Kevin72

You can knock out cheap eats heaven and Vietnamese in one fell swoop and go to Mai's near downtown for lunch. Not sure if they're open Sundays.

Leave it to eGullet to be the one place where making your own pasta isn't enough! I have really enjoyed it when I've taken the effort to hand-roll it; there is a definite rough or textural difference on the tongue. That said I don't have much of the space for it.

I make my own pasta, but only handroll it very occasionally. I was debating doing it this time but ran out of time in the kitchen.

Time to backpedal: the "unlikely" part was more in reference to email addresses, and not that they wouldn't have the capability to have fax and/or emails.

We didn't have a problem with not making reservations, but we went much earlier in the year, sans tourists and the whole Pope issue. From my experience, it's kind of a pain to try to work the reservation angle from the U.S., what with coordinating their hours with your time and catching them still open but not busy. Plus of course the language barrier. Maybe make a reservation for your first night and then have your hotel take care of the rest for you when you get there, unless there's a few "must" destinations you really, really want to get to. Also see if they have email or fax (unlikely but you never know).

No, we got to give the new section a whirl this time. Actually, thinking back on that night we were kinda obnoxious (byob and all) so maybe it's for the best . . .

What sort of herbs do you gather, and what do you use them in? Did you have cooking experience before undertaking this?

Sunday night was an antipasto sampler. One of the many things Roman cuisine is noted for is its antipasti and snacks: go into most trattorie in Rome and the night's anitpasti are laid out on a table near the entrance. Fiore di Latte with marinated anchovies. Marinated artichokes and onions. Based on another Marcella Hazan recipe. The 'chokes and onions are blanched in a vinegar and water solution, then honey and vermouth are added and they cook a bit longer. Meanwhile you simmer garlic, chilies, and mint in some olive oil. Drain the artichokes and submerge them in the flavored oil. Pizza Bianca with mortadella. Yet another regret from our Roman trip is that I didn't get to try fresh from the oven, oozing with oil and crunchy salt, Pizza Bianca. Both Downie and Jeffrey Steingarten devote essays to its goodness. I did try it at one place our first night, and even though there was a sign advertising it "Sempre Caldo" it was cold and so not anything great. My wife had her's with a piece of mortadella folded atop it and that added greatly to the enjoyment. This version was good enough but not so different from Foccaccia, and looked not much at all like the pics of it in Downie's book.

Saturday's Meal: Primo: Fettuccini Alfredo Secondo: Turkey (Gallinaccio) en tegame Contorno: Stuffed braised escarole Dolce: Yogurt and Sambucca custard One of the things I most enjoy about Downie's Cooking the Roman Way is his sidebars on a number of Roman traditions and dishes. He explores, at length, Spaghetti Carbonara, Fettuccini Alfredo, and Bucatini all'Amatriciani, dispelling myths and plunging into their respective histories. Fettuccini Alfredo's history is wrapped in the story of two feuding families, the di Lelio's and the Mozzetti's. If they haven't already, someone should make an Italian soap opera loosely based on this generation-spanning story. Alfredo di Lelio I popularized the dish with visiting Hollywood royalty in the '20's, then sold the popular restaurant and recipe to his headwaiter (Mozzetti) during the lean WWII years. After the war he returned and set up a new, larger restaurant elsewhere in Rome and began serving his classic dish again. So now the feud was on: which one could lay claim to had the real, original recipe: the original restaurant now run by Mozzetti, or di Lelio's new restaurant, run by his son and now grandson? We didn't try Fettuccini Alfredo when we were in Rome: I couldn't get the specifics of which was which right, and undoubtedly would have wound up eating at some unrelated tourist trap and paying 18 Euros a pop for it. We did see a huge bilboard advertising the "Original Alfredo's!" at one point, though. I have to make a confession here: in all my years of cooking Italian, I'd never really tried to make the true Fettuccini Alfredo specifically to recipe before. I'd always done the Americanized version with cream, and using evaporated skim milk in its place. What? Don't look at me like that. I had tried a few years ago to make the classic version using butter and cheese but got scared by the quantity of butter called for and dramatically cut it back, resulting in a pastey, gluey mass of noodles stuck together. What I like about Downie's version is that the pasta recipe he uses is made from half semolina, so that the pasta retains a firm bite and doesn't loose itself amongst the butter and cheese. So Saturday, in the name of authenticity, I tried to make fettuccini Alfredo mostly to specifications. I still didn't use the full amount of butter (2 sticks) required for the recipe, but then I also didn't have the full weight of pasta called for either. As you heat the water to cook the pasta, you place the pasta bowl over the pot in place of a lid to heat the bowl up. Then when the water comes to a boil, remove the bowl and wipe it off, and put the butter in to melt in the residual heat. Cook the pasta, then toss into the butter. Ooh boy. It's not going to absorb is it? Look at all that butter! It's just swimming in it! It's gonna be too greasy! Well, toss the cheese in, and that half-ladle of cooking water, and maybe the cheese will set somewhat and help the consistency. You toss and turn the pasta in the bowl with a fork and spoon, carefully but firmly. And, miracle of miracles, the butter is absorbed, the pasta doesn't stick together, and the cheese emulsifies and coats every last strand of the pasta. Oh. My. God. Heart-cloggingly good. It's for the best that I hadn't ever tried this version before, and wasn't aware how good it was, or I'd have made it more often and probably be dictating this entry from the Intensive Cardiac Care Unit at Cedar's. It tasted just like cream, only of course the creamiest cream you've ever had. And yes, I did splurge and buy Plugara for this. The contorno was turkey thighs, braised with pancetta, white wine, thyme, leeks, celery, and rosemary. On the side was stuffed braised escarole. I liked the escarole itself but found the stuffing (anchovies, olives, capers) to be too aggressively salty, probably due to an overdose of olives in there. For dessert it was baked yogurt and sambucca custards, a modification of Marcella Hazan's recipe in Marcella Cucina. No pics >hic!<.

