Kevin72

Man, this thread is flying! Brad, thanks as always for the wonderful contribution on the wine essay. Put me into the column of those who go to Rome and have Frascati there and find it radically different than what you get here. But don't they also drink it very fresh in Rome? Still, I like the Frascati we get here. After a winter of robust, sturdy reds, there's something to be said about sipping a glass of this on your patio while the sun goes down. Nathan, sorry about your chokes ala Romana. But your suspicion is right: in my experience, you can't put too much mint in there, and can't use too much olive oil, either. Both yours' and Shaya's look great! Shaya, I don't notice a difference in flavor between red and green artichokes but I'm sure aficiandos would be able to tell you. The reds are much more supple, tender, and have a good deal less choke that comes out very easily. Pontormo: that spaghetti with scafata has caught my eye as well. I may make a straight-up scafata at some point this month if I get the time. Bigjas: What about doing the polenta in a flour/egg wash/breadcrumb dip next time? I can never get the egg and flour coating to work right in a deep fry. And that is too funny what you said about eating real carbonara in Rome and being ecstatic that it was so like yours'. Same thing happened to me when we went there and had Pasta all'Amatriciani the first night; I almost danced around the dining room that I was doing it right all this time!

I used Downie's version when I made it last year and didn't use any additional fat for the initial prep, though I think I recall that leftovers needed a jot of oil to moisten things up. When I've made the Batali variation which uses rigatoni and then arugula over the top, however, I have used the oil.

Wait, good lord, how did that happen? Sorry everyone, I could've sworn this was the dinner thread.

Feel free to post the meal here when you do cook it Klary. Do you get the baby artichokes there? Those are much easier to do. I actually like most of the ritual of prepping artichokes, except for the scooping out the choke part.

A tapas party I had a couple weeks ago. Sorry for the delay; hope this isn't a breach of ettiquette. In the foreground, tortilla espagnola(sp?) topped with a sauce of reduced broth, shallots, and saffron. The almonds are the slow-roasted version from Paula Wolfert's excellent Slow Meditteranean Kitchen. In the background are serrano, manchego, and chorizo de Soria. On the left, grilled pork pork skewers. The meat was marinated for two days in pimenton, paprika, cumin, and olive oil. The sauce is yogurt pureed with roasted peppers and cilantro. On the right are marinated asparagus wrapped with serrano. Tuna empanadillas Marinated manchego and olives, again from Wolfert Also made but not pictured: Baccalao "pilpil", based on the description from the "Where the Boys Are" chapter in the Basque country from Bourdain's Cook's Tour: salted codfish cooked in olive oil until it falls apart, then stirred into a creamy emulsion. At the last minute, parsley, peppers, and garlic are stirred in. Meatballs in almond sauce Chorizo al vino: the misstep of the night. The chorizo got burned on the bottom in my cast iron skillet and then dried out sitting in the oven to be kept warm. And all that grease it discharged! Well, at least now my skillet is seasoned. For dessert, my wife made little butter cakes and sherry-marinated strawberries, I made "nougat" ice cream: 13 people had confirmed for the party but 8 made it. And this was enough food for twice as many as were originally invited. Needless to say, I'm a little sick of tapas leftovers.

Continuing the Batali theme, Monday night I made one of my favorite springtime dishes, a modification/combo of two Mario recipes: spaghetti with artichokes and caramelized fennel. These chokes came from Whole Foods. They also had monstrous globes, albeit for $3 each. The pasta is sweet from the fennel and artichokes, fiery from the chilies, and creamy and succulent from the oil and pecorino. And then the mint over the top of course. An all-timer in my book.

Great meals, everyone! I keep running across people who don't like artichokes and it boggles my mind. Foodman, has your Central Market stopped carrying baby artichokes? Ours' only has regular globe chokes and they're looking pretty pitiful.

Robert Brown had a number of great writeups about his trips there the past couple years: Here Here and Here Alle Testiere gets mentioned frequently here for a must try. The common comment (I think you'll even find it on one of the threads) about da Fiore is that its prices are in the stratosphere now, even for lunch.

Looks about right to me, and better than my usual results. Congrats on the guanciale, Tupac! Great looking carbonara; it's interesting how this seems to be a recurring fave this month. Are you going make amatriciani next?

