Portobello Food

The staple of many Italian dishes is a good meat sauce. A perfect meat sauce is as much a matter of personal taste as it is a specific recipe. Good sauces can range from complex, with deeply developed flavors, to light and bright highlighting a few simple ingredients. Whichever is your personal preference, there are some guidelines that will ensure that it turns out amazing every time.

• Use only the freshest ingredients available. In particular, bear in mind that dried herbs lose their flavor after 6 months.
• [...]

Making your own pasta sauce can help you save plenty of money, and it is much healthier than processed sauces. In addition, it is really quick and easy to make homemade pasta sauce. Check out this yummy recipe for pasta sauce:

Ingredients:
• 3 lbs of tomatoes
• Salt( optional)
• Pepper( optional)
• ½ lb ground beef
• Chopped cilantro( optional)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions:

Step one: Place the tomatoes in a bowl and mash them with a potato masher. Keep [...]

Most of the articles on this site have featured recipes for Italian cooking but, in order to truly create great and authentic Italian cuisine, you also need a kitchen that matches the culture. Every chef knows that it is the state of the kitchen – the chef’s work area – that greatly impacts the quality and flavor of the food being created.

Simply put, if you want to make great Italian food using the recipes you have seen, you need a kitchen that at least looks the part. And, contrary to what you might think, there may not be a whole lot of purchasing of new equipment. You just might need to reorganize the area and this article can help you get started. If your kitchen does require more in the realm of remodeling, there are services for that, too.

Below are the traits of a traditional Italian kitchen:

1. Space. All good, traditional Italian kitchens are open and free flowing. That is because every good cook knows that a chef is always moving about from station to station. All of your tools must be within reach without impeding your movement or flow.

2. Smooth Surface. Not a problem with most kitchens, but you may want to rethink adding any rugs. Italian cooking can get messy – it’s more of a prerequisite than an occupational hazard. Smooth surfaces are easy to wipe.

3. Air Circulation. If there are no windows or vents in the kitchen, you will need to look into that. Italian cooking is both passionate and intense and there is bound to be some smoke and steam during the process.

Pesto sauce originated in Italy where fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and parmigiana cheese were combined with a mortar and pestle. While the original ingredients are still used in many pesto sauces, a mortar and pestle are no longer required.

To make a basic basil pesto sauce at home, you will need:
2 cups of fresh basil leaves, washed and patted dry
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of pine nuts, lightly toasted
1/3 cup parmigiana cheese, grated or shredded
1/4-1/2 cup extra virgin olive [...]

When cooked at the correct temperature for the correct amount of time, your noodles will come out just the way you like them. Not following directions will result in soft, soggy over cooked or partially-raw hard undercooked noodles.

To cook the noodles, begin by boiling water in a small pot. Be sure the water comes to a boil before placing the noodles in the pot. Using a pinch of salt and a cover on the pot helps the water to boil faster. After the water comes to a boil, add the seasoning stock package. This is how the noodles [...]

Ground beef is the basis of so many delicious meals. There is chili, lasagna, and even tacos, pasta dishes, and nachos that are the regular time honored favorites. But if a different taste and appeal is desired, substituting sausage for that ground beef might make a regular favorite one that everyone clamors for time after time.

Ground sausage come in so many flavors, so it broadens recipes in lots of different ways. Italian, Polish, chorizo, and even ground seasoned turkey can embellish the flavor [...]

If you want a quick Broccoli and Chicken Lasagna With Alfredo, it can be accomplished.

One bag of frozen broccoli florets
One pound of boneless chicken breasts, seasoned with oregano, basil, thyme, garlic and onion powders, black pepper to taste
One can of cream of mushroom soup
One jar of alfredo sauce
One cup of grated parmesan cheese
One pound of fettucini pasta, cooked al dente and drained

Mix together chicken breasts, and seasoning, and cook thoroughly in two tablespoons of olive oil. Drain carefully. Cut the chicken into strips.Mix the alfredo [...]