Kevin72

Yes, Sardinia. Get your notes ready!

Yeah, calamari en zimino is good stuff. It was my capper for Liguria last year.

Allow me to return the compliments to both of your dishes, Foodman and Shaya. Fish and potatoes is a great thing, isn't it? And I love that touch of shredded pumpkin in the tart! I'm glad you've been so surpised by Liguria, FM. I was really delighted by discovering it last year, too, and it definitely plays into my cooking style this time of year. I love all the herbs, the delicate vegetables, and the different sauces. I'd been wanting to do a vegetable tart this month as well, and a fish soup, but we're running out of time already!

You know, I'm uncovering some problems with Plotkin recipes. For instance, when we did Friuli in March and I made a pasta from his book, that was a disaster. And last year I made the chestnut trofie from Paradise and it wound up also not working. Granted, part of that was because the flour was rancid, but also, unless the condition of the flour played into the cooking properties as well, they were way undercooked when I followed his directions and I had to toss them back into the pot to cook more. So, all that is to say, I think the octopus cooking time of 20 minutes is too little. 40 minutes to an hour would have done it, and I'm also firmly in the "cooking them with a wine cork" camp. For the focaccia, I'd say more liquid and maybe even more fat would've worked in the crust. But again, kudos to your ambitions.

Arrgh! I had read about this place here on eG and really gotten pumped for our visit June 19-21st. Their voice mail box is full and after some repeated tries I got through but they are also at the Aspen Food and Wine fest at that time. Really disappointed.

Wow, I had never even heard of these differences in styles based on the East and West trails before. Can you elaborate more on them? Is the West style then the Czech barbecue that Central TX specializes in? I've only been the Llano location for Coopers before and I still enjoyed it quite a bit.

Yeah, I'm not buying the "someone else vote for me" line of thinking, either, Mike. Go look at the start of the thread where Pontormo and I list what regions are left to be covered. Ponotormo even has a great little snapshot of each of the regions. Which ones sound most appealing and interesting to you? Which ones feel appropriate for the NY summer heat, when you'll be cooking?

Central Market carries the casings in their frozen meats section. I haven't had much luck with finding pork fat; I've had to fall back on salt pork that I soak beforehand. And, for buying pork in bulk, ya can't beat Costco's massive shoulder cuts for like $1.50 a pound!

So, are you over your bacala aversion then? After handing off your bad luck with making it to me? And marjoram makes people's tongues go numb? Weirder and weirder. I knew about the cilantro thing but I had never heard the marjoram thing. And oregano doesn't do that?

I made them, raw, into a salad several years ago and found them to be inedibly bitter. I gave 'em another shot later on and cooked them. Since then I've picked up quite a taste for them and really crave them this time of year, but I always cook (blanch) them first. I like them most with orecchiette pasta and sausage. I made a traditional braised lamb dish from Puglia in Italy with them and really liked the mineraly flavor they lent the dish.

Caperberries.

Housekeeping note: I've only received three peoples' votes for the next three regions we'll be covering during July, August, and September. Remember, I'd like to announce those regions in the first week or so of June to give everyone a chance to pick up related cookbooks and such in advance.

Sunday night I set out to contradict the statements I've made about Ligurians not having so rich a tradition of seafood. Antipasto I: Glazed calamari with basil: I heated a pan very hot, added olive oil, then in quick succession, the calamari, garlic, and two whole chili pods, then a shot of water and some salt. I kept cooking the water off and adding more until they were soft; about 30 minutes. Probably should have gone just a little longer; they were still slightly toothsome and not as melting as long-cooked calamari get. Off the heat, shredded basil was added, and fresh crusty bread used for the sauce. Antipasto II: Shrimp fritters In Liguria, one seafood item that is doted on are bianchetti (whitebait) and rosetti; the newborn of anchovies or sardines and red mullet, respectively. In Plotkin's book, he has a picture of a fritter made with bianchetti, but then no recipe. So I made do with a yeast-leavened batter and some egg whites. Rather than the whitebait, I used baby shrimp about the size of your thumbnail. When I cut open the fritter in the first pic above to get a picture, I was horrified to find that it was still raw and runny in the middle. Back into the fryer they all went for a few more minutes. I'm sure they absorbed buckets of oil in the process. They tasted vaguely Asian. The main was pesce alle Ligure, Ligurian-style fish, which is to say simply roasted with white wine, garlic, olives, and ample olive oil. I added caperberries to the mix. On the side, steamed potatoes dressed with one of the multitude of "salsa verde" that Plotkin uses in his book: this version had anchovies, garlic, parsley, capers, and raw celery. Edits: Forgot that Chufi had beaten me to the Pesce alla Ligure preparation right out of the gate this month! I used pompano for the fish. Finally, I seem to have really neglected Ligurian desserts this month.

Pontormo, you don't like marjoram but you do like oregano, then? I've been using oregano from my garden (it's absolutely exploding and already flowering) in place of all the marjoram Plotkin calls for. I've tried growing marjoram, as well, but it's just not taking. And Mike, you made gnocchi? Bravo! My first attempt took me 4 hours--we were eating dinner at 10 pm! Second attempt I wound up with potato paste in the bottom of my food processor! Are you sure you're new to all this?

Poof Goes Aries On a side note, Alison Cook has a blog? Cool!

Whoah, what happened to all the green food? Elie, you should know that Plotkin would not approve of the pestle since it isn't made of the olive wood that authentic Ligurians use . . .

Yeah, I'm pumped also. This one snuck under my radar; I just recently found out about it. A new Bourdain book and a new Ruhlman book and, oh lookie, it's my birthday next month!

It's something to the effect of, "History of the World in Five Cups". But I can't find the exact title on Amazon. Edit: Got the count and drinkware wrong: A History of the World in 6 Glasses .

Born into it. My mom's a really good natural cook and had me in the kitchen alot when she was making that night's meal. I can even remember being fascinated by cooking shows when I was a kid. And I've always been interested in food and experimenting with flavors.

I've ordered mine from iGourmet before. Their availability on this product is spotty, but it may only be a Holiday-related problem. A previous thread on this topic.

Turned out great, BTW. Only a handful of casualties and most of those were because the shells were split or had holes in em. Made spicy mussel soup, a favorite this time of year, and some of the best mussels we've had in quite some time.

Maybe it can double as a sous vide maker when I'm in between shellfish?

All right, smartass. Have mercy on those whose caffeine hadn't kicked in yet.

Monday night's meal: Chicken with walnut sauce, zucchini tart. The chicken was a modification of a rabbit with almonds in Plotkin's book. After my rabbit experience last fall, I decided to do skinned chicken legs and thighs instead. What makes this an interesting braise is that a second sauce gets added to the pan juices just before serving. The original recipe is almonds pounded with garlic and breadcrumbs. Similar, then to the walnut sauce I had leftover from Saturday's meal. I drained the walnut pesto to remove the excess oil, then added it to the pan juices and it kicked up a wonderful, whole new aroma and lifted the deep, braised flavors quite well. The zucchini tart, as Plotkin notes, is different from the tarts we've seen previously that are encased in a crust. Here, it's zucchini and rice coated with breadcrumbs and baked. I was worried that this would be a bit too much like the tiella I made last year from Puglia, but there's a much lower proportion of rice to vegetable, and in fact the rice was more a filler or binder than anything. Very satisfying.

That's beautiful. What's the red, a tomato puree?