hathor

OH! I thought I knew...but side by side, nope. I have no idea what's in your bowl!

Beautiful meal Kevin! Oh, and does this mean that granita season is officially open? Mint and orange....mmmm...... Mr. Big: that recipe looks good to me, but I think I would like the way that you made it. I like it when the elements retain their individual flavors instead of all melding together. And, of course, there was that bit about resting the polenta for 15 minutes on a board.... This was lunch today, and I thought it had all the elements of Basilica-Calabria: small pieces of meat: oxtail olives, chili peppers, parsley dried pasta made with hard, durum wheat

Are you saying that strawberries are not supposed to be crunchy?? Well, who knew! I well remember pinching the stringers, dealing with the ants and the birds that invaded our strawberry patch. For some reason, that was my job as a kid, but the memory of those strongly flavored berries lingers on. It's few and far between to find that flavor now.

A Chufi blog is ALWAYS a treat!! Your refrigerator looks so organized. I try, and I try..... sigh.... Have you ever tried rhubarb in a savory manner? Maybe as a side with meat...maybe duck? Duck meat is so rich, the tartness could be refreshing. I mean while you are having adventures this week.... edit to add p.s.: that spring rhubarb photo with the roses in the background is just gorgeous!

How cool...I'd love to experiment along with you, but my market is plum out of camel meat! I wonder if you wrapped the meat inside some baking paper and then packed in the salt, if that would work. Is there much fat on camel meat? Braising would certainly work. I'm imagining fusion camel...camel ravioli....camel ragu....

Franci, that is a lovely blog. So the 'tool' is only used to make an impression on the dough, right? I love these old 'tools'! Mr Big: I went looking thru my books and I can't even find polenta and Basilicata in the same recipe. I'll keep looking. How did yours turn out? I'd cook the elements separately and then unite them for serving. (my english is starting to sound like my bad Italian! sorry!) But according to my Basilicata book, almost every single recipes calls for pepperoncino, so go for it!

Can you describe the appearance of the vegetable a bit better? Dark green? Medium? Varigated? Long legs/stems? etc?

Nice write up Franci! I love the idea of 'pepper' chips. How does that tool work? Do you use like a chitarra and cut the pastry? Or roll down it to make a ridge pastry? Sometimes you can 'nduja in the US...but be warned, that stuff is FIERY!! At least to me!

Ciao Franci! You have been missed! Hope you are feeling well and strong. I think doubling the pasta on the chitarra would be more trouble than it's worth! But, to each his own. Last night I made the faro with aspargus cream, a recipe I mention upthread. I would up having to sub orzo for the farro, but it is still a very satisfying and delicious combination. This would be a great dish to have around for vegetarians, it's very filling and nutrionally balanced. Sorry, no pictures, the camera was all the way upstairs, and we were running late for a concert!

But, where do you get the raw ingredients from when you want to cook your own steak?

Good research Ghostrider! This is something that has always bugged me as well. I do have a question, your quote states: "- A foreign manufacturer selling product in the U.S. must comply with the same laws for folic acid fortification of enriched grain products." Do you know if US made pasta has folic acid fortification requirements? If they do, then everything must be fortified. I'm on a r e a l l y s l o w internet connection, or I would try and look it up myself.

The key words used in the product descriptions seemed odd to me: one featured diced carrots, the other featured diced celery. Now, that can hardly by Pugila's claim to fame. If you are going to bother trying to appear regional, couldn't they do any better than celery and carrots? Oh...I'm just being cranky. sorry!

What the hell?? And we Americans also can't be trusted with the head and the organs?? What is that about?? There is a great classic Abruzzo dish where you bake the two halves of the head. It is a totally gruesome preparation and presentation, but why waste any part of the animal? On a tastier note: The other night at a friends house, we were served spaghetti with chick peas and baccala, which is an Abruzzo recipe. It's a really good combination, the starch of the chick peas absorbs flavor and some of the sharpness from the baccala.

Those are some really interesting points - I knew that DeCecco uses the bronze dies but not the other points. But does the vitamin-fortified business not also apply to the Rustichella d'Abruzzo? If not, why are they exempt? ← Ghostrider: I don't know the answer to that question, for certain, but I was told that it applies to all pasta imported into the US. Maybe there is an allowance for 'artisan' style pasta, but I really don't know. In answer to your question, Elie, it appears that Americans cannot be trusted to eat properly, and we need the gov't to make sure we get some niacin and riboflavin. I've often thought that someone must have had a ton of riboflavin on their hands, and got some pork barrel senator to write in the enriched pasta requirement. But, then again, maybe I'm just being cynical.....

What odd dishes to represent Puglia. I'm sure diced carrots and diced celery are typical Pugliese ingredients, they just smack of locality and terriore. Or, maybe Progresso is just talking smack....

That's an interesting dish, Shaya. Do the crepes soak up all the broth? Poor Abruzzo, we all seem to be struggling with this one. Wonder why.

Chufi, the photo of the strawberry lemon cake is absolutely gorgeous!! The whole meal looks wonderful, but that picture is exceptional. You are the queen of interesting salads! PS. Happy to you!!! Enjoy your birthday!!

Hiroyuki, I always enjoy your posts. You are very generous with your knowledge. Thank you for blogging this week, I look forward to learning from you! Please let me add my good wishes for your wife's recovery, and an extra hug for you and your beautiful children. Can you talk a little about bento boxes? It seems as if they are an important part of Japanese culture and the arrangement and ingredients are symbolic of different things.

Kevin, that lamb is beautiful, and I'm certain that it would be right at home in Abruzzo! I've been such a slouch this month....only Abruzzo wines! I was reading Waverly Root's chapter on Abruzzo and he talks about the mountains being snow covered all year. That's not true anymore. The Gran' Sasso is incredibly beautiful, but I saw no snow on it. DeCecco gets the water that they use in their pasta from these mountains, directly behind the factory. Will global warming even affect DeCecco? No snow. No water.

Ah, mother nature. You beat the odds in any event!

Mike...we missed you! Nice to see you....slump, bah!

Can anyone recommend some food blogs from New Orleans? I've been reading Chris DeBarr's blog, mentioned upthread, but I'm looking around for some more. Thanks!

Hey..you guys got linked to aSalon article. What a wonderful story, and a way to keep New Orleans in the press. Seems like there is still a long road in front of you.

Wait, you forgot Mrs. Weinoo's pasta! She had the buccatini, si? I just remember it as being light and flavorful. All in all, a good place to have a comfortable, tasty meal, and to be able to actually hear your dining companions talk.

That's just plain stupid. What does colored water teach you....blue + yellow = green? What would be the point??