Cooking Rice with an Italian Accent!

Description

It seems safe to say that most Americans whose roots are not in Italy consider pasta the foundation of Italian cuisine (with the possible exception of those who don't see beyond pizza). There's justification in that, of course: In Italy pasta is indeed ever present, in hundreds of forms, served alone and in combination with just about any edible meat, plant, or seafood one can think of, and with an endless variety of sauces, even one named for she who practices the oldest profession. But wait till you see the great dishes that Father Orsini has brought you from the farms and cooks of northern Italy, wonderful dishes based on-rice!No matter what you think, rice was not brought to Italy by Marco Polo. The techniques of rice farming (and presumably some seeds or cuttings) came to Italy in the ninth century with the Arab invasion of Sicily. Rice farming prospered against great odds, thanks to the determination and hard work of Sicilian farmers and the money of the Sicilian...