hathor

Go to the hardware store and think out of the box. or the plant/nursery place. Go to places that aren't kitchen places. Just be sure you can put food on that really cool piece of stone...or glazed pottery chip.

This is one insane business. And you are handling it, so bravo to you! My heart goes out to you and the whole team.

Great photos, Chufi! And thought provoking commentary. In my fantasies, I have time to play with all the ideas that this thread has sparked.....

Actually, you've hit on something that I have been wondering about. I've experienced the same frustration when I go back to the States....where is the flavor?? I find myself fussing more, using more spices, techniques, ingredients to achieve a similar level of satisfaction. But. I'm experiencing something similar here. Fruits that lack flavor, vegetables that are not so inspiring. I still find the meat and fish far superior on a day to day basis. Meat texture can be an issue as the local meats are quite....hard and chewy. So, I'm wondering, am I just get used to better quality and therefore become pickier? Or is the quality of fruits and vegetables not as good as before. Which is TOTALLY off topic, and I hang my head in shame. Back on topic: excellent point about the risotto oro. That was very cutting edge in its day, and would probably still be considered cutting edge. Why? Because of the complexity of the flavors and presentation?? So maybe contemporary is relative to complexity after all.

Yesterday was great! Kellytree AND Cinghiale came to the restaurant for lunch...along with a very fun group of people. In the 'it's a small world' vein, Kellytree and I have a mutual friend, Bruce, and somehow the magnetic Kelly managed to get everyone to show up at Erba Luna. I even got to come out of the kitchen and chat for a bit, so I'm a happy girl! Hopefully we'll get over the LeMarche to see Kelly on her home turf, and we have plans to sit, chat and drink some wine with Cinghiale in Philadelphia!

Judith I have seeds left over that my sister sent last summer. PM me your address and I will send you some packages. ← Deal! We can plant them in the orto for next summer! If the animals don't figure out that our corn is better than the cow corn in the field next door......

Grrrr.... I need to e-mail somebody at eGullet about my wonky e-mail notification....it's totally random! We can actually get "Philadelphia" at the COOP! It's considered sort of upscale and exotic. Odd, but true. I brought over a stash of spices and hot sauce, so I'm pretty ok for now. I've even had some limes, so I have nothing at all to complain about!

Fortedei, just idle curiosity, and because you have such strong opinions, what would be your top ten restaurants? And please, anyone else who has a list....pipe up. OK, I'm not just idle and curious. I have one precious day off per week and I'm thinking about making pilgrimages to some of these temples of cuisine.

Ciao. I have very quirky e-mail notification and lost track of this thread. Regardless, I have an observation to share with you as I may have found a fundamental difference between traditional and 'contemporary' Italian cusine. Traditional Italian dishes are simplistic in nature, I've been told by good, solid, knowledgeable Italians that the tongue can only process 3 flavors at a time, so you will not find the flavor layering that is a linchpin to contemporary cuisine. Well, what say you?

Head to your local wine store and see what they have. It's a total crap shoot what Ligurian wines you will find, but mostly you are looking at white wines. Ligurian production isn't that big, compared to the big producers in Tuscany and Piemonte, so your choices are going to be limited. Good luck! You could make an anchovy butter to go with that foccacia.....

You still have basil!! All we have left is this gnarly, scraggly, tough, end of the season, little bitty leaves. I love the chicken dish, really beautiful. Chufi posted a great photo of some boned/rolled rabbit, next time I get to have dinner at home, I think this will be inspiration. What do you think of the cookbook?

Dormouses? Dormice are really, really tiny....you would have to eat a boatload of them to be satisfied! And I agree, raise the little buggers in a nice barn and be happy.

I've only seen Vin Cotto as a thick syrup, never as something that you drink. Interesting...now I'll keep an eye out for it.

I'd like some of that truffle frittata...now! Eggs and truffles are one of the best combinations; beats peanut butter and jelly any day. Your comment about the cooking time on the lentils strikes a chord with me. I get tricked over and over. They really are a little bitty lentils but they take f o r e v e r to cook! I read that if you add a bit of baking soda they will cook faster, but I haven't tried that. I think I might have a recipe for the fennel cookie, or at least one that you can adapt. I'll dig around and see what I come up with.

