Thanks, Paulo. Apart from their wondering why ( I think I say "a causa dei problemi medici") anyone would want to eat something like "riso in bianco", will they make it if requested?

Judy, if you want your rice void of butter (or any animal greese - like pancetta or else) and cheese (eventually), maybe you should order more or less like this (spelling ?): <BR> <BR>Io vorrei del risotto o pure riso preparato senza grasso d'animale (come burro, crema, pancetta, fromagio, etc). É possibile farlo invece con l'olio d'oliva? <BR> <BR>Now, I would guess that many restaurants won't do it because I take it that risotto and/or riso is prepared in advance. To prepare a bowl of rice or a risotto plate from scratch would take over 30 minutes. So, either you're lucky and the restaurant already uses vegetal grease for rice/risotto plates or they tell you it's not possible (unless you agree to wait quite a bit). <BR> <BR>There's a further "complicator" when talking about rice in Italy. The species almost universally used are the rounded or semi-rounded grain shaped ones, like Arborio, Vialone Nano, etc. After boiled in water, the grains of these species stick together. The thin and long grain shaped species (which doesn't stick after done - as extensively used here in Brazil) is quite hard to find in restaurants. <BR> <BR>I, for one, like the later species much better when using it to make up pasta like dishes (mixing it with traditional pasta sauces). I only like "sticky" rice in a risotto, that is, the rice being boilt in what'll become it's sauce. <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>PS. I'm completely illiterate in Italian ... though I can speak and read with ease, when it comes to writing it's a disaster.

Paulo, thank you. I had no idea that getting my husband the rice he needs would be so complicated, and not for want of asking (I see now that I didn't ask the right people). We will just have to muddle through. <BR>A digression: Here we mostly eat long-grained rice, also. Since you like this kind of rice, and if you don't know already about electric rice-cookers, I recommend them to you(I learned about them from an Asian lady in my neighborhood years ago). You plug in the rice-cooker, put some water in the pot, add the rice, press a lever and some minutes later, when the rice is done, it shuts itself off but keeps the rice warm (don't leave it too long or the rice will dry out). No need to watch the pot. <BR>Re your spelling, I'm sure that if it needed to be perfect, it would be. Mine isn't, but I think it's "oppure" and "formaggio".

we are back and Paulo's translation seemed to be the one "la pasta in bianco con la salsa a parte", (salsa being pomidoro) although i have to admit, most waiters we came across understood some basic english when it came to food. my son loved italy and the food was a big reason for it. pasta, pizza and gelato everyday (and he could ask for his gelato in Italian).<BR>Thanks, we had a great time.

s.fowler, i'm bringing it to the top!

Paulo, the pepperonici rossi are "red pepper flakes" in American and sedano is celery. As I was taught by my Italian mother-in-law the marinara sauce starts with a "battuto" of carrot, celery, onion and garlic cooked slowly in olive oil until soft and then you add the tomatoes and cook until the color changes from red to an orangish color--several hours. Salsa pomodoro depends on great quality tomatoes cooked quickly with a bit of onion, parsley and fresh basil at the end of cooking. Risotto starts with sauteeing the rice(short grain) in olive oil (no butter for her) and then adding chicken broth at intervals. You can tell when to add the broth if you scrape the rice along the bottom of the pan and no broth seeps out. When all the broth is absorbed and the risotto is very creamy then you add Parmesan chesse and a little butter if you want it. To make a Milanese, add saffron to the broth. How about ordering the sugo separasi?? In the end, I think the kids will end up loving the pasta in Italy even with a bit of sauce on it and Marj, if he likes vegetables and fruit he will eat well in Italy.

Keep it simple. Pasta with plain tomato (marinara sauce) is simpley "spaghetti pomodoro". We're going in June and I plan to eat and enjoy a lot. <BR> <BR>a presto!

Kam, it looks like your mother in law has turned you into an expert. That's the way I prepare both sauces and the risotto (including the Milanese) but I wouldn't be able to describe with such precision. <BR> <BR>I think that one could also ask for "il sugo separato, prego". <BR> <BR>Paulo

A little warning about a situation in ordering in Italy that I have run into. On several occassions I asked about certain dishes (2 or 3) and when I heard one that I liked, I would say okay. I often got every dish that I had asked about, even if they were entrees. You have to be clear about what you are not ordering if you ask about different dishes. Of course, it was all excellent.

Pasta needs to have some kind of sauce on top otherwise it gets really sticky and disgusting. For a simple tomato sauce with no meat, you need to say : "pasta al sugo di pomodoro fresco". In Italy, restaurants will never add parmesan cheese on your plate.Also, you need to know that servings are smaller than in US or UK. However, it's v. common to ask for a 'half serving' ('mezza porzione') if you are not v. hungry.

How do you pronounce risotto? To rhyme with Desoto or auto or _?

Perfectly rhymes with Desoto

Paulo, Again, help! I've been taught to pronounce risotto such as Re/sawt/toe-- accent on second syllabel, meaning it doesn't rhyme with desoto. My mother-in-law is from Tuscany and her sister married a Venetian. Could it be that it's pronouced differently in different areas? I only hear it butchered here in California. And then there's gnocchi.....

Risotto-DOES NOT perfectly rhyme with Desoto. Please--that's like nails on a chalkboard! It is pronounced ree-ZAWT-o, or as Italian Americans with relatives from many regions say, ree-ZAWT, with no vowel at the end. The same goes for calamari, which is pronounced often as calaMA. Gnocchi is pronounced NYAWkee. <BR> <BR>Marinara sauce is meatless tomato sauce, which tends to be on the chunky side. Just because it looks like Marina doesn't mean it comes from one. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps. FYI-Children do tend to like Pastina, which is little round pasta usually in plain butter. And pizza should always work.

Joe, Kam <BR> <BR>Pronounciantion of course, as pointed out by Maria, changes from region to region. The way I pronounce it (which I would like to think is how most Italians in Rome and Milan do) is with the zzz (as in diSable) and with a closed O (just somewhat more open than in clOsed) sound (but not as open as in clOset). The accent is put on the second sillable. <BR> <BR>I've a hard time trying to represent sounds in English, specially because I really don't know all the nuances. To me, the pronounciation as described by Maria (though used in some parts of Italy) sounds somewhat excessively "open" on the vowel O. <BR> <BR>Paulo