Cooking With Culture 11 Wonderful Italian Food Blogs

Cooking With Culture 11 Wonderful Italian Food Blogs Mac Italians and cooking go together like well, who needs a comparison? In this article, Italian teacher  Liz T.  will show you  11 food blogs with  delicious  Italian recipes, each providing a  plentiful helping of Italian culture Culture in the Kitchen If youre learning Italian, of course it helps to know the basics; vocabulary, grammar rules, and all of the technicalities involved with the language. But did you know that learning about the Italian culture will help you better understand the language? Many students learning Italian  go beyond their tutoring sessions and dig into the rich and beautiful culture that Italy has to offer. And whats one of the best ways they  indulge in this practice? Cooking!  Food and gastronomy  are two very important components of Italian culture. Italian Cooking To really gain a sense for Italian culture, we encourage you to try your hand at Italian cooking. Apart from this article, we recommend you do a  little outside research on  the customs of cooking and the typical dishes of each  region in Italy. This will help you prepare  for traveling abroad, as well as learning the language. Or, if youre not looking to travel, learning recipes is a simple way to bring a  little bit of Italy into your home! Wed like to show you our  list of wonderful  Italian food blogs to help you learn and cook your favorite Italian meals. Lets take a look! 1)  Italian Food Forever   This is a great website for recipes, tips in the kitchen, and info about Italian cooking schools. It even has a section on Italian tourism, including links for travel guides and tourism sites. Heres an excerpt from the About section,  written by  the blogs author, Deborah Mele: The essence of Italian cooking today is simplicity. One uses the freshest seasonal ingredients possible, and then uses basic cooking techniques to simply enhance the natural flavor of the food. While living in Italy, I spent many hours each week browsing through the market stands overflowing with the vibrant colors of each season’s bounty. I learned to keep “an Italian kitchen” during this period, and to plan my daily menu only after visiting the local market or grocery to see what was fresh that day. Check out this recipe on homemade Gnocchi! 2)  Silvia’s Cucina This is a great online (and physical) Italian cookbook. Once you see the pictures, you’ll want to start cooking these mouthwatering dishes pronto! The blogs author, Silvia Colloca, writes this on her About Silvia page: In  Silvia’s Cucina, you are invited into my kitchen to share the unfussy, delicious recipes that have been passed down through my family for generations. My food is traditional, authentic, mostly simple, and embedded in it is the legacy of the hands of my mother and grandmother (those hands, always at work on some sauce or buried in dough!). Since leaving Italy eight years ago, I’ve seen, of course, how much Italian food is loved around the world. But I’ve also come to understand that it is a cuisine that is perceived as rich and fatty, to be approached occasionally, and then with some caution. In Silvia’s Cucina, I am striving to change this misapprehension by showing how to cook everyday authentic, healthy Italian food. Look at this recipe for linguine with clams and zucchini cooked risotto  style! 3)  Emiko Davies International traveler and writer Emiko Davies shares firsthand about her experiences with food and wine in the region of Firenze. Heres what Emiko says about herself in the About section: I’m half Japanese, half Australian, but have spent two-thirds of my life living in other countries. After growing up in Beijing, China, and doing a Fine Art degree in Providence, Rhode Island, I ended up in Florence, Italy. There, I fell in love with a handsome local â€" now my husband, a sommelier and my ideal gastronomic partner in crime.  In a battle over who gets to cook dinner he usually wins. And especially now that we have a little  girl, I let him.  We live in Tuscany. Take a look at  this juicy recipe of Emiko’s on Bruscetta! 4)  Divina Cucina   This blog is a wonderful mix of recipes and personal experiences from the author, Judy. Her experiences are as heartfelt as they are joyous. She also gives private cooking tours around Italy! Heres an excerpt from her About Judy section: I had worked as a pastry chef in a 5 star hotel in San Francisco, but wanted to get out of the kitchen and start to teach.  In 1984, I turned 30 and bought a one-way ticket to Europe, planning on spending one month in France and one month in Italy taking Italian lessons. In France, I reconnected with old friends and possible places I could work, but when I arrived in Florence, I fell in love first with the city, and then a year later with a Florentine.  My first years here were spent learning the language and the cuisine. My first job cooking was as a pastry chef in a private restaurant in town. After 4 years, I finally felt ready to teach. Check out this post  she wrote about a new way to make pizza! 5)  Mario Batali Renowned chef Mario Batali shares his secret recipes with the exact ingredients and steps you need to emulate his food.  His blog features great videos that walk you through the steps for cooking  his delectable dishes. Heres a little bit about Mario from his websites About section: Raised in Seattle, Mario attended high school in Madrid and studied the golden age of Spanish theater at Rutgers University. Soon after graduating, Mario enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu in London, his first formal culinary training. But after a few short months, he withdrew to apprentice with London’s legendary chef Marco Pierre White. During three years of intense culinary training in the Northern Italian village of Borgo Capanne (population 200), Mario learned the essential skills to return to his native US eager to plant his orange-clad foot firmly on the checkered-tablecloth Italian restaurant establishment. Look  here for the first Italian dish you must master. 