food ideas for elderly italian visitors to canada?

I give to you the best of Italy...Lidia. In my opinion, she provides the very best of Italy. Her recipes will please...and you will enjoy preparing them, if not be inspired. Best of luck! :)

http://www.lidiasitaly.com/

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I am a former chef and worked for CP Hotels back in the 1980's and did a short 9 month stint at "The Empress", now even then there were some very good traditional Italian restaurants, not Americanized, we here in canada like the home style traditional cuisine, now there should be alot more, check the entertainment section of the local newspapers, back then we go them and the Vancouver rags.

Pagliacci's was a good place, but it may have changed hands, classical and northern Italian place should abound now. Her is a list of the one the hotels "Where" magazine lists as recommended.

If they are really conservative a least once a day Pasta any style as an appetizer (primo piatto) is a must. Then followed by meat or fish and veggies and cheese/fruits for dessert. Guess with the meat you can treat them with your home-style cooking so they get to try something from both countries.

OK, let me get this straight. They're visiting Canada, and you want to give them Italian food, which they have every day in their country?????

Honestly, wouldn't it be nicer if they could have some local fare which is good quality? If I were in Italy, I certainly would not want American food for my meals. I'd be searching out the best, authentic Italian food I could feast upon.

I'm not trying to be unreasonable here, just trying to be logical.

Italian people like any kind of pasta being red sauce ,or alfredo sauce, oil & garlic

Breaded veal cutlet or bread veal cutlets with red sauce, sausages

Roast Beef

Baked Fish

Roast Chicken

Lamb

Spareribs

Barbeque steaks, hamburgers

Minestroni soup

All kinds of lettuce, lots of vegetables and especially bread on the table, extra virgin olive oil, red vinegar for their salads

Most Pastries and cookies

Espresso Coffee

Red or White Wine, any soft drinks

500 g (1,1 lb) fresh anchovies

1 bay leave

Pinch of oregano

Bunch of fresh parsley

2 garlic cloves

20 capers in vinegar

4 or 5 anchovy fillets in oil

2 lemons

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Time:

preparation: 30 minutes

cooking: 5 minutes

Difficulty:

easy recipe

Nutrition Facts (amount per serving):

Calories: 151 (kCal) - 631,78 (kJ)

Protein: 17.5 (g)

Total fat: 8.2 (g)

Total carbohydrate: 2.1 (g)

Sugars: 2.1 (g)

Remove the entrails from the anchovies and wash them under cold running water.

Put them in boiling water and cook for 2 minutes together with the bay leave and oregano. Drain the anchovies and let them cool.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Chop the parsley together with the garlic cloves, capers and anchovy fillets.

Dilute the chopped ingredients with the lemon juice and olive oil. Stir accurately.

At this point remove the head and bones from the anchovies and arrange the fillets on a deep serving plate. Spoon the green sauce over them.

Chill until serving.

Note

- Add no salt to the anchovies. Among the ingredients there are the capers and anchovy fillets in oil that are salted.

- It’s a tasty appetizer (serve them together with other fish food) or a second course. If you serve this dish as appetizer it serves more people.

What's the right wine?

Our suggestion is: Colli Albani (white wine from Lazio – Italy).

500 g (1,1 lb) white flour

45 g (1 1/2 oz) fresh yeast

50 g (1 3/4 oz) unsalted butter

Fat

2 tablespoons sugar

1 clove of garlic

Fresh rosemary

Olive oil

Salt

Time:

preparation: 30 minutes

plus rising time

cooking: 20 minutes

Difficulty:

medium difficulty recipe

Nutrition Facts (amount per serving):

Calories: n.c. (kCal) - n.c. (kJ)

Protein: n.c. (g)

Total fat: n.c. (g)

Total carbohydrate: n.c. (g)

Sugars: n.c. (g)

This is a delicious dish: serve it as appetizer or one-plate meal.

Prepare the dough. Incorporate these ingredients: white flour, crumbled yeast, 2 tablespoons salt, 2 tablespoons sugar and butter; pour in 250 ml (8 fl oz - 1C) warm water, slowly; knead the dough, shape into a ball on the lightly floured work surface, oil it and let it rise in a warm place (27° C - 80° F) for about 40 minutes.

Roll out the dough to a rectangular shape, about 3 mm (1/8in) thick and cut discs, 5 - 10 cm (2 - 4in) large.

In a frying pan melt fat with a couple of tablespoons of oil and fry dough discs on both sides over a gentle heat.

When "tigelle" are cooked, cut them into two halves and put in the middle a mixture made with fat, rosemary and garlic, finely chopped.

Serve very hot.

Note

- We don't modify this recipe; it's rich in fat but it's so tasty that you need taste it in this way.

- It's impossible to calculate nutrition facts because the doses of some ingredients can vary a lot.

Toast with garlic and smoked salmon - Traditional recipe

4 slices Italian loaf (200 g - 7 oz)

100 g (3 1/2 oz) smoked salmon, sliced

2 garlic cloves

2 fresh young onions

2 tablespoons dried chives

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Pepper, if desired

Time:

preparation: 10 minutes

cooking: few minutes

Difficulty:

easy recipe

Nutrition Facts (amount per serving):

Calories: 247 (kCal) - 1036 (kJ)

Protein: 9.0 (g)

Total fat: 1.1 (g)

Total carbohydrate: 30.2 (g)

Sugars: 8.8 (g)

Clean the cloves of garlic. Cut the slices of salmon into little strips. Clean and slice the onions.

Lightly toast both sides of the bread slices.

On one side of each slice, rub a cut clove of garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired. Arrange the salmon, chives and onions. Brush with the olive oil.

Serve warm.

Note

- "Bruschetta" (Italian toasts) is one of the best solutions for an afternoon snack or for beginning your meal, Italy-style. It can also be a dinner, especially when a great variety of them can be prepared.

- If you don't like garlic, you can substitute it with much more chives and onion.

Fried & marinated fish - Traditional recipe

400 g (14 oz) bleaks

1 stick of celery, sliced

2 fresh young onions, chopped

1 garlic clove

1 teaspoon dried sage

1 tablespoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon dried bay leaves

1 piece of cinnamon

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

700 ml (25 fl oz - 3 C) white vinegar

White flour

Oil for frying

Salt

Pepper, if you like

Time:

preparation: 30 minutes

plus marinating time

cooking: 30 minutes

Difficulty:

easy recipe

Nutrition Facts (amount per serving):

Calories: 71 (kCal) - 299 (kJ)

Protein: 8.0 (g)

Total fat: 3.7 (g)

Total carbohydrate: 1.6 (g)

Sugars: 1.6 (g)

This is a typical Italian starter. Begin frying the fish. Wash the fish and drain it very well; dip into the white flour and remove the excess of the flour using a sieve. Meanwhile put abundant oil for frying in a non-stick frying pan and switch on the gas; when the oil is hot, add the fish, little at a time, and brown it.

Moose steak!!! Seriously!