hathor

It all sounds yummy! Reminds me of crostini or bruschetta variations.... a nice chicken liver/rosemary pate chopped tomatoes and fresh basil since your tomatoes are coming in (really mean of you to rub it in) smoked red peppper paste firey chili paste to wake up the dead (just a thought..) And just a word of warning...don't put anything on a plate that can't be eaten, no matter how self explanatory it looks! I thought the dirt was Oreo crumbs.... Have Fun!

Food and wine is serious business in our family. There are pitched and heated battles over gravy and stuffing, but that's part of the tradition. But something funny is going on. The older generation (my mom and Aunt) keep messing with tradition. I'm the adventurous cook/eater...and I have to keep beating them back into the traditional dishes. One year, we got risotto instead of mashed potatoes. I mean come on...risotto?? Poor Auntie never hears the end of that one. And my mother bought an amputated turkey (breast only) this year...what is up with that??? I wailed so much she went and bought me one leg. Great, amputated and one-legged. I like the traditional dishes! Once a year is just fine. But I agree with some other sensible souls upthread, tradition with one or two new dishes thrown in. This year, I snuck in a fennel gratin that was a surprise hit. I love the holidays, and my family. Lucky me.

We always went to my Polish grandmother's when I was kid. She made a pumpkin chiffon pie that was incredible. I would always get one whole pie put aside just for me. The crust was thin, just a little sweet, and just a hint of burny part (crucial to the overall taste)...the filling was only about 1 1/2 inches thick and light and fluffy and pumpkiny and totally divine. I was stupid. I never got the recipe from her and now she's gone. Now Aunt Stella brings the pumpkin pie, and its good, but you know...it's just not the same.

9 out of 11...thanks God, I'm always ready to travel.

A friend of ours just introduced us to Negroni's.... delicious and powerful. My...they were singing in the piazza that night! Thanks for the recipes!!

In a way, why is it OK for the Brits and the Spanish to be wildly creative, just to name two countries with top chefs often appearing in the media, and not for the Italians? Do you think there is a bit of prejudice in the foreign press when looking at the Italian scene? ←

Grazie mille for that insightful reply. Between your comments and Faith Willinger's...this has been a thought provoking week on eGullet. (and I'm a street food girl, myself!) p.s. edit to explain I was thanking Albiston w/out having seen Francesco's very interesting reply!

Salve`! What an interesting topic. My husband and I are about to become involved in a project that encompasses design, food and lifestyle. The truly difficult part is balance. Balance between what is comforting, but giving it a little bit of an edge; for both dinner and the sofa. Your thoughtful replies are helping me to focus on this. Thank you for participating in this forum! Grazie, from a dedicated hedonist! hathor

On one hand there´s the Slow Food followers, food "conservatives" and such, who look at the trattoria (or osteria) concept, seen as a simple often family run home-style place, as the essence of Italian food and hospitality. On the other are those who follow the ristoranti guides, may it be Gambero Rosso, Espresso or Michelin, who often see the trattorie people as those holding back the evolution of Italian gastronomy. Hence the choice of words and resulting generalization. ←

My husband can join the throw-it-out gang.... so depressing....so random!!

Marco Polo, funny you should mention about tartufi being local contadini type food. Last weekend we went to a tartufo festa in Citta` di Castello, where the best part of the festa was that they had constructed this white tent structure that held in all the tartufo aroma. But, what struck me as I walked around was the clumps of very local people debating the merits of the different truffles that were available. In their wildest dreams they wouldn't spend the kind of money that is being thrown at the 'tartufo d'alba'. Nine times out of ten they have have their own dogs and their own secret haunts. Most of the truffles available at local trattorias come from some guy (always a secret who it is) who goes somewhere secret to get his stash. In our neck of the woods, truffles are still very much a very local secret. Tell me, is there anything better than opening the pantry and sniffing that tartufo you have ready for dinner that evening?? And yes, simple, humble preparations show off this magical tuber in the best possible manner.

