Now Lounge Italian Summer Party - Promo

Now Lounge presents: "Italian Summer Party" With summer getting into full swing, Now Lounge returns to the stylish Granada Suite for another night of international flair, fashion and fun. This time around, we're celebrating Italian-style with the very best of Mediterranean cuisine and culture. Enjoy mouth-watering pizza, creamy gelato and an assortment of free finger food, while you mingle with Fukuoka's international community. Entertainment begins with Jean-Christian Bouvier and his band introducing award-winning and entertaining Italian TV commercials. Then our MC and wine connoisseur Dominic Walker presides over a massive group taste-testing of Italian wines, followed by a sizzling salsa display from Tiempo Iberoamericano. After a performance by our "secret" special guest, DJ H keeps the party going until late into the night. Tickets are just ¥2500, including two drinks and free finger food. Our last event attracted nearly 800 revelers, so get there early or book online in advance to avoid disappointment, not to mention the line! A group discount is available - six tickets for the price of five. Free gelato for the first 300 to purchase their tickets online! Access our website for more details: www.fukuoka-now.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Now Lounge Friday, July 2, 19:00 ~ 01:00 Granada Suite Fukuoka 11F Aqua Hakata Bldg., 5-3-8 Nakasu, Fukuoka 19:00 ~ 01:00 (092) 283-5235 ¥2500 advance or at the door (includes 2 drinks) Book advance ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI-4fMTql0Q&hl=en

Best Italian Pizza restaurant in Coral Springs, Florida

We are from Canada and our family went to Coral Springs on vacation. We usually come down in Florida every winter. thi year, we went to la Fontana Restaurant for dinner and are we ever glad. It is the best restautant I have ever been to any where in the USA. The bread that was brought out to us was excellent and cooked in the wood oven. We were a large group (9 in total with young children). We tried the pizza, pasta dishes and the gelato. All of the food was authentic and homemade italian. On a side note the service was excellent. On my next journey through this part of Florida I will return to sample some of the other interesting dishes on the menu.The food was excellent and the service was excellent. I would recommend la Fontana Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant to anyone who is visiting Coral Springs, Broward. A pleasure having had this experience at your restaurant. Very nice atmosphere, great people working and managing this place. This restaurant has great Italian food. I really enjoy their raviolis and spaghetti and homemade spaghetti sauce, Servers are very friendly and professional. Prices are pretty good.

The Reasons Why Italian Food Is So Delicious

Rich, aromatic spiced filled kitchens come to mind when
thinking of Italian foods, which gained great popularity
during World War II. People are starting to realize that
there is more to Italian foods than just pizza, ravioli and
spaghetti!
The real trick behind this tantalizing taste is that
Italian food is low on the ingredient list, but don't
believe that! Many different types of Italian food exist,
and each one has its own special taste that people love.
Pizza, pasta, sausage and fish are what Italy is most famous
for. There are even vast variations in these dishes just in
the different regions within the country and this is proven
in the many diverse cultures and peoples living in Italy.
Northern Italy's traditional foods are lasagna, parmesan
cheese, mortadella, polenta, dry-cured hams, stuffed pastas
and Bolognese sauces. The Naples region is famous for pizzas
and mozzarella cheeses. The Tuscan region is famous for
various meats, white beans and unsalted beans, while the
Caldaria region is known for its spicy Italian salami.
Lamb in various forms is very popular across the country
and Sicilian cuisine is well known for its excellent
seafood dishes, which interestingly have an Arab influence
due to the use of pistachio and lemon in these seafood
meals. Sicily is also famous for gelato also known as ice
cream in the rest of the world with a slightly different
twist because of the use of sugar and other flavorings.
The Veneto region is well known for risotto, which is a
dish full of fish and other various seafoods along with
beans and other legumes frequently added to this dish. The
Tretino-Alto Adige regions are famous for their goulash
gnocchi dish, with are prepared with lard, olive oil,
tomatoes and crauti. Other delicacies from Italy include
Valtellina pumpkin, Brescia, bergamo, smoked bacon,
truffles, prosciutto, bebbiolo, rye breads, pork fillet,
panissa, pesto, trenette and many delicious deserts. The
interesting thing about Italian cuisine is that even within
a single region, there may be several different ways of
preparing pasta, sausages and vegetables - some even use
herbal liquors to get the perfect taste for their foods.
Each of these unique types of Italian foods are served with
unique style. Special meal structures and courses are
adhered to strictly so that each course builds on the taste
of the previous course. Meals typically start with
appetizers that can include campari, cinzano, Suze, Byrrh
and Vermouth. These are served both hot and cold depending
on the second course. The second course can include fish
and other seafoods, meats and pork. Then of course, let's
not forget dessert! Italian desserts usually consist of a
variety of cakes, ice creams, cookies and coffees.

