Homemade Fresh Pasta
By Phil Torre
Making fresh pasta at home might seem like a daunting task, and while it is time consuming and with definite effort involved, it is not all that difficult and you will be handsomely rewarded for the extra work. Fresh pasta is not a replacement for the dried, factory produced pasta you find on the supermarket shelves. They each have a unique texture and consistency and work better with particular types of sauce. That being said, you are really missing out if you limit yourself to dried pasta. Good fresh pasta is much lighter in your mouth and absorbs sauces, especially those made with butter or cream.
Italian Recipes
Featured Recipe: Fried Calamari
Fried Calamari has become ubiquitous, I see people ordering it everywhere from pizza places, to the local sports bar alongside a plate of Buffalo Wings. It perturbs me to see the dish lowered down to the level of deep fried bar food. Sometime I even catch myself raising an eyebrow when I see it on the menu of a fine Italian restaurant, I have gotten so used to seeing it slumming. The fact of the matter is when it is made with care and quality ingredients, served with a good marinara sauce it is as far away from that greasy bar fare as you can get.
