Anchovies In Italian Cuisine - How The Italians Use Anchovies

Anchovies In Italian Cuisine --Fresh anchovies are hard to come by unless you have a good fishmonger nearbym,Anchovy paste is often used in Sicily to flavour pizza...

Anchovies In Italian Cuisine
- How The Italians Use Anchovies

Anchovies are a small sea fish found in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. They grow to about 3 inches long. Anchovies are related to the herring. Those found in the Atlantic tend to be slightly larger than the Mediterranean variety.

In Southern Italy and Spain they are often cooked fresh. if you are visiting these areas fresh anchovies are worth looking out for in restaurants and cafes. Fresh anchovies are often served grilled like sardines. They are good for barbecues. You can also bake them in the oven.

In Italy they don't clean the fish but it's probably a good idea to do so unless your guests are used to eating them that way. They are served with a rich garlic and tomato sauce.

Fresh anchovies are hard to come by unless you have a good fishmonger nearby. You will most often see them in preserved form because the season is short. Anchovies can be packed in salt or olive oil. In that form they are exported all over the world. Preserved anchovies have become a vital ingredient in most Italian cooking.

When anchovies they are salted they must be cleaned and gutted as soon as they are caught. They are allowed to dry before being layered in large round tins with salt. The tins are stacked into towers which are called seasoning towers. Weights are placed on top of them. They are left like this for up to two months. During this time the fluid in the fish is forced out and replaced by salt.

Anchovies preserved in oil must be treated differently. Fresh anchovies are immersed in brine for two months. After that they are washed in more salt water, cleaned and filleted. The two tiny fillets are then packed in jars or tins of olive oil.


Both types of preserved anchovy can be bought in small tins or jars as well as loose from the delicatessen.

Anchovy paste is often used in Sicily to flavour pizza. It has a less fishy taste than anchovies preserved in either salt or olive oil. You will find anchovy paste sold in tubes. Generally speaking it is less useful than the other types of preserved anchovies.

When you use anchovies it is best to soak them for about ten minutes first to remove some of the salt. That way you get more of the flavour of fish and less of the salt taste.

Anchovies and hard boiled egg yolks mixed with a little red wine vinegar made a great sauce for bland foods. You can use this anchovy sauce on cold meat or fish.


In Venice they have a dish of fresh beans served in anchovy sauce. In Naples they like to eat linguini in anchovy sauce on Christmas Eve. You simply have to cook some garlic in oil then stir in the anchovies until they dissolve. Add a bit of pasta water and the sauce is made. Just pour it over the pasta.

Try anchovies in a simple dish like artichokes with anchovies. Steam some artichokes in about half an inch of water. When they are almost cooked remove them from the pan and add the soaked anchovies. Cook the anchovies, stirring all the time, until they have dissolved. Return the artichokes to the pan for a few minutes so that they can soak up the sauce.

Serve this as a side dish so that your guests who think they hate anchovies can try just a little. This dish will surely change their minds about anchovies. Any bad memories they might have of nasty salty litte fish on their pizzas will be forgotten. Just let them taste the authentic flavour of anchovies in Italian cooking.

Abhishek is really passionate about Cooking and he has got some great Cooking Secrets. up his sleeves! Download his FREE 88 Pages Ebook, "Cooking Mastery!" from his website http://www.Cooking-Guru.com/770/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.
By Abhishek Agarwal
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Poland Cooking Schools - 3 Tips To Get Enrolled In One

Poland Cooking Schools --1. Consider all of your options.,2. Check out the alumni.,3. Finance your education...

Poland Cooking Schools
- 3 Tips To Get Enrolled In One

If you're looking for a new and fun experience, attending cooking school in Poland may be the perfect option. While it may not be everyone's first thought as being internationally renowned for it's culinary chefs, Poland offers an up and coming cuisine and a great cultural experience for someone looking for their culinary degree.

While there may be a school in your area that specializes in Poland cuisine, this is no match for the experience gained from attending cooking school in Poland. Not only will a student master the art of Polish cuisine, but they'll also soak up the culture and tradition of this fascinating country. The experience gained there will lay the foundation for the rest of your culinary career.

