hathor

Nice photo Verjuice! There is a licorice liquore from Calabria Liquore di Liquiriza that intensely combines the best of both of those worlds. Anybody know how I can make a licorice syrup? I want a barely liquid licorice... so I've been googling around, and now I have another question: what is 'pure licorice'? The recipe that I'm looking at (clicca qui...it's in Italian) calls for pure licorice and licorice root. So, what form is pure licorice in? And just because it's very entertaining, here's a link to someone in Beijing with a serious licorice obession: Palazzo Pizzo.

What fun to follow along with you. The walleye with chard sounds lovely. How about a nice, young Pinot Noir for the wine? It should be light enough to play nicely with the fish, but still handle the meat courses.

Well it sounds like you certainly had yourselves a fine time! What fun, and a kick for me to read your reactions! Come back to Italy, but go to other cities, go to the countryside, to the sea, but come to Umbria for porchetta, as each region holds unique surprises for you! (I had to get in that Umbrian porchetta plug....the Romans think they invented it, the Tuscans think they know how to make it, but you get the good stuff in Umbria. ) No, I do not work for the Italian Tourist Board. I live off in the boonies, and before you come you should know: it's really hard to get pizza for lunch, it's a dinner thing, and I know of only one place that does pizza by the slice. So little time, and so much to eat!

Ciao Doodad. No, you don't have to roast fish bones. Thanks god. Treat a fish stock like you would a basic chicken stock, only you don't have to cook it as long, only an hour, hour and a half. I try to keep my fish stock, and all my stocks, as neutral as possible so that I can 're-direct' them when I use them. Freeze the stock in small batches for later use...but label them...the fish and chicken stock look the same in a frozen state!

Ciao Fortedei. Interesting points you are making, I'm not sure I agree with everything, but something to think about. I do understand and agree with what you are saying about pastry, and I'd like to add bread to the list. Good, artisanal bread is becoming harder and harder to find. Even the top restaurants have pathetic, under developed breads.

I haven't thought about city chicken in years. It was one of my all time favorites. My mom made it with pork and veal mooshed together on a popsicle stick. Maybe it's time for a come back?

If anyone is feeling passionate about a blog, they can nominate them for Best Blog...in 14 categories. Click!

Paulraphael, if you know of a cheap tailor, let me know! I'm thinking about switching to a lab coat and having it tailored. I also found some great, comfy, stretch black jeans that do the trick...but I don't have to worry about dress code rules, so I've got it much easier than some of you.

Sounds to me like you have an excellent scallop connection. It also sounds to me like I should question Harold McGee because your answers and my little bit of research don't add up.

American lasagna and Italian lasagna are two entirely different families...related, cousins perhaps, but there are certainly different mamas in the kitchen!

So, a live scallop, just opened would be less sweet, therefore you need to find scallops that are fresh, but not that fresh..... interesting. I did a little poking around on glycogen and it seems to need a carbohydrate involved to trigger the synthesis. Does a scallop have natural carb content? Intuitively I'll say no, but after a bit more coffee, I'll dig around some more. Thanks Jayt90.

There is some very conflicting "info' out there. This seems to be about the most reliable, from Findstone.com: A 1013: What happens if the granite is heated about 500 deg F? Will it crack? Can you use granite to manufacture dishes or plates? Is it hazardous to health? Cesar, USA. June 20 R2: In as much as it will come as a shock to you, if you heat granite to about 500 deg F it will become hot! Will it crack? No, it won't. In fact, granite it's the only material on which you can put a pot right off the stove top. Is it hazardous the health? Big time! especially to your teeth if you try to chew it before swallowing it! Maurizio, USA Contact R1: Granite should not be affected by 500F if the heat is evenly applied. Cooling of articles with a change in thickness could be of concern if not done slowly. There is nothing deleterious in most granites that make it unsafe to eat off. If "machining" a piece of granite, you would want to know the orientation of the "grain" just as in wood work. A granite's strength can vary depending on the orientation. Jim Australia

What makes a scallop sweet? What's the science? These babies are in season right now, and they are crazy sweet...almost too sweet. We were popping them like candy last night, and it just made me wonder how fish protein could be perceived as sweet.

