Peel the shrimps ; peel the shallot and cut it in 2 halves, longwise. Wash the scallops if necessary and cut them in half crossway. Thinly slice the mushrooms.
2- In a small saucepan, pour the water and wine ; add the shallot, bayleaf, the drops of oil and lemon juice, and salt. Add the scallops ; they should be entirely covered by the liquid. Gently bring to simmer, cover with a lid, and let cook for another 5 minutes.
3- Remove the scallops from the cooking liquid and strain them, but keep the cooking juice.
4- In a frying pan, cook the sliced mushroom in the 2 spoons of olive oil, for about 5 minutes (medium-high heat, stirring often).
4- Prepare your 4 individual scallop dishes : display 3 slices of scallop in the bottom of each, put 5 shrimps on them, equally divide the mushrooms on top of them.
5- In a medium saucepan, prepare a white sauce : melt the butter, medium flame, and pour the flour on it while stirring until well blended. On a more gentle flame, start pouring a bit of the cooking juice and gently stir until it is incorporated ; keep doing this way until the white sauce is ready (it must get thicker, but not too much ; reckon 10 minutes). The quantity of liquid you have might be slightly too much, don't hesitate to leave some away.
6- Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg ; finally add the cream.
7- Pour the white sauce equally in each individual scallop dish.
8- Sprinkle equally the breadcrumbs on each dish and put one or two thin butter knobs on.
9- Put under oven grill until golden brown (reckon 10 minutes). Serve immediately with a dry white wine.

[jastaV]

Here is an exquisite recipe,highly impressive, especially for a Christmas or New Year menu.
Pocus likes it very much...
Gratinée de Coquille St Jacques
Scallops gratinéed

Great, the natural enemy has been engaged!
.....referring to the endless competition between Cucina Italiana and Cuisine Françoise !
... and we have yet to start the old fight in matter of Wines!

Now, just waiting for news from Espana: I love their pescado dishes!

Have to thank Adlertag for quoting French Christmas dinner: that remind me of a french movie: La Bûche; Danièle Thompson, 1999.
That's the way I'm going to spend my after dinner time.....

[dooya]

Any need for some Sauerkraut? *marches around the kitchen table*

[jastaV]

OLIVE OILS

Olive oil is the result of grinding and pressing the fresh flesh of the olives. Olives are generally harvested from November until March. Olives are picked just as the olive changes color. The color changing indicates that most of the oil has formed and is at peak flavor. For pure olive oil, the olives need to be pressed quickly from when they are picked since they begin to oxidize the moment they are removed from the tree.

Types of Olive Oils:
There are three basic types of olive oils: extra virgin, virgin and pure olive oil.

The extra virgin olive oil is the top grade of the olive oils. The oil has less than 1% acidity, the olives have been picked and pressed the same day, and the oil has a strong, green color with a perfect aroma. Essentially, extra virgin Olive oil should smell and taste just like the olive from which it came from.
Extra-virgin olive oil is produced in all regions of Italy, except Piedmont and Val D'Aosta. The leading producers are Liguria, Tuscany, Umbria, and Apulia. Tuscany produces such a great assortment of extra virgin oils that many do not resemble each other. In Umbria, it is so widely produced that it would be hard to imagine the landscape without the abundance of olive trees. Apulia is home to an impressive one-third of Italy's olive trees.

Virgin olive oil is the next grade. It has less than 2% acidity with good color and aroma. This may be the result of the next day olive pressing.

The final grade is pure olive oil. This is much lighter in color with little or no aroma. Pure olive oil is the result of a blend of virgin olive oil and refined oil, which is generally extracted from olive pulp, skin and/or pits.

Olive Oil Properties
Sun, stone, drought, silence and solitude: these are the five ingredients that, according to Italian folk traditions, create the ideal habitat for the olive tree.

We treasure extra-virgin olive oil for its nutritional and salutary virtues. Extra-virgin olive oil is the most digestible of the edible fats: it helps to assimilate vitamins A, D and K; it contains so-called essential acids that cannot be produced by our own bodies; it slows down the aging process; and it helps bile, liver and intestinal functions. It is also valued for its culinary virtues and organoleptic properties as well: flavor, bouquet, and color.
Climate, soil, variety of tree and time of harvest account for the different organoleptic properties of different oils. Certain extra-virgin olive oils are blends of varieties of olives; others are made from one cultivar.

Olive oil is excellent for food cooking, due to its thermal stability and resistance to oxidative process. While other vegetable and animal oils degradates producing dangerous free radicals, Olive oils are stable at cooking temperature.
But thet it preserve part of organoletic properties even on cooked dishes.