Ha, we probably walked right by each other then! I went there too on Friday to "research" this separate checks issue for the good of eGullet, and sure enough there were no signs anywhere. We went with another couple and just did half and half on the credit cards. My wife loudly declared how much she loved this place when we were there. Good times!

Bill, I agree that Recipes from Paradise is the better and more comprehensive of Plotkin's two books. In fact that was in part why I was frustrated a bit by Terra Fortunata because I felt he did a much better ratio of recipes to history in his previous book. I like the direction this thread is taking by being able to ask if anyone knows of region-specific cookbooks. So, here's regions I'm interested in researching more about (which may or may not have anything to do with my thread . . . ) Sicily Umbria Le Marche Calabria Any input on cookbooks covering those regions would be appreciated.

Good Lord, the Shops at Legacy is turning into one primo dining location! *holds breath*

D-d-d-driving in Rome? *goes into convulsions* I tip my hat to you, sir. We had a hard enough time just getting around quiet little countryside towns. I like how you organized your post and did a best of for each category. And I'm really missing Bologna after that writeup, good job.

My experience is limited to the trattoria scene but I'll comment as best I can: We really loved Trastevere and saw none of the touristy element that guidebooks commonly complain about. In fact we had it almost all to ourselves. Granted this was early March and it was pretty cold out, but we loved it. I saw probably 5 interesting places in addition to where we ate (da Lucia) which while pretty good was probably the lowest-ranked of the 3 trattorie we ate at. I'm of the opinion that you can "spot" a touristy place based on the menu, particularly if it's translated in 4 different languages, and these places all had interested, true Roman dishes on their menu, so I think you'd have good luck in Trastevere and maybe this should be your trattoria night. Didn't get to Testaccio, another Rome regret, but it gave me the impression that it was much like Trastevere with lots of good, honest trattoria food there. And of course Testaccio has Cecchino (Checchino?), a famous "quinto quarto" ristorante. I'd be curious to see what opinions on eGullet are: I'm amazed at the wealth of restaurants mentioned here that I don't run across anywhere else.

How exciting. Great start!

Mentally I start prepping way ahead, looking in the pantry, freezer, fridge, etc. When I do follow recipes I do read them beforehand to make sure there's not an item that needs to marinate for 24 hours or something like that. On weekends hen I have the whole day in front of me, I'll do the full mise and have everything set aside and precisely measured. On weeknights though it's alot more sloppy unfortunately. And no matter HOW aggressive I am with cleaning as I go there's still that mountain of dishes in the sink and stains all over the counter and stovetop when I'm done. Damn I wanna get good at that.

