Rachael

Pizza in Italy is very different from the way Americans think about pizza. Pizza is very thin (similar to Mexican tortillas), which makes it difficult to eat by hand. Therefore, it is advisable to eat pizza with a fork and knife.

Cheese plays an important role in Italian cuisine. It enhances the flavor of many dishes, makes creamy sauces for pasta, and combines perfectly with the other ingredients in lasagna. Some commonly used cheeses are: Parmigiano Reggiano,Grana Padano, Gorgonzola, Fontina, "Quattro Formaggi",Hard (or dry) Ricotta, Fresh goat-milk Ricotta,Pecorino Romano, Sardo, Toscano

Food fact: Fettuccine Alfredo does not traditionally exist in Italy.

Ippolito Nievo wrote about Bologna, "In Bologna they eat in one year what it takes them two years to eat in Venice, three years in Rome, at least five years in Turin and twenty in Genoa.” The traditional dishes of Bologna are tagliatelle, tortellini and lasagna. Plus, there are the sausages and delicatessen meats: first and foremost mortadella, known in many other Italian cities and the United States as simply bologna. The most famous second-course dishes are the mixed fried items, cutlets, mixed boiled meats and mixed roasted meats. Then some desserts are pan speziel, a rice pudding, and the torta secca (a base of short pastry covered with fine tagliatelline). And everything is washed down by a good Lambrusco wine.

A piece of advice: never make the mistake of ordering tortellini in meat sauce. The restaurant owner may snap at you with impatience that tortellini are only eaten in brodo (in meat stock) or with cream, because that’s the traditional way, the way it’s always been done.