What are Some Easy Italian Recipes?

A lot of the cuisine of Italy can be intimidating, with multiple techniques used to produce a dish, expensive ingredients and complex construction. Many new cooks take a look at some of the more classic "gourmet" Italian recipes and decide such cooking is better left to Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill. This is a mistake, as there are plenty of easy Italian recipes around.

In every ethnic cuisine, the basic cooking is simple. Remember that for most of human history cooking tools were very simple and the availability of complex cooking tools was unknown. There was only heat, a simple pan or two and some basic ingredients.

Take, for example, Shrimp Scampi, one of the most popular Italian restaurant dishes. Done right, it is a marvel of balance, with the richness of butter and the taste of garlic, green onions and white wine. Actually, it's a very, very simple dish! You just sauté the garlic and onions in olive oil; add the wine, then the butter, then and the shrimp. It's not hard at all, and the results are fantastic.

Lasagna, believe it or not, is another amazingly simple dish. The layers can look intimidating in the finished product, but it's basically just a matter of making simple meat and cheese mixtures, then ladling them into a dish in layers separated by noodles. The great thing about lasagna is that it's fairly foolproof. Get your layers out of order? Forget to put the cheese in one layer? It really won't matter all that much once everything's baked together.

And, for dessert, don't forget the cannoli (hey, it was good enough for "The Godfather," right?) You can buy cannoli shells at most bakeries, which removes what for most people is the tough part. The filling is simply a mixture of cheeses and flavorings, which is then piped into the shells and decorated. You won't believe how simple it can be!

There are hundreds of easy Italian recipes out there. All you have to do is get cooking.

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Baeckeofe – Alsace{ german dessert recipes}

1 Servings

1 lb lamb's shoulder,deboned and Cubed

1 lb beef for stew

1 lb pork,deboned and cubed

1 lg onion

3    to 4 leeks

1    thyme,bay leaves, salt & pepper (t,o taste)

2 cl garlic,minced (or more)

2 c  dry white wine (preferably from als,ace)

3 lb potatoes

1    flour & water

THE NIGHT BEFORE:  Marinade the meats with the diced onion and the leeks, sliced and in rings.  Add the spices and the garlic.  Then add the white wine and keep in refrigerator over night (be sure to seal it tightly, or your refrigerator will smell like spices in the morning).

THE NEXT DAY:  Remove the meat, draining it, but keeping the juices. Grease the roasting dish and cover the bottom with half of the potatoes, peeled and sliced.  Place the marinated meat on top of the potatoes, along with the onions and leeks.  Salt and pepper lightly (I have found that after baking, there isn't much flavor of salt or pepper, so don't be afraid to add more, especially pepper).  Place the rest of the potatoes (also peeled and sliced) on top of meat, covering thoroughly. Pour the marinade over the whole thing, and add water, enough to reach the top layer of potatoes.

Mix together some flour and water, in order to get a rather soft and sticky dough.  Place the lid on the dish and seal it with this dough. Be sure to press the dough firmly, to be sure it is sealed and not just resting on top of the lid.

Bake in a 275-300 degree oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  Serve right from the dish, hot.

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Learn Easy Dinner Recipes

People don't have the time to prepare the food Julia Child used to show on her cooking program. It's a different world. Now instead of the fancy French cooking of Julia's day, food TV features easy dinner recipes. That doesn't mean bland. In fact, some of the French recipes are so rich that people couldn't even eat them every day. There is more than television as a source for these dinner cooking ideas. There's a lot of food online. Sure cooking shows have web sites but there's more than those. Simple meals, healthy meals, even meals cooked on car engines are featured. In fact there are thousands of online sites for ever type of food or meal subject. It would take a life time to read it all.

Easy isn't bland. Simple meals aren't bad tasting. Hot dogs are easy, but maybe a little boring. Then try some corn dogs. Kids love them, and they're not hard to prepare. Some corn meal, flour, milk, salt and sugar, coat the dog, fry it. Make it more authentic by inserting a stick. But corn dogs aren't very healthy. Simple foods don't have to be unhealthy foods. Broiled chicken is nice in a salad. That's a simple meal. It's also healthy and delicious. Try it with chicken soup. Salads can be made from almost anything. Use leftover ham, diced, some hard boiled eggs, and a pre-mixed salad from the store as a supper.

