Cooking Recipes and Gastronomical Information

Italian Cooking RecipesThis country is renowned for many things, but its cuisine is among the best in the world. The inventor of pizza and pasta as we know it today, food would be a lot different today if it weren’t for the legacy of this savory, zesty country. Here are a couple recipes that scream “Italy” no matter where you are.

Mushroom Polenta
This is a delightful dish who’s origin is hard to trace, although its base in cornmeal leads Italian cuisenaire historians to believe it comes from the countryside. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
· 4 kilograms fresh mushrooms
· 16 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
· 1 kilogram cornmeal
· 1 kiliogram can chopped tomatoes
· 8 tablespoons dried chives
· 400 milliliters red wine
· 4 teaspoons dried bay leaves
· 2 little young onion, chopped
· A bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
· 4 teaspoons dried marjoram
· Fresh sausage (vegetarians can substitute tofu or gluten)
· Salt

Directions (mushroom sauce):
Place the chopped tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, oil, herbs and sausage (optional) in a large pan and sauté, seasoning to taste, for about half an hour.

Directions (polenta):
Boil 4 liters of water and put a tiny bit of salt in it. Then take the cornmeal (dry polenta) and slowly introduce it, stirring constantly and let it cook for about half an hour. When the polenta is nice and hard you can cut out chunks of them, place them on places and pour the delicious mushroom sauce over it. Mama mía!


Cream Sauce Fettuccini
A departure from the traditional tomato based sauce that many are used to, this fettuccini is bursting with flavor and it’s less likely to give you heartburn!

Ingredients:
· 5 tablespoons butter
· 24 ounces Noodles, fettuccine
· 2/3 parmesan cheese, freshly grated
· ½ tsp. white pepper, fresh ground
· 2 cup heavy cream
· 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
· salt to taste

Warm the cream and the butter in the pan, simmer until separation reaches the halfway point between liquid and cream, this will take about a quarter hour. Add the pepper and nutmeg. At this point you can get the noodles going and drain when ready. Now you’re ready!