hathor

I've been out of town & am just catching up with this thread. I'm really enjoying learning more about each region this way and looking forward to trying a few dishes alla Lombardia. the Malfatti look VERY tempting... Re the conjectural history of Risotto alla Milanese (RaM): The Viander recipe is simply rice boiled in milk and stock with saffron added for color. Nearly identical recipes for rice coloured with saffron can be found throughout early medieval Europe, which I think gives the lie to most of those RaM legends. Additionally, the process for cooking risotto as we know it does not appear in any pre 1600 cookbooks I'm familiar with. Slight error on Alberini's part by the way, the 1549 Messisbugo recipe for Sicilian rice recipe has no saffron (at a quick glance, it looks like a simple baked rice with whole eggs in it). However the preceding recipe in Messisbugo, A fare Riso o farro con torli d’uova e formaggio 'To make rice or spelt with egg yolks and cheese', is somewhat closer to RaM. Roughly it says to take rice & boil it in broth, and when it is almost done add a mixture of grated hard cheese & eggs with a little pepper & saffron, and then mix constantly till it's done cooking. No butter, no frying the rice, no soffrito, but the egg & cheese mixture does add a risotto like creaminess not found in simple boiled rice. I beleive that Artusi was the first to publish a recipe for "Risotto alla Milanese" as such, but I'm not as familiar with post 17th c. sources, so I could be mistaken. ← ..and now from the land of the eternal questions: when did aborio type rice show up in Italy? That would make a difference in the prep. Aborio will absorb and absorb liquids, but the Indian type rice, which would have come from Asia, stops absorbing when done. Good history stuff, I love it!

Craig, I instantly thought of lepre (wild hare...really, really big rabbit....but that's antoher story ). Wild boar. Maybe venison. But strong, big meaty flavor. Oh, and I AM available for dinner.

Bread is so much fun to play with, isn't it?? think I'm going to play around with the malfatti tonight...I'll report later. I'm hoping I can set up the gnocchi about an hour before I use them, but I'm nervous about that. Gnocchi can be so tempermental!

Bunch of little ducky legs just went into the fridge, getting 'cured' before they get turned into confit. What kind of duck legs? "Fresh" That's all they could tell me..... great....fresh....

,,,,grrr...I can't find my ciabatta formula. Totally agree that this is not a bread that can be kneaded.

Nice research work, Pontormo! Thanks for all the beta. Azureus: I was thinking about your ciabatta today, and something you said. Ciabatta should have lots and lots of big holes, but you mentioned kneading it. When I've made ciabatta or have been shown how to make it, you can't 'knead' it per se, its too ' soupy'. When we were being taught how to make it, it was done in a mix machine with a dough hook with an astonishing amount of water. The chef told us to listen for a particularly 'slapping' sound to know when enough water had been used. I'll try and look up my notes on a formula that I have. But, if you can knead it by hand, its not wet enough.

Boris, great suggestion! I made the Arrosto di Vitello al Latte this evening, and it was a hit. Defintely a repeat, put into the repetoir recipe. (Portormo...think of me as running interference for you...) I found the recipe on www.frasi.net and made variation #2 because I love cookikng with juniper and bay. Served it with sauteed mushrooms and itsy-bitsy brussels sprouts (about the size of the agnolotti plin we were all trying to make...). I'm having trouble posting the pic, I'll try later, but here is the veal simmering away. never mind, seems I can't post anything. I'll try later. The brussel sprouts came from Holland, so I thought of Chiufi! They were excellent. ...mmmm...ciabatta....

Here is a pretty comprehensive listing. Caprai is one of the largest in Umbria. Things are pretty quiet in Feb....call ahead whevever you decide to go. All the restaurants serve local wines....many of the wines don't make it out of the region. I'm biased, but I think the wines are quite good. Not on par with some of the pricey Tuscans or Piemonte wines, but quite good with the local cuisine.

Its all in the timing!

Amen to that. I've come to terms with the fact that my freezer winds up being a storage locker for stuff I didn't want anyway. However, there is a big advantage in tossing out a frozen lump of something instead of liquids and lumps.

