hathor

I love this. Mayhaw Man and family do all the research...and we benefit! What a great thread! Now I want a Klondike refrigerator...and an OK'M stove. But I'm very worried. Yesterday I was encouraged by MM to go and ahead and build a stone put bbq...today I find this thread and realize that MM is insane. You rip out a kitchen w/out a plan???

Grazie mille for taking the time and making the effort to blog your school experience!! This sounds like money well spent!

Ciao Katia and Ronald!! No... I know nothing about ciocolatto modicano! Tell me everything, and yes, yes, post photos. Welcome to eGullet...it's a very hospitable place!! Can you give us some background...are you Siciliano? Or a transplant? Look forward to seeing you around eG!

Food Man: that sounds like a great party!! You did good! Saturday night: grilled striped bass with a very spicy tapenade. The chilis in my garden are waaaay hot! Grilled corn with lime chili butter, grilled red onions, multi-color lettuce salad Sunday night: grilled double lamb chops that were marinated in the left over tapenade and some extra spices and herbs, more corn, heirloom tomato salad. Experimented with a roasted peach w/cognac and frozen blueberry desert. Needs a little tinkering. Monday: arugula salad with crispy pancetta, parmesan and heirloom tomatoes. Lots of ends of cheeses that needed to be finished, olives, pickled okra and bread and wine and a good movie (Requiem for a Heavyweight).

Beta: it just means local info. Its sort of climber slang...when you are new to an area and need to find your way around. Maybe we will try to get to Slowfood event in Torino...will keep watching this thread to see where you wind up. Have fun for all of us!!

Sautrday, mid-day at the Union Sq. Greenmarket (NYC). What was I thinking going at 1:00?? It was a zoo!! Rainbow colored carrots Rainbow colored heirloom tomatoes Blonde cucumbers Zucchini blossoms Eggs Lots of greens in all sorts of colors, not just green peaches yellow watermelon gorgeous red onions striped bass filet, it smelled incredible, briny like an oyster and somehow I forgot to get okra...!

Wow! Quite the difference!! The fruit is beautiful though, isn't it??

Simon, what a wonderful quest! We were at L'Ostau de Beamaniere many years ago and it was just wonderful. Our son who about 8 at the time had a complete food epiphiany there. If you find yourself heading thru Umbria, please PM for some local 'beta'. Good luck!!

Tanabutler: that surely qualifies as tomato porn. That shot is beautiful!! Are you photoshopping the image? Just beautiful! Last night was long and chatty with a dear young friend. Primi: crispy zucchini blossoms Secondi: parmesan/sage crusted pork chops. The ones posted up thread have been on my mind all week! Sauteed lambsquarter greens with garlic. It was first for me, and they were very tasty. Salad: heirloom tomatoes, little bit of purslane and a beautiful head of bibb lettuce from the Greenmarket Dolce: some cut up, very sweet peaches with big blueberries and a splash of lemoncello

I love the history, Atticus, the banana cream pie, the stew, corn with lime juice and crushed red peppers! Thanks for blogging!!

Hey tooearly! Welcome to eGullet!! Montelpucianco is a lovely town, lots of fun walking around, shopping and eating! We've had some fantastic meals there...and I cannot remember the name of the restaurant...but you go in thru the main gate, and just up the main street a bit, there is a left hand, short alley that leads to a restaurant. Its a bit upscale, but worth it. If I can find the name in my notes, I'll pass it along. Make sure you do not miss the chastity belt exhibit in the wine cellar/catacomb that is open for viewing. Makes you appreciate electronic bracelets!!

Ah yes...but, if we are what we eat, then are we not what we write? Just teasing you a bit as you do make a valid point.

What if the flatware offends me? Do I get a free meal? What if it rains on the day I made a reservation to dine on the terrace? Katie's right... people will accept this idiot's view of the world just because its in print.

Husband can eat. Husband cannot and should not cook. Husband can load the dishwasher...but, then I go right behind him and take out the cast iron pan (!!), my knives (!!!), the cat (only kidding)...but anything that can fit into the dishwasher is fair game. When our son was small, and I would be away on business, I would call home, and my husband would brag all about what a wonderful dinner he made. When I spoke to our son, he would say, "Dad made prison food." Now our son is away at college and is seriously learning to cook. I do 'tech support' over the phone. One of my favorites was talking him through the herb garden so he could get what he needed to make Tuscan steak. OK, you are at the parsley...walk 3 steps left to the thyme..... I get phone calls when we are out where I'm suddenly talking him thru a beurre blanc.... That's my boy!!

