"Italian" Food

ITALIAN FOOD!

Okay so not really Italian food...in fact Italians would probably cringe (I know because I work for real Italians and one is a really good chef! LOL) but still...LOL

I love Olive Garden and always have. Sure its a chain restaurant, sure a real Italian or anyone who knows real Italian food could probably argue its authenticity but to me, who is neither Italian nor a food professional, thinks its delicious.

Last Friday night I treated myself to take out from Olive Garden for a quiet movie/dinner night at home. As I sat eatting my favorite Zuppa Toscana soup I realized that somewhere someone must have figured out the recipe for this soup and since I'm trying to become Chef Amanda Extraoridinaire I thought it would be a ton of fun to try to make the soup myself. I Googled it and found a recipe that claimed to be based on Olive Garden's own. Having no idea if it actually would turn out anything like the original I love, I took my list to the store on Saturday and bought all the necessary ingredients. That night I cooked the soup and to my delight it came out PERFECT! It looked and tasted exactly like the soup I get from the restaurant! This is a big deal in the world of inexperienced Chef Amanda!!!
I had also found a recipe for Olive Garden's alfredo sauce that I tried making on Sunday. I ended up altering the recipe once I had the basic down so that it became a spinach mushroom and bacon alfredo sauce which I served (to myself haha) over spinach and cheese ravioli. It was also soooo delicious! YAY ME!

So its not real authentic Italian cuisine...but its one giant step forward from Chef Boyardee! Hahahaha So I'm quite pleased :)