Does anyone know sites where I can get authentic Italian recipes? We just got back from Italy, and I loved the pasta with even just plain tomatoes, garlic and lots of olive oil. Would love to re-create the experiences back home. Thanks!!

Try foodtv.com, then follow the links to "Mario Does Italy". He has a show everyday on the Food Channel, great Italian recipes, seem authentic, lots of regional dishes. You can also just do a general recipe search on that website for specific dishes - i.e. pasta primavera, veal parm.., etc. Yummy! Time to do a search myself!

FOODTV.com==

MARIO does Italy is GREAT!
The chef's name is Mario Batali and he is incredible..We have eaten at one of his restaurants in NYC and the food is to die for..DEFINITELY AUTHENTIC!!

In my humble opinion Epicurious.com is the best recipe site on the web. The reason I like it so well is that people who try the recipe post reviews and also add suggestions as to how improve the recipe.

Cheers, the turnip

There is also a book out called Under a Tuscan Sky by Frances Meyes, very well known i believe,which I just happen to be reading this week, and came upon some great Italian recipes right in the middle of the book. I've decided to give a couple a try, they sound so yummy. Cherries simmered in red wine with marscapone will be a go this week for sure!
barb

go to WWW>MANGIAREBENE.NET or subscribe to La Cucina Italiana magazine ciao!

Prego ! WWW.MANGIAREBENE.NET CIAO!

This one also loks good: www.italiancookingandliving.com

Although I am also a fan of Mario B's restaurant, I find many of his recipes very complicated with hard to find ingredients.

Try http://www.cucinanostra.com/ It's a great site referred to me by my friend living in Parma! You can select English as your language, then click on the region(s) or areas that you are interested to get foods made specially in that region.

Try the website for Divina Cucina. Judy Witt is an American who offers
tours and cooking lessons in Florence.
Her site has some great recipes. I am
planning to try the Sage Pesto tonight.

Also check out www.divinacucina.com, which is in English, maintained by an American woman who lives in florenfe and runs a cooking school, and www.gennarino.com maintained by my friend Teresa, the site is in Italian, but many recipes have step-by step photographs that may help you wih techniques.

I was at the drugstore yesterday and spotted this magazine, which made me think of this thread. The mag is La Cucina Italiana and bills itself as "#1 authority on Italian food and living." This month's issue talks about rooftop dining in Rome at the Hotel Minerva. The recipes and photos are gorgeous. It's a really tempting magazine if you eat Italian!

Now this is my kind of thread! Grazie mille! J.

I had a blast taking cooking lessons in Naples. I would recommend:
1. Get Marcella Hazan's cookbooks, cheaper on Amazon.com. Lots of good info on basic ingredients.
2. Buy canned tomatoes with SAN MARZANO tomatoes on the label.
3. Buy italian olive oil, and I don't mean the cheap one at the supermarket, or one mixed with various others from spain, etc.
4. Buy italian pasta -something like barilla pasta or de cecco is avavilable at a lot of supermarkets.
5. Always use fresh herbs if possible, especially basil.

You can't go wrong if you follow the above. don't be afraid to use salt, especially when salting your pasta water (a must!)

jmw, since you like the Italian lake district, you might want to know that the holiday issue (December 2002) had a big article on Lakes Como and Maggiore! The website for this delicious magazine is www.italiancookingandliving.com

Some of his recipes have been simplified and/or "lightened up" or given a contemporary twist, but I usually like what Michael Chiarello makes on his PBS cooking shows. He focuses on using fresh, seasonal ingredients in rustic preparations that have the bold types of flavors I like. They are mostly fairly simple and quick to prepare.

http://www.napastyle.com/
(Search for recipes at the top of the main page.)