If you’re looking for a way to get your guests raving the moment they walk in the door, greet them with a scrumptious tomato and mozzarella appetizer that will delight all their senses. With a few basic ingredients, you can make a variety of different delicious appetizers just by altering how you put it together or changing an ingredient or two.
Start by having the following ingredients on hand. You won’t need all the ingredients for every variation, so once you decide on your favorites you can remove the unnecessary items from the list.
• Fresh, ripe tomatoes – large
• Fresh, ripe grape tomatoes
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Vinegar
• Basil
• Mozzarella, sliced
• Mini mozzarella balls
• Crostini bread
• Triscuits
• Fresh bread
• Skewers
• Garlic, minced, or garlic powder
• Onion, sliced
My personal favorite way to create a tomato-mozzarella appetizer is to slice the tomatoes into wedges, and arrange them on a baking sheet. Add a slice of mozzarella to the top of each wedge, and sprinkle with basil, a little bit of oil, and garlic, if desired. Bake at about 350 degrees for fifteen to twenty minutes, or until the cheese is melted. You can add a slice of onion before putting the cheese on top, if you choose.
For another variation, try slicing the tomatoes instead of making wedges, and place your tomato, cheese, onion and seasonings on triscuits or crostini bread before baking. This can also be served cold, but it is oh-so-delicious when warm!
You can also use the grape tomatoes, mini mozzarella balls and onion to make little tomato-mozzarella skewers. Simply alternate the tomato, mozzarella balls, and sliced onion on a skewer, and season as desired. A super easy, delicious and simple to eat crowd-pleaser!
Finally, try arranging tomato slices and mozzarella slices in a circular pattern on a serving plate. Season with oil and vinegar, basil, garlic and/ or salt and pepper. Serve with your delicious fresh bread!
I’m certain that there are dozens of other creative ways to combine tomatoes and mozzarella. You can easily take any combination of these ingredients to make something uniquely yours. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can try switching out the tomato for zucchini. Check back with us in the coming weeks for the release of Maria Liberati’s latest book, The Italian Kitchen, for more delicious appetizer recipes!
sabato 19 aprile 2008
domenica 13 aprile 2008
Perfect Party Planning
The release of Maria Liberati’s newest book is just weeks away! Once you get your copy you will definitely want to invite some guests over to show off your impressive cooking skills, so it might be a good idea for us to talk about planning the perfect party. By following some basic tips, you can ensure that your event will come together seamlessly (without stressing you out!).
• Plan ahead! Send out your invitations two weeks in advance, if possible. Make a list of what you intend to serve and what ingredients are required to prepare it. Try to have your guests RSVP so that you can get only the amount of food that you need, so you don’t waste a lot of money by having tons of extra food. Buy all the ingredients a few days in advance. Not too soon that they won’t be fresh, but soon enough that you aren’t worried about finding time to shop the day of the event!
• Prepare carefully, and with patience! Before beginning to cook, place any table settings or decorations, arrange the furniture, and get all the logistics in order. Once you start cooking, having something else hanging over your head left to do will just frazzle you more.
• Plan out how long it will take you to cook each item on the menu. Are there dishes that require the use of the oven at the same time? Do your dishes all have different cooking and preparation times? If you are having a lot of different things, try to get someone to help you. But try to have a starting point – start with the item that takes the longest to prepare, has the most steps or the longest cooking time. Make items that can be served slightly cooler first, and those that are best served fresh from the oven last. But, whatever you do, don’t rush! Rushing causes kitchen disasters, and possibly non-edible food!
• Try to have everything in the oven, or at least ready to go into the oven, before your guests arrive. Stepping out for a minute to remove something from the oven isn’t a big deal, but stepping out to take another half hour to finish preparing can make you look unorganized.
I know that all of you readers, as Italian cooking enthusiasts, must have tons of experience in planning fabulous get-togethers, since truly enjoying fine Italian cooking involves enjoying the social company of others while you enjoy the food. So, share with us your best tips on planning the perfect, no-stress party!
