Italian Food

Cotechino with lentils: Cotechino (o Zampone) con lenticchie.
Cotechino with lentils is one of the dishes of the Italian culinary tradition during the Christmas period, especially is the symbol of the traditional dinner at the New Year's Eve which Cotechino cut into slices served with lentils practically never lack. It is also custom to believe that lentils, especially eaten at the end of the year, bring good luck and money.
Cotechino is a sort of cooked pork sausage, made with pork, pork rind and its fat, spices and aromatic herbs, salt and pepper, similar to a large salami but very soft both inside and outside. It has a long cooking time if you choose the fresh cotechino instead of precooked. In addition to lentils, it is also perfect served with mashed potatoes or vegetables such as spinach and peas. One of the most famous Italian producer Region of Cotechino is Emilia Romagna.

Cotechino and lentils.jpg
 
I have forgotten what those rest stops are called along the major hi-ways in Italy, but the food (fast food) at them put most "Italian" restaurants here to shame. The best Italian restaurant we had ever found here closed many years ago called Antenello's. We discovered it from a google search for carpoccio. It was run by a family from the Abruzzi region. The potato gnocchi were so light, I swear that if they hadn't been sauced, they would have floated like clouds off the plate.

While vending at a reptile show in Daytona Beach, FL, we discovered another family run restaurant called the Cellar. We would be going there except it is about 250 miles away.

Incredible coincident, we sold our house back in 2015 and moved to a temporary rental. There was an issue with the bathroom shower and the landlord sent his handyman to repair it. He was an Italian from Abruzzi. We started talking about Italian food, low and behold, he was a close friend of the folks that ran Antenello's! He called Tony up and he remembered us and gave us a recommendation to a restaurant near us called Tavolino della Nonna. Our oldest granddaughter came to visit us a few years ago and we took her to several restaurants, one of which was Tavolino. This poor child had been limited to what only her father would eat all her life. The only actual cheese he would eat on chain restaurant pizza. The child was a bottomless pit at every place we took her! The Melting Pot, a fondue place and Tavolino I got. I was amazed when we took her to a Korean restaurant!:eek: I never dreamed she would eat just about everything we ordered. I believe those experiences, along with Karen's guidance and cookalongs were what sparked her interest in learning to cook.:D

ps- None of those restaurants served/serve pizza and the best Irish coffee we've ever had was at a Pub in Stresa.
 
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A very nice story! As rest stops along the Italian highways I think you mean Autogrill, right? Sorry I'm not sure to understand..you mean that most Italian restaurants in your area serve food like Autogrill food? If yes, Oh My! When we stop at Autogrill and we decide to eat something, we eat only sandwiches.

Children are very curious but in general they do not eat a lot ... maybe your granddaughter has tasted a new atmosphere, in addition to new things...a future cookingbites member? :)
Incredible that the best Irish coffee you have ever had was on Maggiore Lake! But I think it's because it's very turistic especially there are lot Brits turists..
 
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I love Italian food. My favorite restaurant is Italian. I will not say that it is Authentic - not a term I like. The food is amazing. All pasta is cooked to perfection, the sauces are divine and the Osso Buco is to die for. Jack - the restauranteur - pours complimentary glasses of home made limoncello for his guest. Friday and Saturday there is an Italian gentleman playing music for the guest. Jack's chef has added some local ingredients to his menu - a blue point crab salad that could easily be a meal. My favorite salad - pear and gorgonzola with caramelized pecans on a bed of mixed greens. A secret dressing.

There is another locally owned Italian restaurant that I enjoy. I remember when they opened their first location. A family affair. Mama ran the kitchen. She spoke no English. Lovely food. The atmosphere in the original restaurant was homey, warm and welcoming. The new location lacks atmosphere. They have become a place to see and be seen. Diners are not encouraged to sit, relax and take time over a meal. A shame. The food is wonderful but I do not like to feel rushed.

A cooking show that I really enjoyed was Extra Virgin. We cut back on the cable channels a couple of years ago and I no longer have access to this show. Very Tuscan. My favorite recipe for spaghetti a la puttanesca.

