"Usually I'm skeptical of celebrity-launched lines of anything, be they measuring cups or leggings." I know, I know. It’s so easy to make your own tomato sauce. I’ve heard everyone say it, from my mother to Rachael Ray. But the truth is, when I make spaghetti and tomato sauce, it’s the one night I take off from the kitchen. I don’t feel like doing anything but opening a box and a jar. And frankly, making tomato sauce may be easy, but making excellent tomato sauce is certainly and decidedly not. I believe strongly in jarred tomato sauce, if it's good. But I haven’t found my match on the supermarket shelves yet. I do love the pomodoro sauce from San Marzano,...
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Jessica of The Hungry Mouse demonstrates her technique for deep-frying ravioli, using four-cheese ravioli with a parsley garnish. You can use either fresh or frozen ravioli, as long as you defrost the frozen ones completely. She provides a helpful step-by-step guide to the process with plenty of somewhat, shall we say, graphic photos. Word of warning: Once the ravioli come out of the deep fryer, they look a bit like horribly tasty burn victims. There are bubbles all over the little ravioli, crying out for teeth to sink into their crispy skin. Just tell yourself that you're putting them out of their misery....
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Photograph from roboppy on Flickr Even Parisians need to eat five-minute meals sometimes. And when they do, they head to Picard Surgelés, the French chain store specializing in gourmet frozen foods. The History of Picard Founded in 1906 as a refrigerating company called Les Glacières de Fontainebleau, Picard opened its first food store in Paris in 1974 and now owns 730 frosty supermarkets all over France. It even operates a home delivery service for customers in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Barcelona. In fact, the brand is so ubiquitous that I didn't have to go further than a five-minute walk from my apartment to find my local branch—perhaps a strange choice for my last lunch in Paris, but after a friend...
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Sara Rosso of Ms. Adventures in Italy has a tendency to take mouthwatering photos of food that make you look at your own meal and cry. Take this orecchiette-making session in Puglia, Italy, for instance. When will I ever be faced with an army of freshly made orecchiette? Probably next to never. But now I'll long for such a moment every day for the rest of my life. Previously: Tour of a Pugliese Bakery Ms. Adventures in India Photo of the Day: Pear and Nutella for World Nutella Day Photo of the Day: Caramel Macaron from Ladurée...
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You can't visit Bologna without eating tortellini, the local specialty, but why not learn how to make it too? The New York Times lists pasta-making classes in Bologna—perhaps it'll give you an idea for your next vacation....
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