Er, no. Frozen peas. I stand behind them after too many times shelling out the $$$ for fresh, spending an hour shelling them, and then winding up with pasty starch balls.

My first meal for Rome was a birthday dinner for some good friends of ours'. For the antipasto, caramelized fennel with anchovies, chilies, and Sambucca, a Batali recipe: Got a little heavy-handed with the fronds for garnish, I guess. The primo was fettuccine Alfredo: Made in the authentic Roman style, that is, tossed with heavy butter (no cream) and ample cheese. Even though I made it exactly the same as last year, for some reason, this year it wasn't as transcendent. Still good of course, but last year's was one of the best things I've ever made. The secondo was another Batali recipe, fish (striped bass) with peas, scallions, and mint: It's funny; I've been cooking for these friends for years, and when they tasted the peas they asked if this was another Mario recipe. I guess that slowly braised vegetable with olive oil and mint has become kind of a signature flavor for his style. The peas took on some of the fish flavor and juices and became sweet and buttery. Dessert was tiramisu: I forgot the chocolate chunks in this one and only dusted it with cocoa powder, yet the feedback was that this may have been my best version.

Whew! That's what I do! But, I just found a Middle Eastern grocer literally across the street from my work and they sell frozen, peeled favas.

Most likely the pizza gain mentioned above, aka pizza rustica.

Here's what I've found on Eastertide dishes after researching my cookbooks: First of all, once again, Michele Scicolone’s book Italian Holiday Cooking proves to be an indispensable resource. Quite a few of the recipes listed below are also found in her cookbook. She gives a great sidebar discussion of both Easter (Pasqua) and Easter Monday (Pasquetta) and suggested menus for both. Sweet Ricotta Tarts are eaten all over Italy, according to both Scicolone as well as Lynne Rosetto Kasper in The Italian Country Table. In Lombardia, particularly the Camonica Valley, little glazed rolls, stuffed with candied fruits are consumed, often paired with something savory such as chamois proscittuo(!) at the start of the meal (Italian Country Table). Similarly, in Milan and Pavia (differing legends and history, of course), a similar bread is shaped into a dove and baked. (The Italian Baker, Carol Field) In Friuli, they make Gubana, a bread stuffed with nuts, chocolate, dried fruits, and several liqueurs. (The Italian Baker) In Umbria and Le Marche, cheese breads are made, and in Umbria, these breads are baked in little flower pots. (The Italian Baker) In Recipes from Paradise by Fred Plotkin, he describes one Ligurian dish, Torta Pasqualina, a savory pie stuffed with prescinseua (a tangy cousin of ricotta) cheese, fresh herbs, greens, and whole raw eggs which set while the pie bakes. The Romans have Torta Salata, an eggy bread with olives, ham, and pecorino romano. (Cooking the Roman Way) According to Arthur Schwartz’s Naples at Table, in Campania, a variation of the traditional bread Tortano, now called Castiello, is served. These are lard (and it must be lard, implores Schwartz) enriched loaves of bread, stuffed with salami and provolone or some other sharp aged cheese, that then have hard-boiled eggs affixed to them before baking. Campania and Abruzzo among other Southern regions has pizza rustica, aka pizza chiena, aka pizza gain, a baked pie stuffed with cheese and ham. In Abruzzo, the cheese would be their much-beloved scamorza, smoked fiore di latte. For the dinner itself, lamb, of course, plays a major role in traditional Easter meals all over Italy. A traditional recipe in many different regions is to roast the leg over a bed of potatoes (Italian Holiday Cooking). In Puglia, one traditional Lamb dish according to Nancy Harmon Jenkins in Flavors of Puglia is to oven-braise it with peas and pancetta, then finish with raw eggs and cheese swirled in, which “cook” in the sauce. This egg and cheese emulsion stirred in at the end finds its way into many traditional lamb preparations across the South, including also Campania, Lazio, and Abruzzo and is often called “brodetto”. A tradtional pasta dish eaten during Easter week in Rome, according to Cooking the Roman Way, is penne tossed with ricotta and asparagus. Finally, David Downie also gives a wonderful description of “Pasquetta”, Easter Monday, in his excellent cookbook Cooking the Roman Way. In Rome, Pasquetta is traditionally a picnic day, and Romans vacate the city in droves and go out into the countryside, particularly the area of Frascati and the Alban Hills. Traditional dishes to pack up and take along: Lamb in Egg and Cheese Sauce Fettuccine Alla Romana: Fettuccine tossed with a rich ragu of sausage, chicken livers, and shortribs Fire-roasted artichokes