I bought a square baking stone that I love and was very reasonably priced. I'd looked around in hardware stores and the like but was never sure what would work, so in the end it was just easier to buy the darned thing. But about granite. We recently had a long conversation with a clerk at one of the big hardware stores about granite, how it would hold up under very changeable weather, freezing to hot, and he suggested it wasn't the best stone for that, noting it would crack or shatter or the like. So I suspect it may not be the best stone for oven use. On the other hand, one person's definition of "shatter" may be another person's definition of "burst." ← Thanks Devlin. I'm going to dig around and do some research, if I found out anything interesting, I'll report back in.

I lead a dual life, part time NY, part time Italy, so when I got back to NY last week, and to a totally empty refrigerator, veal demi-glace was one of the first things I made as I replenished my kitchen. It's a unique ingredient, with unique properties. Yes, you can use chicken stock or beef stock, but it will yield different results, not unlike using white or red wine will yield different results. And no, it's nothing like the MSG that it was compared to. What's interesting in reading everyone's take on this book, is on one hand there is a case being made for not dumbing down recipes, for not subbing ingredients, and then an equal case being made for just that thing. Joancassell, I feel your pain. There are frequently ingredients that I can't obtain, and that's just the way life is, really annoying but true. I'm not sure its a fair criticism to say that Mr. Ruhlman should have researched the availability of veal bones, or discussed the moral aspects of veal. He's telling you, from his personal chef point of view, what he thinks about veal stock. That's all. Isn't a bit refreshing to have someone tell you what they really think rather than the p.c. response? And, if you do track down a good, real butcher, kiss him, hold him, and tell him how much you treasure him as real butchers are a vanishing breed.(this is paraphrased from something Fergus Henderson has said). And Annecross, thank you for giving me a great gift idea. My son and his girlfriend are becoming very good and passionate cooks and this just might feed their passion. (for cooking...for cooking! )

Fortedei, you're right. A chef who wants to push the envelope with contemporary cuisine better know what he is doing, and this applies to any chef, regardless of where he is from.

Looking at your photos is almost as good as being there. I thought the food was wonderful, delicious, satisfying, intriguing and Italian. The chef is Italian, and this is his personal, Italian vision. The classic roots of Italian cooking were present in every dish (except maybe for the pear orbs, no, I take that back...the olive oil and the bit of salt were very Italian). No, you won't find these dishes in northern Italy because this chef is creating his own recipes, not reinterpreting classics. There is nothing wrong, or French, about an Italian chef pushing the borders of Italian cuisine. Aside from the table slant issue, which you have to wonder why it hasn't been corrected, the wait staff told us they are used to things rolling off that table, so it's not anew problem; my only criticism might be that the portions were too large for a tasting menu. My husband and I wanted to go to Fiamma because we wanted to taste the work of a chef who is enriching and enlarging the Italian experience and we may be poorer in the wallet, but we are richer for the experience. John, thank you so much for setting up this evening. It was memorable and very, very enjoyable, an evening of great food, wine and conversation. Grazie mille.

One day at Ital.Cook in Jesi, Lidia Bastianich came in to observe the school, and she got into a 'discussion' with our chef from Emilia Romagna....they eventually agreed to disagree. Ms. Bastianich was pro par-boiling and the ER chef said it was not needed. If the fresh pasta sheets are very thin, then parboiling makes a delicate layer of pasta very troublesome. In my humble opinon. But, I do like the idea of trying it both ways and seeing what you think and what you like better.

Nice looking breads, Mitch. Really nice. I've a question about stones: Chef Bertinet of the bread class the other evening, said that he used granite as his baking stone. So, I happened to go to a stone yard yesterday, and they wouldn't sell me a piece of granite because they said it might 'burst' in the oven. Not shatter, or crack, but burst. Anyone use granite or had any issues with granite?