Well, if it was my comments, please don't let that dissuade you. She's an important voice in the field. I don't have Marcella Says yet but you should track down her earlier books if at all possible. Ludja: I've got the Bugiali book on Tuscany (I think) and I just can't get through it. Not sure why, I know he's also well-thought of in the field, but it just leaves me cold.

This past week I've been trying to replicate some of the dishes we had at Trattoria da Lucia in the Trastevere neighborhood. Trastevere is a neat little secluded world away from Rome; when we were wandering around there we were relieved not to have to be scrambling away from cars rocketing down the streets for once. And the ecstatic write-ups about the great places to eat there are no lie: I must've seen at least five other intriguing places in addition to da Lucia. Monday night we had pasta e ceci, a hearty soup/pasta dish with a chickpea base. As I had said earlier, Rome is very much affixed to certain dishes only being served on certain days. On Tuesdays, pasta e ceci is the dish. When I went to da Lucia on a Wednesday and tried to order it the waiter shook his head and I got a perfectly satisfying pasta e borlotti dish instead. I made it Monday since Tuesday is another late work night for my wife. After not liking chickpeas for most of my life, I've decided to start giving them a try and this was a great first start. Last night I recreated the dishes my wife ate at da Lucia. The pasta was spaghetti cacio e pepe, another testament to big flavors for such simple, minimal prep. Boil the spaghetti until al dente, drain and reserve about a cup of the cooking water, then toss the pasta in the pot it cooked in off the heat with the pasta water, ample cacio cheese, and a good punch of black pepper. The secondo was beef rotoli braised in a spicy tomato and mint sauce, and finished with peas. I tweaked the recipe a little, adding prosicutto and mint to the filling (normally the beef is just wrapped around a carrot stick) and braising the meat in the tomato sauce. At da Lucia the beef was cooked separate and just finished with a ladle of tomato sauce as it was served, which didn't give the flavors a chance to really meld.

Pics from the trip are up on Snapfish. Anyone interested can PM me their email and I'll send them the link. You may have to sign up to view them but there's no money involved. Also I did do a writeup of the trip in PDF format. It includes some of the stuff above and more pics. It's 4 meg, though. Again, anyone interested can PM me and I'll email it to them.

This goes in line with Alberto's comments on Hazan above. She's a great teacher and intro to Italian cooking, but is rooted in more Northern cuisines. It was a surprise to go from her to writers more knowledgeable of the Southern palate and flavor spectrum: she definitely pares recipes from this area back. She does seem to make amends for this oversight in Marcella Cucina, which features a number of recipes from Abruzzo and Puglia, but she still avoids for the most part Campania and Sicily. Fred Plotkin--La Terra Fortunata is the only one I know of. It's very good but I sort of wish he'd trade some of the bountiful history and background essays he fills the book with for more recipes.

Apologies in advance for whatever culture shock we give you. A bibliography is a great idea . . . I try to reference the recipes I use and what the basis of my cooking for the month will be, but maybe when all this is over I'll do a list of the regions and cookbooks for each month . . . ?

Thanks for the input, Ore. Truthfully, your own thread inspired this one. And I'd imagine being a salumi master by now you've gotta cringe seeing the lengths I go through. Does it sound like that process would work? Not in the replicating guanciale sense but more will the technique and flavors work. Probably the only benefit of my current job is that I live 6 minutes from where I work. So I usually get home with a good 2 hours of cook time, and come home at lunch sometimes too to start prep work. Other times I cook ahead on the weekends and eat off that during the week.

Thanks for the info! Didn't even know this thread existed, and now Taverna sounds interesting too.

You're in Umbria, right? They seem to really like fennel/anise flavors, so that's a happy coincidence for you! And yes I was bowled over by the variety of 'chokes when I've seen them. I'd imagine it's even more so when the season's in full swing.

Well, these are certainly good and understandable insights as to why they wouldn't do this practice. Next time I go I need to see how visibly they post this policy which I don't recall seeing before. But I did dodge a bullet in that I was going to recommend going here for our next office lunch outing which would have made for some frustration when it came time to pay up.