Seafood Dinner Party
Treat your guests to an Italian seaside rendezvous in your own home.  From the authentic cullinary style of the Italian coastlines, discover the recipes, entertaining tips and decor to set a mood, menu and atmosphere that's unforgettable!

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As all chefs will tell you, herbs are the hallmark of flavorful cooking. Every culture around the world adapts these savory ingredients to help define the distinctive flavors of its cuisine. And in Italy, where fennel, rosemary and sage grow wild, herbs are used to an especially delicious effect.

From Farfalle to Fettuccine, Lasagne to Linguine, Rigatoni to Rotini, the seemingly endless range of pasta varieties creates a delicious quandary: which kind to enjoy tonight? Part of the joy of cookinig with this versatile staple is discovering the scores of shapes and thousands of preparation possibilities from all over Italy.

One of the surefire signs that summer has arrived in Italy is the sight of families and friends savoring delicious meals together al fresco in the warm Mediterranean sun. Whether it’s in the bustling piazzas and cafes of the city or in the tranquil vineyards and valleys of the countryside, Italians everywhere take advantage of the season’s slower pace by lingering over lunch or dinner in the open air.

The story of the olive harvest – the olive’s journey from tree to your table – is a delicious tale of talent, experience, luck, persistence, speed, and most of all, a dedication to flavor. Hundreds of varieties of olives are grown and made into olive oil in Mediterranean countries of which Italian olive oil certainly ranks among the best.

As the autumn nights lengthen, the air grows brisk, and the warmth of home seems all the more inviting, there’s no better time to celebrate the chestnut than by spending a delightful evening fire-roasting them with friends and savoring a chestnut-based dinner – it’s a surefire way to warm up the season! Most Americans’ knowledge of chestnuts is limited to the famous opening words of “The Christmas Song” – “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…”

If any single food inspires passion, mystery, and sheer gastronomic pleasure, it is the truffle. Adored by chefs and gourmands the world over, the truffle is not actually a mushroom, but a fungus that grows underground, mostly within the root systems of oak, poplar and willow trees as well as hazelnut bushes.

As integral to Italian gastronomy as pasta, yet as precious and difficult to produce as fine wine, aceto balsamico (balsamic vinegar) has stirred the appetites – and cured the ailments – of aristocrats, peasants and everyone in between for centuries. A gift of time, tradition and nature, its incomparable flavor brings hundreds of years of artisanship to the table, transforming even the simplest dish into a masterwork.

There is perhaps no more delightful season than spring in Italy, as the land thaws and the gentle warmth of the Mediterranean sun coaxes the first green shoots from the earth. And nothing heralds spring more than the arrival of the year’s first fresh vegetables in the country’s many farmers markets – a centuries-old tradition that is finding new life here at home, too.