Most of us have found some sort of Italian cuisine that has become a favorite for our families and ourselves. Unfortunately, far too many of us discount the possibility of bringing Italian cooking into our very own kitchens for fear that many of the recipes are far too difficult. The truth is that learning to cook Italian food just might make your home the favorite drop in dining spot for friends and family all over.

Believe it or not, most great Italian recipes have an easier version that can be made with very similar effects when it comes to flavor and aroma. Also, despite the commercials of old, all Italian cooking does not require an entire day of simmering in order to achieve great flavor. Though you do not have to let your friends and family in on that little secret. Be a martyr for flavor and they will love you even more. You do not have to let anyone in on your best-kept secrets when it comes to preparing these often simple dishes.

The biggest challenge that most Americans face when it comes to Italian cooking is basically learning a new set of essential ingredients. The cheese, meats, or grains that are used in their creation most often identify or define Italian cuisine. It’s the combination of these primary ingredients that create some of the most distinctive flavors on earth. Learn about these ingredients. Identify the flavors and study the combinations of flavors and you should be able to not only follow many great Italian recipes but also to invent a few of your very own Italian inspired recipes.

The greatest thing when it comes to cooking Italian food is that most of these dishes are rather difficult to destroy. This of course does not indicate that it cannot be done, only that it isn’t as simple as with some of the more delicate cuisines around the world. Italian food is durable and flavorful but for the most part not too terribly delicate when it comes to flavor. You can go a little heavy with some spice or cheese without completely ruining the dish in most instances. If you are anything like me, this is a regular occurrence when cooking and one of the reasons I enjoy cooking Italian food so much.

Whether you are a beginner when it comes to the culinary arts or a seasoned pro there is something that will provide the appropriate challenge for you when it comes to Italian cooking. Take a look around there are recipes in abundance across the Internet, at your local library, in specialty cook books, and even in your favorite block buster best selling novels.

Another thing you should keep in mind when cooking Italian food is that nothing seems to bring out the flavor of Italian food better than a good bottle of wine to match. Perhaps this is the reason that it is difficult to ruin an Italian meal, no matter how bad it is, the good wine paired with it, will erase all ill will and tastes in very short order. You will want to spend a little time researching and studying the science (though some will argue that this is truly an art form) that goes along with pairing a good bottle of wine with the right flavor combination when it comes to Italian cooking. Once you’ve mastered this, there is nothing to prevent you from being the diva of all things Italian when it comes to food preparation.

The most important thing for you to remember when cooking Italian food is not to take the cooking too seriously. Good Italians know that the enjoyment of the meal is far more important than the process of preparing the meal. Make your meal an event with plenty of time for pleasant conversation and enjoyment of your company in between courses. You should also never rush a good Italian meal or you will find that all your efforts cooking Italian will be for naught as the true pleasure of Italian cuisine has been lost somewhere in translation.

pleasures of soup

by: merrie schonbach

often our diets change during the cold weather. more hot foods then cold sandwiches grace the dinner table. our schedules do not slow down so we seek out hardy, quick to prepare meals.

making a pot of soup is a perfect solution for a healthy, hot meal. there are dozens of different soups that you can make.

make your meal different then chicken noodle or tomato soup, why not try a creamy wild rice mushroom, white chicken chili, cheesy potato with bacon, country bean or even italian wedding soup.

you do not have to make these wonderful soups from scratch or pour from a can, purchase a soup kit and add fresh meat for a great home made taste.

soup kits provide all of the dried ingredients, spices and instructions. the ingredients you add are minimal and the cooking easy and relatively quick.

you can find these soup kits from several small internet businesses that sell gourmet foods at very affordable prices. make dinner different tonight and try a soup kit for your family.

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what are scoville units?

by: nick lindauer

to understand what a scoville unit is, one must understand what they measure. all hot peppers contain capsaicinoids, natural substances that produce a burning sensation in the mouth, causing the eyes to water and the nose to run, and even induce perspiration. the primary capsaicinoid, capsaicin, is so hot that a single drop diluted in 100,000 drops of water will produce a blistering of the tongue.

capsaicinoids are found primarily in the peppers placenta the white ribs that run down the middle and along the sides of a pepper. since the seeds are in such close contact with the ribs, they are also often hot.

capsaicinoid content is measured in parts per million. these parts per million are converted into scoville heat units (shu), one part per million is equivalent to 15 scoville units. the scoville unit is derived from a series of tests using a solution of water and sugar. the dilutions are increased until the chile no longer burns the mouth. take for example, blairs after death sauce which has been measured at 50,000 scoville units. to dilute the heat in one bottle of blairs after death, you would need over 3,000 units of water to dilute the heat to the point where the average human tongue could no longer feel it.

