About Italian Food: Spring is Here!

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Italian Food Italian Food Quick/Easy Recipes Le Basi Classic Recipes From Kyle Phillips, your Guide to Italian Food A month late, according to the calendar, but it has been in the mid-20s for 3 days now. 20s C, which is high 60s F. I'm not complaining, though it does mean I'll have to start spending time in the yard. We're thinking about planting some vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, and such) this spring, and it's time to start. Speaking of Tomatoes... The title link leads to tips for growing perfect tomatoes. And once you have them? You could make: Pomodori Marinati, Italian Tomato Salad: These tomatoes are a picnic dish, and to be honest I'm not sure why they're called marinated in Italian, since it only takes about 15 minutes to do. Pomodori col Riso, Neapolitan Tomatoes Stuffed With Rice: This is a classic Neapolitan recipe for stuffed tomatoes; they'll work well as either an antipasto or a side dish, and can be served wither hot or cool. Dino's Marinara Sauce: Makes a LOT -- invite friends! Spaghetti ai Capperi Stromboliani, Spaghetti with Strombolian Capers: And tomatoes too, of course. Pasta alla Norma: A Sicilian classic, with tomatoes and eggplant. Another thing to think about: Vinegar The summer months mean salads in mass quantity, at least in our house, and we usually dress them quite simply, with good olive oil, salt (Italians rarely add pepper to a salad), and vinegar. About that vinegar... There is vinegar and there is vinegar, and a vinegar flavored with herbs or spices offers a very pleasant change of pace. You could start from scratch, or you could steep your ingredients in good quality store-bought vinegar. Flavored vinegars also make excellent gifts. Chopping up a Chicken Spring for me means thinking about firing up the grill in the back yard -- I use hardwood, and sometimes add coals too. And to set on the grill? Though Tuscany is known for steaks and rosticciana (pork spare ribs) my favorite meat is chicken, and though I sometimes simply split a bird and set it on the grill, I also like to cut them up, because the different sections cook at different rates. Therefore the header link leads to my Father-In-Law cutting up a chiken the way he used to in his poultry shop. And when it is cut up? You could simply marinate and grill the pieces as you might a whole chicken, and that is very good. But there are other options. Risotto Con il Pollo, Risotto with Chicken: This is a classic recipe from Emilia Romagna; Alessandro Molinari Pradelli says it's from Modena, in Emilia, and the inclusion of a dash of balsamic vinegar supports his assertion. However, Pellegrino Artusi gives a very similar recipe without balsamic vinegar, and says his derived from a trip to Romagna. Italian Immigrant Grilled Chicken: Sunday dinner prepared by Romanian farm hands on an Italian farm. Intriguing! Pollo alla Cacciatora, Chicken Cacciatore: There are many variations on this recipe, and here we have two, one simple and the other more involved. Pollo alla Cacciatora Coi Funghi, Chicken Caccaitore with Mushrooms: Yet another variation. Tandoori Chicken: Not Italian, I know, but it was a tremendous hit with my in-laws. Assipane: The International Artisan Bread Festival "Il pane è buono. Il pane è onesto. Il pane è sacro. Il pane è la base della nostra tradizione alimentare:" "Bread is good. Bread is honest. Bread is sacred. Bread is the foundation of our traditional diet," says the home page of the International Artisan Bread festival, which will take place this June, from the 19th to the 27th in Lido Valderice, a seaside town in the Province of Trapani (the western tip of Sicily). If you're going to be in Sicily during that period you should certainly consider going. The town is quite pretty, as is the county seat of , and the festival promises to be quite interesting, with conferences devoted to artisinal bread baking (covering all sorts of topics, from gluten intolerance and types of flour to the religious significance of bread), bread baking demonstrations in the squares (with free samples), lessons, concerts, theater, diving and much more. In short, it sounds like it will be a lot of fun! The site is (for now) in Italian. But I do have a detailed program in English in PDF format I could send you if you're interested. 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