Italian Cooking Terms Trivia Quiz

Answer: Al dente

"Al dente" actually means "to the tooth" or "on the tooth" in Italian.

Answer: Frittata

A frittata is basically an Italian omelette - it's just flat! It's so easy with no fancy flipping and worrying about keeping the omelette fluffy.

Answer: Bocconcini

Bocconcini means "little (or small) mouthfuls". It's packaged in whey or water or sometimes brine. Bocconcini originated in Naples, where my grandparents were born! (Naples is also the home of the pizza.)

Bocconcini are very mild and soft and are excellent sliced onto a plate with ripe sliced tomatoes, some fresh basil scattered over it and then drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

Answer: Lasagne

Yes, lasagne! Please don't use cottage cheese - use ricotta, it's the proper cheese to use and it's truly delicious. Hint: A really easy way to get those pesky cheeses, meat and sauce to layer is to mix them all together and then layer them between the lasagna pasta sheets. Oh, and grate your parmesan or reggiano yourself.

It makes all the difference in the outcome of your Italian dishes.

Answer: Pesto

Pesto is a rich, green 'sauce' that is really special on pasta. Use only the very best ingredients!

Answer: Dumplings

Gnocchi is basically a northern Italian dish, made of potato flour or cornmeal and flour dough. They are rolled into various shapes (but most often into balls) and variously served with a tomato or pesto sauce and sometimes with melted butter. The origin of gnocchi goes back to ancient Roman times.

Answer: True

Antipasto is an appetizer made up mostly of olives, sausages, cold meats, peppers, pickled cauliflower, artichoke hearts and sometimes cheeses. "Antipasto" means "before the meal".

Answer: A fortified wine

Marsala is named after a town and associated region of Sicily and is a sweet, dark, fortified wine, much like Port. It is used in dishes such as Veal Marsala or Chicken Marsala.

Answer: Garlic mayonnaise

Aioli is made basically with crushed garlic, egg yolk and extra-virgin olive oil. Some say it is a French dish, but my grandmother (born in 1896) never met a French person in her life and she made this for me when I was a tot and served it with artichokes.

Many Italians claim it as Italian. So French or Italian, whatever it is, it's delicious and the Italians have taken aioli to the heights of flavor.

Answer: Cheese

Mozzarella is a fragrant, mild cheese originally made from water buffalo milk but now made from cow's milk. Parmigiano is also known as Parmesan. It is a hard cheese, aged for at least two years and is one of the world's best known cheeses. Ricotta is a firm but moist, unripened cheese, pure white in color.

It's most well-known use is in lasagna. Gorgonzola is a blue cheese and can be mild or sharp. Great in salads! Provolone is an all-purpose cheese that can be aged only two months for mild, or longer for a spicy, stronger flavor.

It's great on sandwiches!