Gourmet Italian

photo credit: gildas_f Italian food and wine lovers know the secret to a good stromboli is to have a good dough to start with.  The stromboli was actually given its name in a hoagie shop outside of Philadelphia in 1950.  The chef named Nat Romano was selling these lots of these baked sandwiches he thought [...]

photo credit: HiMalta I found this gourmet Italian frittata recipe years ago in the now sadly defunct Gourmet magazaine.  People go nuts over this recipe and it is really easy to make. A frittata is kind of like an open face Italian omelet.  It is bulkier and sturdier than the delicate French omelet, and is [...]

photo credit: zoyachubby I serve this simple Italian stew with polenta and it always gets thumbs up around our house.  I think it is named Italian stew because it contains fennel seed and rosemary.  I think the best Italian sausages are the ones that use fennel.  Fennel is native to southern Europe, so it is [...]

photo credit: LHOON Chicagoans are proud of their gourmet steak sandwich which they call Italian beef.  Did you know that this sandwich does not – and never did – exist in Italy? There are many different stories about the origin of this gourmet Italian sandwich, but it is believed to have started in the 1930′s.  [...]

photo credit: Wolfiewolf The technique of cooking rice with Italian Risotto technique began with Italian cooks way back in the 14th century.  Until recently, Risotto was a misunderstood dish.  Many people thought it was the same thing as “Rice Pilaf”.  Others thought it was just rice that was “fancied up” with some broth and seasonings.  [...]

photo credit: daveyll One Italian specialty food that is a real treat and not too hard to make is Veal Saltimbocca.  The word Saltimbocca means “jumps in the mouth” because it is so good it almost jumps in your mouth! This dish is made with either veal, chicken or pork.  The dish was invented in [...]

photo credit: Ash-rly Italian desserts are ALL wonderful, but the cool, silky, melt-in-your-mouth Gelato is in a class by itself.  Gelato actually IS an art form!  The technique was actually perfected by a Sicilian in Paris back in the 1600′s. So what is the difference between ice cream and gelato?  One difference is that gelati [...]