thats a nice! sicilian secrets

return to top	fresh or plum tomatoes? when a recipe calls for fresh tomatoes and it's not summer, use plum tomatoes.
return to top	garlic powder or granulated garlic? if you can't use fresh garlic in your recipe, use granulated garlic instead of garlic powder. the granules do not stick to each other like the powdered version.
return to top	cooking pasta secrets? stir thats a nice! "primi piatti" or your favorite pasta well when you first put it into the boiling water so it won't stick to itself or to the pan.
return to top	fresh or dry herbs ratio? fresh or dry herbs are based on a 3 to 1 ratio: 3 units fresh is equal to 1 unit dry.
return to top	mix tomato sauce with pesto? a portion of thats a nice! "sugo" makes a nice contrast on a bed of pasta with your favorite pesto.
return to top	mix thats a nice! pasta sauce with olive mix? a portion of thats a nice! "sugo" mixed with a portion of thats a nice! original olive mix named "olivetta" will make a perfect original PUTTANESCA pasta sauce.
return to top	breaking spaghetti before cooking? you should not break spaghetti in half before cooking. broken spaghetti is too short to twirl on your pasta utensil.
return to top	add salt when cooking pasta? you should always add salt to the cooking water for pasta. it keeps pasta from tasting bland. add 1 teaspoon per 4 quarts of water as soon as it boils.
return to top	rinse pasta after cooking? you do not have to rinse pasta after cooking. you should rinse only if you are serving it cold or preparing it in another dish, such as baked ziti or lasagna.
return to top	baste steaks with extra virgin olive oil? baste steaks with extra virgin olive oil or our very own "bacio" sicilian garlic bread spread before grilling. this is an old sicilian secret to enhance the flavor.
return to top	garlic enhancing technique? for an added gourmet southern italian touch, shave fresh garlic cloves into slivers with a single edge razor. this will fuse garlic flavors with any recipe.