Cooking with Alison

Posts Tagged ‘Italian food’

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Introduction to Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tasting

In How-To, Reviews on July 6, 2016 at pm
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Photo courtesy of Flavor Your Life

On July 5, 2016,the Flavour Your Life program, which is funded by the European Union and the Italian government, hosted an extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) tasting event in Toronto. The event was held at Buca Osteria & Enoteca on King Street West, where the food and drinks were incredible, by the way. It’s my new favourite Italian restaurant and I can’t wait to go back! I usually only purchase Greek EVOO, so I was very excited to learn more about Italian EVOO. A HUGE thank you to Gordon from Confessions of a Toronto Foodie who told me about this opportunity.

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Marsala Sauce Recipe

In Poultry, Red Meat and Eggs, Sides and Sauces on April 8, 2016 at am

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Marsala is an Italian, fortified wine that is very similar to Spanish sherry and madeira. All of these wines are great for cooking. I love the flavour and subtle sweetness of this sauce, and I love the simplicity and versatility of the recipe. Marsala sauce pairs nicely with chicken, pork, and steak. The meat is usually cooked in the sauce, but since I love to batch cook, I usually make the sauce separately from the meat and freeze the leftovers.

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Favourite Italian Bolognese Sauce Recipe

In Pasta, Rice, and Doughs, Red Meat and Eggs, Sides and Sauces on November 15, 2014 at am

I’ve made this delicious and authentic Italian bolognese sauce twice now, and I’ve learned a few things about how to make this sauce even better.  First of all, don’t use finely ground meat.  You will get the best results in texture if you grind the meat yourself using a food processor fitted with a metal blade.  The store ground meat ends up feeling and tasting gritty.  Secondly, the quality of the canned tomatoes that you use makes a huge difference.  For best results, use san marzano tomatoes if you can afford it.  Though not necessary to make a delicious sauce, it will make a huge difference in tomato flavour.  (I found very affordable cans of san marzano tomatoes at Costco.)  Lastly, this sauce is delicious when made with lamb, too.  So feel free to try making this using beef, lamb, or a combination of beef and pork.  This recipe makes a large batch of sauce and is an easy way to cook for a large group.  I made this for dinner for 9 people and there was enough for everyone to have seconds.  The sauce is freezer friendly and the recipe can be halved.

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Lasagna Rolls

In Pasta, Rice, and Doughs on April 4, 2010 at pm

These are perfect for entertaining.  They taste great, they’re easy to make and they look incredibly elegant for lasagna.  Since the lasagna is rolled into individual portions, these are great for pot lucks too.

Picture below right: Before going into the oven.

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