Introduction to Italian Foods

Italian food comes to mind when people think of absolutely delicious food. After all, it is one of the most fascinating cuisines know to the modern world. The fascination really piqued during World War II when the world was greatly exposed to the Italian culture for the first time. The rich aroma, spices and fresh vegetables still stirs my soul when I think of all of the great Italian dishes that I love.

The real trick behind this tantalizing taste is that Italian food is low on the ingredient list, but don't believe that! Many different types of Italian food exist, and each one has its own special taste that people love. Pizza, pasta, sausage and fish are what Italy is most famous for. There are even vast variations in these dishes just in the different regions within the country and this is proven in the many diverse cultures and peoples living in Italy. Northern Italy's traditional foods are lasagna, Parmesan cheese, mortadella, polenta, dry-cured hams, stuffed pastas and Bolognese sauces. The Naples region is famous for pizzas and mozzarella cheeses. The Tuscan region is famous for various meats, white beans and unsalted beans, while the Caldaria region is known for its spicy Italian salami.

Lamb in various forms is very popular across the country and Sicilian cuisine is well known for its excellent seafood dishes, which interestingly have an Arab influence due to the use of pistachio and lemon in these seafood meals. Sicily is also famous for gelato also known as ice cream in the rest of the world with a slightly different twist because of the use of sugar and other flavorings.

The Veneto region is well known for risotto, which is a dish full of fish and other various seafoods along with beans and other legumes frequently added to this dish. The Tretino-Alto Adige regions are famous for their goulash gnocchi dish, with are prepared with lard, olive oil, tomatoes and crauti.

Other delicacies from Italy include Valtellina pumpkin, Brescia, bergamo, smoked bacon, truffles, prosciutto, bebbiolo, rye breads, pork fillet, panissa, pesto, trenette and many delicious deserts. The interesting thing about Italian cuisine is that even within a single region, there may be several different ways of preparing pasta, sausages and vegetables - some even use herbal liquors to get the perfect taste for their foods.

Each of these unique types of Italian foods are served with unique style. Special meal structures and courses are adhered to strictly so that each course builds on the taste of the previous course. Meals typically start with appetizers that can include campari, cinzano, Suze, Byrrh and Vermouth. These are served both hot and cold depending on the second course. The second course can include fish and other seafoods, meats and pork. Then of course, let's not forget dessert! Italian desserts usually consist of a variety of cakes, ice creams, cookies and coffees.

History of Gelato - An Italian Ice Cream With an Intense Flavor

Frozen treats have been around for thousands of years. There are various fascinating stories surrounding these tasty frozen treats and still some mystery behind the origins.

The Emperors of China had flavors such as honey or fruit added to snow to make frozen desserts.
It is believed that Nero, Emperor of Rome, sent slaves to the mountains to bring back ice and snow that was then mixed with fruit or honey.

It was the addition of milk that first made these frozen treats "ice cream". The Tang Dynasty in China claims the credit for adding cow and goat milk to grounded rice and letting it ferment. Ninety four icemen were in charge of this duty for the King Tang of Shang, not a job that you would easily find today.

Bernardo Buontalenti, a Florentine cook, is credited with inventing modern ice cream in 1565. The first ice cream machine was invented by Sicilian Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli.

At first, gelato was a treat only for the rich. It could only be made in small quantities and had to be eaten within a few hours since it required too much ice to keep it frozen. It wasn't until the first gelato carts were invented in the 1920s that the popularity of the concoction really grew. The city of Varese in Italy claims credit for this invention.

With the creation of better ways to refrigerate and freeze foods, frozen desserts become more available to the general public. As the popularity of frozen treats grew, different countries created their own versions. Gelato is considered the ice cream of Italy. The frozen dessert is made with many of the same ingredients as ice cream but with considerably less fat content and usually less sugar. The reason gelato contains less fat is due to the fact it's made with milk instead of cream.

