ambra

I too prefer Carnaroli by the way! Let us know if you test the rice!

It sounds to me like you cooked it at too low a a heat...as one of the previous posters mentioned. Many risotto enthusiasts will tell you it needs to be at a very high heat (and be constantly stirred). If you are worried about it being the rice, do what Shalmanese said to do..... As for adding broth, it needs to be more than just hot, needs to be close to, if not boiling.....

I finallllllly found molasses in my neck of the woods, however, it is not cane molasses-it's beet molasses... Does anyone know if it will differ too much from regular molasses? Sadly, I don't know what cane mollases should taste like so I have nothing to compare it to.

I made the chicken and dumplings with the butter in place of the oil. By the way, what IS salad oil? The butter worked out great. I really enjoyed them without the bitter taste. Who'da thought it would be such a simple fix! I want to try the flat style too, I made them once and they were great, but I can't remember what recipe I used. Have to look around.... My dumplings don't look much different than anyone else's, but here they are anyway....

Of course I'm not the dumpling expert here, but I'm wondering if you need a bit more fat in the mix so that the dumplings don't have that raw taste? What kind of oil do you use--is it salad oil or olive oil? Maybe that is the problem. The old-style recipes typically called for plain shortening or lard and that would probably give more flavor than oil. And whole milk would also give more flavor than 2% or skim milk. Finally, you might want to add a beaten egg to the dumpling batter. I'll be interested to see if those few changes maybe give you better results. Anyone else have any ideas? Hmmm, well the oil I used was Corn Oil because I thought my Olive Oil would be too tasty, and it's all I had in the house. I saw a recipe on some blog the other day that called for melted butter. Maybe I'll try that. The lard brick where I live is just too big to buy for one recipe. Plus, I don't even really know if it's the same. As for the milk, I use whole milk. I'll post after I make it later. And thank you!

Looks like gnoochi to me too. Anyway, I love, love, love Chicken and Dumplings. But sometimes my dumplings have a raw flour taste-bitterish- as if I am not cooking them enough. I keep trying to cook them longer and longer in hopes that that is the problem, but is it just that I am using a crappy recipe? I have also tried them with 00 flour and that didn't help. Is it the baking powder? I keep trying this recipe, because I remember them being good when someone ELSE made them. 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 2/3 cup milk 2 tablespoons oil Recipe calls for 10 minutes each side. I go at least 15 each side, but it does sometimes suck up all my broth. My recipe for the chicken and broth is really simple and I love it. It's always perfect. I usually stew whatever chicken parts I have on hand (making sure there is enough dark meat) with onions, carrots, celery, parsley, sometimes leak, S&P, and fresh thyme. Very simple yet pleasing to my palate!!! I always debone the chicken and add back to the broth and lay the dumplings on top to cook. I am going to make this dish again tomorrow.

I love it in Ribollita...Or white Bean and Kale Soup. Sometimes on bruschetta. We have it all the time. It's soooo cheap where I live- Glad to hear they've lowered the prices over there.

Since I live in a part of the world where Ziplocs are not available, I re-use them!! Granted, I am talking about ziplocs I use for salads or breads...i wash them out, turn them inside out, let them dry and then use them again. I also re-use carboard dishes we get from bakeries-things don't come in boxes here! They are great for fried foods. I also re-use old plastic bottles as plant waterers and for saving or throwing out old oil. We also wash out wine bottles and re-fill with Vino Sfuso (wine by the gallon from local producers) from time to time. And the same goes for Olive Oil containers. I know people that use Pasta Cooking water to wash dishes in order to save water. Apparently, it's a great grease cutter. Anyone know if that's true? I cannot bring myself to do that. I absolutely don't get that.

Thank you for the recipe! I can't wait to try it! Aloha Steve, try finding good Shrimp and Lobster Sauce- Or Chinese food for that matter- in Tuscany!

That shrimp with lobster sauce looks amazing! Care to share the recipe?

You're welcome Jumanggy!

I wish I had known about this the other day. I probably would have made the Spiced Pear Upside-Down Gingerbread Cake.

This is very obviously way too late, but interesting all the same! This blogger made like 5 different Gingerbread recipes, all of which look fantastic! http://manggy.blogspot.com/

That's quite hsterical....what were they like?

