Learn to Cook Ethnic Food at a Cooking School

One of the most exciting things you can learn at a cooking school is how to cook ethnic food. Ethnic food is a delicious treat, a break from the usual fare, and most people have at least one or two favorite ethnic cuisines. Unfortunately, ethnic restaurants can be expensive, especially if you would like to enjoy your favorite ethnic food more frequently.

The solution is, of course, to learn how to make your own ethnic food. Buying an ethnic cookbook and diving right in is overwhelming for most people, however: Cookbooks do not always do a very good job of explaining how to prepare a dish, as well as what goes into it. A better approach is to take classes at a cooking school. You will learn to not only prepare your favorite ethnic food, but also all of the little tricks of the trade that will make it look and taste more authentic.

Here is a sampling of ethnic foods that you can learn to make at your local cooking school:

Italian Cuisine
Italian food is an American favorite; almost every home you walk into will show its influence. Hardly any American pantry is without at least one box of pasta, and pizza and spaghetti are the favorite dinners of many picky children. There is a lot more to Italian food than pepperoni pizza and spaghetti, however. Your local cooking school can teach you how to make a variety of Italian pasta dishes, delicious sauces, and unique types of pizza.

Asian Cuisine
Not very long ago, Chinese restaurants were the only type of Asian food you could commonly find in America. In recent years, however, Asian cuisine has become more popular; Asian restaurants now offer sushi and other Japanese fare, Thai cuisine, and Vietnamese food, as well as the traditional Chinese. With popularity, though, has come an increased price. Fortunately, Asian food is not difficult to make, and can be learned by taking classes at a good cooking school.

Mexican Cuisine
Mexican food has also become popular in America, and the number of Mexican restaurants is increasing exponentially. Like Asian food, though, it is important to remember that these dishes are things that some people make in their own home on a daily basis. Cooking classes can teach you the techniques you need in order to make authentic tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and other traditional Mexican dishes.

Cajun Cuisine
Cajun food is like virtually no other ethnic cuisine. A traditional Louisiana cuisine, Cajun blends a variety of interesting tastes and savory spices, creating unique dishes such as gumbo and delicious desserts such as bananas foster. Surprise your family and delight your guests by learning to make this distinctive ethnic food at home!

Mediterranean Cuisine
Mediterranean cuisine includes food from Italy, Greece, and the Middle East. The special combination of tastes makes these dishes unique, but they are surprisingly easy to make at home. To learn how, sign up for classes at a high quality cooking school.

Indian Cuisine
Indian food has been gaining in popularity in recent years. Unique blends of spices make Indian cuisine aromatic and flavorful. There are several different regional varieties of Indian cuisine, including Madras (South Indian) style, North Indian style, and Tappas (Street Food) style. Classes at a cooking school will teach you how to find and combine the ingredients to create these distinctive dishes.

These are just a few of the exciting types of cuisine a cooking school can teach you to prepare. Ethnic food makes an exciting change from the typical fare, but it can also be fun to learn how to prepare these unique dishes. Whether you want to improve your marketability as a career chef or just learn to cook something new for yourself and your family, a cooking school can introduce you to many interesting ethnic cuisines.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/


About the Author

Andy West is a freelance writer for The Culinary Institute of Virginia College. Culinard offers two outstanding culinary programs. For information on Alabama cooking schools, please visit http://www.culinard.com .

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Same Italian Recipe Pasta For 15 Years

'Everyone is selling Italian food, even in food courts, and everyone is confused as to what a good one really is these days. Every chef we hire, I tell them to do pasta our way or it's no way.'

WHEN my younger colleague Thomas dug into the $30 lobster tagliolini here, 'wah, worth it lah!' was his immediate response.

This, from a Gen-X man who grew up on a diet of $9.90 fast food pastas made with freeze-packed sauces.

Then he wolfed down the Ossobuco in Cremolata (mee pok with veal shank in white wine and herbed tomato sauce) in blissful silence.

He also had a distinct smile when he bit into the fresh bread smeared with the dangerously smooth sliver of marrow, carefully dug out of the shank, softly trampled with droplets of the wine and tomato sauce.

All in an old Italian restaurant, in the very volatile pasta business, which nearly closed twice in its 15-year history since the early '90s.

'It is very hard to run a successful restaurant business here if you don't put your knee and elbow grease into the operations,' said owner Rolando Luceri.