The mix of water and sugar in gelato is what keeps it from freezing solid like ice cream. The mix acts as a kind of anti-freeze. Generally, gelato is made in two ways. One is a hot process that includes pasteurization. In the U.S. a cold process is also popular.

While ice cream can be kept in a freezer for several months, gelato is best eaten within a few days. Gelato is flavored with a variety of things including fruit and cocoa. Nuts, cookies, waffle biscuits, and chocolate flakes are sometimes added later, after the gelato is frozen.

People eating gelato for the first time are often surprised by the intense flavor. With less fat in the mix, the flavors are more pronounced.

Less air is whipped into gelato as opposed to ice cream. This makes in much denser and also adds to its more intense flavor. The consistency is softer making it so it has some similarities to soft-serve ice cream in the U.S.

When looking for a place to try gelato, always insist on one that uses natural, not artificial flavors. Preferably, look for a shop that makes its own gelato in-house. Once you've sampled the intense flavors of gelato you may never return to ice cream again. Whether you choose a fruity concoction or chocolate covered in sprinkles, you won't regret your choice. It's certainly an indulgence on the pallet; one would never guess it's a healthier alternative to some other dessert options.

7 Essential Herbs to Have in Your Italian Herb Garden

Ahhh.. The joy of Italian cooking. When most people think about delicious Italian food, the dishes that usually come to mind include pasta and pizza. But what really gives Italian food its flair are the essential herbs that are used in Italian cooking. To make sure that you have the proper ingredients, here are 7 herbs that are essential to have in your Italian Herb Garden:

Basil - What would the world be like without Basil? Basil is not only used in Italian cooking but also can be found used in several Asian cuisines. It is most noted as the primary flavor of Pesto with is great for flavoring pasta or used in spreads or marinades.

Basic Recipe for Pesto

Ingredients:

· 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves

· 1/2 cup grated parmesan or Romano cheese

· 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

· 1/3 cup pine nuts

· 3 garlic cloves

· 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

· Juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well blend. Make sure to scrape the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula in case any of the ingredients find themselves clinging to the wall and not blending.

Oregano - Oregano is most commonly used in Southern Italy and can almost always be found in tomato based sauces. In fact, it is the primary flavoring agent in pizza sauce, aside from the tomatoes of course.

Marjoram - People commonly confuse marjoram and oregano, which isn't surprising because they're related and taste similar. Marjoram has more of a delicate, flowery flavor whereas oregano is more pungent. Because of marjoram's delicate flavor, it isn't suited well for drying. But it's great fresh anyway just like most herbs.

Rosemary - Rosemary is a very strong herb and has a very robust flavor and aroma. It grows well in dry, hot, and shaded areas. Because of its strong flavor, it's a great flavoring agent for meats, potatoes, and bread.

Parsley - When people think of parsley, they usually associate it with a bad garnish in a cheap restaurant. That type of parsley is curly-leaf parsley. Curly-leaf parsley is best used dried and only if you don't plan on using fresh flat-leaf parsley. Flat-leaf parsley is best used fresh but doesn't keep its flavor well when dried.

"But what is this stuff good for anyway?" I'm sure your asking. Flat-leaf parsley is found all over Italy and is used in many common dishes and sauces. It is an essential part of any Italian herb garden.

Sage - Sage is an herb most commonly used in Northern Italian cooking. Because of its strong distinctive flavor it's best used sparingly. Sage is best used when blended with other herbs and spices instead of being used as the primary flavoring agent.

Thyme - Thyme is an herb that you usually see used with cooking meat. It's a hardy plant that can find itself easily growing in various conditions. It's a very versatile herb and is great in almost any Italian dish. Except for maybe gelato. I don't think that thyme flavored gelato would last too long in the grocery stores, or in my mouth for that matter.

Welcome to the World of Italian Desserts

We're going to tour the sensational and tantalizing world of Italian Desserts. We'll tread softly through acres of light and crispy Pizzelles, hopscotch down sidewalks of biscotti and streets lined with cannoli. Under skies dotted with clouds of gelato, feeling the breezes of chocolate, anisette, and almond blowing through our hair, let's stroll through quiet, quaint streets lined with hedges of tiramisu and view lawns dotted with clumps of Farfellete (bow ties) and Italian Love Knot cookies.

