Introduction

Italians love food, not just cooking it and eating it but the ingredients themselves. So it is not surprising that every year there are food festivals through every month of the year celebrating each regions most popular produce from the Fiolaro Broccoli festival in January to the Radicchio festival in December

Food Festivals in Italy, often but not always called “sagra,” change dates from year to year. They usually celebrate a food that is typically harvested at the time of the festival; often in conjunction with a Saint’s feast day for example there are many feasts and special foods for the Epiphany.

For the visitor to Italy who likes food, the sagra (plural sagre) is the highlight of the stay in the Italian countryside.
The Italian Sagra is one of the great joys of staying in the countryside, a part of Italy few tourists really get to experience.

In February there is an Olive and Bruschetta festival in Umbria to mark the end of the olive picking season. Here farmers parade in their tractors with their produce but there is also an octopus festival

In March they celebrate; Mozzarella, In may, Artichokes, tuna and Balsamic vinegar. Sagra del Carciofo: Held at Ladispoli in Rome, features a mountain of mammola artichokes, the round, spineless variety for which the region is renowned. The piazza (square) is surrounded by stands offering them cooked in different ways.

In June the fragrance of herbs fills the air as herbs are sold thought parks and streets.

There are also a rice and onion festivals in June.

July brings the swordfish where locals and tourists alike flock to the waterfront to sample the prize. There are also gnocchi and lemon festivals in July. Festa della Madonna Bruna is a fascinating festival held in July in southern Italy. The pictures look tempting enough to make you book a flight to Italy straight away.

August is a very busy month with at least 8 different festivals. The two day garlic festival, the pizza festival where, after sampling this famous snack you can dance to live music all night.

The Goats cheese, the Parmesan and salami festivals and finally the aubergine, beef, macaroni and rabbit festivals.

Fall is a great time to experience all of the food festivals in Italy, especially the mushroom and White Truffle Festivals if you are a mushroom lover. If you thought August was busy, well there are at least 11 festivals in September. Chilli, proscuitto, grape, lentil, snail, frog couscous, pistachio and polenta added to those first two.

Six maybe seven in October; apples, pumpkins, prickly pear, chestnuts and the piece de résistance in Perugia with the chocolate festival. Pasta Day is the fourth Sunday in October. The seventh is a new one for Italy, although Halloween is not such a big celebration in Italy,(all saints day on 1^st November is bigger) it is becoming more popular and you may find Halloween festivals, especially in the larger cities.

The only one in November is the 1^st which is the day of the dead a time of the year when it is said that the souls of dead relatives and loved ones return to Earth to visit those they’ve left behind. During these days people eat the first roasted chestnuts and a special cake or biscuits called ossi dei morti (bones of the dead) and they recall the names their dead

We end the year with the radicchio festival in December.

If you’ve never had homemade pasta, you need to give a try. The basic recipe is very simple, here is a quick list of ingredients for making one pound of homemade pasta:

·2&1/4 Cups of unbleached flour
·3 large eggs
·Pinch of salt
·Water, or Oil, or milk (3 to 4 tablespoons)
·A minced vegetable for flavor (optional)

We prefer to use oil since it keeps the dough from dying out and adds a good flavor but some people like water. We also use spinach, broccoli, zucchini, or other vegetable for flavor but plain is good too. This is where the party really starts since many people bring their own special vegetable to create whatever flavor they like. And we have had some real unusual ingredients since anything goes.

We use a food processor but you could also mix this by hand. Use the plastic dough blade if you have one but the metal chopping blade will work. You combine the dry ingredients in the bowl and pulse a few time to mix well. Beat the three eggs to combine the whites and yolks. Turn the food processor on and slowly pour the eggs in and continue to process until the dough becomes a ball and works away from the edge of the bowl.
This part only takes about 5 minutes. Now the kneading begins and continues until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Be sure to powder the working surface with flour and work quickly if you used water rather than oil since it will dry out quicker. Depending on your ingredients and effort, this part can take about 10 to 15 minutes.

We roll the dough back into a ball and cover with plastic wrap to “rest” for about an hour at room temperature. At our parties we spend this time making our sauces for each of the different pasta flavors. Pesto is always a standard but many fresh vegetable flavors are popular, some cooked and some not.

We use hand crank pasta machines (they cost about $10-$13) since they are quick and easy. Always make sure you run some test dough through any new pasta machine to clean out any residue of manufacturing (every single one I’ve ever bought had grease, oil, or even metal filings). Either make or buy several pasta-drying racks since the pasta will need to hang dry for about 2-3 hours before cooking (some people don’t dry very long but we’ve found it to really enhance the flavor).

