Bruce Tassone

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Wine

Many people who were not raised in a wine drinking family decide they want to start drinking wine in their adult years, both because it adds a lovely flavor to meals and because of the health benefits. How do you get started with healthy wine drinking? First off, it would be impossible for me (or any other 3rd party) to tell you what type of wine YOU are likely to enjoy, flavor wise. We all have different taste buds! Maybe you have a sweet tooth and would love the light, White Zinfandel variety. Learn more.

Pasta

Strengthen your homemade pasta dough by substituting one half cup or less of semolina flour in place of an equal amount of all-purpose flour. If using a processor to mix the dough, it will not need as much kneading as when it is mixed by hand. If the pasta becomes sticky at any point while working with the dough, dust it lightly with flour. Also, dust the equipment you are working with, such as the rolling pin or the rollers in the pasta machine, to prevent the dough from sticking. Learn more.

Salad

You are making up a fabulous salad and you want to throw on some croutons. Don't go out to the store and buy the stale ol' box of croutons, make your own fresh, it is really simple. Take out a few pieces of fresh bread, and using your pizza cutter or a sharp knife cut it into 1/2 inch cubes. Spread them out onto a shallow baking pan and bake in a 350º preheated oven for 30 minutes or so until they are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on wire racks. If you want to spice it up a bit, melt a tablespoon of butter for each slice of bread and toss your bread cubes in it before baking. Learn more.

Bruce Tassone's Article Pick of the Month

Mozzarella Cheese - No Real Italian Pizza Should Be Without It

By Stevie Jay-Jones

This Italian cheese has long been associated with the pizza as a topping that is as essential as tomatoes. However, it was never an ingredient for traditional pizza as made in the Greek colony of Naples centuries ago, and it’s history is not a relatively long one. In fact it has been mentioned by name in cookbooks from the 16th century.

The name mozzarella comes from Southern Italy, and from the words “mozzare” which literally means to “cut off”, and “mozza” which means “cut” and describes the method by which mozzarella is made. It is not actually one particular kind of cheese but applies to several kinds of Italian cheese made by spinning and cutting it. Made from either cows’ milk or buffalo milk, fresh mozzarella does not keep any longer than 24 hours. Of course we know that we can buy it today with a variety of stabilisers in it to last, refrigerated, for many days.

During production, as the old nursery rhyme reminds us, curds and heated whey are mixed in large sterilised containers. This thick mixture is then subject to stretching and kneading, almost like bread dough, to produce a uniform and delicate consistency. The cheese maker will keep doing this until a smooth, almost shiny, paste is achieved. The final part of production involves forming the mozzarella cheese into ball shapes or sometimes into a plait. Whilst we are more used to a rubbery consistency with our shop-bought mozzarella, made from pasteurised cows’ milk, when cooked on the pizza, the Italians would not tolerate this, preferring instead a much softer consistency.

As with many dishes originating from a particular place and culture, there is a proper way for doing things. Using fresh made mozzarella in Italian cooking is the only acceptable method in Italy, although for our fast food chains and for the sake of speed and ease we will no doubt continue to have rubbery mozzarella on our takeaway pizzas!

Bruce Tassone's Italian Cooking Video Pick of the Month

Olive Garden's Tuscan Garlic Chicken

A step-by-step Italian cooking demonstration with Chef Paolo Lafata. Tuscan Garlic Chicken is a pan-seared chicken breast with roasted garlic, red peppers and spinach in a white wine and garlic cream sauce, tossed with curly fettuccine.