I recently got a note from James, who says:
I enjoy things Italian, not the least of which is its food. Part of that enjoyment is the proper presentation of its food in the context of meal time.
There is some information as to what constitutes proper form of the meal: hors d'oeuvres, courses, etc. Not so much info regarding the recipes of the menu items, what is an acceptable first course, and what would be an appropriate second course, in light of the first course, etc.
I suppose it seems as though I'm overly interested in food, but it is more important to me that I have presented a meal in what is considered good form. It goes without saying that the meal should be well cooked, but more important, it should be well presented.
Could you direct me to any publication or organizations that address this issue?
To which I replied:
Dear James,
I do discuss the organization of an Italian meal (the meals of the day, actually) here .
In terms of form, it's important to remember that Italian cooking is quite seasonal, with people tending to cook the vegetables in season (eggplant in summer, cabbage in winter), and make much lighter dishes during the summer months than they do in the winter.
Exactly what combination of dishes gets served depends upon the tastes of the cook, but in Italy cooking tends to be local. Neapolitans cook Neapolitan, Tuscans cook Tuscan and so on. People do occasionally cook favorites from elsewhere, and there are some standard dishes, e.g. the cotoletta alla milanese, but most dishes are local. So if you're preparing a Sicilian first course, you probably won't want to follow it with a second from Friuli Venezia Giulia.
I hope this helps!
Adding to my reply, in the past I did put up meals for the week, and will resume doing so now. Among the meals posted to date are:
I enjoy things Italian, not the least of which is its food. Part of that enjoyment is the proper presentation of its food in the context of meal time.
There is some information as to what constitutes proper form of the meal: hors d'oeuvres, courses, etc. Not so much info regarding the recipes of the menu items, what is an acceptable first course, and what would be an appropriate second course, in light of the first course, etc.
I suppose it seems as though I'm overly interested in food, but it is more important to me that I have presented a meal in what is considered good form. It goes without saying that the meal should be well cooked, but more important, it should be well presented.
Could you direct me to any publication or organizations that address this issue?
To which I replied:
Dear James,
I do discuss the organization of an Italian meal (the meals of the day, actually) here .
In terms of form, it's important to remember that Italian cooking is quite seasonal, with people tending to cook the vegetables in season (eggplant in summer, cabbage in winter), and make much lighter dishes during the summer months than they do in the winter.
Exactly what combination of dishes gets served depends upon the tastes of the cook, but in Italy cooking tends to be local. Neapolitans cook Neapolitan, Tuscans cook Tuscan and so on. People do occasionally cook favorites from elsewhere, and there are some standard dishes, e.g. the cotoletta alla milanese, but most dishes are local. So if you're preparing a Sicilian first course, you probably won't want to follow it with a second from Friuli Venezia Giulia.
I hope this helps!
Adding to my reply, in the past I did put up meals for the week, and will resume doing so now. Among the meals posted to date are:
- Summery, with pappa al pomodoro followed by scaloppine
- Wintery, revolving around oranges
- Pasta and meat to serve with Chianti
- A cold weather meal revolving around broth and boiled meats
- Fish, and more specifically salmon
- A meaty fall meal, for when the mist comes in
- Another early fall meal, featuring fish and Gavi wine
Comments
could you please use imperial weight measures when doing your recipes because we don’t work in cups (i.e. we 1 tspn or 1 tbspn – 1 teaspoon or 1 tablespoon or 2oz(50g) etc. It is awkward trying to convert your measurements to our measurements here in the UK.
Thanks
AVI
I’ll see what I can do, though I confess that I am unfamiliar with Imperial measures. Italy uses weights (including for liquids in some cookbooks, especially those by chefs) and when I am cooking for myself I generally follow their lead.