I am a devotee of the garlic cream sauce. I've used it with and without the port as a basis for sauces for a number of different dishes, including soups. Run with it....and report back on your experiments! (works great with pork)

Very interesting info Pontormo. You need this sort of info to put the regional food in perspective. Here's my little overview of the region: Take a quick look at the geography of Lombardia: there is plenty of water from the Alps, rivers and lakes, and a near equal divide between hills, mountains and plains. To orient yourself, you have Switzerland to the north, Piemonte to the west, Trentino and the Veneto bordering on the east and Emilio Romagna to the south. The region is intersected by the mighty Po river and boasts 6 large lakes: Maggiore, Varese, Lugano, Como, Idro and Garda. Now, the short history lesson: Original inhabitants were Celtic Then came the Gauls until the Roman Empire took over in the 3rd century BC When the Empire fell, the Goths took over, followed by the Lombards, who established their capital in Pavia. The Lombards were defeated by the Franks in 744. The whole region doesn’t become unified until the Visconti family of Milano takes over and keeps the region unified until 1428. The area doesn’t see a significant revival until mid-18th century when it fell under Austrian rule. In 1815, the Congress of Venice established the Lombardo-Veneto kingdom. In 1859, the region is among the first to annexed to Italy. Got that? There will be a pop quiz later this month. So, what does that mean in the cucina? All that water means plenty of irrigation to support the growth of cereal grains and fodder for livestock. More rice is eaten in the region than pasta. Butter from all those cows trumps the use of olive oil. Heavy cream is a favored ingredient (remember the Austrian-Swiss influence). Beautiful cow cheeses such as taleggio, bitto, formai de mut, crescenza, robiole, marscapone, grana, bel paese and my favorite: gorgonzola, are served at the end of meals. Not to worry, the pig is still important. Lombardia is home to famous prosciutti, the air dried, seasoned leg of the pig. Other parts of the pig are used in a variety of wonderful salumi. The quality of the air is highly valued, and even more so, the cultivation of the muffa or mold necessary to cure the meat. A famed producer of prosciutto was ordered by the government to move his establishment, horrified and terrified, he lovingly scraped every bit of muffa off the walls and brought it along to the new place, praying the sacred muffa would grow and season the prosciutto. Cured beef shows up in the mountain areas as bresaola, and even cured goat: violino di capra. The Jewish communities in the regions started using goose as an alternative to pork and created a variety of salumi d’oca. Rice features in many dishes: zuppa di riso, timballo di riso, torte di riso and the mack daddy of them all: risotto. Risotto all Milanese, all pilota, con seppia, con trota, con gorgonzola, con vino risso, con just about anything you have laying around the kitchen. Battles have been pitched over whether the sacred risotto should be stirred or shaken. As students at ital.cook, we were literally screamed at for stirring the risotto. To butter or not to butter at the end. These are serious issues that are hotly debated. In the south, there is still some tender wheat grown for those who would like to indulge in some pasta, like tortelli di zucca. In the foothills, corn is grown and turned into polenta, and in the mountains buckwheat is grown and made into pasta dishes like pizzoccheri della Vatellina. All those lakes provide fresh water fish such as carp, trout, pike and eels and frogs. The cows provide the beef and veal for osso bucco, veal Milanese, cotoletta, and the ever popular tripe. All in all, we are looking at a very rich region where the ability to mangia bene is not a problem. Buon appetito!

Complimenti on the new casa! And may you have lots and lots of patience during the restoration/renovation! I'm just catching up on all the good stuff I missed while I was away from the internet. Beautiful, beautiful food...just amazing. Makes a girl mighty hungry..... Sorry to be away so long and miss all the organizational stuff, but obviously everything is completely under control. See you'all in Lombardia.

I adore I Sette Consoli! And I totally agree that it is worth the drive. We had a most magical lunch there in the summer. Citta di Castello has Il Postale that everyone loves. I have some reservations about it, but I'm in the minority. But also in Citta, in the center of town, off the Piazza is Locanda Otto Cento. Local place that specializes in game. Also has incredible gnocchi with gorgonzola. In the Niccone Valley, if you are coming from Lago Tresimeno, towards Citta/Sansepolcro, you will come across Fattoria Gira Sole. The restaurant is simply wonderful, very inexpensive and the wines come from the vineyard across the road. Be careful, you will eat too much. We had a tortellini-ini in brodo there that was just perfect, the tortellini's were perfectly shaped and about the size of one these smiley icons. Right across the border into Tuscany, near Sansepolcro is fantastic pizza at Il Paradiso (we all call it the Lesbian pizza place as its all run by women...who are totally gorgeous). Try the 'rustico salad" which is simple slices of orange, raw garlic and olive oil. Its an inspired combination. If you make it to our little town of Montone, a beautiful small walled in village, have a meal at Erbe Luna (the pistachio crusted lamb chops are suberb) and please give Claudio and Martina a kiss for me. We won't see them until April and its killing me. Rest assured you will eat simply, but very, very well in Umbria.