@MypinchofItaly once I have mastered bread I will get a pasta attachment for Red and try making my own pasta.
 
MypinchofItaly said:
A very nice story! As rest stops along the Italian highways I think you mean Autogrill, right? Sorry I'm not sure to understand..you mean that most Italian restaurants in your area serve food like Autogrill food? If yes, Oh My! When we stop at Autogrill and we decide to eat something, we eat only sandwiches.

Children are very curious but in general they do not eat a lot ... maybe your granddaughter has tasted a new atmosphere, in addition to new things...a future cookingbites member? :)
Incredible that the best Irish coffee you have ever had was on Maggiore Lake! But I think it's because it's very turistic especially there are lot Brits turists..
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Yes that was the name and compared to the food available at most rest stops on our turnpike and most Italian restaurants here, the food was much better. That was back in 1997 though.

Have you ever heard of an after dinner liquor called "Punch", probably from Abruzzi?
 
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CraigC said:
Yes that was the name and compared to the food available at most rest stops on our turnpike and most Italian restaurants here, the food was much better. That was back in 1997 though.

Have you ever heard of an after dinner liquor called "Punch", probably from Abruzzi?
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Yep Punch from Abruzzo. Almost Every bar in Italy has one but usually old people drink it. It's a digestive liquor made with alcohol ,spices and several herbs. It's quite common in Italy to make and have this kind of liquor. Amaro del Capo if I well remember is from Calabria, Amaro Montenegro (mmm...maybe from Marche but I don't bet), and the most famous Limoncello from Sicilia and Limoncetta from Sorrento (Campania) and many others. My fave is Mirto from Sardegna.
 
MypinchofItaly said:
Yep Punch from Abruzzo. Almost Every bar in Italy has one but usually old people drink it. It's a digestive liquor made with alcohol ,spices and several herbs. It's quite common in Italy to make and have this kind of liquor. Amaro del Capo if I well remember is from Calabria, Amaro Montenegro (mmm...maybe from Marche but I don't bet), and the most famous Limoncello from Sicilia and Limoncetta from Sorrento (Campania) and many others. My fave is Mirto from Sardegna.
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Is it possible to get a recipe? We make our own Limoncello because the stores don't carry our favorite brand, Toschi, anymore.
 
ElizabethB said:
I love Italian food. My favorite restaurant is Italian. I will not say that it is Authentic - not a term I like. The food is amazing. All pasta is cooked to perfection, the sauces are divine and the Osso Buco is to die for. Jack - the restauranteur - pours complimentary glasses of home made limoncello for his guest. Friday and Saturday there is an Italian gentleman playing music for the guest. Jack's chef has added some local ingredients to his menu - a blue point crab salad that could easily be a meal. My favorite salad - pear and gorgonzola with caramelized pecans on a bed of mixed greens. A secret dressing.

There is another locally owned Italian restaurant that I enjoy. I remember when they opened their first location. A family affair. Mama ran the kitchen. She spoke no English. Lovely food. The atmosphere in the original restaurant was homey, warm and welcoming. The new location lacks atmosphere. They have become a place to see and be seen. Diners are not encouraged to sit, relax and take time over a meal. A shame. The food is wonderful but I do not like to feel rushed.

A cooking show that I really enjoyed was Extra Virgin. We cut back on the cable channels a couple of years ago and I no longer have access to this show. Very Tuscan. My favorite recipe for spaghetti a la puttanesca.

@MypinchofItaly once I have mastered bread I will get a pasta attachment for Red and try making my own pasta.
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@ElizabethB glad you like Italian food...there are so many recipes for every region, every City, area, villages, families, that it's not easy to know all them..and the North/Centre/South dishes are so different..but sometimes very similar. :o_o: My mission is to taste all!
I agree with you, atmosphere in a restaurant is fundamental. Eat with clock on your head it's the best way to lose customers.
I like your description of chef Jack..homemade limoncello must be great.. and the combo gorgonzola and pere it's for me, definitely. I love them in the risotto.
I've made ossobuco and posted here....or so seems to me, I don't remember...let me check it for you.
A cooking show called Extra Virgin, nice! Sorry you can't see it anymore..this means you have to come in Tuscany :happy:
Puttanesca sauce, love it!
 
