Italian cuisine is one of the most popular in the world. Many Italian dishes call for pasta. It is a relatively simple thing to do, boil pasta. And yet, there is an art to making it perfectly every time. Many recipes call for al dente pasta. It is all too easy to end up with a sticky, soggy mess. Here are a few tips to help you have perfect pasta every time. It isn't so hard to learn how to boil pasta.
Many types of pasta are available. You can choose macaroni, spaghetti, lasagna, tortellini and many, many more. Boiling all of these types of pasta is different. Some cook very quickly and others take longer. It is very important to read the package directions for suggestions about the length of boiling time. The time may not be exact but it gives you a place to start.
If you are cooking a pound of pasta, you need at least a five or six-quart pan to hold the water. You will need four to five quarts of water to cook a pound of pasta. Especially if you are cooking long pasta like spaghetti or linguini you need to make sure they will be covered by the water without having to break them.
Add your water to the pan and bring it to a rolling boil. Do this with the temperature at high. You will want to add 1-2 tablespoons of Kosher salt to the water once it has begun to boil. This will not make your pasta salty so don't worry, it will, however, enhance the flavor.
Add the pasta all at once. You want it all to reach the correct texture at the same time. Use a wooden spoon or tongs to give the pasta a quick stir as you place it in the pot. Give it an occasional stir for the first few minutes. This will keep the pasta from sticking to the pan and to the other pieces of pasta.
Read the package directions but only use them as a guide. You need to test a piece two or three minutes before the package says they will be done. If it is still too hard try again in another minute. As soon as it feels right, take the pot off the heat and add a quart of cold water to stop the boiling process. Pour the water and pasta into a colander to drain.
Place the pasta back into the pan off of the heat as soon as possible to retain some of the warmth. Add the sauce of your choice and toss. You are now ready to serve the perfect pasta dish to your family and /or friends. Learning how to boil pasta correctly will serve you well, you can make so many delicious meals once you have this skill mastered.
While this cookbook has been out since 2013 it is a new one for me. I love Ollies and I never leave there without getting a couple new cookbooks to add to my collection. This one was a recent find and I love it already. It has plenty of photos which is something I really enjoy and the recipes are mostly simple and cooked in a slow cooker.
250 new recipes make this a book that can give you a lot of new ideas for things for dinner, breakfast, lunch, and brunch. Let's not forget dessert, plenty of those too.
The book begins by letting you know that you can use your slow cooker year round not just in the cold weather months and it also offers some hints about what is the best slow cooker for you. She has a section called 'Things you'll be happier knowing" to help you with your slow cooker cooking. All and all, read the beginning of this book, you'll be glad you did.
While many of the recipes are easy, there are some that are challenging so if you are not a novice, don't worry, there is plenty for you to enjoy.
I have not had time to try any of the recipes yet but I have looked at it several times already cover to cover and I know that I will be trying some of these recipes very soon. This cookbook is a keeper.
If you're making a cake, whether it's from scratch or from a box, you might also consider making your own frosting. Cakes can be quite sweet on their own, so it's a good idea to make frosting that's a little less sweet.
There are several different ways you can do this, and following are a few ideas for making frosting that is not quite as sweet as the average icing.
Chocolate whipped cream frosting
This is an easy frosting to make. All you need is a pint of whipping cream and an instant chocolate pudding mix. Make your whipped cream as usual, but don't add sugar or vanilla. Instead, when the cream starts to form peaks, mix in the contents of the small box of instant chocolate pudding. You can then spread this onto the cake or cut your cake and place a dollop on each piece. It is delicious and inexpensive to make. The flavor of pudding can of course be changed to vary the recipe.
Helen Evans Brown chocolate frosting
This recipe is a big hit for dark chocolate lovers. Kids may find it a bit too intense. If that happens, you can replace the semi-sweet chocolate bits with milk chocolate, which will definitely ramp up the sweetness.
The recipe is from a James Beard Cookbook. Melt 5 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate bits in a double boiler or in the microwave, mix in 1/2 cup of sour cream and a pinch of salt. That's it! So simple and so delicious. It is good enough to eat by the spoonful as a treat. I have to admit, this is my go to chocolate frosting.
Cream cheese frosting
There are many cake recipes that call for cream cheese frosting: carrot, pumpkin, zucchini and red velvet, to name a few. This recipe comes from My San Francisco Kitchen blog and is traditional but adds less sugar than other recipes call for. You only need four ingredients, an 8-ounce block of cream cheese, 1 cup of confectionery sugar, 1/4 cup of unsweetened butter and a teaspoon of vanilla.
When you are looking for a frosting that is not cloyingly sweet, any of these recipes will fit the bill nicely. All of them are simple to make, require no special equipment and are made from items that you probably already have in your pantry and fridge.
First, let me apologize for not taking pictures. This was the first filet I have ever cooked and I was so busy watching it and trying not to turn two beautiful bacon wrapped filets from Omaha Steaks into shoe leather that I never thought of my camera.
I went online to get the suggested cooking method since it is not on the box they come in. The first place I looked suggested either grilling or broiling, neither of which I wanted to do. I had to google specifically that I wanted to cook it in a frying pan.
I put a little olive oil and butter in my nonstick frying pan and then put the heat on high. I seasoned the filets with my favorite steak seasoning and a little salt and pepper. I seared the filets on all sides and after about 9 minutes I started taking the temperature with my new thermometer. I took Al's out at 120 degrees and then kept cooking mine. He likes rare and I like medium well.
