Italian Basics

The fact of the matter is that the main reason I was drawn to preparing authentic Italian food many years ago is because of its simplicity.  The ingredients are usually readily available.  In each dish, you rarely need more than a few ingredients.  And the flavors are always clean.  The food has a way of tasting like you spent hours preparing it, but in reality, it never is that difficult.  It's a cuisine for everyone because it is both humble and spectacular.  When preparing anything Italian, you should never cut back on quality.  Everything should be the very best you can afford, as the finished product will always pay you back many times over.  Find an extra virgin olive oil that's fruity and bright green.  Buy yourself a wedge of real parmigiano-reggiano so that you can see what the king of cheeses should really taste like.  Use fresh herbs as often as possible.  By taking just a few steps, you'll elevate the flavors of your dishes to new heights.  If we can't get on a plane and actually head over to Italy today, we can take a ride over to our local market and bring home some of the ingredients that will make us think we might have.