the hotter the chile of the sauce, the greater the amount of water required to dilute it becomes. the scoville organoleptic test is still used, however it has mostly been replaced by a process called high performance liquid chromatography. this process converts measurements of capsaicin from the standard parts per million to the more popular scoville units.

surprisingly, the bell pepper is used as a baseline for the scoville unit rating. the bell pepper essentially has a rating of zero scoville units, thus it acts as the lowest level of heat on the scoville scale.

on the other end of the scale is the habanero pepper. at over 300,000 scoville units, the habanero certainly sets the limit as the hottest pepper. the red savina, the hottest strain of the habanero, has been measured as around 577,000 scoville units. pure capsaicin stacks up at 16 million scoville units!!!

who is wilbur scoville?

a brief timeline of the man behind the heat scale

to chileheads and hot sauce lovers, he is the man behind the heat scale. wilbur scoville was born in 1865. in 1912 while working for the parke davis pharmaceutical company he developed the scoville organoleptic test. in 1922, scoville won the ebert prize from the american pharmaceutical association and in 1929 he received the remington honor medal. scoville also received an honorary doctor of science from columbia university.

scoville wrote the art of compounding which was first published in 1895 and has gone through at least 8 editions. the book was used as a pharmacological reference until the 1960s. scoville also wrote extract & perfumes which contained hundreds of formulations — after all scoville had a knack for compounding. scoville died in 1942 but his name will forever go on with the scoville heat unit and in the lives of chili lovers everywhere.

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tempranillos role as a new varietal wine in australia

by: darby higgs

tempranillo is the premium red wine grape variety from the rioja region in spain. it is now challenging sangiovese as the up and coming star of the red varietal wine scene in australia.

new plantings throughout australian wine regions over the past five years are just coming into bearing. in fact on a percentage basis tempranillo is growing in popularity more rapidly than any other variety.

what makes this variety so exciting? well, it makes wines which have good colour and good fruit flavours along with low acid and low tannins. this adds up to an easy drinking style. the wine also goes well with american oak.

in the vineyard the variety has a short growing season which makes it suitable for cooler areas.

in spain the variety is the backbone of the wines of the rioja and the ribera del duero regions in northern and central spain. in these regions it is often blended with graciano or cabernet sauvignon playing a minor role. it is a component of ribera del duero’s famous vega sicilia, the spanish equivalent to grange.

in portugal the variety is used as a minor component in port, and some red table wines. elsewhere in the world the major plantings are in argentine and california. in the latter region it is called valdepenas and is regarded as a unsuitable for making fine wine.

tempranillo has taken off in australia only in the past few years. brown brothers have been a pioneer of the variety, but there are now over 50 producers in about half of autralias sixty wine regions. although mclaren vale has the highest number of producers variety is widely planted throughout the mainland australian wine regions. the highest rated tempranillo in james halliday’s wine companion 2005 is from manton’s creek vineyard in the mornington peninsula. casella wines, the makers of the hugely successful [yellowtail] range are also interested in the variety. they received a silver medal for a 2003 tempranillo at the australian alternative varieties wine show 2004.

the obvious food match is to go with spanish style dishes. a lighter bodied tempranillo would go well with tapas, those delightful little snacks that originally were designed for accompanying sherry. a little plate of olives, some prawns and a few slices of chorizo sausage may just what is needed.

the spanish also love jamon, dry cured ham. many bars in spain have dozens of hams hanging up and there is always a ham in a special rack ready to be thinly carved for a snack to accompany a glass of wine. sheep farming is a major industry in the in the rioja and the ribera del duero regions. hence grilled and especially roast lamb are local specialties, as well as the ideal accompaniment to tempranillo. sheep milk cheeses, roast stuffed peppers and vegetable casseroles would also be enhanced by a glass or two of these fine wines.

what then can we expect in future from tempranillo in australia? it is an interesting fact is that the variety is being tried in many wine regions. virtually all of the plantings in australia are new and the vineyard managers and winemakers are just starting to climb the learning curve. some enthusiasts say tempranillo is the next big thing in australian red wines; others think that the italian variety sangiovese will triumph. the next few years will tell, in the meantime there will be some interesting wines to try.

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best recipes: banana chocolate milkshake

by: donna monday

got any ripe bananas sitting around the house? great. then instead of letting them get too ripe to eat, make yourself a nice, cold delicious banana chocolate milkshake. its fun and easy to do.

all you do is slice up the banana and add it to some cocoa chocolate and milk and youve got yourself a nice afternoon snack. this milkshake will also give you a real boost of energy too. now you know youll never have to waste another banana again.

banana chocolate milkshake

• 1 cup skim milk
  
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
  
• 1/3 cup sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 1 medium ripe banana, sliced
  
• 8 large ice cubes
  

directions

in blender container pour milk. add cocoa. cover, blend on low speed until well mixed. add sugar, vanilla and banana. cover, blend until smooth.

add ice cubes, one at a time, blending until thick.

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