Italian Recipes - How about a dinner in Rome?

If you are wondering what to prepare for dinner tonight, then you can always try these easy recipes. It's quick and affordable.

Menu

Meal: Chicken Spaghetti

Salad: Spinach Salad

Dessert: Lemon Sorbet

Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 cup Chopped onion (about 1 large)
1 cup Water
1 tsp Dried oregano leaves
3/4 tsp Dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp Dried marjoram leaves
1 tsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Dried rosemary leaves
1 clove Garlic, crushed
1 Bay leaf
1 (8-ounce) can Tomato sauce
1 (8-ounce) can Tomato paste
1-1/2 cups Cut-up cooked chicken or turkey
4 cups Hot cooked spaghetti
Instructions:

Heat all ingredients except chicken and spaghetti to boiling in 10-inch skillet; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken. Cover and simmer 30 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf. Serve sauce over spaghetti.

Note: All three Italian recipes in this article yield 6 servings.

Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

2 or 3 cups Raw spinach
3 slices Bacon
1 whole Avocado, sliced
12 strips Pimiento
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Italian olive oil
1/4 cup Vinegar
1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Instructions: Wash spinach well, and remove stems. Dry. Fry bacon crisp and then drain. Chop or crumble into small bits. Toss the spinach with remaining ingredients.

Lemon Sorbet

Ingredients:

2-1/4 cups Fresh lemon juice
1-1/2 tbsp Grated lemon zest
4-1/2 cups Simple syrup
Simple Syrup:
3 cups Sugar

6 cups Water

Instructions: Combine the ingredients and freeze in an ice cream maker. Alternatively, place in a bowl set within a larger bowl holding ice cubes and salted water. Beat the mixture with a portable mixer or wire whisk for several minutes until it begins to be thoroughly chilled. Cover and place in the freezer until frozen, stirring occasionally.

Simple Syrup: Place the sugar and water in a stainless steel or enameled saucepan and boil for 5 minutes. Strain through a sieve lined with a damp cloth. Cool.


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Jonathan Teng
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Choosing Foods For Your Special Event

Choosing the right menu for a special event can be just as important as choosing a location. Food can communicate a theme, convey a feeling or set the mood of an entire night. If you are planning a high-class extravaganza, hot dogs and beer might not be appropriate. However, they might be the perfect choice for a birthday party at the lake. Taking great care in planning a menu shows your guests how much you appreciate them, and a great meal can help make a special day even more memorable.

If you are planning a birthday party for your child, an interactive meal can be a fun activity for your guests. Rather than slaving away in the kitchen all day or spending countless dollars ordering pizzas, you can save time and money by letting the guests make their own special creations. One fun idea is to prepare a multitude of toppings and let the children make their own bagel or English muffin pizzas. They will have a blast piling on strange combinations of toppings, and they will enjoy feeling like grown-ups in the kitchen.

For a more formal occasion like a holiday party, finger foods can be great for mingling guests, and they can be great topics of conversation. The obligatory finger sandwich can be spiced up by adding your own special pesto or cheese spread to an already tried and true recipe. Experiment with different ingredients in the weeks prior to the party, and test them out on your family. You will know when you get the reaction you are looking for, and you might end up spending much of the party writing down your recipe for your guests.

Planning a menu for a wedding can be quite stressful, especially when you are not sure exactly how many guests will be attending. The rule of thumb is that too much is better than not enough, even if it means having a lot of food left over at the end of the night. You can choose to have a buffet-style dinner, or you can have a set menu for your guests. It is important to consider your guests with special dietary needs. You should have vegetarian and low-sodium alternatives to your main courses, and you should have a heart-healthy menu for those who must avoid foods with high fat contents.

Before attempting a large-scale meal, you should make all of the dishes several times to perfect your recipes. Your goal is to have guests asking for more even after it all runs out. Test your creations on a variety of people and make adjustments according to their suggestions. When cooking food from your own recipes, it is important to remember the details of what you did every time you make it. That way you will know what went wrong when something turns out horrible, and more importantly what went right when you receive raving reviews.

Planning portions is the most important part of catering your own party. Though most recipes tell you how many people they will feed, it is best to err on the side of caution. If a recipe feeds eight, you might want to count it as six or seven, depending on how many guests you expect. Plan that half of your guests will want to go back for seconds. If you know that one dish will be a favorite, be sure to make extra. Though the green beans may be the healthier option, you can usually bet that the cheesecake will go a lot quicker. Keep in mind that the greater the variety, the more people you will please, so even if you are a steamed vegetable lover, you should probably prepare some beefy options for your less than health conscious guests.

About the author:
Sintilia Miecevole's resourceful and most interesting site http://www.fufood.com provides you with all kinds of food information such as cooking sites, great recipes, meal ideas, catering, nutrition, gifts, organic, cooking advice and much more. Be sure to visit http://www.fufood.com and enjoy the best of food!
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Barbecue Sauce Recipe

The barbecue began in the American context during the late 1800's cattle drives in the West. The cowhands usually had low quality cuts of beef that had to be preserved over long periods of time of cattle driving.

The main choice for this was brisket that is tough meat. The cowboys soon learned that if they cooked the meat over a long period of time at a low temperature the meat could be made tender and tasty. During this time, the cooks also experimented with various barbecue sauces to make the beef even tastier.

of cooking meat. I love the taste of barbecue and find that it's suitable for nearly all occasions.

I agree with history that the barbecue sauce is as important as the barbecue itself. A good barbecue sauce can make or break a sumptuous meal.

I can still remember clearly the T-bone barbecue steak I tasted at Larry's Drive. The sauce that was served with the barbecue steak was simply awesome. Every time I recall the experience my mouth just waters.

I have often asked myself how-to recreate that awesome sauce. Until I came across Debbie Beaston's barbecue sauce recipe on the Internet that could be the answer to my wish. It's called the "Top Secret BBQ Sauce Recipe".

I haven't bought the "Top Secret BBQ Sauce Recipe" yet, but thinking of convincing my wife to buy it because she loves cooking.

The BBQ sauce recipe ebook also includes BBQ recipes, rubs, mops and marinades. There is also great advice and ideas about what to cook with your barbecue.

More information on the sauce recipe is available click here.

About the author:
Sanjib Ahmad - Freelance Writer and Product Consultant for Health-Fitness.Marc8.com (http://health-fitness.marc8.com/). You are free to use this article in its entirety as long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content, and include the resource box listed above.
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Best Cookies: Oatmeal Crispies

These crisp, light, crunchy cookies are perfect with a cup of coffee or tea.

Oatmeal Crispies

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

Combine brown sugar, butter and shortening in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Reduced speed to low; add oats, flour, baking soda and salt. Beat, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

Divide dough in half. Shape each half into 6-inch log. Wrap each in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate until firm (2 to 3 hours).

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut logs into ¼ -inch slices with sharp knife. Place slices 1-inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets.

About the author:
© Donna Monday
Love Cookies? All your favorites here
http://www.best-cookie-jar-recipes.com
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