I have to tell you, they were both perfect. So tender you could cut it with a dull butter knife. I was very impressed with the taste as well. I can tell that I am going to become a regular customer of Omaha Steaks.
For a new baker or a baker who has never attempted it, making simple and delicious homemade bread can be intimidating. In this day and age when you can buy an electric bread maker that will take most of the worry out of baking homemade bread, it is a shame to deny yourself the treat of not only eating a slice of bread warm from the oven (or bread maker), but of enjoying the aroma of bread baking in your home.
The trickiest part about making homemade bread is preparing the yeast. There are some very simple forms of yeast these days, and there is no real mystery to using it. The yeast packets you purchase at your local grocer include directions for activating the yeast, and it usually involves warm water.
It is really very simple, and some of the yeast that is made especially for the bread machines does not even need to be dissolved in water. You then add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix.
Kneading is another intimidating process. How to do it and how much to do it is the most confusing. Frankly, if you use a bread maker you will lose out on this very therapeutic task. Nothing helps work out frustration better than kneading bread.
After a few times, you will feel the difference in the elasticity of the dough and know when it has been kneaded enough. If you're a beginner, follow the directions to the letter in the recipe. Write yourself a note in the cookbook about how it worked for you so you will know if you need to make any adjustments in the future.
Bread machines do all the kneading for you. You basically put all the ingredients into the machine and turn it on. While this produces a nice warm load of bread, it is not quite a fulfilling as bread that you mix and knead yourself.
After kneading the bread, place it back in the bowl and cover and allow it to double in size. Try to find a warm place away from drafts, the inside of your oven is not a bad place. When it is raised, punch it down and allow it to rise again.
When it rises again it is time to place it into a baking pan and pop it into the oven. Watch the loaf closely the first time to be sure your oven temperature is correct and it doesn’t overcook.
When it has a golden brown crust and makes a hollow sound when you thump it, it is done. A thump is a tap or flick with your finger, do it quickly because you don’t want to get burned.
Allow baked bread to cool before slicing. It really is that simple. My favorite recipe is in the Betty Crocker Cookbook for a simple white bread, but there are so many others you can try after you have mastered the basic technique. You will notice that the Betty Crocker recipe does not call for the second rising of the dough, though many others do and you can choose to do it or not.
When you want to cook a pasta dish that you have never cooked before or maybe you want to duplicate a dish you ate in a restaurant you will need to look for websites for pasta recipes. Many great websites are available that can help you to find just the recipe you're looking for.
Barilla.com
Barilla markets itself as the official pasta of Italy and the company's website offers some great recipes to use their brand or whatever your personal favorite happens to be. Whether you are looking for appetizers, main courses or salads, this site has lots of choices. You can search by meal course, recipe difficulty and also by ingredients. It really does make finding a great recipe very easy.
Ronzoni.com
Ronzoni is another company that sells pasta, but they have an interesting Quick Cook variety that can cook in just three minutes. For today’s busy cooks, that is a major advantage. The website offers a large selection of recipes that can be searched by main ingredient, type of pasta and number of servings.
The Cooking Channel
The Cooking Channel features an entire section on pasta dishes. You can search for anything from Italian pasta to Asian noodle recipes. There is an Italian Cooking section and within that one for Perfect Pastas. Recipes are featured from Tyler Florence and Giada De Laurentis just to name two. Plenty of dishes are offered that feature meat, seafood, and vegetarian options. Pictures of the dishes are included.
The Food Network
The Food Network is where fans go to watch their favorite celebrity chef whip up pasta dishes. The site offers more than 3,500 recipes. Chances are, you will find at least a few that will become family favorites. They run the gamut from Paula’s Italian Pasta Salad to Melissa d’Arabian’s Lemony Shrimp Scampi Pasta and everything in between.
Jamie Oliver.com
For fans of the celebrity British chef, this website offers 53 of his best pasta recipes for you to duplicate in your home kitchen. Recipes such as Rigatoni with roasted tomatoes & ricotta salata and Southend-style pappardelle are among the ones you will be tempting your family and friends with.
Nigella.com
I personally am a huge fan of Nigella Lawson. Her website offers some fabulous pasta recipes including Pasta with ham, peas and cream and Sesame peanut noodles. Along with her own recipes, many visitors have offered their own suggestions for pasta dishes.
These are just a few of the many websites for pasta recipes. All you need to do is search the type of pasta dish you want to make and see all the choices that pop up.
I have been wanting to try Richard's Place for the last four years. It comes up near the top of any search for the best breakfast in Ocala. That alone made it irresistible to me. What has stopped me from going there is that it is more than 10 miles away up in the NE section of Ocala.
Last week we had an appointment at 10 am with an attorney very close to Richard's Place. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to give them a try. It is very much a local place and a bit of a hole in the wall. Take my advice and park in the back not on the side. I was almost taken out by a crazy driver as I tried to pull out of the side parking area, live, and learn.
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At 10:30 on a Tuesday the place was hopping and we got the last booth, who would have guessed? The special was corned beef hash. I asked if it was homemade and was told the corned beef was canned but that it was one of their most popular dishes. They brought me a sample to try. They were right, it was very good, that is what I ordered. Al opted for the steak and eggs.
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It was a very tasty and tender steak served with two eggs and homefries. I did not leave even one morsel of my corned beef on my plate, yup I will be coming back for more. The prices are very reasonable and the service was very friendly. I now know why Richards Place is one of the most popular places to get breakfast I just wish I lived a little closer.