Have you ever wondered how and why some of the cultural foods emerged over the years?

We'll explore some of the folklore and the history behind Italian Desserts and compare foods which originated in Northern Italy with foods from Southern Italy and learn the reasons they differ. We'll discover how fresh fruits, chocolate and cheeses can be combined to create desserts that will delight your taste buds. We will discover that there really is a "healthy ice cream" when we dive into mounds of gelato and sorbets. We'll even discover how adding alcohol enhances the flavors of your dessert creation! There will be tips for using left over breads to make bread puddings, enhancing them with Italian Liquor like Limoncello, to make luscious desserts.

Try some of the recipes along the way.

Experiment with them, adding or changing ingredients as you desire - maybe even create something new and exciting of your own! Surprise your family with new and interesting desserts that both taste awesome and are exciting to behold! Watch the kids marvel as you put their favorite fruits, puddings or ice creams into "Pizzelle bowls" that they can eat when the filling is gone. Hey...no dishes to wash....you gotta love that, Mom!

So come on along; join me in this adventure in dessert cuisine and history. It is a trip you will not soon forget!

How to Make Italian Ices in 90 Seconds!

Steve Thompson, President of Emery Thompson Machine shows in 90 seconds how to make Pineapple Coconut Italian Ice using an Emery Thompson 12-Quart batch freezer. Emery Thompson has been producing the world's best batch freezers for over 104 years. Available in 6 quart, 12 quart, 24 quart, and the world's largest batch freezer, 44 quart. www.emerythompson.com etfreezers@gmail.com 718-588-7300



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpLaxybH5Tc&hl=en

Incredibly Delicious Italian Dessert Recipes For Dessert Lovers

In the history of desserts, famous Italian dessert recipes definitely stand out. Italian desserts range in flavor from bitter to sweet and they go nicely with a glass of wine. In Italy, the locals are just as likely to eat a piece of fruit for dessert as an indulgent, creamy confection.

If you have visited an Italian bakery, you will have seen many different varieties of cookies and biscotti. The Italians like to dunk their biscotti in red wine. A lot of Italian cookies are sweet but not excessively so and light glazes often provide most of the flavoring. Nuts or candied fruit are often added too. Biscotti might be very popular in the United States but in Italy hard, slightly sweet twice baked cookies are more popular. They are baked twice to remove as much moisture as possible, which makes the cookies dry, crumbly, and hard.

Which is the Most Famous Italian Dessert?

Tiramisu is thought to have originated in Siena. Duke Cosimo de Medici enjoyed it so much that it spread around the world with Italian immigrants. Tiramisu is a delicious combination of lady finger cookies, liquor, espresso, cocoa, mascarpone cheese, and eggs.

The best known Italian cake has to be panettone, which is from Milan. Boxes of this cake can be found in cafes and Italian bakeries during the holiday season all over the world. The fluffy panettone dough is flavored with raisins and candied fruit pieces and the cake is shaped like a dome. Italians enjoy panettone with zabaglione custard or mascarpone cheese and a glass of liqueur or dessert wine.

Perhaps you have tried Italian gelato. This is ice cream made with milk, sugar and flavoring. Sometimes it contains eggs and cream. Gelato is churned less than regular ice cream, making it less airy and more dense. Italian desserts are best eaten in moderation because a lot of them are very rich. If you find a lot of Italian desserts heavenly but a bit too rich, why not make your own and change the ingredients to tone them down a bit?

Using Jello in Italian Dessert Recipes

Gelato is a great candidate for experimentation with jello. Italian ice cream is nearly free of air, which makes it dense and super heavy. By combining gelato, boiling water, and jello powder, you can create a deliciously light dessert with a nice texture and any jello flavor you like. You can use sugar free jello to halve the calories because half the dessert is jello and the sugar free kind is also calorie free.

If you happen to own an ice cream machine, you can make gelato with kool aid and jello, which tastes great and makes a refreshing dessert on balmy summer evenings. Jello goes with a lot of ingredients, with fruit trifle being a great example.