The first process with the pasta machine is to flatten portions of the dough into about 1/16 inch thick, 4 inch wide, and maybe 12-inch long lengths (the length is how thick and long the strand of pasta will be). Once you like the size and thickness you then run these slabs through the cutting section. You can have different shapes and sizes depending on your available blades. The standard fettuccine style is the most popular at our parties but you can also just cut shapes out of the dough slabs (like cookie cutters) for any shape you can make.

It’s hard to describe the antics that occur when first timers go through this homemade pasta routine. Throw in a couple of glass of wine and before you know it, wet pasta is hanging everywhere. It’s a good time and the reward at the end is well worth the work. We usually will find some group games to play while the pasta is drying. Sometimes there might be a football game on or some movie to watch.

When the pasta is dry, the boiling begins and within about 30-40 minutes there is a wide variety of pasta flavors and sauces to try for dinner. Out come the salads and meat dishes, and then everyone mixes and matches to their choice. Trust me when I say no one goes home hungry after one of these parties.

You could have these parties anytime of year, spring would be good too since many fresh vegetables would be available. We just started doing it in the fall and it’s kind of stuck. You can always find quite a few good recipes that come with your food processor or pasta machine to try. Or just experiment on your own. It’s fun and quite an economical way to throw a party any time of year.

Learn more about the Cusinart Food Processor here: Cusinart Food Processor. A few good ways to find parts for older Cusinart models info here: Cusinart Food Processor Parts.Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/food-processor-pasta-1339355.html

As a matter of fact, panini is so versatile that practically any sort of cheese can be used in one! That said, however, some kinds make a better match than others. For the benefit of those who need to know, here are some of the more popular cheeses for use in these terrific sandwiches.

First up is provolone. This is a smooth-skinned, semi-hard cheese that is made with whole cow’s milk. It’s produced mainly in the Po River area of Italy. The flavor of provolone can vary greatly; you can choose between piquant or sharp-flavored varieties to sweet-flavored, much milder sorts, and there are many kinds that fall in between those two extremes.

Next is Swiss cheese, which can refer to either Emmental or Emmentaler cheese (a yellow cheese which is medium-hard and which comes with those characteristic large holes), or several kinds of cheese that are all very similar to Emmental cheese. Emmental cheese can be mild to piquant in flavor, albeit not all that sharp, whereas the Swiss cheeses are bittersweet and nutty. An interesting rule of thumb is that the larger the holes are, in general, the more pronounced the flavor of the cheese.

Up next we have Havarti cheese. This is a smooth, yellow- or cream-colored cheese that, unlike Emmental or Swiss cheese, has very small holes. Its flavor is buttery and the sweetness can vary from brand to brand, or with age as well. It can be slightly acidic, too. Interestingly, if you leave it out in a room-temperature area, it can soften rather fast, so take note of this if you’d like to use it in your panini.

And then there’s Asiago cheese, which can be a good substitute for the somewhat better-known romano and parmesan cheeses. Fresh Asiago cheese is on the whole smooth, but as it ages it becomes more apt to crumble; aged Asiago cheese can taste very similar to Parmesan, and you might be surprised to find some crunchy bits in it thanks to the buildup of a certain amino acid called tyrosine (nothing wrong with this crunch though).

Those are some of the most popular varieties of cheese that you can use in your cheese panini recipes. I’ll leave you with a rule of thumb regarding selecting cheese – use those sorts of cheeses that melt well and which can serve as a ‘glue’ to hold the rest of the sandwich together. Enjoy!

Sabrina Rocca
Author: Easy Panini Recipes
For more great panini recipes and tips, visit http://www.easypaninirecipes.com. Easy Panini Recipes contains over 50 easy to follow, step-by-step panini recipes that will make anyone look like a gourmet chef!

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Firstly, using a press can definitely help people come up with more presentable panini than if they were not to use a press. Most sandwiches are limited by the fact that if you pile on too many fillings, they become really troublesome to eat – moreso if they are to be taken to office or school to serve as quick and easy lunches. Putting certain fillings in sandwiches, such as vegetables, can also be troublesome for this reason. They can be apt to fall apart easily once opened, and this can be all too true even for those sandwiches that aren’t all that big. However, a sandwich made using a press can tend to be a little less messy. This is because by its very nature, the press can help you compact each panino when it presses down on it. Also, if you have put in such ingredients as cheese for instance, using a press can help melt the cheese, which would then act as a binder to help it stay intact. So whether you want to put together a thin or a thick panino, a press can really help – especially with the latter sort.