Extra-virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil are basic products in italian food preparation.
It's to be pointed out other countries are excellent olive oil producers: Spain, Greece, Turkey, North Africa Mediterranean countries.
U.E. exchange and economical policy, but dictating standards for olive oil classification is also influencing their marketing.
Guess extra-virgin olive oil and virgin olive origin, but influencing oil flavor, bouquet, and color does not influence quality when production standard are respected.
So you could use any olive oil, with almost same results but I RECOMMEND TO CHECK YOU ARE BUYING AND USING VIRGIN OLIVE OIL OR EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL.

[Hobbes]

I tried the Pollo alla Marengo last night. Very nice! An unusual set of ingredients on one plate but it was good. I'll have to try the St Jacques soon. And I love Sauerkraut dooya (also Schnitzel).

Some of the hearty east european dishes I also think are very good, especially on a cold day :-

Hungarian Cabbage and Meatball Soup.
Serves 4.

1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves or garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp thyme leaves
2 tsp paprika, preferably sweet
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp plain flour
1.5 litres beef stock
200g tin of chopped tomatoes
half a head of Savoy cabbage, cut into rough 3cm chunks
150 ml soured cream to serve
1 tbsp vegetable or corn oil

for the meatballs
250g minced fatty pork, like belly
70g fresh white breadcrumbs
1 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika

Gently cook the onion, garlic, caraway, thyme and paprika
in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes, stirring every so often.
Add the flour and stir well, then gradually stir in the stock and the
chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil, season and simmer gently for
45 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the meatballs by mixing all the ingredients together and
seasoning. Mould them into 12 balls then fry them in the vegetable oil over a
high heat, turning them, until they are golden brown all over, then drain on
kitchen paper.

Add the meatballs to the soup with the cabbage and simmer for another 15
minutes or so until the cabbage is cooked. Serve with sour cream on the side
or spooned on top.

+ fresh crusty bread.

Cheers, Chris

[Adlertag]

I tried the Pollo alla Marengo last night. Very nice! An unusual set of ingredients on one plate but it was good. I'll have to try the St Jacques soon. And I love Sauerkraut dooya (also Schnitzel).

I see your are a fine "gourmet".
For the St Jacques, use a scallop dish to add a final good touch.
Instead chicken for Marengo recipe, we often use veal, although not the historical recipe.

[Adlertag]

Great, the natural enemy has been engaged!
.....referring to the endless competition between Cucina Italiana and Cuisine Françoise !
... and we have yet to start the old fight in matter of Wines!

And we don't want to speak Football competition between our two nations, don't we ?

[Hobbes]

And we don't want to speak Football competition between our two nations, don't we ?

As a Chelsea fan I would hope Jasta is not from Rome

[jastaV]

And we don't want to speak Football competition between our two nations, don't we ?

..... just because to have a competition we need two competitors?


Indeed, I'm not a great football fan!

[Adlertag]

..... just because to have a competition we need two competitors?


Indeed, I'm not a great football fan!

Me too.
And I don't want to speak also about Rugby since this time, Hobbes will have surely some words to say concerning the recent world championship...

[jastaV]

Hi,
next weekend is here and it's time to add a new traditional cornerstone in Italian food.....

Tomatoes and "relatives"

Tomatoes are worked, according to Italian tradition, so to get different products. All of them are basic components for Italian dishes!

Fresh Tomatoes, POMODORI
Canned Peeled Tomatos, PELATI
Natural Tomato Pulp, POLPA DI POMODORO
Worked Tomato paste, PASSATA DI POMODORO
Tomato Sauce, SALSA AL POMODORO

POMODORI
Fresh tomatoes are used in salads and in the preparation of many traditional dishes.
Most populat is "Italian Caprese": [color="Blue"]Tomatoes are sliced and covered with a fresh Mozzarella slice. Add Olive Extra-Vergine Oil, salt, origan. A perfect summer dish, indeed![/color]


PELATI
Raw fresh tin canned peeled tomatoes in tomato juice.
Available in tin cans or glass.
Used to prepare many dishes.


POLPA DI POMODORO
Raw fresh peeled tomatoes are worked to be reduced in small pieces or to a thick paste. The pulp can be perfectly smooth or chunky.
Available in tin cans or glasses.
Fresh, smooth tomato pulp is a basic component in Italian pizza.
...OKAY! No need to say Italian Pizza: PIZZA is only Italian!