Welcome, Mike! I'd actually go the other direction from Pontormo's recommendation and say add more yolks in proportion to whites: I usually do 1 egg and then 3 yolks instead of three eggs for the recipe. Also, I find that the heat of the pasta, its cooking water, and the pork is more than enough to cook and set the eggs so I don't do it over direct heat at all. But regardless of what way you go, as she points out, sauce should be more of a glossy coating and not really a "sauce" per se.

Hell no. I never understood that. Lawsuit waiting to happen for him to put that in there.

Anche io. i've been asking this question around and about eG and it seems that N.Americans don't cook anymore. They're intimidated by their kitchens. Check out the Dream Dinner thread if you really want to become disturbed. I don't understand. There is a serious disconnect going on. ← The really sickening thing is how FTV plays into this; the new cooking shows they offer are all gimmicky, diet or convenience based. "Isn't food a hassle? Well, here's a way to deal with it in 30 minutes! With prepackaged food! That's low in carbs!" Same thing with these cookoffs now; apparently the only way people think we can be interested in food be entertained at the basest level.

Nathan! Perfectly Roman meal. Like Anna, I was moaning looking at these pics. So glad you liked the guidea 'chokes. However much of them I make it's never enough. Did you do the double fry or just cook them once? And the amatriciani sauce, I love the observation that it has the balance of "fat, spice, and acid" . . . all that fat is what makes it! And Hathor, thanks for the writeup of the other Provinces of Lazio, exactly what we needed.

I enjoyed the Miami episode, kinda had that breezy, wink-wink stuff going on that the 2nd season of ACT had, but then again I seemed to have been in the minority of liking those episodes, also. I know it's too early to really tell just 3 episodes into the new season, but it does seem a little more food and chef-centered this time around.

Quite a few; in fact I think that's what'll take up most of my research.

Beat me to it, eh? One of my weekend projects was to get together some traditional dishes and specialties and I'll post them here when I get them assembled.

I like that effect! What's the green in the brodetto? These regional threads can and should be revisited any time, regardless of the month and what we're covering at the time.

And, finally, while we're listing guanciale sources, let's not forget Mario's dad's place in Seattle, as it was pointed out to me last year when I was lamenting my predicament.

Hmm. Well, there goes my "fresher out of the soil" theory. It'll be interesting to see the difference in blanching them, but I wonder how it'll impact the bland factor . . . ? Awesome! I love that book. Really transports you. I get lost in it everytime I pick it up.

Hathor answered this pretty well. Preparation and ingredients play a role. And really, it can't be emphasized enough that it's just a matter of where you are and what's growing around you and what can be supported by the terrain. Too, look at what's nearby, what borders the region, who's ruled them, etc: Puglia, on the heel, is closer to Greece than it is to Rome, so there's a definitive Greek influence to the food and cooking and even ingredients, since the Greeks ruled this region extensively and brough their own foods and specialties. Then came the Spanish, who left their own imprint. Sicily is an even better example of this. But part of the fun of looking at regional Italian food is that just when you think you know it, you don't. Pontormo posted a quick summary of each region and its specialties on the Friuli thread (here). If you're looking to get an understanding of the regions, the big three books I'd really recommend are either Culinaria: Italy, Claudia Roden's Food of Italy Region by Region, or Ada Boni's Italian Regional Cooking as a good start. Yeah, they are my favorite vegetable. When I was growing up we'd do either the lemon butter sauce or a homemade, ranch-type sauce I think to dip them in. And then there was the ceremony of cutting out the heart, the best part, when we were done. It took me forever to figure out the "Italian" style of ripping off the leaves and paring it away to nothing! The dorado prep is pretty much the same recipe in Downie's book, then. I recommend doing the two you've got left Romana-style: braised with white wine, mint, parsley, garlic and sometimes a dish of chilies. If you haven't tried artichokes and mint yet it'll send you into orbit. Right up there with tomatoes and basil and potatoes and rosemary for great veg/herb pairings.