• Plan ahead! Send out your invitations two weeks in advance, if possible. Make a list of what you intend to serve and what ingredients are required to prepare it. Try to have your guests RSVP so that you can get only the amount of food that you need, so you don’t waste a lot of money by having tons of extra food. Buy all the ingredients a few days in advance. Not too soon that they won’t be fresh, but soon enough that you aren’t worried about finding time to shop the day of the event!
• Prepare carefully, and with patience! Before beginning to cook, place any table settings or decorations, arrange the furniture, and get all the logistics in order. Once you start cooking, having something else hanging over your head left to do will just frazzle you more.
• Plan out how long it will take you to cook each item on the menu. Are there dishes that require the use of the oven at the same time? Do your dishes all have different cooking and preparation times? If you are having a lot of different things, try to get someone to help you. But try to have a starting point – start with the item that takes the longest to prepare, has the most steps or the longest cooking time. Make items that can be served slightly cooler first, and those that are best served fresh from the oven last. But, whatever you do, don’t rush! Rushing causes kitchen disasters, and possibly non-edible food!
• Try to have everything in the oven, or at least ready to go into the oven, before your guests arrive. Stepping out for a minute to remove something from the oven isn’t a big deal, but stepping out to take another half hour to finish preparing can make you look unorganized.
I know that all of you readers, as Italian cooking enthusiasts, must have tons of experience in planning fabulous get-togethers, since truly enjoying fine Italian cooking involves enjoying the social company of others while you enjoy the food. So, share with us your best tips on planning the perfect, no-stress party!
mercoledì 9 aprile 2008
Wine Pairing 101
For a long time, I thought that pairing wine was something very sophisticated that only the most dedicated connoisseur could do appropriately. I discovered later that while it can be tricky at times to find the right wine that works well with a specialized dish, there are a few simple techniques you can use that are almost sure-fire ways to pick the perfect wine to go with your meal.
While it’s obvious that certain wines go better with certain foods, it also has a lot to do with individual tastes as well. So in addition to using some of the guidelines and techniques we’ll talk about, you can also simply try a variety of wines with different types of foods and decide what combinations are most pleasing to your personal taste buds.
The first trick is probably particularly applicable when it comes to Italian wines, since there are so many distinct regional foods in Italy. It’s not really a trick, but rather a simple rule: Regional wines frequently pair well with regional foods of the same region. So if you are enjoying an eggplant specialty of Southern Italy, you could try pairing it with any of the wines that come from the Southern part of Italy as well, and be fairly sure that they will taste fantastic together. Simple enough, huh?
You can use many similarities between wines and the food you’re serving to find a good match. For example, very rich tasting foods should be served with a rich wine rather than a light one. You can try pairing similar flavors as well, or go for opposite flavors (like a fruity wine with a rich vegetable dish).
When you’re having wine with dessert, the wine should always be at least as sweet as the dessert. If the dessert is very rich, go for a rich, sweet wine. If it’s a lighter pastry that’s not very sweet, you could go with a lighter wine, but you could also still probably go with a sweeter wine and it would still go well together.
You can use the occasion to guide you as well. If you’re having a picnic in the park, a light, crisp, semi-sweet wine would fit the occasion and probably the foods you’re serving as well. If you’re having a formal dinner, where you’re serving several courses, a richer, full-bodied red wine would more than likely go well. Try matching the intensity or formality of the event with the same level of flavor intensity and richness of the wine.
If you’re anything like me, you’re probably shocked to learn that pairing wine can be so simple! It really can be done using little more than some logical reasoning and common sense. But remember, your personal tastes are the ultimate judge, so if something doesn’t agree with your tastes, then it’s not right for your dinner party or event!
While it’s obvious that certain wines go better with certain foods, it also has a lot to do with individual tastes as well. So in addition to using some of the guidelines and techniques we’ll talk about, you can also simply try a variety of wines with different types of foods and decide what combinations are most pleasing to your personal taste buds.
The first trick is probably particularly applicable when it comes to Italian wines, since there are so many distinct regional foods in Italy. It’s not really a trick, but rather a simple rule: Regional wines frequently pair well with regional foods of the same region. So if you are enjoying an eggplant specialty of Southern Italy, you could try pairing it with any of the wines that come from the Southern part of Italy as well, and be fairly sure that they will taste fantastic together. Simple enough, huh?
