In the time period between the 1840s and 1920s, there was a tremendous influx of Italian immigrants into the United States of America. In 1870, Italy underwent unification that resulted in governmental redistribution of lands that inevitably hurt farmers who did not necessarily wind up with any land of their own on which they could produce crops. Especially in the south of Italy, where disease of both human and crops adversely contributed to affect the population density, thousands were forced to exit their homeland and try to secure better opportunities in other countries. While many Italians settled in the United […]
Fine Dining Blog
What Makes a Restaurant a Fine Dining Destination?
Fine dining Orlando establishments are few and far between these days. Our hurried lifestyles have caused us to buy fast-food and eat-in, or visit quick, chain-type family restaurants. Most do not accept reservations but will gladly provide you with a beeper that will signal when your table is ready for seating. Music of some kind is usually blaring loudly throughout, and the atmosphere is impersonal and rushed. These restaurants serve the masses and hurry us through our meal so that they can prepare the table for the next patron. The table setting usually consists of utensils wrapped in either a […]
Haunted and Scary Places in Italy
You would be hard-pressed to travel anywhere in Europe without being intrigued by the tales of hauntings and unusual, unexplained occurrences wherever you visit. Italy is no exception! From the days of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and its total decimation of the city of Pompeii, to a modern-day tale of ghostly “suicide” in a Venetian home, the Italian landscape is replete with stories of eerie happenings. One of the best restaurants Orlando, Christini’s Ristorante Italiano, invites you to read more about Italy’s haunted places…if you dare! Mt. Vesuvius: Let’s begin with the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. […]
The Origins of Polenta
For many chefs and gourmet cooks, Apicius is the source from which all Roman recipes began. Estimated to have been written in either the very late fourth or early fifth century A.D., it’s a chronicle of recipes that includes instructions on curing meat, making wine and a host of other interesting facts. The ancestry of many of today’s popular dishes by the best Italian Orlando restaurant trace back to this gastronomic compilation. The Etruscan diet was hugely comprised of a farro porridge or gruel called puls. While farro is a nut-flavored grain in the wheat family, puls was made from mashed […]
How to Prepare Fresh Pasta (By Hand!)
While many memories of childhood are related to family time spent in the kitchen, either preparing food or dining, one the most vivid involves learning to make homemade pasta from our fine dining Orlando experts. Nonna always wore an apron and made sure everyone’s hands were clean for the weekly Sunday pasta-making event. The heavy pasta board was placed on the countertop. It was a large wooden board, probably 2’ by 3’, if not larger. A kitchen towel was placed under it to keep it from slipping around as the dough was mixed, kneaded and eventually rolled out by a […]
