Our recipes include the chef’s helpful cooking hints and tips on the dish concerned to help you create the plate as it was meant to be. But successful French and Italian cooking involves more than simply recipes; it demands good selection and handling of the main ingredients and also the supporting cast of pasta, herbs and spices, cheese, olive oil and last, but not least, the wine.

From Our Table to Yours dedicates 30 pages to providing a fascinating insight into this supporting cast without creating a drama about it.

Italian & French Cooking Terms

If you are puzzled by any Italian or French cooking terms, you can look up the explanations in our handy glossaries of their meanings and backgrounds.

Pasta

We introduce you to over 20 types of Italian cooking pasta including Bucatini, Capelli d’angelo and Pappardelle.

Herbs and Spices

Anyone who has ever sown basil seeds in a sunny window box, waited for the first fresh leaves to unfold, nursed salad plants through the spring, harvested pungent chives for garnishing a simple summer supper, or cut fresh, aromatic sprigs of rosemary, knows that the joy of herbs lies not only in their culinary use but also with their cultivation and harvest. The advantages of fresh herbs cannot be underestimated, and the rewards of cooking with home-grown handfuls of aromatic leaves are well worth the efforts of growing them.

Of course there will always be times, especially in winter, when you must rely on dried herbs. The difference in taste and pungency between fresh and dry herbs can be huge and this must be taken into account when cooking with them.

Being predominantly tropical in origin, spices are nearly always dried when we use them, and their names - cloves, cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, mace - conjure up images of aromatic sacks in dusty warehouses, of ocean trading ships, of colourful markets, and of the heady aromas of hot, far-off lands.

The eating of flowers of certain species has a long history. From the consumption of the petals (but not the whole bitter flower) of pot marigolds in India and nasturtiums by the Persians, to the use of rose petals as flavourings in Europe, it can be seen that some flowers have had culinary as well as decorative uses.

From Our Table To Yours presents an introduction to this fascinating world of herbs and spices.

Cheese

There are so many different cheeses that the French alone can offer one for every day of the year. Each country has its own specialties and many of these are widely exported.

Cheese is a food in its own right. It can provide a simple meal, a nourishing snack or an extra course at a formal meal. It is also an important flavouring ingredient in some of the classic dishes of French and Italian cuisine.

We present for your enjoyment a ‘portrait’ of the cheeses used in this book.

Olive Oil

Olive oil is the traditional cooking medium of the Mediterranean and is used as butter and oil are used in more northerly countries. Do not just use virgin olive oil for dressing salads. Think about using it to finish soups, vegetables, mashed potatoes or grilled fish. Experiment with pot-roasts, baked breads, cookies and cakes or serve in the Mediterranean manner at the beginning of a meal as a dip for bread and raw vegetables.

From Our Table to Yours discusses the types of olive oil and how to choose it. Mixing and matching virgin olive oil with other ingredients is exciting. Experiment with the recipes in this book and then try out your own ideas.

Wine

Any Rhode School of Cuisine course pays more than lip service to the selection, serving and tasting of wine. From Our Table to Yours continues this philosophy with an informative and practical guide to this fascinating subject.


Click here for our recipe of the month or check out our great French and Italian recipes.

Then click here to order your copy of From Our Table To Yours to try our Mediterranean recipes for yourself.