6)  Learn Italian Wines In this blog, author Tom Hyland talks about current trends in the Italian wine industry. It’s nice to  read about Italian wines from the perspective of someone who has mastered the acquired taste of fine wines. Read a little more about Toms background from this excerpt on his blog: I am a freelance wine writer and photographer specializing in the wines of Italy. I live in Chicago and recently completed my 64th trip to Italy. I have visited virutally every region in the country and am constantly amazed at the wonderful variety of wines produced from indigenous grapes (I am never amazed at the quality of the wines!). I have been in the wine business for 34 years, have been writing for 17 years and have been a professional photographer for the past eight years. Check out this  article on the 50 best white wines in Italy. 7)  Eating Italy Food Tour   Traveling to Italy soon? Book a tour with this company to experience Italian food in a group setting in major Italian cities. Theyll make sure that your taste buds experience  only the finest of Italian cuisines. Heres a little more about Eating Italy from their About section: We are giving people a taste of Rome they won’t soon forget by exposing them to real food, people and neighborhoods. Our mission is to leave travelers with an unparalleled, non-touristy, food-related experience in undiscovered neighborhoods of the most fascinating cities in the world. Look at these essential foods to try on your next trip to Venice! 8)  Eataly Food Blog   This outstanding restaurant and market, with franchises in New York and Chicago, shares some very interesting “How To Italian Guides on their online magazine. They feature authentic and delicious ready-to-make Italian dishes. Youll enjoy this excerpt from the How To Truffle guide: Ancient Romans believed that the  truffle  was created when lightning struck damp earth. Today, we know that the small tuber grows underground in the  wild forests of northern and central Italy. Even so, modern Italians â€" and  Eatalians  â€" maintain the magic of the truffle, referring to the earthy and aromatic ingredient  as “a fairy apple,” “a diamond of the kitchen,” and “the gem of poor lands.” Have a look at this guide on how to bake bread! 9)  Lidia Famous Italian Chef Lidia Bastianich shares so graciously in her online journal some of her delicious Italian meals. She features everything from appetizers to desserts. Its almost impossible to go wrong with Lidia’s meals! Learn a little more about Lidia from her websites About section: She is the chef/owner of four acclaimed New York City restaurants â€" Felidia, Becco, Esca and Del Posto, as well as Lidia’s Pittsburgh and Lidia’s Kansas City â€" along with her daughter Tanya. She is also founder and president of Tavola Productions, an entertainment company that produces high quality broadcast productions. Lidia also has a line of pastas and all natural sauces called LIDIA’S. Along with her son, Joe Bastianich, Mario Batali and Oscar Farinetti, the team opened Eataly, the largest artisanal Italian food and wine marketplace in New York City, Chicago and Sao Paolo, Brazil. This recipe for chicken parmigiana looks delicious! 10)  Cooking With Nonna Everyone loves cooking with their nonna (grandmother)!  Learn how to make your own Italian desserts, soups, and sides in this blog, Cooking with Nonna. They even have recipes for certain holidays, such as New Years, Valentines Day, and Easter. Heres more about the blog from its About Us section: With Cooking with Nonna, we would like to bring to the public yet another facet of the cooking experience. We believe that many of the most original recipes around the world are not necessarily held by the professional chefs that we find in the many restaurants around the world or in the now very popular celebrity cooking shows. After all, they learned their trade either from a culinary school or by working side by side with an established chef. In reality however, the ones that indeed hold the secrets to the most original recipes are our Nonne, our grandmothers. See which Italian cookies and desserts here look good to you! 11)  Bobby Flay   This prestigious gourmet chef makes some hot and spicy Mediterranean dishes! Bobbys recipes are easy to follow and mouthwatering to boot. In case you havent heard of the world-famous Bobby Flay, heres more about him on his websites About Bobby section: Food is the epicenter of my life â€" what inspires me every day. It’s the way I make my living, the way I relax, the way I express myself, and how I keep healthy. I communicate with the world, and experience the world, through food.  As such, this site is about more than just recipes: Its a place to come for fitness tips, travel ideas, cooking techniques and behind-the-scenes videos â€" anything and everything about life in the kitchen, and beyond. Check out Bobby’s  special Red Wine Sangria concoction! Conclusion I hope this list of Italian food blogs  will give you an idea of how you can explore Italian food and culture yourself! As always, if you’re looking to enhance your Italian language skills, schedule a lesson today  with an instructor who matches your style and learning goals. Remember to always ask questions and research anything youre confused about.  Happy cooking and happy learning! Did any of these food blogs wet your appetite? If so, leave a comment below with a recipe you think looks delicious! Post Author:  Liz T. Liz T. teaches Italian, singing, acting, and music lessons in Brooklyn, NY, as well as online.  She is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music with a B.M in Vocal performance and currently performs/teaches all styles of music including Musical Theater, Classical, Jazz, Rock, Pop, RB, and Country. Learn more about Liz here! Photo by theintlkitchen Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher