Italian Cheeses Inspire Olive Garden's New Dishes

Olive Garden introduces new menu items of Four Cheese Tortellini & Shrimp and Smoked Mozzarella Chicken.

Orlando, Fla. (PRWEB) October 6, 2005 -- Olive Garden brings together the flavors of some of Italy’s most celebrated cheeses with the introduction of Four Cheese Tortellini & Shrimp and Smoked Mozzarella Chicken available on the menu from Oct. 17, 2005 through Jan. 1, 2006.

“These specialties were inspired by Olive Garden’s Culinary Institute and restaurant in Tuscany, Italy, and are a tribute to the time-honored craft of cheese-making and the passion Italians have for cheese,” said Terry Stanley, senior vice president of culinary and beverage for Olive Garden.

Olive Garden’s Smoked Mozzarella Chicken is a savory dish of sautéed chicken breasts topped with smoked mozzarella cheese, coupled with penne pasta that has been tossed with sweet roasted red peppers and a signature cheese sauce of provolone, mozzarella, gouda and Parmesan, one of the 24 sauces made from fresh ingredients every day at Olive Garden. The light, smoky flavor calls for a rich and robust Italian wine, such as Gabbiano Chianti, a new addition to Olive Garden’s wine list.

A showcase of Italian cheeses, Olive Garden’s Four Cheese Tortellini & Shrimp features large sautéed shrimp and multi-colored tortellini filled with ricotta, Romano, Parmesan and fontina tossed in Olive Garden’s signature cheese sauce. This dish is best paired with a crisp and refreshing white wine, such as Bertani Due Uve, a blend of Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.

Every year, 100 Olive Garden restaurant managers travel to Italy to the company’s Culinary Institute of Tuscany to learn more about Italian food, wine and hospitality. Here, an integral part of the weeklong study is dedicated to learning about and tasting the local specialties of regions throughout Italy, including cheeses.

Olive Garden’s Culinary Institute of Tuscany and fine Italian cheeses also serve as the inspiration for dishes on Olive Garden’s year-round menu:

* Smoked Mozzarella Fonduta: a blend of oven-baked smoked mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan and Romano cheeses served with fresh Tuscan bread

* Stuffed Chicken Marsala: seven Italian cheeses are hand-stuffed inside an oven-roasted chicken breast, which is then topped with mushrooms and a creamy Marsala sauce

* Steak Gorgonzola-Alfredo: succulent grilled beef medallions lightly drizzled with balsamic glaze, served over fettuccine and spinach in a rich Gorgonzola-Alfredo sauce

Olive Garden is the leading restaurant in the Italian dining segment with 566 restaurants, 70,000 employees and more than $2 billion in annual sales. Olive Garden is a division of Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE:DRI), the world’s largest casual dining company. For more information, visit Olive Garden’s Web site at www.olivegarden.com.

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