Jello also goes nicely with fruit pieces, with custard or zabaglione or with chocolate. In fact, it is one of the most versatile dessert ingredients you can get and it is great for making Italian dessert recipes lighter. Dessert making is a creative process and you might feel like making a rich, luxurious tiramisu one day and healthier layer jello recipes the next.

Evaluating Free Recipes For Italian Desserts

Lurking beneath the surface of many recipes, however, is disaster more ferocious and inevitable than a hurricane over warm Gulf of Mexico waters. Poorly written or shakily tested recipes can turn a counter full of expensive, high-quality ingredients into a bowl full of meaningless goo unfit for human consumption.

But how can you tell the difference between a great recipe that will earn a spot among your most favorite creations and one that is fit only for the trash heap of culinary failure? How can you justify sinking premium bucks into high quality ingredients when you don't know if the result will be edible? If you have just a little cooking savvy, it's not all that hard to do.

First off, what are you trying to make? Is your search for free recipes for Italian desserts after cheesecake? Cannoli? Gelato even? It helps a lot if you've eaten what you're trying to make at least a few times, so you know what the finished product should look like.

The next thing to look at is the list of ingredients. Are you familiar with all of them? If there are any you don't know, do you have research sources available that will give you sufficient knowledge to let you continue? Then take each ingredient and make sure it appears in the text of the recipe. This is one of the most common failures in recipe writing and editing, especially with free recipe content. Sometimes, your own cooking savvy will tell you where and when to add in a missing ingredient, but don't proceed unless you are dead sure.

Finally, go over the directions. If it is a baking recipe, does it start with preheating the oven? That should be your first step unless the dough or batters need to be refrigerated. Is there equipment mentioned in the direction the ions, such as an ice cream maker, that you do not own? Are you familiar with all the cooking terms used? If you've never made a reduction, for example, you might want to do some additional research.

Once you've done your research, you're ready to set off into the world of free recipes for Italian desserts!

Low-Carb Italian Food

While many people love Italian food, those that are trying to stick to a low-carb diet often shy away from it. no wonder, with many meals centering on large amounts of pasta and bread. However, if you are looking for low-carb Italian foods then there are some to be found. Many Italian meals center on fresh veggies, olive oil, and herbs and are just as delicious as pasta and pizza. Here is a look at just some of the Italian foods you can try while sticking to your low-carb diet.

Starters And Appetizers

If you are looking for low-carb Italian food, one of the first places to look for it is in the antipasto course. Antipasto, Italian for "before the meal" includes numerous starters and appetizers, but many of these foods could work as a meal on their own. One example is a tray of Italian cold cuts and cheeses. Many marinated and pickled vegetables are also low-carb. Stuffed tomatoes and peppers, deviled eggs, and salads all work well as low-carb appetizers. Just avoid any antipasto items that involve bread or pasta. You may also need to pay attention to dips and salad dressings to make sure that they are not high in carbs as well. A simple dressing made of balsamic vinegar and olive oil is low-carb and delicious.

Salads

Italian salads are another great low-carb Italian food. You will have to use caution to avoid salads that use pasta and bread, but with some careful planning you can find many delicious alternatives. You can eat Italian salad as a meal of its own or as a side dish. Consider fennel and orange salad from Sicily for a unique taste.

Grilled peppers and olives also make great additions, as do many of the Italian cheeses. Even regular vegetables can become spectacular dishes when combined with Italian herbs and seasonings. You can easily make up your own low-carb meal by serving a large quantity of vegetables with some baked or grilled fish.

Soup And Stew

Italian soups and stews are often hearty enough to eat as a meal on their own, or served alongside a fresh salad. For low-carb Italian food, look for soups that are full of fresh vegetables and avoid those that are laden with pastas. Broccoli soup is one good option, as is tomato and basil soup. For protein you can often find soups that include seafood and other meats, some unusual like rabbit. Beans, chickpeas, and lentils can also be good sources of protein, but if you are on a very low-carb diet you will want to avoid these as well.

Frittatas

If you are looking for a substitute for bread and/or a way to use up last night's vegetables, frittatas are the way to go. Frittatas are an Italian version of the omelet, and are often cut into wedges for serving. They can be flavored with any number of ingredients, including vegetables, herbs, and salami or chicken.