Good question. I think part of the appeal of trattorie is the perception that the tourist can then mingle with 'locals', or perhaps its the perception that real Italian life is lived in a warm, welcoming trattoria rather than a possibly intimidating food palace. We had a similar conversation last night with friends in Italy. We were dining at a local restaurant that has very non-tipici Umbrian food, and wondering why the restaurant was not doing a better business as the food was exceptional. Most restaurants around northern Umbria offer pretty much the same, standard fare, so you have to wonder why something a bit different would not be better received. Italy, by and large is a less formal country, and not particularly adventurous in eating. They are all perfectly happy eating what they have been eating all along, and rightly so. Your question also brings to mind that Italian cooking is ingredient driven, not preparation driven, so why spend so much money on indgredients_

I was actually thinking of goose fat, since it's rather easy to find it here in Germany. Do you suggest duck fat for a particular reason? ← Just because I was thinking of duck confit. No special reason. I usually can come up with some rendered duck fat in my refrigerator... goose would be just as tasty and interesting. I'm wondering why Suzanne wants to take out the bones.... bones add flavor. Maybe because they would be tiny, and the bird meat would fall apart? I just lvoe quail....now, I'm hungry.... Just as a by-the-way: I've noticed that European quail tend to be much bigger than U.S. quail. Could make a difference in how we approach this project!

Suzanne: Dynasty market is Chinatown has very cheap quail. We can have them every day now if we so desire! There's not enough fat on the bird...would you confit the quail in duck fat? could be a very interesting experiment!

Something tells me we all sit around and tell war stories. Yes, honesty. But controlled honesty. This isn't a family, its a business. No one would hire someone they thought would be dis-honest. But we've all been fooled. Daniel, you can have faith in your brother (methaphorically speaking), but as a business owner, you need to watch everyone's back. Its just the way it is.

Quick Italian-Franco comfort food: spaghetti with 'wild' clams. All the fish at Gourmet Garage last nigt was labelled as 'wild". The mental image of clams in short grass skirts dancing around a boiling pat was irresistable. And some killer garlic bread..you know the kind where you just rub the raw garlic across the grilled bread? God, I can't believe I discovered this so late in life.... The Franco salad course: baby romaine in a mustardy vinegarette, port poached pear (say that 3 times fast!) and roasted roubouchon (sp??). Served with a muscato. But roasted or pan roasted radishes sound really, really good..

an absolutely beautiful bottle of rose champagne a full Magnum of a nice old Chateauneuf du Pape (sp?) 1969 Port oysters: would need some east coast, west coast and French coast a full on caviar sampler, does the Iranian really hold up to the Russian beluga? you know, one of those discussions foie/fois gras with carmelized pears. I'm not at all picky about how you spell it, just serve it. lobster with white truffles (I actually had this once, and I can still conjure up the taste and smell, and I would like to have it again, please) elk. I really, really like elk and only get it when a hunter friend gets lucky. and some very good friends to laugh with and share with.

God those ribs look good....drooool. I've also been working ridiculous hours, but haven't had to resort to ramen....yet. Sunday night we had braised chicken and garlic and merguez sausages, and tonight its going to be the left over chicken with some lentils. And last night was it was chicken with some old brussels sprouts I found lurking in the refrigerator. geez, I need to get my life back....soon....

I made a damn fine steak tartare from the book! Of all things to 'ban'....a cookbook? Good grief. I think it is a fanfuckingtastic cook book. so. there.

My condolences...and a big hug. Its funny how its the day to day mundane that can get to us. Enjoy your memories. And I'm very sure Mom will be visiting you often. Another hug, hathor

Ditto on both counts!! You are back...and I can practically smell the grapes!!

My husband's family is Turkish Sephardic, and these guys are the master pepita/pumkin shell roasters and eaters!! There used to a raw nut supplier that would sell them 10 lb bags at a time...that is a lot of pumpkin seeds! Roasting from the pumpkin: the colander method mentioned up above works about the best to get rid of all the stringy slime. Which is stringy, STINGY slime if a little one gets in their eye, so take care. I dry roast them. Coat liberally in salt and roast in a 325 oven until they are toasty/crispy. Silpat is excellent. Eating method: I eat the whole damn thing shell and all. I like all the salt and crunch. Husband's method: hold seed vertically between index and thumb, insert the little point between front teeth and gradually feed into the mouth while cracking along the seam of the shell. Hulled seed drops onto tongue. Now, my husband can do a 2 hand feed, and polish off at least 60 seeds a minute! Anybody want a Quicktime video of this???????

So happy to see you are blogging!! I've been slammed at work, and haven't been keeping up on the blogs so I was surprised and happy to see that you are up. Excellent! Pop in the morning, are you sure you aren't Southern?? mmmm...roast chicken...one of the great comfort foods!

Auguri!! What a marvelous compliment! (and yes...we are still missing those two weeks!!)