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Olive Garden
It's not Rustic Italian....Ive never made it...and I've chefed in Italian Rests since 82
Pasta Dishes to start...Marinara...Alfredo...Primavera....etc...I've been messing around cooking Italian for the last 15 years... favorite thing to attempt. Anything you recommend shooting for?
My wife is the main cook in our house (i do the grilling) but I LOVE making bolognese. Mine is pretty **** simple, but super **** good! I use market ground beef and pork. Heck, I might have to make a pot of it this weekend. I always make a ton so I can eat leftovers of it for days. lolPasta Dishes to start...Marinara...Alfredo...Primavera....etc...
Bolognese sauce is alittle tougher....Even Clam sauce is relatively easy for a novice...
There are some excellent Italian cookbooks on the market with step by step instructions....always remember to salt your Pasta water liberally....and you NEVER want Rolling Boiling Water....just a simmered boil is what you want....
Pasta Dishes to start...Marinara...Alfredo...Primavera....etc...
Bolognese sauce is alittle tougher....Even Clam sauce is relatively easy for a novice...
There are some excellent Italian cookbooks on the market with step by step instructions....always remember to salt your Pasta water liberally....and you NEVER want Rolling Boiling Water....just a simmered boil is what you want....
Bolognese is tough for a beginner...If your Alfredo breaks thats on you...Lol....Hollandaise is MUCH easier to break...But CaneinOrlando knows all the secrets to fix a broken Hollandaise easily...same for a Bernaise sauce, which is the same as a Hollandaise but with Tarragon reduction whisked in...bolognese isnt tough so much as it's time consuming ... i think primavera (uniform knife cuts) and alfredo (ensuring your sauce doesn't break) are both way less forgiving as a home cook.
My Meat sauce is like my Moms...Italian Sweet Sausage...Pork Ribs that have been baked 3/4 of the way thrown into sauce (Bone and all)...Meatballs...and Ground Chuck cooked....once sauce is done...Bones can be retrieved with Tongs....My wife is the main cook in our house (i do the grilling) but I LOVE making bolognese. Mine is pretty **** simple, but super **** good! I use market ground beef and pork. Heck, I might have to make a pot of it this weekend. I always make a ton so I can eat leftovers of it for days. lol
****, that sounds phenomenal!My Meat sauce is like my Moms...Italian Sweet Sausage...Pork Ribs that have been baked 3/4 of the way thrown into sauce (Bone and all)...Meatballs...and Ground Chuck cooked....once sauce is done...Bones can be retrieved with Tongs....
Pasta Dishes to start...Marinara...Alfredo...Primavera....etc...
Bolognese sauce is alittle tougher....Even Clam sauce is relatively easy for a novice...
There are some excellent Italian cookbooks on the market with step by step instructions....always remember to salt your Pasta water liberally....and you NEVER want Rolling Boiling Water....just a simmered boil is what you want....
I use San Marzano at home...I also tbroughout my career have used Fresh Roma Tomatoes...Make an X on end of tomatoes...Then add tomatoes to boiling water for 30secs...strain them into ice bath to stop cooking...you then can peel them easily (because of X cut, like petals on a flower) slice in half...remove seeds...and put into a Rice Grainer (My preference)Only Al dente coming out of my kitchen. My go to is usually sautéed chicken/veal scallopini dishes like Marsala, Champagne (Maybe not even Italian), Saltimbocca, Picatta, Franchese etc. Was really into Ragu at one point and always making mussels/clams in variations of white and red sauce. With my 'gravy' i'm pretty much crushing up San Marzano tomatoes and letting evaporation do its thing, but know Italians do so much more, or at least i think.
I use San Marzano at home...I also tbroughout my career have used Fresh Roma Tomatoes...Make an X on end of tomatoes...Then add tomatoes to boiling water for 30secs...strain them into ice bath to stop cooking...you then can peel them easily (because of X cut, like petals on a flower) slice in half...remove seeds...and put into a Rice Grainer (My preference)
Its for making Mashed Potatoes silky smooth....Has perforations on bottom...and a hand crank....I used it extensively for yrs in kitchens...I've done all that in the past minus the rice grainer. What exactly is that?
You guys are killing me! I'm starving with all this Italian cooking talk. LOLI use San Marzano at home...I also tbroughout my career have used Fresh Roma Tomatoes...Make an X on end of tomatoes...Then add tomatoes to boiling water for 30secs...strain them into ice bath to stop cooking...you then can peel them easily (because of X cut, like petals on a flower) slice in half...remove seeds...and put into a Rice Grainer (My preference)
No....(but I'm familiar with them) most of the food companies I've dealt with were Sysco and Italian Speciality companies....Sysco pretty much has a stranglehold on the market in Fl....thing with Sysco....they only deal with HUGE orders...They're not coming to a small Mom and Pops restaurant with a $400 order...THATS were Grand Western and others have carved a niche....You guys are killing me! I'm starving with all this Italian cooking talk. LOL
BTW, @caneinorlando, did you ever do any business with a wholesale foods company in Ft Laud by the name of Grand Western Brands?
I worked for them from '76 to '83. We grew rapidly the time I was there. Wasn't much competition other than another local company that I can't recall the name of. I have no doubt that Sysco has that much of a stranglehold.No....(but I'm familiar with them) most of the food companies I've dealt with were Sysco and Italian Speciality companies....Sysco pretty much has a stranglehold on the market in Fl....
Sysco is the Boss in Fl....All the Large Restaurants...All the Theme Parks use them extensively....Their Salesmen are for the most part amazingly trained..I worked for them from '76 to '83. We grew rapidly the time I was there. Wasn't much competition other than another local company that I can't recall the name of. I have no doubt that Sysco has that much of a stranglehold.
I'm all about Al Dente...Not because I don't like Fresh Pasta...but because you can control the firmness...The restaurants that charge $24 for a plate of Pasta Pomodoro should be ashamed of themselves...Ive been to Scarpettas (Scott Conent from the food Networks restaurants) and looked at his prices and was in Hysterics)...The day CaneinOrlando spends $25 for a plate of Pasta that costs $4 to make, is the day I need to be put down....Another reason why people are eating out less frequently....Nothing that Scott...Mario Battali...etc makes, that I can't....and rather easily...Those TV Food Network Stars make me cringe...You go to their rests...and your paying the exorbitant prices for their name alone....and don't EVEN get me started on Guy Fieti....Dudes restaurant in NY was absolute overpriced Garbage...You don't see the likes of the Great Chefs in America on the Food Network....Lol at Gordan Ramsey...Only Al dente coming out of my kitchen. My go to is usually sautéed chicken/veal scallopini dishes like Marsala, Champagne (Maybe not even Italian), Saltimbocca, Picatta, Franchese etc. Was really into Ragu at one point and always making mussels/clams in variations of white and red sauce. With my 'gravy' i'm pretty much crushing up San Marzano tomatoes and letting evaporation do its thing, but know Italians do so much more, or at least i think.