ambra

What an interesting recipe! I will definitely try it. Could you also say what your favorite books are?

Love that bowl!!

Perfection!

Good morning everyone, I say this every time I post, because it's true: Your dinners all look incredible! This was my Thanksgiving dinner! I had braised/roasted turkey thighs, stuffing with sage and sausage, mashed potatoes with a very pale gravy (Still learning!), sweet potatoes roasted with garlic and rosemary, two very similar salads. One is fennel, arugula, green apple, orange and pomegranate, and the other is shaved Brussel sprouts, green apple, pomegranate and walnuts. We couldn't decide between the two so we made both! We always make lasagne, the kind with béchamel sauce. Not pictured was apple crisp with vanilla ice cream and caramel swirls. Maybe I'll get a pic of the leftovers. We drank Italian Pinot Noir.

I agree!! Though we make lasagne as part of our tradition every year. It makes my son happy. ☺️☺️

I just drank this, same vintage! I thoroughly enjoyed it, lovely on the nose, very easy to drink!

With the pandemic completely out of hand in Milan, I had to do a lot of the shopping through my CSA delivery that came today. It's days early, but the stuff is usually so fresh, it lasts. Even though we're only going to be three, we decided to do a pretty sizeable (in terms of variety) spread anyway. No one could agree on what to leave out. We're going to make a few thighs (the ones I got are tiny), stuffing with sage, sausage and mushrooms, mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, salad with fennel, orange, arugula, apple, walnuts and pomegranate, lasagne and an apple crisp. I'm probably going to open a interesting Italian Pinot Noir. There will be many leftovers (which I will enjoy). Except for the wine. The wine won't get left over. 😋

I love these kinds of lunches!!

I completely agree on every count. If you know where to go, you can have amazing food.

Very happy to finally hear someone else say this besides me!!! ❤️❤️ I don't like all those lists of "rules" that get published every few months. There are many that are not true.

The Korean food in Los Angeles is amazing. I always eat like a queen in Los Angeles.

I've had Chinese in Rome before and it was not good! Actually, I've also been to a very "fancy" Chinese restaurant there that was good. Italians love hot and sour soup and love soup with chicken and corn. But the wonton soup, another of my favorites, usually looks like dirty dish water and tastes like it too. But the Chinese offerings in Milan's Chinatown are often excellent, they just don't have any of my American favorites -- mu shu pork, shrimp and lobster sauce etc. But I always leave perfectly satisfied with the offerings. If we ever get out of lockdown (Milan is a MESS right now), I will go and post some pics. I haven't really found great dimsum here, though people say it exists. I have a short list of places to try. The best Shumai I get are frozen in a shop in Chinatown. Funny, but the majority of the "local" sushi places are owned and operated by Chinese people so there is often a parallel Chinese menu and it's very good. Prato, outside Florence, is also a good place for Chinese food, if you know where to go.

Host's note: the following discussion was split from China Food Myths. Not really anymore. Only shops close during the day (though many chains and malls stay open straight through). Offices allow for an hour to an hour and half for lunch. Anyway as for this thread, I prefer American Chinese over Italian Chinese! 😄 If you know where to go, you can find good food, but most restaurants have the exact same menu.

I looked it up and it should be around 3 Euros here, depending on shape and store. My supermarket brands (from a normal Italian supermarket chain) run about 1.15-2 euros, also depending on shape. Barilla and De Cecco are not my go-to brands. But I'll post those too. I was told by a pasta maker that the better brands will have a higher protein count. (And for the record, I never actually checked the protein count, haha.) I have no idea of this is true!! Probably someone here will know better than me! You can see the Garofalo is on sale! And yes, I stocked up!

This was a fun shape. I posted a pic of the dish on the dinner thread, so forgive me for the repeat photo, but here's a photo of the packaging. It's more expensive than the average price of pasta.

Everyone's food looks really amazing this week! I wish I could drop in on so many of your dinners! @weinooI finally (weeks later!) made my Arroz con Pollo, still steaming when I took the picture and with the very last of my balcony cilantro. The plant bolted. @scamhiI made those ribs you posted about. I've made it twice now (practicing!) and had a hard time with the recipe. I had to reduce the sauce on the stovetop to get it to stick to the ribs, but we really liked the flavors!! I don't know what I am doing wrong, but I suspect it has something to do with how they cut the ribs here compared to the US (much smaller!) Then some Volcano shaped pasta, with sauce made with sausage. And finally pumpkin and leek risotto.

That sandwich looks so good! What's in it?

This looks great, thank you tons! I will try it, I even have cabbage from my CSA in the fridge calling out for slaw. I'm pretty easy, we like fish, chicken, beef, lamb, everything vegetarian etc. I am looking to learn how to use this. I didn't have a pressure cooker or slow cooker even before this. I bought one of your books!

I finally bought one! I'm combing through all these threads, and bought a couple of cookbooks, but does anyone have a favorite recipe to recommend starting with? For a first time user?

We treated ourselves to thirty grams of black truffles yesterday. Had on eggs, and then on pasta. It wasn't the best truffle I've ever had, but it was good enough.

Exactly the same. The best oats to be had in my opinion come from the UK and Ireland. I even like the "cheaper" brands of Irish oats better than anything I can get anywhere else. We bring bags back to Italy whenever we go and try to make them last. It's been a while now since we had to cancel our last trip (was going to be to Scotland this time) due to Covid.

Macaroni and beef? 😋 Granted I make lasagne with just parmigiano. I think the main problem with macaroni and cheese to be had in many places is the pasta is so often unforgivingly overcooked. For this, we prefer to make it at home. Though in Italy, don't have much choice anyway. I haven't had boxed mac and cheese in at least 20 years! I'd be very curious to try it again. 😂

I've never had the Amatriciana at Roscioli, but I've had the Carbonara. I personally love long pastas, but as someone said above, each pasta has its sauce. Love pappardelle too, Shain! We love pici, orecchiette, trofie, fusilli, conchiglioni, casarecce... to name just a few. Not a fan of penne. For supermarket brands, I use Rummo or Garofalo. When they go on sale (usually to around 75 euro cents for 500 g), I stock up.

I really hate Bucatini for the same reasons. I've seen restaurants in Rome give out plastic bibs (like the lobsters ones), which I find ridiculous. Just stop serving it. Problem solved. 😉

These looked so good, I promptly Googled the recipe and made them! It may have been the only time I've gotten something with pork right! I did find the recipe a little too watery so I reduced the sauce and then coated when the ribs were done. Worked like a charm! Sorry, no pic, they ended up standing over the stove and finishing them before they even go to the table. 😁 So thanks!!