MypinchofItaly said:
Incredible that the best Irish coffee you have ever had was on Maggiore Lake! But I think it's because it's very turistic especially there are lot Brits turists..
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Well, the husband was Italian and had brought home an Irish bride. We had been to dinner up the hill in the non touristy part of town at a place a very nice shopkeeper had recommended, and boy was that a hike, no need to worry about calories from that meal. After a lovely meal we had managed to get despite our very limited Italian and their limited English, which included fried calamari I remember to this day, extremely tender, yet crisply fried to a light golden brown, served with lemon wedges to squeeze over upon serving, no marinara. We started our trek down the hill, stopping at a little shop about half way down I had seen on the way up that was closed then, where I picked up some linens, then we decided to cross the street to the pub. There was just as much Italian being spoken as English, and we got the Irish lady as our bartender. We complimented her on her coffee and she told us her secrets were about 1/3 amount of white to 2/3 amount of brown sugars for sweeteners, and lots of a good Irish whisky.
 
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ElizabethB said:
@MypinchofItaly

My bucket list incudes a trip tp Italy with the Tuscan region high on the list. I adore Italian food. I would love to experience Italian cooking first hand.

Happy New Year
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Hope you can do your trip as soon as possible. Tuscany is lovely, my mother in law was from Tuscany.

Happy New Year @ElizabethB
 
@MypinchofItaly & @ElizabethB

Though I am Catalan and Spanish, I absolutely love regional Italian cuisine and eat it quite often ( Italy is only a 1 hour flight to 1.5 hours depending where I am going ).

I am a grand fan of ravioli stuffed with pears and gorgonzola .. Love it in salads too ..

One of my fave dishes in Italia (Milano), is Risotto with Gamberi Rossi (Red prawns) .. I probably could live on this if I had to choose 1 favorite dish ..

Tuscany is the land of the Dioses (The Gods) .. I have Friends in Livorno on the Tuscan Coast and in Florence .. I am quite an enthusiast of the noble Tuscan Red Wines from Montepulciano ..

Have a lovely day Ladies .. All my best wishes from Venice ..
 
Francesca said:
@MypinchofItaly & @ElizabethB

Though I am Catalan and Spanish, I absolutely love regional Italian cuisine and eat it quite often ( Italy is only a 1 hour flight to 1.5 hours depending where I am going ).

I am a grand fan of ravioli stuffed with pears and gorgonzola .. Love it in salads too ..

One of my fave dishes in Italia (Milano), is Risotto with Gamberi Rossi (Red prawns) .. I probably could live on this if I had to choose 1 favorite dish ..

Tuscany is the land of the Dioses (The Gods) .. I have Friends in Livorno on the Tuscan Coast and in Florence .. I am quite an enthusiast of the noble Tuscan Red Wines from Montepulciano ..

Have a lovely day Ladies .. All my best wishes from Venice ..
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Livorno= caciucco!
Have you ever eat caciucco (fish soup) @Francesca ? I think so.
Last year we made a trip to Montepulciano, Quirico d'Orcia,Val D'Orcia, etc..wonderful places, very good food and wine.
 
MypinchofItaly said:
Livorno= caciucco!
Have you ever eat caciucco (fish soup) @Francesca ? I think so.
Last year we made a trip to Montepulciano, Quirico d'Orcia,Val D'Orcia, etc..wonderful places, very good food and wine.
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@MypinchofItaly

Yes Dear .. Amazingly incredible ( Caciucco ) fish soup ..

We were in Tuscany last year .. Amazingly incredible landscapes, wines, castles and food ..

I loved the coast of Livorno, Viareggio di Lucca and the whole coast .. I love the sea, Winter, spring, summer or autumn .. The aromas of the salty Mediterranean.

We have a number of clients & closely affiliated authors, photographers and chefs in Tuscany and the Unesco Director has become a good friend too ..

We collaborate with our tourism travel agency with numerous Italian tourism agencies .. My husband speaks good Italian. He handles our inter exchanges with Barcelona and Italy ..

Ciao .. Have a lovely day ..
 
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