If you're looking to go to culinary school in Poland here are a few things to get you on the path:

1. Consider all of your options. While Warsaw may be the most natural choice because of its huge size, some of the best opportunities are in the outlying rural areas. Much of the cuisine found in the cities of any country will be a modern take on traditional cuisine, it's imperative, however, to have a foundation in the traditional cuisine before modifying it. Training in a small local restaurant can be some of the best experience and learning found in Poland. Also, consider smaller, private schools for more one-on-one training.

2. Check out the alumni. Research some of the famous faces that sought formal training at your school of choice. This can often be the very best indicator of a school's success.

3. Finance your education. This is often the most important factor when choosing a school. Know that not only are there Polish grants available, especially to individuals of Polish origin, but there are also grants and scholarships that can be used from your own country to go to school in Poland. The biggest thing when searching for grants is perseverance; they're not always easy to come by, but money is available to fund your way through school, so be patient and start researching.

Remember to follow your heart and your stomach. If Poland is where you see yourself going to culinary school, there are always options to get you there. Poland offers a varied cuisine and rich cultural experience to the aspiring chef. Remember to look outside the major cities to find the best little local places to teach you the art of traditional Polish cooking.

Abhishek is really passionate about Cooking and he has got some great Cooking Secrets. up his sleeves! Download his FREE 88 Pages Ebook, "Cooking Mastery!" from his website http://www.Cooking-Guru.com/770/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.
By Abhishek Agarwal
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes For ESL Learners

Sweet potatoes, especially the soft kind, are often called "yams", Sweet potatoes can be cooked in the same ways as white potatoes. Unlike white potatoes, they can be used for pie filling. This is popular in the southern States....

Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes For ESL Learners

For many Americans, sweet potatoes are a traditional part of the Thanksgiving dinner. If you come from another country, you may not be familiar with this vegetable.

Here's what you might like to know.

Sweet potatoes, especially the soft kind, are often called "yams", but they are not really the same. Yams are native to Africa and Asia. Sweet potatoes are native to South America (but they are now grown in many other warm regions). Long ago, African slaves in the Americas began calling sweet potatoes "yams". Today, most people in the U.S. and Canada do the same. But real yams are very rare in the Americas. You can usually find them only in stores that sell imported foods.

Sweet potatoes can be cooked in the same ways as white potatoes. Unlike white potatoes, they can be used for pie filling. This is popular in the southern States.

For Thanksgiving, sweet potatoes are usually specially prepared. One way to do this is to:

* Bake them
* Cut them in half
* Take out most of the insides
* Mix the insides with butter, spices, and maybe sugar
* Put the insides back in the skins
* Put butter and breadcrumbs on top
* Bake them again until the breadcrumbs brown

Some recipes tell you to put marshmallows on top of the sweet potatoes. Americans have strong feelings about this. For example, The Joy of Cooking, a famous cookbook by Irma Rombauer and Marion Becker, says, "These are a matter of taste, or - in our strongly biased view - lack of it." Diane Morgan, author of The Thanksgiving Table, says, "I can't bring myself to write such a recipe because I don't like the sticky-sweet topping."


For other people, however, it wouldn't feel like Thanksgiving without marshmallows on the sweet potatoes. The important thing is to cook them the way you and your family like best. Some more sweet toppings you can try are brown sugar, syrup, and fruit.

If you think Americans feel too strongly about sweet potatoes, wait till Christmas, when they start talking about fruitcake.

Jane Wangersky is an ESL teacher and the author of Thanksgiving for Beginners. To get her free eBooklet, 50 Questions and Answers About Thanksgiving, visit her site, Thanksgiving Tips for ESL Learners.

By Jane Wangersky
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Burger Bundles - A Family Favorite on the Grill

Burger Bundles--To make a Burger Bundle, you start with three layers of aluminum foil approximately 18" long. **When the Burger Bundles are cooked, remove from the grill and place on each family members plate...

Burger Bundles
- A Family Favorite on the Grill

What is a Burger Bundle?

How to make a Burger Bundle?

One of our favorite family meals are Burger Bundles. We grill them on the Gas Grill or you can use a Charcoal Grill if you desire. I would recommend using the Gas Grill, because it is quicker and you would not get any charcoal flavor anyway.

To make a Burger Bundle, you start with three layers of aluminum foil approximately 18" long. The reason for the extra layers is you don't want to take the chance of a hole being poked in the bottom which will cause a flare up and also keep the ingredients from burning on the bottom.