Now for some history. Back in colonial times supper and dinner were two meals. Physical work required a late afternoon meal, called dinner. Supper was the heavier meal at the end of the long, hard day. Over time dinner and supper became the same meal. However supper and dinner are still separate for some people in 2008, especially for people who perform physical work. Separating supper from dinner isn't necessary. But you can try lighter, traditional dinner style meals at supper time (or does your family call it dinner?) Who cares? Easy dinner recipes can make it fantastic.

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HEALTHY CARB FRENCH TOAST MUFFINS

non-stick cooking spray

1 1/2 cups egg substitute

1/2 cup fat-free half and half cream

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 tbsp Splenda Granular

2 tbsp milled flaxseed

1 tsp vanilla

6 slices whole-wheat bread, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.  In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients except bread chunks.  Gently fold in the bread.  Let set 5 minutes to soak the bread chunks.  Divide the mixture evenly among the muffin cups, overfilling slightly.  Bake 25 minutes or until puffed up and set.  Serve immediately.

Per muffin:  140 calories, 17 g carbs, 11 g protein

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Basic Ingredients for Italian Recipes

So you decided you're going to start doing some more Italian cooking. You found a great database of Italian recipes and you're excited about wading into the world of pasta, pesto and parmagiana.It would be helpful to have on hand some staple ingredients that are found in a lot of Italian cooking. That way, you'll be able to get your fix of Italian food any day, without extensive grocery shopping. Let's look at some of them!

Garlic: It may sound like a cliché, but this humble bulb has a place in just about all-Italian cooking. Keep it in a cool, dry place such as a root cellar or pantry. When buying garlic, look for bulbs with no dark discoloration on the bottom. This may indicate age or molding.Tomato sauce: Don't go expensive here. The house brand at your local grocer and the national brands will be impossible to tell apart if you put them in a bowl. Avoid the "preseasoned" blends, as you'll be adding your own herbs and spices to your recipe.

Pasta: Don't buy a huge amount of any one specific noodle. Rather, keep a small amount of the most common types, such as spaghetti, linguine, elbow macaroni, small and large shells and wide egg noodles. For storage, it helps if you can keep long noodles in a long container. Most plastic ware makers have a "pasta keeper" of some sort available.

Parmesan cheese: While it may not always be an ingredient, freshly ground Parmesan is almost always a welcome addition on top of a pasta dish. Kraft has a new "fresh shreds" product with a block of cheese in a container with its own grater. It works very well, and the price is not exorbitant.

Olive oil: One mistake many Italian-food rookies make is using expensive extra-virgin olive oil for things like pan-frying. Use standard olive oil, which will be yellow in color and as much as 50 percent cheaper, for these purposes. You'll still get all the health benefits!Keep your pantry properly stocked, and you'll be prepared to cook any Italian recipes you wish!

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German Dessert Recipes

Austrian Apricot Balls (Marillenknoedel)


14 Servings

250 g  white cheese (austrian topfen, german: quark)

30 g  butter

2    egg yolks

1 pn salt

80 g  flour

80 g  butter

100 g  breadcrumbs

2 T  sugar

1/4 t  cinnamon

14    apricots

14    pieces of sugar

1    powdered sugar

Mix white cheese, butter (soft, not directly from the refrigerator), egg yolks and salt. Add the flour and make a soft mass. Form a roll with a dia- meter of about 5 cm. Cut slices of about 1 cm, press flat on your hand. Put an apricot (remove the kernel and put in a piece of sugar) on top of it and form a ball. Put into a pot of simmering, slightly salted water. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Put breadcrumbs, sugar and cinnamon into a pan where you melted the butter and roast it until it takes a golden colour (you can also smell, when it is finished, but be careful it soon may be too late).

Roll the balls in the roasted breadcrumbs, put powdered sugar above and eat very hot.

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Tropical French Muffins

Muffins are a wonderful treat but one that diabetics are always watching because of the sugar and carb content.  Now that we are into fall, and a muffin is perfect with a hot cup of coffee, hot tea, or hot chocolate, I thought I would bring out a couple of muffin recipes that are perfect for diabetics as well as dieters or anyone wanting to eat a more healthy muffin.  Following are two ideal muffin recipes for the above mentioned persons.  Tropical Muffins is exactly that, a reminder of being in the tropics, eating tropical fruit and enjoying the warm sunshine and ocean breezes.  Healthy Carb French Toast Muffins are as the title indicates.  Healthy with a bit of flaxseed and whole wheat and yet the tempting taste of French toast.  Yum!