I inherited a bottle and had no idea what to do with it. I just move it around when I clean out the pantry. I'll give it a shot with the lemonade....who knew!

Rats! No pictures...the digital and I are having a spat. Can't seem to get it to hold the focus... Yesterday morning I was at the Greenmarket nice and early, so I had my pick of all sorts of seasonal treats. We had seared tuna with a lime/sesame/soy butter, a lentil mix (moong & masoor dal), and sauteed okra with chiles. The market stalls were overflowing with fresh okra. Salad course was heirloom tomatoes and purslane with a basil/anchovy dressing. I'm addicted.... Cheese was this intense cheddar/blue that comes from a cheesemaker in Colechester, Ct. If anyone goes by the Greenmarket and sees the cheesemaker, this blue was amazing with a big red wine. Then we finished up with some strawberries, that were real strawberries, the kind with mud that you have to wash off, and seeds and stems and flavor.

We usually go out somewhere special to celebrate, and its usually a surprise for the celebrant. It's a game guessing where we will go....always a pleasant surprise. Somehow, it became tradition for our son to have a major dinner prepared in his honor at home, with him inviting 6 or 7 close friends. This started when he was about 15...so picture all these 15 year olds gamely trying caviar, duck, lamb.... They were all very good and adventurous sports, even the poor vegetarian that got invited. How could you not know one of your close friends was a vegetarian?? If I had known, I could have made her something special. In our family, we look for any excuse to all gather, laugh, eat and wine! So, now I have a significant b'day coming up, we are going to be in Italy, in Umbria, and we have no clue what restaurant to go to.... our neck of the woods is not very 'touristy' (near Umbertide/Citta dei Castello). Any suggestions?? I should probably ask this question on the Italian forum....

None. I'm in the "can't stand bottled dressing, don't see the reason" camp. But...someone should hire my mother for consumer testing. She has an amazing variety!!

Hey! Glad you decided to jump on in! Depends on what texture you want for the boccini (spelling??). In the summertime, I love to have the firm cool texture balance out against the warm pasta. I like tossing in "raw" ingredients for a little suprise!

Diana: those pork chops look really good! I'm a sucker for parmesan crust!! Last night we had roasted salmon with a pesto crust (have a lot of leftover pesto sauce....its gonna be a basil week for sure!), served on a bed of lemon Israeli couscous, topped with shredded snow peas. Salad was a roast pear and bleu cheese salad. yum.

Geez Seth!! You had me going until the "I'm kidding." Here I am starting to worry that kind, gentle, bread baking, family man Seth may have some very dark underbelly.... Did you ever see the movie? I believe in every tear drop of the magic! What a great thread!!

Quick but good: ravioli with fresh pesto sauce and some little lemon chicken nuggets. I still have some good parmigiano left over from our last trip to Italy (it was a HUGE hunk), and I was able to toast the pine nuts and get them in the blender before any of the kitchen vultures noticed. Even they won't snitch when the food processor is running!

For saffron, and lots of other spices, head over to the Indian markets...Lexington and the high 20's. There is an amazing market...on the East side of Lexington, called something like Markets of the World, fancy front to the store. Inside is just amazing! Gazillions of spices, beans, nuts, etc for very reasonable prices. However, my personal challenge is to get one of the check out ladies to smile...man, they are stonefaced!

Ciao DoverCanyon! Any chance you can post a photo so we can see the difference between your grapes and Carolyn's? (If Carolyn doesn't mind....) This blog is just amazing...its been a real treat to be allowed to become so intimate with these vines. Thank you Carolyn!

just curious -- how *are* the Greenmarket prices versus regular retail? (i won't even touch GG; any place like that has basically purchased a license to charge at will.) here in SEA, the farmers markets are incredibly affordable compared to even basic retail -- $1 for a huge bunch of basil, or a bunch of beets, or carrots. i paid $2 a pound for amazing green beans this Saturday. but haven't been to the NYC Greenmarket in nearly 5 years, so no clue how prices are tracking on that coast. I'm sorry...I don't know how to answer you. I'm not sure what you mean by 'regular retail'. In my neighborhood, GG is regular retail.... We don't have a nearby, convienent supermarket chain.