ambra

I am an American Expat living in a small town in Tuscany on an extended stay in London and in search of GREAT MEALS. We eat very well in Tuscany, but sadly, only Tuscan. And because of that, I've arrived on GB's shores with a great desire to eat a variety of cuisines and ingredients I can't much find where I live. Sadly, I can't hit any of the big tables with a toddler- a quite rambunctious one at that. So I am looking for some great food in great restaurants where toddlers would be welcome as well as some cheap eats as we've got a lot of meals ahead of us to fill up. We are staying in Chelsea, so some neighbourhood places would be great but we are obviously willing to travel for good eats. I was wondering specifically, if Tom's Kitchen was worth it, if any of Ramsey's mid level restaurants were good- like Maze and Foxtrot were worth a trip. Also looking for Gastropubs, places for Fish and anything just plain delicious. Just looking for memorable food that isn't Italian!! (Although am looking for a good pizzeria as the husband can't live without it for too long!!) I have had some decent Dimsum in Mayfair and I've had some excellent Japanese on Fulham, some ok Mexican in Covent Garden. But other than that, I seem to have been going to all the wrong places. I do have to admit though, that I've found most if not all (that I have been to at least) of London's restaurants to be exceptionally and refreshingly child friendly. (Yeah!) Any and all advice would be so very appreciated. Thank you!

I believe that certain dishes DO actually call for one cheese over another. Authentic or not. Like Amatriciana. Alot of people use Parmigiano in places of Pecorino because Pecorino is too strong. And I personally, and this is only my opinion, believe that therein lies your answer. If you like a stronger, sharper, sheep's milk flavour, you go with Pecorino. If you like a buttery, nutty, cow's milk cheese, go with Parmigiano. People mix to try to mellow out the pecorino, but not to lose it completely. Why don't you just do a taste test and see what your taste buds prefer. Make the same dish with each of the cheeses and see what you like better. I hate pecorino. (And hate Amatriciana, by the way, heehee.) However, it has it's place in my cooking. Like meatballs and Seppie Ripiene.

Burn cream. I don't know what the brand was or what it was, but the best stuff I've ever used for a burn came out of a commercial kitchen.... I cross over a lot of stuff, but I use plastic gloves alot now. It's easier when you're working with chicken or fish or whatever and you need to grab your toddler from doing something he shouldn't be doing. Ripping gloves off is faster than washing hands~

I usually grill them like steaks with lemon rosemary salt and a couple of other spices. They are delicious. I remember there's a Mario Batali Recipe where he stuffs them, rolls and ties them and either sauteeds them or bakes them. I remember it sounded delicious. I think it's in the Molto Mario book. But ideas for stuffing are endless...

What about Arthur Ave? I used to like Dominick's a lot, but I haven't been in ages. Or Don Pepe's in Queens?

I'm partial to Fritelle di Riso which you get in Tuscany.

Oh, the pancakes. yes zucchini cakes, potato cakes, even meatballs! For a while, my son wouldn't even eat meat unless it was a meatball!! Shalmanese, I used to think my son would be the biggest eater in town! He was born hungry and he stayed that way until it was time to start introducing solids. He broke records! Seriously!! It turned out he just really liked his milk! He's 16 months now, and still throws himself a little party when we whip out the milk. The important thing is not to rush your baby (unless you have some medical reason,) especially if the baby is breastfed. He or she will let you know when he is ready. And look into baby led weaning. It's a really good thing. I did a modified version of that. My son wouldn't touch a solid at 6 months no matter what I did or what I tried. At 8 months, he was more open. At the same time, my very good friend's son started solids a month ago (he was 5.5 months) and her son CAN'T GET ENOUGH even asks for it!!

I made/make all my own baby food. My son wouldn't have it any other way. I used a book my Annabel Karmel for some ideas, but really, I tried to cook things that WE eat. In other words, if I were making cauliflower for us, I would make some for my son. I just figured that transitioning to our food would be easier.But that is probably conjecture! Luckily, we eat a very well rounded diet with regards to vegetables and fruits. My son's favorites are overcooked broccoli, olive oil, garlic and tiny pasta....Same recipe with cauliflower, also spinach and ricotta with pasta, and minestrone. He also likes peas and rice alot. Minestrone is our absolute 'go to' for him. The base is always onions celery, carrot, green leaf vegetable such as chard, zucchini, and beans or peas. From there I add whatever is fresh and beautiful: broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, literally what ever I can find. I've even added brussel sprouts in the past. I puree it and serve it with parmigiano and a little raw olive oil. (Keep in mind that I live in Italy where food introduction is quite different.) My son STILL eats that dish more than any other. Granted, you're going to need to introduce these veggies one by one before you start mixing them, but it's a good way to hide nutritionally valuable veggies. Leeks are pretty good for flavour. My son also loved sweet potato, regular potato, peas, spinach, zucchini, carrots, apples, pears, apricots, bananas, fish, garlic, onion and I can't think of anything else... Lilija is right about sugar and salt. Actually, salt is a BIG NO-NO before 12 months as it could be harmful to the kidneys. (I am not a doc, but this is what Iwas told by mine.) The website wholesomebabyfood.com was a great resource for me. Good Luck!

