Whether it is thin crust, thick crust, stuffed, rolled, topped with a dozen ingredients or served simply with tomato and cheese, there are few people who do not appreciate good pizza, myself included. Pizza, or flatbreads have actually been around for centuries, but today’s style of pizza can be traced back to the 18th century when vendors roamed the streets of Naples selling pieces of garnished flatbread to the poor. Although it is commonly believed that Italians invented the pizza, it's origins can actually be traced back to ancient times. The Israelites, Egyptians, and other Middle Eastern cultures ate flat bread cooked in mud ovens similar to today's pita bread, and later the Romans and Greeks began topping this flatbread with olive oil and native spices. Once the Italians accepted the use of cooking with tomatoes, the Italians perfected the pizza, and it evolved into what we call pizza today. Italians take their pizza so seriously in fact, that as they did for wine, they have established a controlling body (a Denominazione di Origine Controllata or DOC) for pizza: the Associazone Vera Pizza Napoletana. This agency produced a document called the Progetto di Norma which stipulates exact ingredients and methods required by Associazone members worldwide to produce "verace pizza napoletana."

When cooking pasta, there a few guidelines you should follow each time you plan and prepare your meal to ensure the best results possible. Generally, you should first match the sauce to the pasta size and shape, although that is personal preference. For instance, I would choose a short, thicker pasta such as rigatoni, or a long pasta such as spaghetti or ziti for a heavy ragu` sauce, while a delicate creamy tomato sauce with baby shrimp would be ideal on angel hair pasta, or small shells. There are now many brands of dried pasta available, some good and others not so good, so I always choose a brand from Italy such as Barilla or de Cecco which are now widely available across North America. As for portion control, a general rule to remember is that you should use about 100 grams of dried pasta per person, 80 grams of fresh.