We (my family, not my region) don't really make Bollito Misto (just brodo with one muscle cut and some bones) but it's also difficult to find on menus in my area, in fact, we always order it when we head north of here....I'm in the land of the Fiorentina? Chianina? Have you guessed yet? In the US, I think the whole idea of boiled meat is trumped by Chicken Soup (essentially boiled chicken etc) and braised meats (as opposed to boiled meats). I think big steaks or even braised dishes like short ribs go alot farther on restaurant menus. It's just my opinion. I could be wrong. In fact, things could have changed since I lived there! I live in Toscana by way of NYC. Right now, there are some beautiful Zamponi on sale at the local COOP!

I'd be curious as to how you finally handled the situation and what you made for her. To be honest, I agree with the people above. I don't think it's worth the risk. She might very well have all these allergies, but seems like if she did, she wouldn't want to risk having a horrible reaction in a public place. I certainly wouldn't! You might test her and bring up the subject of cross contamination in the kitchen. Maybe she'll want to bring her own cutting board and knife!

Yes. Exactly.

I split the difference and did 4 percent. It was a total success. Although none of other flavours I added seeped in. Next time, I will add more.... Thanks all for the great advice. One question...you can't do this with defrosted meats, right?

When you say 3 percent etc? Are you referring to the amount of salt in the water? Have you ever done any with Sicilian Sea Salt? It's not special salt, it costs 27 cents a kilo. But it's really all I have as they don't sell Kosher salt here. It is definitely less salty than Diamond Star. Also, if I follow a recipe that is meant for a bigger turkey, and I use only the amount needed for my turkey, what will happen? As you can see, I've never brined in my life. I also bought a 1.5 kilo turkey which is about 3.3 lbs and I would like to brine it.

Fabio, I wasn't trying to insinuate that you can't find it at many times of the year in some (for example, not really where I live- which is not the NE) parts of Italy. I guess I should have just said that the only thing that arrived in the US was the NYE tradition. In any event, I was thinking if you can't find it in PA, you might try BUONITALIA (in NYC) as they do have a mail order service. They are quite expensive but they have a good selection of Italian imports. If not, let me know and I will let you know other stores to go to NYC. I've had it from a butcher (I had to special order it though) there and I've also had it from the box. The box was better! If I were you, I'd try to make it! At least you'll know exactly what goes in it and can regulate the flavours as you want. Good luck with the tortellini! They are soooo delicious homemade!! Should be fun too! When I lived in the US, we made them every year!!

I am planning a Feast of the Seven Fishes for 18 people. Basically, I am doing it Italian style in that I am serving Antipasto, Primo (Pasta course) and Secondo (Protein course). Here’s the menu so far: Antipasto Course Anchovies and smoked salmon crostini (separately of course.) Pettole (Fried Dough) Pasta Course Either going to be a family tradition they call Salsa Rosa made with Shrimp and Brandy or Spaghetti with Clam Sauce. Depending on whether or not they can find the recipe for the Salsa Rosa. The Protein Course Stuffed Calamari Octopus with Wine and Potatoes Fried Baccala Shrimp preparation TBD Big Fish TBD depending on what is available and beautiful. My question is this? How much fish do I buy? For the Crostini, I will buy enough for 2 pieces of each per person. For the Pasta, we measure about 80-100 grams of pasta per person. Multiply the original recipe til you get the amount you need. Easy enough…. However, for the main course, I have no idea how much of each to buy! I remember my mother used to calculate a half a pound per person, but how do I figure that out when I are serving multiple mains- how do you calculate? I don’t want to have too little food, but at the same time, I don’t want too many leftovers as it’s Christmas eve dinner and we are also having Christmas dinner the next day and Santo Stefano the day after. I would like everyone to taste each fish dish, but I don’t think I need a full portion of each dish for each person. Does that make sense? Can anyone help? Is it just too complicated for 19 people?

Cotecchino is a NYE/NYD tradition. You eat it with lentils to bring money in the new year. At least in some families. I assume some experts on Italian Tradition will tell you how wrong I am!

It's definitely available in New York City if you are willing to travel THAT far!!

I was given one of those things last year for Christmas. I've never used it!! It's still in the box!

How do you make Chicken Stroganoff? Sounds like something I might like to make....