TROPICAL MUFFINS

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Equal Sugar-Lite OR Splenda

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut

3 medium ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 egg, beaten OR 1/4 cup egg substitute

1 tsp orange zest

1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

Vegetable oil spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray 12 muffin cups with vegetable oil spray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, Splenda or Equal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Stir in the coconut and make a well in the center of the mixture.  Combine the remaining ingredients together and put into the well of the dry mixture.  Stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened.  Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full.  Bake at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

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Plan Italian Treat at Home - Delectable Italian Recipes

Italian eating is incredible and practically every person enjoys. But everytime it is not reasonable to take pleasure in your favorite food in an Italian dining restaurant. There is a way out! You can cook simple Italian preparations in your own house!.

The initial step for making a complete Italian meal is to make a nice salad. Take a tour of your neighboring grocery store to get some refreshing and wholesome ingredients. One can choose from any type of greens, veggies, and dressings. If you are in a rush, select a pre-made salad package. In this way your initial step for simple Italian meal is executed.

In the next step you must select a proper entr?e. There are assorted Italian preparations for entire that you can pick from. Spaghetti with meat sauce is one of the most famous and simple to make Italian recipes. Different other alternatives of sauces, meats and pastas are also existing. For making the recipe healthy, make an effort to use pasta prepared of whole wheat along with low-fat turkey meat. Supplement vegetables to your sauce and offer yourself a dose of nourishing fiber.

In case when you are little free to make more dishes, try your hand on lasagna. However, lasagna merely include the browning of meat previously adding up to the sauce, akin to the spaghetti. Subsequent to that layering of cheese, pasta and sauce is done. Lasagna baking dish is then placed in the oven and baked in accordance to the instructions. Lasagna is amongst the most delicious Italian eating moreover it gives a sense that plenty of hours are exhausted in cooking this elaborate preparation. However it is simply an additional easy-to prepare Italian food! In spite of this, Lasagna is this kind of Italian recipe that requires few minutes to get ready.

Every part of Italian food tastes wonderful with hot garlic bread!. You could buy the frozen bread from grocery shop as it tasting like homemade bread only. Garlic bread can be made quickly in a bread-making instrument, or you could easily add butter and garlic to packaged bread and toast it in the toaster oven.

It is very well needed to make a scrumptious Italian dessert. If you are aiming to save time, your neighboring bakery could possibly be the well-suited place to try. Tiramisu is one of the most delectable Italian recipes for dessert. To give an impression of restaurant like Italian treat, you possibly can also pick a nicely done cheesecake.

The other important suggestion for creating your Italian treat a really delightful fare is to serve a respectable brand of wine. A rapid exploration of the Internet supposed to yield some hints to assist you in chooseing a great wine. If not, most stores have information counters that inform you what wine goes most excellent with certain foods. However, you can get pleasure from the delight with some wonderful Italian dishes. Have your quick to make, but still tasty, Italian cuisine!. You will surely appreciate your home-staying.

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Who has the Best Italian Recipes? - Italian grandmas of course!

In recent years, the fascination with cooking has created a proliferation of video programs that have raised the interest in nutrition to an entirely new level.  Both on television and on the web we find countless programs dealing with cooking from many different angles:  ethnic cooking, dietary cooking, celebrity cooking, etc.

A new cooking show, Cooking with Nonna,  brings to the public yet another facet of the cooking experience. It is a fact that many of the most original Italian recipes around the world are not necessarily held by the professional chefs that we find in the many restaurants around the world or in the now very popular celebrity cooking shows. After all, they learned their trade either from a culinary school or by working side by side with an established chef. In reality however, the ones that indeed hold the secrets to the most original and best Italian recipes are the Italian grandmothers. 

 

For centuries, they have passed down the secrets of fine cuisine in any number of cultures. They painstakingly honed their craft by preparing day in and day out, a   small set of simple but hearty recipes, but which they mastered to the perfection by following the secrets passed on to them by their mothers using the most authentic ingredients particular to the region that they came from.

This show provides a forum to the Italian grandmothers of the world to document their special recipes by appearing on the show and share with everyone their secrets and traditional way of preparing their favorite Italian regional dishes.

The show is hosted by Rossella Rago, a young aspiring actress with both entertainment talents and a passion for cooking and nutrition. Each show features a grandmother representing a region of Italy, which guided by Rossella,  prepares the dishes that are traditional of the city or region that she is from and that she is most expert in. Typically, a grandmother will prepare any type of recipes: Italian pasta recipes, Italian fish recipes, Italian chicken recipes, italian meat recipes, Italian dessert recipes, Italian vegetarian recipes, etc.

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