You could go Italian style! Lasagne and Fresh Ham or even better, Lamb with Roasted Potatoes and Peas Or What about scalloped potatoes or some kind of Gratin...

Two nations divided by a common language. I just read that link and I think the idea that graham crackers are comparable to Digestives is out there. They're not similar in the least in flavour or consistency, but that's just my opinion... Personally, I'm partial to Hobnobs!

Darienne, LOLOL!!! It very well could be!!

I am making lasagne for 12 people this Sunday. The Classic Italian version with meat sauce and bechamel. I was wondering if you all cold help me with quantities. How much meat and cans of tomato do I need for the meat sauce? And how much fresh pasta?(Bought, not home made.) I can figure out the bechamel, but not the meat sauce. I asked my mother in law who is used to cooking for that many and she said 1/2 lb of meat and two large cans of tomato (I think they are 28 oz?) should be plenty. That sounds like too little to me. Anyone? And TIA!

My MIL bathes them right in the sugo, albeit, not for 5 minutes. But it works. When she is using No bake noodles, she usually makes the sugo a little looser. I prefer fresh pasta though. And I prefer them thin, even when making classic lasagne because I like many layers. And I don't want it to be heavy in the sense that I would rather eat a big piece of thin sheeted lasagne than a small piece of thick! heehee

Oh, it doesn't say. It says it was bottled in Italy. I just opened it, and it smells like spice mix. I guess it's probably the stuff they use to make Panforte, Pan Pepate and the like. (I live in Siena.) Crap. I was kinda looking forward to having Smoked Paprika. The bottle was covered in brown paper packaging and I was reaching for Cardamom and somehow arrived home with Pimento. And I hadn't wanted to open it thinking I would just return it but what the heck, it was only 2,50 Euros! Thank you all, besides spice cakes, pan forte and the like anyone have a good recipe?

I accidentally bought Pimiento and have no idea what it is. I googled it of course and got that it's a sweet red pepper. One site, wisegeek, said if it's ground and dried it's just Paprika. Is that true? And what can I do it with it?? Bunches of recipes came up for pimiento cheese which is not something I am looking for.

BTW, you can always mix butter and olive oil I don't really remember what ratio I use, but it still comes out delicious

Garlic bread is so underrated! YUM!

I thought you could use to help out your sourdough starter as well. I remember reading that somewhere. FG, do let us know what your Sayonara, Diet! meal was...

Wierd. I have some frozen parsley which is thoroughly useless.

Have you tried leaving out the gelatin? My favorite cake topping is Chocolate whipped cream, but I don't use any gelatin as suggested by the folks here. Although, I assume you aren't looking for chocolate whipped cream or you would have said that!

Wikipedia had never been an acceptable source in my college experience.

Thank you everyone for your replies! David, cooking it as stew would mean something similar to a braise which means it might soften if cooked a long time? Bresaola would be awesome, but I've never cured my own meat. Although I was under the impression it was done with filet. Blether, I bet that's what they do here, cook it in Fat. Either that or make carpaccio. Another biggie here. I am actually leaning towards what Shalmanese said, "It just ain't worth the trouble." But since they are alllllways on sale here, I had to ask. ETA: typos!

Totally wierd question that probably belongs on the absurdly stupid questions thread, but since it directly relates to braising, I decided to post here.... In my area they sell a piece of meat called, "magro" Today, on a whim (30% percent off) I bought it. It's the single toughest piece of meat, I've ever eaten. tougher than any piece of meat pre-braise. I roasted it until 110 degrees too, thinking it was some kind of roast beef type cut. There is not one ounce of fat on it, and honestly, I have absolutely no idea what part of the cow it came from. My question is, what else could I do with it? Does a braise work on this kind of cut? There is literally NO fat. I mean not a single grain of white. In fact, it's kinda gross looking. I have to stop impulse buying sale items. the thing is, they have tons of it, all the time. There must be a way to cook it so that it is not tough. I can't imagine an entire town of people are eating tough meat. Not in Fiorentina (Tuscany) land anyway.

Shalmanese...It's very simple! We don't go to clubs!! heehee. I haven't been to a club since I was stuck working in one 10 years ago. And I don't miss the noise- or anything really for that matter. I think intentional noise is ridiculous. I don't expect a church or a pulic library either. I think there must be a happy medium! I guess I'm just not that guy's target demographic!

Shelby, you're whole dish looks delicious......I wish I had it in front of me now. Care to share your recipe?