Secondly, using a press can give you a little more room to be inventive with your panini. Unlike some regular sandwich makers, panini presses can accommodate slices of bread of differing lengths – which means of course that you have a little leeway regarding how large you want your panini to be. And you may also be able to choose particular sorts of bread that are somewhat larger than regular bread slices.

Thirdly, selecting panini press recipes can help you eat healthier because, first and foremost, by using a press, you can make and grill a sandwich without adding too much additional fat. You’ll just need to place a little oil or a tiny amount of butter in the press or on the bread itself before you place the panino inside it. This is done to prevent the bread from burning and sticking during the process. Some presses are coated with a nonstick coating such as Teflon, which also helps you avoid your panino getting stuck and/or burning.

Sabrina Rocca
Author: Easy Panini Recipes
For more great panini recipes and tips, visit http://www.easypaninirecipes.com. Easy Panini Recipes contains over 50 easy to follow, step-by-step panini recipes that will make anyone look like a gourmet chef!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/tasty-panini-press-recipes-1378314.html

What is deep fried turkey?

“Frying whole turkeys is sort of the Southern version of making fondue. You have a lot of your friends over, you poke around in a pot of hot oil with some sticks, and then you pull out your dinner. Justin Wilson, of Cajun fame, recalls first seeing a turkey fry in Louisiana in the 1930s.”—Something Different: Deep-Fried Turkey, Beverly Bundy, St. Louis Dispatch, November 24, 1997 (Food p. 4)

What is a deep fried turkey you ask? Injected with marinade and cooked in 350 degreeF peanut or other vegetable oil,  deep-fried turkey is anything but greasy. The deep-frying process seals in the juices creating flavorful meat and tasty golden brown skin. Incredibly juicy on the interior and wonderfully crispy on the exterior, the explosion of flavor and contrasting textures has made it a favorite for barbecues, block parties, tailgating, holiday feasts and informal wedding receptions.

It seems I first heard about deep frying turkey about 15 years ago, then suddenly everyone and their brother was doing it. So what sparked this sudden phenomenon?

Roots in the Southern United States

Deep frying turkey has it’s origins in the Southern United States, namely Louisiana. I have heard there are a few restaurants in Southern Louisiana that became popular by injecting whole birds with a creole style marinade then dropping them in hot peanut oil. There had to be something bigger though to get the word out, Regional restaurants just do not have the reach to change a deep rooted tradition such as oven baked turkey.

I thought maybe it was the new accessibility of large deep fryers such as the original Kamp Kooker marketed by Home Depot, or was it a favorite of celebrity chefs such as Emeril?

Why is it called Cajun if it’s not?

I started doing a little research on the internet, and although I only spent a few hours, it seems no exact year, restaurant, or person is connected to this particular style of cooking turkey. There is evidence that fried turkeys were cooked outdoors for large popular events (family reunions, charity dinners, church suppers, etc.) in the early years of the twentieth century.

Commonly thought of as a cajun tradition, I could find no direct ties to the acadien-cajun culture. In fact I found food historians generally agree that fried turkeys trace their roots to Bayou (Louisiana/Texas) creole cuisine. Recipes then migrated from Louisiana/Texas to Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia (peanut oil), and Washington D.C. before it forked northward toward Seattle and Vancouver.

The power of Martha Stewart

So here seems to be the magic bullet. I did find where Martha Stewart is given credit for taking the recipe to mainstream America in the early 90’s:

“Fried turkey has been all the rage at least for the last decade in New Orleans, and long before that it was a tradition in the bayou and throughout the South. Like many a vainglorious culinary mania before it, the national renown of fried turkeys can be traced directly to Martha Stewart, who plucked them from regional obscurity and put them in her magazine in 1996. “ —It’s Treacherous, But Oh So Tasty; Fried-Turkey Fans Take the Risk, Annie Gowen, Washington Post, November 22, 2001 (p. B1)

If this is the case, it seems Martha may have created an entire industry. A typical setup including all the turkey fryer accessories can easily run $200-$300. I would say those folks and the peanut oil folks owe Martha a big thanks.

Send me your thoughts

Leave your comments, I would love to learn more about the origins of deep fried turkey, where it came from and what made it so popular.

Anthony Robert is a contributing editor to 5 Steps to Juicy Deep Fried Turkey in the GrillingGuide.net turkey frying tips Directory.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/origin-of-the-cajun-deep-fried-turkey-1384061.html

So, below stated are some essential tips that you must follow in order to cook your food in a healthy way.

1. Try to use as little salt as you can in your food. You can still maintain the taste of the recipe by adding lemon juice, herbs, flavored vinegar or different spices.

