Antipasto (plural: antipasti) is the traditional first course of a formal Italian meal. Usually made of bite-size small portions and presented on a platter from which everyone serves themselves, the purpose of antipasti is to stimulate the appetite. Typical ingredients of a traditional antipasto includes cured meats, olives, peperoncini, mushrooms, anchovies, artichoke hearts, various cheeses (such as provolone or mozzarella), pickled meats, and vegetables in oil or vinegar. read more…
Tapas are appetisers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. They can be combined to make a full meal and are served cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as chopitos, which are battered, fried baby squid; or patatas bravas, spicy potatoes). In some bars and restaurants in Spain and across the globe, tapas have evolved into a sophisticated cuisine. In some Central American countries, such snacks are known as bocas. In parts of Mexico, similar dishes are called botanas. An individual appetizer (or single order of an item) is a tapa. read more…
Fondues are a group of distinct dishes that can be either savoury or sweet. Cheese fondue, originating in Switzerland, is the original fondue, hence the French term fondue for “melted”. Since the 1950s, however, the term fondue has been generalized to a number of other dishes in which a food is dipped or cooked into a communal pot kept hot. Fondue eaten as a communal meal is referred to as a fondue party. read more…
A Yule log or bûche de Noël is a traditional Christmas cake, often served as a dessert, especially in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Lebanon, Switzerland, Vietnam, and Quebec, Canada. Variants are also served in the United States, United Kingdom, Cambodia, Scandinavia, Portugal, Spain, and Japan. Made of sponge cake, to resemble a miniature actual Yule log, it is a form of sweet roulade. read more…
Tom kha kai, tom kha gai, or Thai coconut soup (lit. ‘chicken galangal soup’) is a spicy and sour hot soup with coconut milk in Thai cuisine. Tom kha is a Thai soup that originated around 1890 and was first recorded in a Thai recipe book. The earliest recorded version of the soup was called Tom kha pet, and it featured duck and young galangal in a coconut milk-based curry. read more…
