Authentic Italian

With the Christmas season upon us, there are many Italian traditions, ingredients and recipes that families are preparing for. As many of you probably already know, Christmas Eve is our big holiday celebration in Italian families. We usually abstain from meat. The menu usually contains different kinds of fish and seafood such as Baccala, eel, shrimp and smelts for starters. This recipe is a traditional Italian seafood salad. Unlike American seafood salad, this does not contain mayonnaise. It's very light and is dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. This is a traditional Christmas favorite.  Recipe Ingredients 1 Ib. bay scallops 1 Ib. shrimp, tails peeled off 1 Ib. calamari with tubes and tentacles 2 small lobster tails, removed from shell 2 fennel bulbs sliced thin 1/2 large red onion, diced small 3 whole celery stalks with leaves, chopped in small slices A big handful of pitted castelvetrano olives 4 cloves garlic Lemon slices from one Lemon Lemon juice Olive Oil Chopped parsley...

This is one of my favorite summertime recipes. It has very minimal ingredients and is usually made with fresh, long peppers from the garden. They can be eaten alone, with a rustic piece of Italian bread or my favorite way, on a sandwich. It's a great way to use up that abundance of peppers from your garden! Recipe Ingredients 3 Ib. Italian frying peppers, cubanelles, or long sweet peppers. 1/4 cup olive oil 4 cloves of garlic Flaky sea salt Instructions 1. Heat a large pan to medium-high heat with olive oil and add the garlic. 2. Working in batches, fry the peppers until well charred and limp. It helps to cover the skillet. About 15-20 minutes. Place all the peppers onto a large platter. 3. Drizzle with more olive oil if desired and season with sea salt.  Check out this 11 Inch, Nonstick Cast Iron Skillet from Zakarian by Dash Zakarian by DASH 11 Inch Cast Iron Skillet

An antipasto salad is a common first course to any Italian meal. It serves as the "starter" and typically includes cured meats, cheeses, olives, and other tangy, marinated vegetables. As you travel the regions of Italy, you will find that the ingredients have slight variations according to what is popular or common for that region. This dish can be served individually, in personal size, or as one big antipasto that people can pick from. There is no set amount of ingredients to include. You can absolutely make it your own. This recipe is the basics! Recipes Ingredients 3 cups romaine, chopped 1/2 cup green olives 1/2 cup medium black olives 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 1/2 cup mini pepperoni or cubed hard pepperoni 1/4 cup jarred roasted red peppers, chopped 8 oz. genoa salami, cut into bite size pieces 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese balls 13 oz. artichoke hearts, quartered 8 oz. provolone cheese, cut into bite size pieces Dressing: 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tbs. lemon juice 1/4 cup r...