hathor

Hi Judith, yuck, I wouldn't eat them! As for why its a mystery to me, next time I talk to our trifalau I will ask him, were they dried out or fresh? Maybe they had been stored incorrectly. To me black truffles don't really have a smell at all, or not like white ones. BTW I don't think Umbria is humble! Are white truffles starting to come in down there now? ← Ciao! No, I didn't want to eat them, or smell them. I'm wondering if somehow they were 'treated' to last a little longer. I don't know, and I can't understand the local dialect well enough to ask the local truffles guys whats up. Besides, they are a 'touchy' lot, if you know what I mean. A wee bit scary. We've had very, very few white truffles. We've also had almost no rain in close to a year...little bit here and there, but no sustained rains. It's getting pretty serious. Completely killed the porcini season as well.

No...I've lost touch with Mancini and the crew...but it's on my list of things to do. Yeah, it was one of the best things that I've done.

Frozen porcini have a firmness to them, but they are certainly wetter than fresh. I've seen thawed out porcini that were ...almost.... hard to tell. Truffles?? It's a bad, bad year for truffles. Scarce as hens teeth and costing an arm and a leg when you do find them....and they are crappy anyway. It was really hard for us this past weekend for our Festa del Bosco to find acceptable/affordable truffles. All the other restaurants were pricing them in the stratosphere and counting on no one ordering them! We got a few puny white ones to carry us thru....

WOW!!! That was one honkin' big porcini!! Bruised? Waterlogged? Do you think it could have been frozen first? We've had a terrible porcini season, no rain, no warm weather...maybe one good week. Bummer.

Browse thru the Italian forum...there is a ton of info, and some great people that can guide...Swiss Chef, etc. Not all intimidating, and the Piemonte folks who post are extremely generous with their knowledge. I live in Umbria....there's nothing to eat in Umbria, so I'm not much use!! You are in for a treat...enjoy every mouthful!

Ciao Piazzola! You can also try giving the radicchio a quick blanching before sauteeing. A lot of the very bitter Italian greens are boiled first, and then cooked however you want, and this seems to tame the bitterness.

Not as upset as I am! But, you'll be back, right? We've usually got room at Albergho Garibaldi (that's our house!).

Just a random question from humble Umbria: what would make a black truffle smell like acetone? We're having a bad, low, truffle season, and some came around that smelled of acetone. What would be up with that??

I can almost smell those truffles from here! Great photos. Our local truffle festival is this weekend in Citta di Castello, nothing quite like yours, I can assure you!

Ah, but Live It Up, what a wonderful 3.5 years it will be! Sounds and looks like you had a wonderful meal...brava!

Were the spies added to get rid of them or to add flavor?? But seriously....now I want a Cona pot....how cool! And there had to be something added to that buffola milk skin, caaragen (sp?)? What a great technique to add immediate flavors....

Wow!!! Swiss Chef....know that I am there with you, in spirit!! Tell us: wine themes? What's hot? What's not? Are the Europeans also talking about upward creeping alcohol contents? This year's vendemmia, will it be a good year? Prices rising, or fairly static?

Track down Weinoo! He's got a great list of places to eat. And he's very, very organized!!

Thanks Cinghiale! Can't wait to share a meal and a bottle of wine with you in Philly!! We've got lots to talk about! Ciao e ci vediamo!

Excellent point about more than one hand making the dish. I sure have been more clear that I was curious about the creator of a recipe...

Klary, your photos are just wonderful! I love the photo of your hands cutting the radicchio..I know Dennis took that photo! Thank you for taking the time to share all of this with us...and I'm sooooo glad you came to visit!! P.S. I've been eating salty licorice all afternoon...my teeth are black!

I think that there will always be a place for it, albeit limited. In this respect I don't think the culinary arts are unlike other arts. Not every element has to appeal to everyone so long as it is able to find its own audience. In the end every artist, no matter the medium, has to eat and have shelter. As such, every artist needs to be able to find an audience willing to pay enough for that artist to get by and continue making that art. If there is not a sufficient audience then that artist either starves, moves on to something else or changes the art until an audience is found. i think the better an artist, any artist, is at getting his or her point across, the more likely that artist will continue to generate sufficient support to keep doing what he is doing. So long as people continue to think and be creative, we will continue to see intensive intellectualization of food, probably in ways most of us could never imagine. ← I was thinking more or less along the same lines this afternoon on the way to the grocery store. And at first I thought, how pretentious, this chef should spend some time at a soup kitchen to balance his yin/yang. Then I started to think about the dish as a pure art form, and I understand this intellectually, but I'm with Tangelo in feeling confused about a dish that is designed to disappoint. I also wouldn't want to eat the Dripped Fish dish of Chef Marchesi; it's pretty to look at, but doesn't make me want to pick up a fork. The photo of the blank ink and white cuttle fish is extraordinary! Now that might induce me to pick up a fork! This whole concept of intellectual-ising food deserves its own thread. It's fascinating, and your beautiful reporting has sparked so many ideas! But, when all is said and done, the world would be a much poorer place without this sort of creative intellectual-ising and I'm happy there are chefs out there that are pushing the envelope.

