Amelia's Seafood & Italian Restaurant

How to Make Pasta Dough

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:21:51 -0400

Making your own pasta dough is a simpler process than you might think!

Making pasta by hand isn’t hard. And if you have an electric mixer, it’s even simpler. The first and most important decision to make when beginning to make pasta dough is what type of grain you will use.

1. To make this pasta dough, we used semolina flour, eggs, salt, and water.

Fresh Semolina and Egg Pasta

2. If you’re using an electric mixer, add the flour to the mixer’s bowl.

To make the dough by hand, mound the flour on a flat, non-porous surface—either your countertop or table.

3. Begin to mix the flour and eggs together with the mixture set to a low to medium speed. Use your mixer’s dough hook.

Make a well in the pile of flour with a spoon, your hand, or a large ladle and pour the eggs into the well. Use a fork to slowly mix the eggs into the flour.

We recommend adding salt to pasta dough. Without it, the pasta will taste flat.

4. Knead the dough until it is smooth-textured, very firm, and dry. If the dough is even a little too wet, it will be sticky, which will cause problems when you run it through the pasta machine or roll it out. The dough should be able to stick to itself, but to nothing else.

5. If the dough still feels sticky, knead it by hand, adding semolina to the dough as you knead. Dust your work surface with semolina and place the mixed dough on the dusted surface. Sprinkle some more semolina over the top of the dough and knead the dough until it is smooth and very firm.

6. When you can set the dough on a clean countertop without sticking, the dough is ready to be shaped. Depending on the grind of your semolina, the dough might not be as smooth as it would be with a finer flour-based dough.

7. Portion the dough into the amounts you will need to make sheets of pasta. If you’re a beginner, keep the balls of dough relatively small for easier handling—about tennis ball-sized. As you become more comfortable with the dough, you can shape larger pieces of pasta.

8. Tightly wrap the pasta dough in plastic and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour to give the gluten a chance to relax. This makes it easier to work with and will keep the dough from shrinking and snapping back as you stretch it. When you’re ready to cut the dough, see Making Noodles orMaking Ravioli.

We have illustrated how to make a very basic pasta dough, suitable for all types of pasta sauces. If you’d like to get creative, try adding spinach, basil, or other flavorings.

5 things you should know… about Italian food 5 things...

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 16:09:17 -0400

5 things you should know…

about Italian food

5 things you should know foodwise.
When confronted with Italian culture, many people rely on stereotypes.
This is an attempt to destroy them.

1- Italians do not put meatballs on spaghetti: an average Italian meal is divided in two parts, primo piatto and secondo piatto; the primi include all the different pastas and risotti whereas the secondi category includes any meat and fish meals, complemented by a contorno, aside dish of vegetables.
So, spaghetti would be a primo and meatballs a secondo…two different dishes!

2- Alfredo sauce is an American thing: look for Alfredo sauce in any Italian grocery store and you would find none! It seems to me that it is more like a 4-cheese sauce, which you might very well find in Italy, but The Alfredo sauce sponsored by any Italian restaurants in America is not part of the Italian culinary tradition, sorry.

3-Italian wedding soup is not a traditional soup served at weddings.
Even if I am not sure about the true origins of this dish (Wikipedia takes it back to the Spanish tradition), I am very sure about the fact that I have never in my life encountered an “Italian wedding soup” until I came to the States.
Forget ordering this soup in Italy.

4- Starbucks, sadly, does not exist in Italy. Despite the fact that it is present in many other European countries, Italy’s espresso tradition survives over any coffeeshop chain.

5- La dieta mediterranea is the traditional dietary tradition of the countries in the Mediterranean area. Not only it is rich in bread, pasta, potatoes etc., but it is also poor in red meat. Although Mc Donald’s, Burger king and Wendy’s already conquered the Italian soil, cheeseburgers%u2026not very popular in Italy.

Get to know the history of Balboa Island (home to Amelia's)

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 11:21:59 -0400

Get to know the history of Balboa Island (home to Amelia's)

A great way to enjoy your meal with friends and family!

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:37:38 -0400

A great way to enjoy your meal with friends and family!

Quick and fun Italian food Trivia!

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:34:14 -0400

Quick and fun Italian food Trivia!

“The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days...

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 16:58:31 -0400

“The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you’re hungry again.”
-George Miller

With its romantic European bistro decor, Amelia’s is a popular dinning spot for both lunch and...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 09:48:13 -0400

With its romantic European bistro decor, Amelia’s is a popular dinning spot for both lunch and dinner. Signature dishes at Amelia’s include a Black Angus filet mignon and scampi combination, a fresh seafood sampler with three different fresh fish (such as salmon, swordfish, an halibut served with linguini and clams), scampi Caesar salad, linguini with fresh bay scallops and baby calamari in marinara sauce, Bouillabaisse all’ Amelia, and Amelia’s own Cioppino. A well-chosen wine list is also available and features a variety of imported and domestic wines.

Amelia’s has a reputation as a romantic dining destination, but it’s also a fun family...

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 19:01:00 -0400

Amelia’s has a reputation as a romantic dining destination, but it’s also a fun family restaurant where all ages are welcome, particularly at Amelia’s special Sunday brunch.

For 50 years, Amelia’s Restaurant has offered a distinct menu of delectable Italian and...

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 18:50:49 -0400

For 50 years, Amelia’s Restaurant has offered a distinct menu of delectable Italian and seafood dishes, many of which are original recipes form the kitchen of Amelia Seton, a native of Italy and the founder of the restaurant.

Shrimp Scampi Appetizer

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 18:49:48 -0400

Shrimp Scampi Appetizer

WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER WHEN YOU ARE IN A BAD MOOD?

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 18:41:26 -0400

Seafood and Italian Food