PASSATA
Tomato paste is a thick cooked paste made from ripened tomatoes with skin and seeds removed.
Originally it was an artisan product that is still made the traditional way in parts of Sicily and Southern Italy. The artisan product is made by spreading out a much reduced tomato sauce on wooden boards. The boards are set outdoors under the hot August sun to dry the paste until it is thick enough, when scraped up, to hold together in a richly coloured dark ball.
Out of southern Italy sunny regions PASSATA, or tomato concentrate, consists of tomatoes that have been cooked for several hours, strained and reduced to a thick, rich concentrate. It is generally fairly sweet.
While it is almost universally industrially produced now, it was made for years in homes in Italy.
It is sold in cans, tubes, glasses.
It's a basic component in many dishes and in preparation of tomato sauces.


I catched in the net the description of the preparation of home made PASSATA.......

Tomato passata

An experience of making tomato passata by yours truly and partner helping friends.
Pick approx 230kg of tomatoes.
Wash tomatoes and remove any bad bits.
The tomatoes were then put into a large saucepan (700mm dia x 500mm dp) and brought to the boil on an open fire. As the tomatoes boiled they were transferred to muslin covered plastic crates, this strains off some of the excess juice, more tomatoes were added to the saucepan as they were washed etc.
The tomatoes in the crates were then fed into a mincer which seperated the juice which was caught in a large plastic bucket (500mm dia x 600mm dp), the residue was also collected and fed through the mincer another couple of times to collect every drop of liquid.
The juice was then poured into ex beer bottles (approx 1 pint) and sealed with metal caps, a total of 210 bottles were produced.
2 - 45 gallon oil drums with a hole approx 250mm sq in the side were laid, hole uppermost on steel cradles, each drum holds approx 110/120 bottles.
A hessian sack was laid in the drums and the bottles placed inside on their sides, the drums were then filled with water until the bottles were covered.
A large fire was lit and the water was brought to the boil, it was kept boiling for 30/45 mins this should ensure that the tomatoes should be good for at least 2 years, approx 10 bottles broke during the boiling.
This was done by 5 people from 6am to 9am at which point we joined, it was all finished by about 1.30pm.
This was all done ouside in a temp of approx 35c and a roaring fire, shade from a couple of brollies.
During the morning pork and peppers were roasted, eaten and washed down with water, beer and vino rosso, all washed up and cleared away by 3pm, home for a siesta.
This weekend we have to do our own tomatoes, not so many so should be able to do ourselves.
I appreciate that some of you have already done this but it was an experience for us and maybe interesting for those of you not lucky enough to be here.


SALSA AL POMODORO
A tomato sauce is any of a very large number of sauces made primarily out of tomatoes and other components, (meats and vegetables), usually to be served as part of a dish or as a condiment for pasta dishes.
Tomato sauces are worked out of Tomato passata, Tomato pulp, Pelati or even rarely fresh Yomatoes.
Italian Tomato Spaghetti are just spaghetti, PROPERLY KOOCKED*** and added with fresh tomato sauce,....and some Parmigiano!

***: I'll expose in detail in a next post the art of coocking spaghetti according to italian tradition:..... nothing to see with the melting past coil produced in many countries!

[jastaV]

Me too.
And I don't want to speak also about Rugby since this time, Hobbes will have surely some words to say concerning the recent world championship...

...or about F1 Pilot World Championship!

[jastaV]

BRUSCHETTA

Italian bruschetta is a simple, very quick, tasty dish.
It can be served as hors-d'oeuvres or consumed as a snack in a break between PC gaming or editing sessions.
Indeed, looking at wide use of garlic for its preparation it's not first choice dish for a romantic dinner!




Components:
Bread reduced to 2 fingers tall slices, (2-3 Cm)
Garlic
Extra-Vergine Olive Oil
Salt
Origan
Basil
Tomatoes

Work some fresh, mature tomatoes in fine chops, (you can use chopped pelati, indeed!) add salt, Basil leaves, origan (at will!), chopped garlic and olive oil, and mix all them with a wooden spoon within a large cup.


Cut bread in wide, 2 fingers tall slices and put them in a cocking over, (180-220 °C degrees), wait till bread surface assumes a brown-gold colour and a crispy consistency.
Take the hot bread slices out of oven and rub them with peeled garlic slices: be quickly, bread slicec have not to cool down.
Add some spoons of the worked tomatoes over the bread slices, then put them inside the oven for 3-5 minutes.
Put your hot bruschettas over dishes, spread them with little olive oil and offer them.




This is the basic recipe but only your fantasy is a limitation to possible variations.
Capers, brown olives, oiled canned anchovyes or anchovy paste are commonly added, too.
Fresh, thin slices of melting cheeses, (mozzarella or other) are commonly used too.

White bruschettas can be prepared without tomatoes, garnishing garlic rubbed bread slices just with cheeses, putting them in oven till cheese melts. Olive oil is then added before having them.