# Ask the Italian chef **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 7, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064 "2010-02-07T21:10:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/21 "2010-02-08T17:31:41Z")
> [@Nathan\_S](#): > > It’s not fast food in Italy. > > Here’s my question to the OP: > > Have you ever been to Italy? No. But i’ve been to Staten Island. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/22 "2010-02-08T18:00:44Z")
If I’m cooking spaghetti, and I want to see if it’s done, and I throw it at a wall, and it puts a hole in the wall, what did I do wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/23 "2010-02-08T19:11:25Z")
> [@Nathan\_S](#): > > It’s not fast food in Italy. Pizza definitely is fast food in Italy (though maybe not all of it is). Lasagna, I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/24 "2010-02-08T19:17:37Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I do a superb lasagne al forno, but she doesn’t eat pork or beef, so would appreciate any tips for anything else, especially appetizers. Octopus in red wine sauce is amazing - I don’t have a recipe. Risotto is easy to do; just take your time and _add the liquid a ladle at a time and let it absorb_ - that is the only rule, but it’s crucial. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/25 "2010-02-08T19:35:49Z")
> [@Quintas](#): > > No. But i’ve been to Staten Island. NYC’s dirty little secret. > [@tdn](#): > > If I’m cooking spaghetti, and I want to see if it’s done, and I throw it at a wall, and it puts a hole in the wall, what did I do wrong? You skimped on the plaster board. Not really something you can get second hand at a fire sale, ya know. > [@Superfluous Parentheses](#): > > Risotto is easy to do; just take your time and add the liquid a ladle at a time and let it absorb - that is the only rule, but it’s crucial. Agreed. Try a seafood risotto. I like to steam clams and mussels, plus cook some bay scallops. Be sure to use the clam / mussel juice in the risotto. You can go with an olive tray or a cheese tray for an appetizer. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/26 "2010-02-09T09:43:53Z")
> [@Nathan\_S](#): > > It’s not fast food in Italy. > > Here’s my question to the OP: > > Have you ever been to Italy? Yes, it is. Or rather, in the absence of MacDonalds, it’s the closest they get to it. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/27 "2010-02-09T09:49:38Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Pizza definitely is fast food in Italy (though maybe not all of it is). Lasagna, I dunno. No, not lasagne, sorry, my post was confusing. Lasagne is more a restaurant and home-cooking staple (at least in the north). ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/28 "2010-02-09T09:50:59Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > If I’m cooking spaghetti, and I want to see if it’s done, and I throw it at a wall, and it puts a hole in the wall, what did I do wrong? Ha! Actually, that old tale about it sticking-to-the-wall-and-it’s-ready is wrong. If it sticks, it’s overcooked. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/29 "2010-02-09T10:05:16Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I do a superb lasagne al forno, but she doesn’t eat pork or beef, so would appreciate any tips for anything else, especially appetizers. **The best garlic bread in the world** : Take small baguettes, slice them in half. Smear butter or margarine, and then put on lots of garlic. Then, in a bowl, mix mayo and grated Parmesan cheese until it is really thick, but soft - about 1/3 mayo to cheese (go easy on the mayo so it is not “soupy”). Then spread that thick mixture (thinly, as it rises up when it gets hot) on top of the bread, butter and garlic. Place in broiler of your oven. Watch like a hawk - the minute it starts to turn light brown, you have about less than a minute until it is burned. Remove when it is light brown. You can thank me later. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/30 "2010-02-09T16:20:12Z")
Mayo on garlic bread? I think I’d avoid that recipe. I can assure you that my Grandmother and her sisters (all Sicilian-borne), nor my father or his sister, ever put mayo on garlic bread. It may (or may not, I don’t know) be good, but it certainly doesn’t strike me as authentic. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/31 "2010-02-09T16:28:12Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Actually, that old tale about it sticking-to-the-wall-and-it’s-ready is wrong. If it sticks, it’s overcooked. I thought that it could be undercooked. According to Food Detectives anyway. That’s because the outside cooks before the inside. Anyway, that’s not how I test pasta. It’s how I test the sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/32 "2010-02-09T16:29:27Z")
If someone ordered spaghetti and all you had left in the kitchen was fettucine, could you take a sharp knife to the individual strands and cut them lengthwise in half, or thirds to get the desired results? Bonus question: if the situation were reversed, would superglue work? ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/33 "2010-02-09T16:38:00Z")
> [@Quintas](#): > > No. But i’ve been to Staten Island. So those ads touting that Olive Garden send all of their chefs over to the company culinary institute in Italy are not true? Next you’ll tell me that whenever somebodies aunt, uncle or cousin comes to the US from Italy the first stop is not Olive Garden! ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/34 "2010-02-09T16:50:42Z")
I was looking at a menu from a fancy Italian restaurant the other day. Their speciality was house sausage. I misread the u for an r:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/35 "2010-02-09T16:59:23Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I was looking at a menu from a fancy Italian restaurant the other day. Their speciality was house sausage. I misread the u for an r:smack: Well if they’re both made from the description…I’d rather have the horse! ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/36 "2010-02-09T17:07:26Z")
Where I live (the Boston, MA area), 99.99% of the “italian” restaurants serve sicilian/neopolitan style cuisine - which means just about everything comes in tomato sauce. I know that Northern Italian uses lighter sauces, and less garlic…and is very good. Why is it so hard to find? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/37 "2010-02-09T17:30:46Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I know that Northern Italian uses lighter sauces, and less garlic..and is very good. If I’m reading your question right then no, Northern Italian cuisine tends to use heavier sauces - more red meat, more dairy (butter and cream instead of olive oil, for example). Just as much use of tomato. In fact there’s plenty of southern italian dishes which don’t major on tomato. I suspect you’re suffering from cuisine that’s slowly been adapted to a US audience. > [@ralph124c](#): > > Why is it so hard to find? Probably because most italian immigrants came from the poor south. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/38 "2010-02-09T17:35:31Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Why is it so hard to find? Ever go to Pappa-Razzi? Sure, some of their stuff is heavy, but not all of it. I sometimes just get the antipasto as a meal. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/39 "2010-02-09T17:36:58Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Mayo on garlic bread? I think I’d avoid that recipe. I can assure you that my Grandmother and her sisters (all Sicilian-borne), nor my father or his sister, ever put mayo on garlic bread. It may (or may not, I don’t know) be good, but it certainly doesn’t strike me as authentic. Is garlic bread even italian? I’ve never seen it there, unless you count bruschetta, which is rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064/40 "2010-02-09T17:39:27Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I was looking at a menu from a fancy Italian restaurant the other day. Their speciality was house sausage. I misread the u for an r:smack: The sausage stand in my local market has excellent donkey sausage (though I think it’s Spanish). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-italian-chef/528064.md?page=3)