Gala Placidia's activity

Questions Asked

We all have cooking tips and techniques learnt through personal experience or because someone else was kind enough to tell us.

Tue, 08/04/2009 - 05:07

 A fairly comprehensive list of words related to food and wine has been prepared by a few of us. It still needs revision, corrections, additions and you may be able to help as it is a Wiki.

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 04:31

 It is official, the old Casino in Bagni di Lucca is reopening its doors after many years; however, it is going to be a modern version, more "little Las Vegas" style than its elegant and exclusive predecessor.

Mon, 06/29/2009 - 09:04

A few weeks ago I started a thread in the old forum about this topic. I still think that it would be great if we could all share our favourite recipes which our families and friends enjoy.

Fri, 06/19/2009 - 05:29

 I think that there are quite a few members who have married overseas an Italian citizen; however, I am not quite certain whether they have registered their certificate of marriage before the nearest Italian Consulate.It is advisable to do this an

Tue, 06/16/2009 - 03:43

 It is most important, if you own a property, to have a clear description for it. That is possible through the "visura catastale" which gives you and confirms many facts regarding your title.

Sun, 06/14/2009 - 05:21

 Polenta is one of those Italian dishes that you either love or hate. Considered in the past as the poor people's staple diet it is nowadays served in the best restaurants. 

Sat, 06/13/2009 - 17:53

I have just seen on TV some images regarding the Treviso tornado. I sincerely hope that any members in the area have not suffered from this disaster.  

Sun, 06/07/2009 - 16:44

 The base for many Italian sauces and dishes is the "soffritto" (sofrit in French, sofrito in Spanish), a mixture of some diced vegetables which are cooked in a heavy pan with three tablespoons of olive oil (although some other kinds of oil and fa

Sat, 06/06/2009 - 05:37

 Hi everyone, this is a warm invitation to joint this group and discuss Italian food, wine, regional cooking, recipes, tips, cooking utensils, history of cooking and any related subject you may wish to talk about.And welcome, Mimosa, glad to see t

Fri, 06/05/2009 - 08:28

Comments posted

Answer to: Vino del Sud
Tue, 09/01/2009 - 05:46

There is a method to cook artichokes. You have to trim them getting rid of the dark, external leaves and cut off the spiky tops. Also, cut off the stems, but do not throw them away. Trim them with a vegetable peeler getting rid of all the hard, stringy bits.Rub the artichokes and the stems with the cut side of a lemon and boil them in plenty of salted water, adding the pieces of lemon you have used.Then, they are ready for any style of preparation.

Answer to: Hello
Tue, 09/01/2009 - 05:21

Hi Chris and a warm welcome to our Community.

Answer to: Hows life
Mon, 08/31/2009 - 06:16

Don´t blame your teacher, because it is not Italian but Latin and attributed to Cicero. But I have always loved that phrase because it suited us fine having lived in many different countries. Wherever you feel great, that is your homeland.

Answer to: Villa di Tresana
Mon, 08/31/2009 - 06:10

Hello and welcome to the Community. Have the gas burner checked before using it. Better safe....

Answer to: Vino del Sud
Mon, 08/31/2009 - 06:03

Ciao! I do not know of any Italian wine merchants in Ohio, but there are plenty in California, particularly in the San Francisco area and also in New York.Regarding wines from Calabria, although some 30,000 hectares of vines are cultivated, their wines are not as widely known as the ones from other regions. Probably they do have some problems with marketing and I do know that they lost quite a few workers specialised in wine production in the 60´s as they had better living conditions and salaries elsewhere.Nevertheless, Calabria produces some interesting wines and they have been acknowledged since ancient times for its grapes and wine. The Greeks used to call Calabria "Enotria", the land of wine, and a glass of the Calabrian wine Cirò was served to the winners at the original Olympic games.Just to give you an idea of some denominations you can find, these will be, besides the already mentioned Cirò, the ones called Pollino, Savuto, Greco di Bianco, Lamezzia, Sant' Anna di Isola, Capo Rizzuto and Melissa. Only small quantities are exported and for this reason it may not be an easy task to find them in the USA.Abruzzo´s wines are easier  to find and I am sure that members from that region will be delighted to give you information about them.Try to find an Italian club in your area, they may have valuable information regarding where to find products.Happy wine hunting! 

Answer to: Hows life
Sat, 08/29/2009 - 04:51

There will always be a certain percentage of incomers who will miss their old country and lifestyle. This happens everywhere. Don't get me wrong, we all remember certain things from the past that we liked very much and this is fine. They are memories. The problem starts when those memories occupy most of our thoughts and this is a sign to move back to your old country, because life is too short and there is no point in spending it complaining about what we left behind.But if you enjoy living in Italy or in any foreign country and you feel good about it, you have made the right decission. I always say:"Ubi bene, ibi patria"Where I feel good, there is my home.

Sat, 08/29/2009 - 04:29

Sabianico's advice is excellent . Just follow it.To be fluent in Italian is absolutely necessary.I wish you all the best.

Sat, 08/29/2009 - 04:17

Carole is right, the meat is not salty at all, very tender and it keeps all of its juices. Really delicious. The same method is used to cook not only beef but also whole chicken and mainly whole fish. The results are spectacular. You only have to remove the salt crust that has formed during the baking process. The salt is acting as a wrap, only. This method of preparation is used throughout the Mediterranean.Allan, I think that the low sodium salt is called "sale iposodico".

Fri, 08/28/2009 - 05:09

I found an article which may interest you which was posted in the old forum by our fellow member (Badger, formerly Geotherm). Here are the links:rome.angloinfo.com/countries/italy/animals.asp#threatPoisoning is still a problem in some areas and you should be careful when you allow Doggie to run free.You may also find useful information here:www.dogwelcome.it

Fri, 08/28/2009 - 04:44

Ram is right, check both with the Comune and the author of the renovation plans. Perhaps, the previous owners realised that the cost of the project was going to be too high and they decided against going ahead and did not submit the plans; however, you should check all this before making any move.