Wow. After reading Andoni Luis Aduriz's explanation of 'vanity', I feel very lowly when all I worry about is getting the plates out while they are hot!! Although it did get me to start wondering if there is a Maslow Pyramid for food...basic needs at the bottom and dishes like 'vanity' at the top. You have to wonder where this intensive intellectual-ising of food will lead....

Is there a blushing avatar? Having Chufi visit was so much fun, we can't wait to visit them in Amsterdam. But, I don't think we will be able to bring the cats with us. Bella is here with me now, and sends regards. I'm hoping this will be the first of many visits!

Swiss Chef, I think that those are excellent definitions, and that there is room at the table for all of those styles.

Maybe this whole 8 page conversation hinges on defining 'contemporary' and 'cutting edge'. Are they same? To me: no. Cutting edge is using techniques and toys (Pacojet, Thermomix, water baths) that aren't found in a traditional restaurant. Cutting edge is using alginate, and chemical components that I have trouble spelling or remembering. Fine. So, what is contemporary? I'm asking because I'm not at all sure of the answer.

I started this topic just to see if anyone else was thinking about it. Very interesting replies, and personally, I'm in the "I really don't care" camp, but find it interesting from an anthropological point of view. Just for fun, I googled 'supertaster' and according to Wikipedia, women are more likely to be supertasters, as are Asians and Africans. I do think that men and women approach things very differently, and in all probability this must show up in recipe creation. It would certainly be a great research topic.....

If there was a blind tasting of a full meal, 5 courses, do you think you would be able to predict if the meal had been prepared by a man or a woman? I think you can. I certainly know you can tell when a woman chef is at the stove...they make less noise...not as much pot banging and slamming. I also think women have a lighter touch, more intuitive with how to use vegetables. (I'm thinking of the wonderful women chef at I Sette Consoli in Orvieto, Anna Rita Simoncini Mauro Stopponi. Her flavors are full and rich, but there is a certain overall lightness.) So, can I ignite a man v. woman chef contest? Or have I just given the Food Networks a great idea for free?

Thanks Kelly!! It was such a treat to have you guys there...I really looked forward to meeting everyone. I think the garden is really special, you almost feel as if you are floating in the treetops. Of course that could just be some exhaustion talking, but I love the garden. I'm glad you ate out there. As far as the plating goes...mmmm....I'm not so happy and I know there is tremendous room for improvement. But, we are feeling our way, and your positive feedback is fantastic! Swisskaese is coming to the restaurant tonight! This should be fun as well. Now, this is the best part of having a restaurant!!

Very helpful as always. But... ← I don't want to answer for Fortedei but I think the insinuation is that there are others that are better or deserve it more. Do you know the origins of GR? You might be surprised! GR is the food and wine commentary from the Manifesto news paper of the extreme left party in Italy. It is (in my, and many others opinion) steeped in politics. I can tell you with good authority that the wine makers that continually earn one, two and three Bicchieri are certainly not the finest wine makers in Italy. Many wine makers are sick-to-death of the whole GR/Slow Food political bullshit. Large numbers of winemakers that I respect greatly, swear open hatred of these two organizations and I can say that I have regularly tasted seriously inferior wines that continually earn Biccheri. My advice is to take all this GR stuff with a grain of salt! ← Geez..count me as surprised. I've often wondered about the GR ratings, and I know about the Slow Food issues, but I really had no idea about the GR extreme left connection. And the COOP is run by Communists... god, this can be a confusing country!! Foredei, Erba Luna is not at this level. We are striving for good food, comfortable surroundings, and really just finding our 'voice'. I've been to Mondonnina, and liked it. I remember being awestruck at the intricacy of the food presentations, but honestly I can't remember the food. It was a strange time in life.... I've also been to La Pineta, and that was completely unremarkable. I'd love to get to LeCalandre. And, I appreciate your list. I'm sticking it up on my wall, next to the map.