Dessert

When you are looking for low-carb Italian food, there is no reason to skip dessert! Fruit is a common choice, whether baked or served fresh in a salad. The popular gelato is another low-carb dessert that you can indulge in. You will find that many Italian desserts are either naturally low-carb or can be adapted to your new diet.

Why Are There So Many Free Recipes For Italian Desserts?

Turn on any food show today and you'll find a huge assortment of ethnic offerings. From Chinese and other Asian cuisines to French, German and even British cooking, every corner of the globe where people put food to fire is represented. Most of these are relative newcomers to the global food scene, whereas Italian food has been on every cook's slate for decades. This explains why there are so many free recipes for Italian desserts around: they're delicious, and there is a dizzying variety available.

Cheesecake, of course, is by far the most popular Italian dessert. That's curious, as it actually is not terribly Italian in its composition. It's an American invention, although Italian-Americans are most often credited with both finding and perfecting the recipe and preparation methods. No reputable Italian restaurant would ever be caught without at least one cheesecake on the menu, and very often you'll see competitions within a city between the top-tier Italian joints to build the highest, richest and best creations. It's no surprise that some of these recipes make it into the vaults of free recipes for Italian desserts available online.

The true heart of Italian desserts, however, are the gelatos, those ice cream-like creations that come in an insane variety of flavors and top the finest efforts of frozen treat confectioners from around the world. In Italy, gelato shops are almost as common as Starbucks coffee houses are here in United States, and the sweets they purvey are like no others. From the classic hazelnut or chocolate to more exotic flavors like mango, lime and graham cracker, you'll find something for every palate.

My personal favorite Italian dessert, however, is the cannoli. There's a reason why "Leave the guns, take the cannoli," is one of the most identifiable quotes from the "Godfather" movies. This mystical synergy between a crunchy pastry shell and a lightly sweet pastry cream, sometimes with nuts or a drizzle of chocolate added, is simply unbeatable to many Italian food connoisseurs.

All of these have made it into the archives of free recipes for Italian desserts. With a little hunting, you can find whatever you seek!

Italian Recipes

Italian cuisine has an excellent reputation, and the country's food is known throughout the world. While Italy is perhaps best known for pasta and pizza, there are also many excellent Italian meat and seafood dishes. Additionally, Italy is also of course known for its desserts and cheeses.

For much of its history, Italy was divided into many separate regional states, and with parts of the country being occupied by foreign powers such as France and Italy. Indeed, it was not until 1861 that Italian unification was achieved. As a result of this history, Italian is well-known for its diverse regions, and this diversity is very much reflected in the country's cuisine.

Some dishes from the various regions of Italy include:

* Calabria (the "toe" of Italy) is known for its spicy salami

* Naples is the home of mozzarella and pizza. Additionally, sfogliatelle (Italian filled pastries) originate from the city too.

* Northern Italy produces many excellent foods. Lombardy and Piedmont both produce rice, and this is used in risotto. Other products from northern Italy include balsamic vinegar, bolognese sauce (ragu), lasagna, mortadella (a type of pork sausage served served cold) parmigiano (parmesan cheese), polenta, prosciutto (dry cured ham), and tortellini (stuffed pasta).

* Rome is known for producing a unique style of very thing pizzas. Classically Roman ingredients include pecorino (cheese made from sheep's milk) and offal.

* Sardinia has a reputation for fine lamb meat, and its own variety of pecorino.

* Sicily's proximity to North Africa and the Arab world is reflected in its cusine, most noteably in the use of lemon and pestachio. Sicily is also known for its seafood (especially swordfish and tuna), and its desserts, which include gelato icre cream, and granita (a semi-frozen dessert made using water, sugar, and flavorings).

* Tuscany is known for its meat, the use of white beans in its cuisine, and the region's fine unsalted bread.

Learn Italian in Florence

This is the story of Clarissa, an American woman who planned to visit Italy and learn about the Italian culture. She loved the Italian language and wanted to learn it in a fast and easy way. Her additional incentive was being able to communicate with her new Italian friend, Carlo, whom she met in a chat room a few months ago.

Carlo, an Italian native, had always wanted to learn English well. He knew a bit of English like most Europeans do, but Clarissa knew only three Italian words: ciao, amore and gelato. So they made a deal. They decided to practice by speaking in each other's native language.

Wanting this exchange to be more balanced, Clarissa decided to take a course in Florence, which is not far from the small town in Tuscany where Carlo lives.

