ambra

What is a jelly omelet dare I ask? I can't deal with the brown...the kind that doesn't cut through with a fork. I like mine the way Weinoo describes, in fact, I cook mine in a ceramic pan.....stays extremely blond that way.

I remember reading an article by a producer, I'll try to find it. (Was it Pamela Sheldon Johns?) But I think the normal temp it should be kept in is 15-18 degrees celsius.

I was told the same thing as Andrestorrubia. I was told: cool, dark, place. Stored in dark glass preferably. However, I've really questioned it. So I can't explain why (if it even is) it's better than way. We buy our olive oil in bulk at the time it is pressed and don't really buy again til the following year at the next pressing so it's never really been a problem for us. Yes, the flavor absolutely changes, as anything would, I guess. But it does not become in any way inedible.

My mother's noodle kugel recipe has butter cottage cheese and sour cream. It also has a fair amount of sugar. I think as Pam R says, the sour cream makes it better. Baking it til the bits get crunchy is also great. My father's Pasta con la Ricotta, has Ricotta, Sugar and Lemon Zest (as mentioned upthread) and is served lukewarm after having mixed the ingredients with the boiled pasta. (adding cooking liquid as necessary to loosen.) Both divine. And classics I wouldn't mess with personally. I've heard of the former containing raisins, but that's not really to my taste

Your boxes are amazing. I'm going ot have to send my son with snacks, I can totally pull from this thread for ideas!

JAZ and Flordia, you are very lucky to have great stuff available to you all the time. For me, I think the problem is less what looks good, as what looks bad or is unavailable. I can't tell you how many times I have decided to make a dish and I get to the supermarket and they don't have the cut I want, or the veggie looks old and inedible. Also, I get inspiration from walking through, much moreso than my recipe books. As in, "WOW! Look at those gorgeous XX! I think I'll make XX dish!" OF course I often go with specific dishes in mind or if I am having a party etc, I'll absolutely plan a meal and make a list. I am also fickle. I have no idea what I will be in the mood for three days from now. However, I keep my Fridge/freezer pretty full so that I am not running to the supermaret every 5 minutes.

I buy what looks good and fresh and um...what's on sale.

What kind of salt did you use? They use "sale grosso" here.

They do this on the cooking shows in Italy. (For steaks.) I've nevr tried it though. Were the steaks growing up good?

We use sauce inside our panzerotti. The trick is to use crushed tomatoes and to not put the sauce until right before you seal and throw in the oil. Be sure to close tight! I recently wrote out a family recipe if anyone is interested. There's a famous place in Milano that has like 50 different fillings. I think I have pics of mine. I am OBSESSED with filled dough. Luckily, they are where I live too. We get "Ciaccino" which looks like very, very thin focaccia filled with mozzarella and ham. Can also be found with other ingredients, but that's the most popular. There are rounder versions, that are rolled up with the ingredients that vary from city to city, place to place. Examples can be peperoni and provola and others with cicoria or other leafy green veggies and mozzarella, Broccoli Rabe and Sausage and all kinds of other fun things. Around Easter, my family makes a rolled bread with baccala onions and olives. And another with ham cheese and raisins. I think I might have a pic laying around if anyone is interested. In the fall, they make schiacciata with grapes and sprinklings of sugar which I dream about because they only do it in the Fall, really.

I'm going to have to agree with Scoop. When my mother in law went through the same surgery (and the rest) you mention, she didn't have an appetite. I think it's a combination of the anesthesia, the drugs, and the experience. Having said that, we kept her satisfied and happy with homemade "brodo" sometimes with tortellini and sometimes with pasta. After which she moved on to pasta with pretty normal sauces. I think soups are a great idea as well. If you are talking long term, my MIL was lucky enough to be able to follow a pretty normal diet during her therapy thereafter. But everyone is different. Good luck to your friend.

Left over spaghetti is best pan fried in olive oil or butter til the some of the bits get crunchy. Fantastic. For pizza, whether or not I eat the crust depends on how good or bad it is.

You fold a limp pizza to keep it straight. This is of course, if you are against eating pizza with a knife and fork- which you will see going on all over Italy when one is served a limp pizza.

Fantastic opening post. Thanks for that.

I would looooooooove my Aunt's "famous" Mud pie. It was coffee ice cream on top of hot fudge on top of crumbled chocolate cookie crumbs.....which she surbed with home whipped cream. Second Favorite birthday cake ever.

Very excited about this since I am a zucchini hater...

Do your really like eggs? Or is it me? I notice a lot of eggs in your cooking. (By the way, this is not a critique, I love eggs and your preparations always inspire me!)

But what kind of fish is it? Looking forward to the blog! Your food is always SO creative and veg heavy!

I don't know, but it looks really exciting!

I would probably cut it up and skewer cubes with vegggies like onion and peppers, cherry tomato and mushroom. I'd marinate it. And serve over rice.

P.S I used to work for a restaurant in NY that forced its staff to post fake good reviews. He even posted his own. They were so fake, it was a joke.I couldn't stand that guy.

While I usually opt for personal recommendations, I sometimes check out blogs I trust. The problem with that is, that I haven't really been following many blogs as of late, and if you're not following, how can you possibly know if you trust that person's opinion? Plus, if I am visiting a random city, they are harder to find. The good thing is, sometimes, you find long explanations and lots of pics. That's when they are best.... If I find something I like, I usually cross-reference as well. I had a pretty good experience in Rome recently this way. I was happier than I might have been had I taken my chances. I've never really been steered wrong by Egullet, thankfully, but I have to admit I do wish there was some updated Italy posts/reviews. We don't have much Italian traffic anymore here! I guess that's off topic though!

You should meet my rich uncle. For that matter, so should I. Love to meet the rich uncle! HAHA! RE: local, yes, "Made in Italy" is great, but made by, say, your neighbor, even better. heehee

Good point Chris! I live in Tuscany, Italy. I can technically do the "dolce vita" shopping if I wanted to you know, take out a second, and maybe even a third mortgage, as Chris A. pointed out, however, it's just not my reality. And frankly, my neighborhood supermarkets (esselunga, coop) have extremely high quality ingredients which I am sure my fellow Italian expats could attest to. (Or maybe it's just like that in tuscany?) They also do a really good job at providing shoppers with "kilometro zero" that is, local, produce. (Italy in general is very "aware" of where their food comes from.) Don't get me wrong, our tomatoes and our oranges come from Sicily, and our grapes from Puglia, Meat from Spain or France, but we get still get a lot of local stuff. I do however buy my bread at the bakery everyday and for special meals we'll treat ourselves by going out to the farm and buying meat straight from those that raised the animal. I also very often buy produce from the saturday morning weekly market, but I don't wait for it to do my weekly shopping if that makes any sense. But I'll walk through weekly to see what's special that week. for example, it was those long skinny green peppers that you fry in oil and serve on bread whose name is escaping me and peaches that you could smell a mile away this week. In any case, my nearest market is about a mile away. I should be able to do the daily thing. I just have a total block about it.

Anna, I didn't really believe her either. I feel like it would increase my spending. In fact, I worry about the impulse purchases as well!!!