Deal! I want corn. Real summer sweet corn. It's been 3 years since I've had any!! OK, send the kid over in the summer!

I've been looking forward to seeing your photos! Welcome home! The Norcia sausage shop photo is wonderful!!

Ciao Rgagazi! My apologies for the long absence. I got double whammied: my internet has been intermittent ( oh, gee, what a surprise!! ) we've been busy, oh and Chufi came for a visit!! Chufi was here with her husband, and we had a fine time! Weinoo, thanks. Your kind words and support are truly appreciated. Not to mention that it was really fun to have you and Ms. Weinoo stay with us. I'm sort of thinking of opening up our house as an eGullet B&B. The house would be a private b&b, buy youmust you be an eGullet member. You don't have to pay, just bring us treats to eat. Mitch brought lovely cheeses, wine, salumis and LIMES! Chufi brought this amazing cumin/clove scented cheese and some killer wine, and some salty Dutch licorice, and some spices. Swisskaese is coming next week, and she is promising us N.African spices. Now, is this good luck, or what?? Karen, I Call the Duck....we better see you next year! We are about 1/2 hour from Arezzo, which is one of our favorite small cities. What Philly treats can you bring? Cheese steaks don't travel very well. Kelly, reservations are appreciated, but not a requirement. And if I get to finally meet you in person, that would just be wonderful!

What he said. As in, I was about to type exactly the same thing....bit of a mind reader, Docsconz?

What a wealth of information and inspiration. Being locked into the "Italian" box, this has been a breath of fresh air.

I think finding those persimmons might be the hardest part. If I get some more on Wes. I'll take a photo, just for a reference.

One of the challenges that you will run into is that most of these specialty liquors is that they are regional, so you won't have such an easy time to find them. Rome is a major city so you will have access to more types, but don't be frustrated or surprised if you can't find everything on your list. I would kill to have a bottle of Genepy, but I've never seen it this far south. It's a big drink in the Tourino area. We parceled our precious bottle out in ever smaller glasses until it was gone. There are tons of amaros and they are all different. One of the most fun 'research' we've done is buying a different amaro every time we run out! And why on earth would you be embarassed to admit that this is your first time to Rome?? What a wonderful thing to see Rome for the first time!! You will enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

They all look so young...that can only mean one thing! Elderflower is an underused flavor, secondo me. It's nice to see it get a little nod. Thanks Doc. As always, your reports are wonderful.

Adam, aside from the historical interest, do people still use cast iron pots on a regular basis in Australia? Excellent history lesson this morning, thanks, I enjoyed it. Lugging around stone pots could not have been easy.

Beautiful! It drives me crazy that bars in NY don't put out any sort of nibbles or food with aperitivo. It fuels that whole American wine is meant to be be an alcohol delivery system argument. But, that's a topic for another thread. Bologna is such a gracious and elegant city, I'm so glad you were able to spend some time there.

Who is ruling out creative cooking? ← I think we've come around to saying traditional isn't creative. Interesting. I don't know if I agree or disagree, but it's worth thinking about. Going back to my original dilemma, the balancing act between traditional and contemporary, take a look at part of an e-mail conversation I am having with a chef friend who has worked in Italy. "Once in the restaurant in Florence I was making this tomato bread sauce that is traditionally made was stale (saltless, tasteless) bread. It tasted like stale bread. One day there was no leftover bread and I made it with the fresh (saltless, tasteless) bread and the sauce was a hundred times better. I told the chef and suggested that now that notwithstanding the fact that this was a recipe based in poverty (and in light of the fact that Italians are no longer poor) perhaps we should make the sauce with fresh bread. He looked at me like I had a lot to learn about the ways of his people and basically said it doesn't matter if it tastes better, that's just not the way it's done." This in a nutshell, is what I am dealing with.