Being an art lover, Clarissa did not have to think hard about which city to investigate. Florence is where the spark of the Renaissance movement started and flourished a few centuries ago. Italy stores more artworks than all of the rest of the world combined, and Florence is at the heart. The task now was to find a good school that would fit her personality.

A bit shy but adventurous, she asked Carlo to find a good school for her to learn Italian. However, he could not give her much help. Florence is a big city, and he would have to go there himself and check into the different schools. And, after all, she knew herself better than Carlo. So, she decided to choose on her own and went surfing the web.

To her surprise, she discovered there are many more schools in Florence that teach Italian to foreigners than she thought. There are schools for every taste and any possible interest. She even found a course to learn Italian while sailing on a yacht.

After assessing few schools, she signed up for a week-long total immersion course to give her a taste of what it would be like. She would learn enough Italian to allow her to move around in Italy. Later, she would choose an in-depth course that would take perhaps several months to complete and give her the ability to communicate on a deeper level.

A month later, Clarissa was at a school in Florence, learning lots of vocabulary she could use to get around the city. Through some classroom lessons and many trips to museums, restaurants and shops, she learned to construct sentences in Italian and to express herself. She also experienced the basics of survival in a foreign country. And, of course, she learned to better understand Carlo, who turned out to be more likable than she expected.

Now Clarissa is back in Florence for the second time, taking a six-month course with a concentration on the art and architecture of the 17th century. What a fantastic time for her--perfecting her Italian, enjoying her new skills, broadening her knowledge. Thanks to Carlo and her new capacity to converse in Italian, she has many Italian friends. When she returns to the U.S., she will connect with them in Italian via email.

These are her recent words about her continuing experience.

"Learning another language is a life change. It opened a new world that I did not suspect existed. This world was inside of me. You can only find it when you give to yourself the chance to look for it. Like I did."

Clarissa C.

Thank you Clarissa for your story and your inspiring words!

Italian Ice Cream - Ice Cream

Gelato is the Italian form of ice. Although it is very similar to American ice cream, there are some differences. Gelato, plural Gelati, is made with milk and sugar, which are in combination with other variants. The ingredients are stirred and a thrill to break, as they form ice crystals. As in high-end ice cream, ice cream is very thick and less than 35% air.

Normally, ice cream with fresh fruit or a variety of other ingredients. A bit 'ofRemember common are chocolate, nuts, candies, or small cookies or biscuits. If the chocolate is set, it's usually pure chocolate chips in a bow or form. If water ice and not producing milk, is known as sorbet or sherbet. Historically, milk-based ice cream was distributed in northern Italy, while fruit and water based sorbet was distributed in the warmer climates of southern Italy.

American-style ice usually contain between 10% and 18%Butter fat, while the ice cream milk contains between 5-8% fat. The change depends on the ingredients used. As in high-end ice cream, ice cream combines good milk and cream, soy milk or water with high quality ingredients. Unlike other forms of ice, the ice cream is not homogenized. This means that the ice is melting faster than normal ice cream.

Historically, some recipes for using frozen eggs are mentioned. This practice, however, thatdeadline, but, like the ice cream Italian culture is increasingly homogenized. In addition, the mixing and stabilizers are readily available, pre-packaged and already in use. As a result, leaving the eggs as emulsifiers.

Because the word "ice" is so similar to the "jelly", many are convinced that the ice and gelatin are linked. They think that the jelly is an ingredient in ice cream. This belief and its distribution, led vegetarians and others who try to prevent the gelatin in their diet. While some rogue gelatarias actually use gelatin, ice cream and traditional recipes do not require gelatin. Most of gelato is not gelatin. In fact, the whistle comes from the word for freeze "or" frozen ".

Like many other goodies, is the best gelato is made daily. Gelato in the United States is served by a different type of ice cream freezer Americans. Forced air refrigeration units to maintain ' > Ice 0-6 degrees centigrade. This allows the gelato, which is directly extracted from the ice, the ice from the ice machine. The "air force" that is blowing across the ice, the ice keeps a constant temperature.

When needed, and usually has a special block tray to a dense consistency flavorous guaranteed. E 'can be an ice cream freezer to serve, but not for> Ice cream from a freezer - which would be frozen in ice.