Piazzola, disregarding fairness or justice in life, there are people with disposable incomes who can indulge themselves, and they finance the 'art' of contemporary cuisine. How many Renaissance artists would have been able to support themselves without the help of a patron. Dining patrons do the same for chefs. Its not fair that a lot of people go hungry every day, but that's food for another topic and another cause. Why the strident tone Markk? I'm asking sincerely and with curiosity. I enjoy your posts and your point of view, but I'm confused why you feel that the state of contemporary cuisine will lead us all down the path of homogenized sameness. To me, nothing is further than the truth as all the high end artsy fartsy chefs are pushing flavors and techniques into very personal explorations, not unlike high end visual medium artists. Chef Trobacchi is using his unique Italian sensibility to push flavors in a direction that excite him. He can't not be Italian, he respects his roots and is using them as roots are intended to be used: a foundation for a plant to flourish and grow. Markk, I don't think you need worry about losing the culture of comfort food; everyone needs and wants comfort food so there will always be a place for it. But, the idea of what is comfort has been and will continue to evolve. I had an interesting juxtaposition of experiences this week. On Monday, I went to a lecture by Herve This and Mitchell Davis on molecular gastronomy. On Tuesday, I went to a class of bread baking by Richard Bertinet. There is room in my kitchen for both philosophies, and that's what keeps me interested in cooking and eating and food. P.S. Oh, techno people of eGullet...my e-mail notification on topics is still totally random and unpredictable. Just letting you know that the problem still exists. Thank you.

A little bump here. Last Friday, I had the pleasure of dining with Docsconz and his wife and friends (I'm sorry...I don't know your screen name, Joe) at Fiamma in Soho in NY. Chef Trabocchi is the new chef-partner there and he is a solid example of contemporary Italian cuisine. He came out at the end of our fabulous dinner extravaganza and talked a bit about his frustration at not being considered Italian enough. He is from the Le Marche, he is a blue blood Italian, but because he cooks in a style that is not traditional, the critics question his Italian-ness. All thru the 11 or so courses of this dinner, this was a recurring theme: would you consider this dish Italian? or this dish? (examples: raw tuna cubes with citrus peel on a bed of sorrel foam, or kobe beef carpaccio with soy marinated tofu center, or kobe beef tartare with a poached quail egg and round of parmigiano crisp). So, here's my question: once you have crossed over the border into truly contemporary, molecular cuisines, have you left national borders behind? Is contemporary food region-less or nation-less? Have all those years of embracing the flavors found in a particular terriore led us to now embrace pan-contemporary dining? P.S. I'm really hoping that Docsconz will post some of those photos from the dinner because it was truly exciting and both provocative and comfortable and above all delicous.

Wow. This was clearly a labor of love and passion on your part. Grazie mille for taking the time and sharing with us. Now, on the other hand, there is a whole boat load of new toys that I want to play with...including that nifty kona coffee pot....and for this toy lust, I do blame you, Doc!

Ciao. sounds like it could just be a dull blade? But that would be pretty strange on a new slicer. I've used a couple and haven't had your experience...that's a strange problem you have! Use the mandolin. Or maybe you are going for too thin of a slice? Just be careful, those things can give you the most painful cuts..or slices!

I can't help you with ristorante in Napoli, but don't worry about eating alone at a table. It's not a problem.

OrleansAg, I bit the bullet, and did the career change thing. I'm not a part owner/chef at a restaurant in Italy. Ask yourself: do you want to completely give up on a social life? seeing your kid grow up? No kidding around, you commit to a kitchen, that's where 95% of your energy goes. Do you want to be at the bottom rung again, financially and professionally? It's hard after you are used to a certain level of respect and financial security. Going to cooking school will not prepare you for the grind of a kitchen. Are you an adrenalin junky? I think I am...I've done some wacky stuff over the years, and I love the rush that comes with a hectic service. I also know what its like to bottom out, hit the no energy reserve wall, and then you start to understand why drugs show up in the kitchen. I'm not trying to scare you...but stage around and see what you think. No one in a class room can adequately prepare you for what you will be facing......