He wound down from the glamorous world of hotel management and operations and took over from the previous owner of Pasta Brava, who had contemplated winding up because he was 'just not into the business as it was a venture his father paid to get him into'.

So Mr Luceri revamped the operations at the age of 52.

Fifteen years on, this is still one of the better dedicated pasta joints around.

The secret to their staying power - a stubborn determination to maintain consistency despite changing demographics with fickle expectations.

Mr Luceri said: 'We still hand-make our own pastas and have the dried and fresh range. It is not practical to maintain the snooty appeal of Italian restaurants anymore.

That position he took did well for him and on any given day, the ShentonWay regulars make up 70 per cent of the business.

He also feels hiring locals with a hunger to learn is better than a wannabe egomaniac Italian chef.

And it helps that he pays them 'a bit more than the others'.

His restaurant, in a pre-war shophouse with a woody decor that has hardly changed over the years, has hints of Peranakan heritage.

An old shelf and an ornate partition screen, which is more at home in a Peranakan house, sit proudly amid touches of Italian arts and crafts.

Their menu, which is also a misfit, looks like a tabloid newspaper which lists full Italian offerings from antipastis, two main dish sections to risotto.

To be in the Italian restaurant business specialising in pasta for over a decade and a half takes more than grit and toil.

Many good Italian eateries have come and gone, like Gaetano's.

Every other little cafe just around the back alley or in a cosy corner of many retail malls is serving an $8.80 version of it.

Some hawkers will tout it for $5.50.

It helps that Mr Luceri has that 'hawker' appeal - some popular pasta dishes are still done in the same way since day one and regulars, by default, return for the same dish expecting the same experience every time.

Each time I visit, without fail, their seafood pastas and linguine are the same ol', same ol'.

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

Mark Cooper hold master degree in Mass Communication and creative writing. He writes articles for www.italianfood-recipes.com and his new article is www.italianfood-recipes.com/same-italian-pasta-for-15-years.htm

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Restaurants - Italian Food

Eating Italian food is almost like romancing a woman. Italian food is more than just a meal, it's an experience. That's why when you go into an Italian restaurant, there is just nothing like it. The atmosphere is like no other place on the planet, from the music being piped in from old Italy, to the paintings on the walls. A good Italian restaurant feels like you've walked into 17th century Italy.

The trouble is, these days, it's very hard to find a good Italian restaurant. With everything being fast food today, most of your Italian places are either pizzerias, Pizza Huts, or fast food chains like Sbarros. Finding a classic Italian restaurant in the states, like they used to have back in the 60s and 70s is like looking for the missing link. But when you do find one, this is what you can expect to get there.

For starters, a good Italian restaurant will have a wine list of just about every Italian wine you could possibly want. The list reads like a who's who of Italian wineries. Don't even think of asking the waiter for a mixed drink as he's likely to deck you. Oh and by the way, the waiters are all Italians.

The appetizers are absolutely to die for. You've got your usual fair which includes fried zucchini, roasted garlic, stuffed portabello, mushrooms stuffed with crab meat and fried provolone, just to name a few. The appetizers alone are enough to fill you up so you won't even need the main course.

And the salads. Italian restaurant salads can be a meal in themselves. You don't just get a dish with a little lettuce and some carrots. You get a salad the size of Manhattan Island. And don't ask for any kind of dressing other than Italian or oil and vinegar. Yeah, the waiter will deck you for that too.

As for the main dishes, just about every Italian main dish has something to do with pasta, whether it be spaghetti, linguini, ziti or whatever. Most of the dish, as it is with Chinese food, is made up of the pasta. However, you do get quite a bit of meat with your meal too. Italians love to eat and they love to feed you. Without a doubt there is no type of restaurant that gives you more food than an Italian restaurant. It would take three Chinese restaurant meals to make up one Italian restaurant meal. Some of the more famous Italian dishes are chicken catchatori, veil parmesan and spaghetti and meatballs. However, there are literally over 100 Italian dishes you could choose from in a good Italian restaurant.

Italian desserts are probably the most unusual, at least to Americans. They include things with names like spumoni and tortoni. If you don't know what they are, find yourself a good Italian restaurant and experience them. I promise you that it will be an evening out that you will never forget.

Just don't forget to tip your waiter. Yeah, he'll deck you if you don't.

Michael Russell - EzineArticles Expert Author

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