The ingredients can vary from each family members tastes. You start with a 1/4-1/2 lb of ground hamburger pressed into a patty. Place the hamburger in the center of the foil. Now you can layer sliced potatoes (not peeled), sliced carrots, sliced onions, sliced green peppers, sliced mushrooms or any other favorite raw vegetable. Sprinkle in your favorite seasonings, we like Montreal Steak seasoning, garlic salt, pepper & Jane's mixed up salt. For the moisture, slice up a 1/2 stick of butter and place on top. The butter will melt down through the ingredients.


Now its almost time to start grilling. Start the grill and let it preheat to 200-300 degrees. Fold up your foil in a bowl like shape on the bottom to keep any juices from escaping out the sides and overlapping on the top to seal together. In our family, each person makes their own bundle with the ingredients that they want. For example, my youngest daughter only likes hamburger, potatoes and onions. I personally throw everything in. We take a permanent marker and write our initials on each bundle, so you don't have to search for your bundle when it is time to eat. Place each bundle on the grill and cook for approximately 20-30 minutes on low to medium heat. You can test them by opening one of the bundles and poking the vegetables with a knife to see if they are tender. Be careful when opening, don't burn yourself on the steam and also don't poke a hole in the foil. When the vegetables are tender, your bundle is ready to eat.

When the Burger Bundles are cooked, remove from the grill and place on each family members plate. You can now add shredded cheese or my favorite would be Famous Daves devils spit BBQ sauce. You can eat your bundle out of the foil or you can pour it on a plate, but be careful not to burn yourself.

We grill our Burger Bundles at home on the backyard gas grill. When camping or tailgating, we use my gas grill attached to my truck hitch.

You can get more information about Tailgating Grills or Camping Grills at http://www.outdoorgrillsandsmokers.com

By Brad Vitosh
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Cast Iron Pans For Your Catering Business is a Good Choice!

Cast-iron pans can be used on top of the stove or to bake in the oven.**cast iron also heats evenly and consistently...When you purchase new cast iron cookware, they are gunmetal gray or silver in color,....

Cast Iron Pans For Your Catering Business is a Good Choice!

The question might arise in your mind as to what kind of pans to buy for your catering service. Now there are a few things you should know before coming to any decision. Professional chefs consider cast-iron pans precision cooking tools. That is primarily because they are dependable and ensure precise control of cooking temperatures. Their heat retention qualities allow for even cooking temperature without hot spots. Cast-iron pans can be used on top of the stove or to bake in the oven.

An ideal heat conductor, cast iron also heats evenly and consistently. It is also much cheaper than other pans and will last a lifetime with proper care. It's also an old-fashioned way to cook fat free. When well seasoned, a cast-iron fry pan will be stick resistant and require no additional oil. These pans go from stove to oven, no special utensils are needed. It would not warp and is much easier to cleanup.

All new cast-iron pots and skillets have a protective coating on them. These coatings are to be removed before usage. American companies use a special food-safe wax; imports are covered with a water-soluble shellac. In either case, scrub the item with a scouring pad, using soap and the hottest tap water you can stand. The surfaces of a new cast-iron pan are porous and have microscopic jagged peaks. When you purchase new cast iron cookware, they are gunmetal gray or silver in color, but after using them, they start turning darker until they are very black. This is normal and is certainly to be expected.

One should always avoid buying cast iron pans or skillets with wooden handles; these are useless for oven cooking. There are kits you can buy for your employees that educate on hand, wrist and finger safety. This is a good idea for anyone working in a kitchen with power appliances such as mixing bowls. Materials in the kits can include a video program, motivational posters and employee booklets. Videos can include information on physiology of the hand, wrist and fingers, identification of common hazards, proper work procedures, tool use and maintenance, using personal protective equipment, injuries and first aid and more.

Some experts suggest management of all food facilities test their staff at least four times a year by holding contests. The contests cover setting tables from various posted menus and re-setting flatware. These exercises will certainly aid in fine-tuning your staff in the art of the table change-over with speed and precision.

Our goal at TastySuccess.net is to keep you from making the mistakes that others have made and to teach you how to start a catering business. Go to TastySuccess.net and learn how easy it can be!

By Richard Calvin Myers
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/