2. Use less of all fats like butter and oil. While cooking, avoid saturated fats; instead use unsaturated fats like soya oil, olive oil, vegetable oil or peanut oil.

3. As far as you can, avoid frying your food items. Instead of frying you can bake, boil, steam, grill or roast the food. This will help in maintaining the original nutrients of the food.

4. Always avoid using too much of tomato, soya or other processed sauces because they have a high level of salt content.

5. Canned fruits and vegetables have a high sodium content, so if you want to cook a healthy dish, it is best to use fresh fruits and vegetables.

6. Try to replace your whole milk with fat free or skim milk if you are obese or fat, this would surely help you in loosing the fat that is stored in your body.

7. You should never cook your food more than it is necessary. Sometimes overcooking the food at high temperature can eventually destroy the nutrients present in it. Always steam or stir fry your vegetables.

8. Always go for natural food rather than preserved or processed food items. You can use herbs, tomatoes, vinegar, salads and onions as much as you can.

9. Add different types of vegetables in all the recipes, some of them that you can frequently use are carrots, spaghetti, peas, beans, tomato, mashed potatoes and onions.

10. Always remove the outer skin of the chicken and turkey. If the meat dishes have chilled while kept in the refrigerator, you should always spoon off the fat from them even if it has hardened.

Use these tips in order to cook your food in a healthy way to keep your body in a perfect shape.

How to Learn quick and easy cooking ? There is some Home Improvement Tips for you.

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Turkey has become very popular to do on the barbecue. Turkey pieces are great and come out very tasty on the grill. More and more grillers are preparing whole turkeys on the barbecue.

Follow these techniques to get great tasting turkey right off your grill. You can add your own unique taste and texture, just follow these tips as guide lines.

Purchasing - Turkey

Buy smaller to medium sized turkeys when you doing them on the barbecue. When buying turkey pieces make sure they are broad and flat, so they will cook evenly on the barbecue.

When purchasing look for turkey with a darker skin pigment, as the darker meat can stand up to the high temperature of the grill. Darker meats also tend to hold sauces and flavours better.

Preparation - BBQ Turkey

To prevent the turkey from drying out, lightly coat it with some olive oil.

When preparing a whole turkey you will need to apply an in-direct grilling technique to fully cook the turkey without burning it. When grilling turkey pieces use a direct grilling method.

Smaller pieces like the thigh need to be seared to lock in the natural juices. Do this by using a high heat to crisp the outer layer and then a lower heat to slow cook the inside.

Don’t put stuffing in your turkey before you grill it, rather cook it fully and then place in the stuffing.

Grilling Turkey

Charcoal should be your first choice when grilling turkey as turkey the smoke texture works well with the meat. When using a gas grill use wood chippings to produce a little smoke while grilling.

Lightly grease the grill grid to prevent any meat sticking. When grilling larger sized turkey portions, close the lid to create an even heat distribution.

Here are some grilling time guidelines:

- BBQ Turkey tenderloins/cutlets: 10 - 15 minutes (direct medium heat)

- Grilling Turkey breast: 1 - 2 hours (medium in-direct heat)

- Turkey drumsticks or thighs: 1 hour (in-direct medium heat)

- Whole medium turkeys: 2 - 3 hours (in-direct medium heat)

www.bonfeu-bbq.com/grilling-whole-turkey.html

Im 24 originally from Johannesburg South Africa but recently moved to Marbella Spain. My hobbies include tennis, gyming and barbecuing.

I have a barbecue and recipe website. I love the outdoors and spend most my free time on the beach.

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In the first place, a panino can be anything from really simple to really elaborate. It can be really simple, just cheese and bread; or it can be as elaborate as a combination of Norwegian smoked salmon with artichoke, or something of the sort. It can also contain just two or three ingredients, or you can choose to pile it as high as possible with as many ingredients as you can fit in. And the best thing is that even the simplest panino doesn’t necessarily taste any less good than a more elaborate one; following some of the simplest recipes can often bring about the most stunning results.

In addition, many of the panini sold in shops are the result of trial and error, or research on the internet, or a good combination of both. Find out what other people have done already and tweak it to suit you and your family. But don’t be afraid to push your own boundaries yourself; experiment with your panini (your family will often be happy to serve as your guinea pigs). People have come up with such groundbreaking (and quite good) recipes as peach with herbed cheese and so on and so forth. You can, too, if you let your imagination and tastebuds work together.

