Grate Cheese, Great Fun

I love my hobby especially when it comes to food blogging: ah the life, the parties, the trips!

Yes, I go on vacation just to eat the food. The passion of watching someone talk about what they love is what it's all about. I met other passionate people today for the Foodbuzz Tastemaker's event held at Carrabba's on 700 N. Dale Mabry in Tampa. Italian cooking is one of the most pleasurable types of cooking in my humble opinion.

Introductions were made and I had the pleasure of meeting the team that makes this establishment hotter than a brick oven. Drinks were brought around and then it was on to the cooking demonstrations.

Pretty soon it was all about the pasta...

They share the same beliefs I do, which is why I love Italian cooking. When done right, the pasta fuses the sea salt perfectly to the grain so you taste the subtle differences of each kind. Pasta is matched in sauce with an appropriate thickness and flavor.

A noodle such as rigatoni deserves a more complex sauce. The tubular shape and ridges can trap a thick and meaty sauce. It deserves a heartier red with more complex seasonings.

One thing I didn't know is that old world pasta uses bronze tubes for creating pasta. This imparts a more dense texture, as opposed to the modern Teflon tube created pasta.

Did Joel just say this pasta has teflon on it? Apparently the brand they use (Garafalo) is the only kind Joel recommends eating. This explains why pasta goes down so smoothly? Too easy.

Who am I kidding, you had me at basil. My taste-buds got the best of me and I threw caution to the wind as I twirled a fork to sample Jay's creation. One of the things that make Italian food fun is the few ingredients it takes to deliver outstanding flavor.

Is there any better topping for pasta then a reggiano or pecorino cheese. One little known fact about me: I order the wine just to eat the cheese. Sometimes I dream about cheese - that's what a cheese nut I am. When I wake up in the morning I will have cheese on my morning toast/bread.

I have been known to surf the internet for Provel which can be bought in St Louis. It's a sweet mild soft cheese and worth every bit of the trouble. But I digress.

Apparently, When chopping garlic make sure you find the largest knife possible, just keep your fingers away from the sharp blade and be completely sober.

This is part one; more to come.