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You can use many similarities between wines and the food you’re serving to find a good match. For example, very rich tasting foods should be served with a rich wine rather than a light one. You can try pairing similar flavors as well, or go for opposite flavors (like a fruity wine with a rich vegetable dish).
When you’re having wine with dessert, the wine should always be at least as sweet as the dessert. If the dessert is very rich, go for a rich, sweet wine. If it’s a lighter pastry that’s not very sweet, you could go with a lighter wine, but you could also still probably go with a sweeter wine and it would still go well together.
You can use the occasion to guide you as well. If you’re having a picnic in the park, a light, crisp, semi-sweet wine would fit the occasion and probably the foods you’re serving as well. If you’re having a formal dinner, where you’re serving several courses, a richer, full-bodied red wine would more than likely go well. Try matching the intensity or formality of the event with the same level of flavor intensity and richness of the wine.
If you’re anything like me, you’re probably shocked to learn that pairing wine can be so simple! It really can be done using little more than some logical reasoning and common sense. But remember, your personal tastes are the ultimate judge, so if something doesn’t agree with your tastes, then it’s not right for your dinner party or event!
martedì 1 aprile 2008
Ravioli
Since we’ve already learned how to make our own homemade pasta, what could be more fun than exploring some of the different foods you can make with it? We’ll begin by experimenting with the many varieties of ravioli. I think ravioli are a good place to start, because they’re pretty simple and are usually a favorite among the whole family (in other words – a kid pleaser!). To make ravioli, you will start with the pasta we discussed making here.
Once you have made your dough, roll it into two equally-sized, flat squares. Simply mark off evenly sized squares by making a mark with a knife. Place whatever filling you wish in the center of your squares and then place the other large pasta square on top. Using your fingers, press down between the ravioli squares and around the edges to seal off your ravioli. Then use a pastry wheel to cut through all of your separations. If you have one, you can also use a ravioli form to make the ravioli. Then either cook your ravioli or freeze them immediately for later use.
If you think that’s simple enough, but don’t know what to use for filling, read on! The really fun part about making your own ravioli is that you can fill them with just about anything! You can also use many different sauces, so there are limitless possibilities to the flavors you can create with ravioli.
Usually the filling is comprised of a cheese mixture, a meat mixture, or a fish mixture. Most recipes you will see will fall into one of those three categories. Spinach is also used fairly often, and you will see potatoes at times as well. Ricotta cheese mixed with mozzarella is probably the most common ravioli filling.
Red tomato sauce is used most frequently, however cream based sauces or pesto sauces may be used for certain fish mixtures. There really is no right or wrong. So many varieties exist because pasta is such a versatile food that so many other foods taste delicious with it. Try your own favorite ingredients, and experiment with different sauces, and then share your favorite results with us all!
Once you have made your dough, roll it into two equally-sized, flat squares. Simply mark off evenly sized squares by making a mark with a knife. Place whatever filling you wish in the center of your squares and then place the other large pasta square on top. Using your fingers, press down between the ravioli squares and around the edges to seal off your ravioli. Then use a pastry wheel to cut through all of your separations. If you have one, you can also use a ravioli form to make the ravioli. Then either cook your ravioli or freeze them immediately for later use.
If you think that’s simple enough, but don’t know what to use for filling, read on! The really fun part about making your own ravioli is that you can fill them with just about anything! You can also use many different sauces, so there are limitless possibilities to the flavors you can create with ravioli.
Usually the filling is comprised of a cheese mixture, a meat mixture, or a fish mixture. Most recipes you will see will fall into one of those three categories. Spinach is also used fairly often, and you will see potatoes at times as well. Ricotta cheese mixed with mozzarella is probably the most common ravioli filling.
Red tomato sauce is used most frequently, however cream based sauces or pesto sauces may be used for certain fish mixtures. There really is no right or wrong. So many varieties exist because pasta is such a versatile food that so many other foods taste delicious with it. Try your own favorite ingredients, and experiment with different sauces, and then share your favorite results with us all!
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