Elie, that is so cool that you are curing the meats. Damn right your breasola is artisanal!

I was stupid or naive or never thought my grandmother wouldn't keep making her pumpkin pies, and that's why I don't have the recipe. Her pie crust was crumbly, flaky with an actual sugar crunch between your teeth, but not overly sweet. The pumpkin pie filing was only about 3/4" of an inch deep, but it was intensely pumpkiny flavored, it tasted like a fresh cut pumpkin smells, and had little pumpkin clumps. The color was sort of a pale orange with brown little bits on top. She would make 3 or 4 pies for for the family, and hold one whole one just for me. My only consolation is that I can conjur up the taste and smell at will, but I'm still a dunce for not thinking to get the recipe.

I had them at J.Shecky's (sp??) in London prepared with chorizo and fresh fava beans. I'm guessing they were quickly steamed, then tossed with the cooked chorizo and fava and placed back in the clam shell. Absolutely delicious.

Today? I don't know, but around 14th century, saffron production was quite widespread even in northern Switzerland. Later it was produced in the Valais, Ticino and Grigioni and until today, there's still a village in the Valais (Mund) where saffron is produced. Hence, we can fairly assume that Saffron once was widely produced on south slopes of the alps (like in the Valtellino) ← Thanks Boris. That puts the picture in better focus for me. Next saffron question: saffron was commonly used as a dye. Was it always used as a spice as well? Or did that come later?

This was the best explanation that I could find. But, somehow it seems too...pat. We've got Arabs, Sicily, saffron used by Romans for color, and none of this directly links to Milano, other than thru a stained glass maker. Is there any saffron that is locally grown in Lomardia?

Bologna is worth more than a few hours!! We (my husband and I) love Bologna and try to think up 'excuses' to go there! There are excellent hotel bargains there as well. Now, Forli is sort of interesting...and a few hours there is all that you need. But you need at least a day in Bologna.

Ciao tutti! I've been away...no internet...but I'm back. I'll try and put together a little background info on Lombardia. Stocking up on butter and eggs right now!! OK, history buffs, here is a question: why saffron in Milano (risotto Milanese). Where or how did saffron become a Milanese thing? (p.s. If anyone gets their hands on Abruzzo saffron...hold on to it for the the Abruzzo month. It is THE most amazine saffron I have ever tasted.)

OH, the appetites are here. But, I've been skiing like a banshee with my 20 year old son..and I'm no spring chicken! I'm tired!! The real problem is restricted ingredients. But...I'll try...I'll try. I think some faro soup would taste very good and I did bring along the faro!

Fantastic looking food everywhere! I'm jealous!! I'm up in the mountains of Utah, skiing, and have severly restricted access to ingredients...or the internet for that matter. I confess: I've been intimidated by cardoons as well. Be sure to wash those salt packed anchovies off really well! I agree, they are much better than the oil packed, but you need to be sure to wash thoroughly. Agnolotti technique, try this: long strip of pasta, maybe 1 3/4" wide, pipe a small thread of filling down the center of the pasta strip. Fold over, then pinch the agnolotti shut on the sides. Its quicker than the individual dot kind and you can get them smaller. I have a question: what region is responsible for osso bucco? That's the closest I've come to anything Italian in the past few days. (Except for some pistachio crusted lambchops made in the style of the restaurant in our piazza...but that recipe will be held until we get to Umbria! )

Thanks Nathan. I kinda liked the knobby breadstick myself... Barbaresco. What about some knock out, drop dead cheeses and just have a bread and wine fest??

Marlena, you are an instigator!!! We are trying not to not even think about truffles!! I love eggs and truffles...soft runny eggs. Or a butter meltingly soft slice of potato with truffles. But...I'm not in the zona at the moment...financially or physcially. so, in that case: "Let them eat grissini!"