Italian Cooking For Dummies Cheat Sheet

How do you capture the essence of Italian cooking if you didn’t grow up in Italy? If you want to think like an Italian chef, practice these simple Italian cooking tips and you won’t go wrong:

• Start with fresh, high-quality ingredients. Everything is so much easier when the ingredients taste good.

• Simpler is always better. Enough said.

• Cook with the calendar. Locally grown, in-season produce usually tastes best. Shop at stores or farm markets that support local farmers.

• Get to know your vegetables. You can’t cook real Italian food without spending some time in the produce aisle. With a few exceptions, Italians rely on fresh, not frozen, vegetables.

• Make friends with your local cheese guy. Find out the names of the important Italian cheeses and how to buy them.

• Master how not to follow a recipe. Most Italian cooks prepare dishes from memory, changing quantities and procedures ever so slightly each time.

• Taste as you cook. No one but you knows how salty or spicy you like your food. Season throughout the cooking process and adjust the seasonings right before serving.

• Work at building flavor. Many Italian recipes begin by sautéing onions and other vegetables in olive oil. Don’t rush this step. It builds flavor.

• Be frugal. Italians believe in the old maxim, “waste not, want not.”

• Enjoy yourself. If the meal allows you to enjoy the company and conversation of others, consider your cooking a success.

A traditional Italian meal is leisurely process — a time to share news of the day and enjoy the delicious results of the cook’s labor — and has several distinct courses. If you’re preparing an authentic Italian meal, follow this list in order:

• Antipasto: Something to nibble on — such as a bowl of marinated olives and some fresh fennel for dipping in extra-virgin olive oil, or a wedge of fine Parmigiano-Reggiano and some bread — perhaps served with drinks.

• Primo: A first course or appetizer. Usually pasta, rice, soup, or polenta. Keep portions small (eight servings for a pound of pasta) because the main course comes next.

• Secondo: The main course, usually chicken, meat, or seafood. Usually fairly simple, especially if a rich pasta or rice dish has already been served.

• Contorno: The main course is usually accompanied by a platter of vegetables. This side dish is usually quite simple and highlights the simple goodness of the vegetable.

• Dolce: On most days, the dolce is a bowl of fruit. Some hard Italian cookies, called biscotti, for dunking, and dessert wine are another option. More elaborate cakes, tortes, and custards are for special occasions.

• Caffe: End a meal with espresso all around.

When you’re preparing Italian meals, make sure you have the right temperature so your foods are prepared correctly. Use this handy chart for converting cooking temperatures to Fahrenheit and/or Celsius.

If you run into a problem with measurements while preparing your favorite Italian dish, use this quick guide to find the metric equivalents for common cooking amounts:

Fresh herbs are used almost exclusively in Italian cooking. Why? They taste better than dried herbs. Fresh herbs have all their aromatic oils. The intensity of herbs vary, so when substituting, try to pick something with a similar punch, or be prepared to adjust the amount of herb. This chart lists the most important herbs used in Italian cooking:

Pastas come in an amazing variety of shapes. Certain Italian dishes call for specific pasta shapes because they compliment the sauce. This list gives a brief description of the most common pasta shapes:

• Agnolotti: Filled fresh pasta shaped like half moons.

• Bucatini: Long, fat strands that look like spaghetti but are hollow.

• Capelli d’angelo: Long and extremely thin. Name translates as “angel’s hair.”

• Cappellini: Slightly thicker than angel hair pasta but still very thin, long strands.

• Conchiglie: Shell-shaped pasta that comes in a variety of sizes. Oversized shells, called conchiglioni, are often stuffed and baked.

• Ditali: Tiny tubes often used in soup. Name translates as “thimbles.”

• Farfalle: Bow-tie-shaped pasta. Name translates as “butterflies.”

• Fettuccine: Long, flat strands of egg noodles.

• Fusilli: Corkscrew shape that comes in varying lengths.

• Lasagne: Long, wide sheets of pasta that are layered with sauce and cheese and baked.

• Linguine: Long, thin ribbons. Similar to spaghetti except strands have flat sides as well as rounded ones.

• Orecchiette: Small bowl-shaped pasta. Name translates as “little ears.”

• Orzo: Shaped like extra-long grains of rice. Often used in soup.

• Pappardelle: Long, flat noodle that is two to three times as wide as fettuccine. Often cut into shorter pieces for easier eating.

• Pastina: Any of the tiny pasta added to soup, including ditalini (little thimbles), perline (little pearls), and stelline (little stars).

• Penne: Medium-length tubes with ends cut on an angle. Can be ridged. Name translates as “quills.”

• Ravioli: Stuffed pasta shaped like square pillows. Edges are often ruffled.

• Rigatoni: Fat, squat tubes with grooved exterior.

• Rotelle: Small wheels.

• Ruote: Wheels.

• Spaghetti: Long, thin strands. Name comes from the word “spago,” meaning string or cord.

• Tagliatelle: Long, flat strands that are slightly wider than fettuccine.

• Taglierini: Similar to tagliatelle but cut narrower.

• Tortellini: Stuffed pasta shaped like fat rings. Often used in soups.

• Trenette: Long-strand pasta shape that is similar to linguine.

• Vermicelli: Long, very thin strands that are thinner than spaghetti. Name translates as “little worms.”

• Ziti: Narrow tubes of medium length. Similar to penne except ends are not cut on an angle.