Although one doesn’t necessarily need to grill panini, under many circumstances it can be better to do so. This is because panini, like just about any other sandwich, do tend to fall apart easily – which can be very problematic if they are being prepared in advance with the intention of being eaten for lunch or snacks. Using a panini maker will ensure that the cheese in your panino melts – this will serve as a ‘glue’ to bind the entire panino and reduce the chance of it falling apart. Also, if you’re really interested in making your panini look ‘authentic’, then you’ll love the grill marks that only a panini maker can conveniently give your panini. And, lastly, if you’re in the habit of making big panini, then the panini maker can help you compress your panini – again reducing the chance of it falling apart before it can be eaten.

The bottom line is that all you need to make panini that can compare with the products sold at a panini restaurant are ingredients you can work with, a panini maker, and a little bit of confidence, imagination and ingenuity! The sky’s the limit!

Sabrina Rocca
Author: Easy Panini Recipes
For more great panini recipes and tips, visit http://www.easypaninirecipes.com. Easy Panini Recipes contains over 50 easy to follow, step-by-step panini recipes that will make anyone look like a gourmet chef!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/preparing-restaurant-style-panini-1391761.html

Fast food is the best choice for such people. However, fast food is definitely not a good choice especially for your children since it contains high saturated fat, sugar, sodium, fat, salt as well as calories. So, what a mother should do to prepare healthy meals for her family, especially the children and stay out of the junk in the store? Well, it may need your extra effort to do that since it is not going to be easy for you to start. However, you can start by learning to cook simple recipes with the healthy way of cooking to provide your whole family with fresh and healthy meals.

For your family especially your children’s best healthy meals, here are several ways on how to cook your food healthily such as broiling, baking, barbequing or stewing to avoid adding a lot of fat into your meals.

Here is a brief explanation on healthy methods to cook your healthy meals:

- Broiling or grilling: put your food on a rack. Cook under or over direct heat. This will drain the fat.

- Baking: simply bake the food in a covered container. Adding some liquid instead of fat before cooking would be batter.

- Microwave cooking: this cooking method is a simple and fast way of cooking. Since it easily produces moisture, you do not have to add more oils or fat on the particular food. Draining the fat from the food could be done by putting your food between two paper towels.

- Roasting: this cooking method will take you some time since it is a slow and dry heating cooking method.

- Steaming: the best way to keep the natural color, flavor and nutrients of your food to cook.

- Cook in an open frying pan or skillet by adding a small amount of fat over high temperatures.

- Stewing or braising: a slow method of cooking especially to make tough cuts of meat become tender. Simply tan meat on each side with a small amount of regular vegetable oil or vegetable oil cooking spray then stir fry.

According to experts, the key is to consume a healthy diet with balanced nutrition. Also, do not forget, we may take a variety of foods not only contain many calories but rich in nutrients.

I am Emma Arsanti. I am a blogger spesialized in cooking foods. Cooking foods are not expensive, and simple.
It doesn’t really take rocket science to learn all these, but it does require some amount of research and patience.
Get the latest information about cooking foods on http://cooking-foods.com

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Chili is one dish that immediately comes to mind when I think about winter foods.  Nothing warms you up better after a cold day of play out in the snow than a nice big bowl of steaming hot chili.  Thick and hearty and full of great ingredients, chili is the perfect solution for warming up your cold hands and body after being outside for long periods of time.  Chili requires very few ingredients and can be made in just a few simple steps.  You can increase recipe sizes in order to make extra amounts of chili that can be frozen and then served later on.  As many of you know, chili is just as good served leftover then it is when it is fresh so it never hurts to have some stored away in the freezer.

Soup is another great dish that can be made to help beat the cold of the winter months.  With so many different types of soup recipes available, you’ll have an endless supply of options at your disposal for making soup.  Soup is not only good for warming you up after being out in the cold air, it is also a great pick me up when you’re sick and not feeling your best.  I’m sure you’ve been told to eat a bowl of chicken noodle soup when you were feeling down in the dumps.  Soup can also be made in bulk quantities so that it can be frozen and served at a later date.  If you’ve got the room in your freezer, you can pour your leftover soup into ice cream pails and freeze it that way.  Simply let it though and the reheat it when you want to serve it.

Some other classic dishes that are great for winter months include any type of casserole, lasagna, pot roast, beef stew, and chicken chili just to name a few.  These dishes all help to warm you up and make you feel better during those cold winter months.

If you’ve been out in the cold for a long period of time and want a hot dish to warm you up, or if you’re just not sure what to make your family for dinner on those cold winter days, try some of the dishes that have been mentioned in this article.  You’ll be thoroughly impressed with how much your family likes these meals and you’ll also find that they all taste just as good reheated as they did when they were first cooked.  These meals will definitely be able to warm you up on frigid winter days.

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