Franci

I didn't have a chance to admire yet your beautiful Christmas Eve dinner, Kevin. Very nice job.

I always find this funny, in Italy we don't think that extra virgin has a low smoking point (well, it will depends from oil to oil). I use extra virgin for everything, only for deep frying I use peanut oil, just because I bring oil from home and it's precious, I cannot waiste huge quantities for this purpose...it is more a southerner thing to deep fry in extra virgin, I don't find it overpowering, maybe it is an acquired taste, I grew up with it.

Thank you, Chufi! I made the goudse kaasbolletjes tonight. As Shaya said, I couldn't stop eating too

I did go through you posting very quickly, Foodman, you really worked hard in this thread! I am late, but anyway I'd like to show this tool and the crescente that are not very commonly seen around. The pan is so heavy, that when I brought with me to the States I had serious problems lifting my luggage. Anyway, this is the tool, the tigelliera, sorry for the bad picture. And here are the crescente, or tigelle. Usually served with pesto (a pesto of lardo, garlic and rosemary) or salumi I tried different thicknesses of the disks and I am for a thinner version. Can be a nice idea for an informal differ with friends. HERE, I added the recipe and more information about names.

Hi Chufi! 12-15 people is already a pretty big number, also as Kevin, I would consider serving it as appetizer if you don't want to end up buying a huge quantity of swordfish. I'd consider some possibilities: 1. rustic dinner and go tapas style: croquettes (potatoes crocchè and milk crocchè, these are croquettes made with a very thick besciamelle and egg yolk and parmigiano, a very thick mornay); panelle; arancine; your impanata, scacce, some vegetable like fried pumpkin etc. 2. impanata as appetizer, anelletti , a nice mix of fried fish with vegetables and a ricotta tart. 3. Impanata, some light fish soup and a baccala' alla messinese, cannoli or cassatine 3. Impanata and a traditional fish cous cous, a cassata light, or a pistacchio and ricotta ring or againg a ricotta tart

Yes, it's lo gnocco/gli gnocchi although many Italians in the North will use the wrong article for the plural: i gnocchi. If you find it interesting, there is also a "il" gnocco fritto (also wrong articole) in Emilia Romagna which is a fried dough that is served with affettati.

Tomorrow I should go to the bookstore, I'll check if they have a copy. Thanks for the suggestion

Hello guys! I am finally back in London! I hope everybody had great holidays. I'll start digging into my recipe files and see what I have about Trentino. I am so sorry I missed Emilia Romagna! And yes, farina di frumento is wheat flour, so it referres to plain flour.

Hello! Does anybody have a nice chart that summarize the thickening power of the different starches vs flour? In particular I'd like to know wheat starch, corn starch, potato starch (or flour), rice flour, arrowroot or any other that you might consider interesting. I have saved a piece from understanding baking by Amendola. There, if I remember correctly, he says double flour than cornstarch, and even greater thinckening power of potato starch vs corn starch (double). Can anybody be more precise? Thanks!

I guess I can still consider myself an expat but I never tought to take classes to learn where to shop, that's the fun of a new place!!! The only place a would consider to do something like that is a where the language is really an issue for me (ex. if we ever transfer to China). I have friends who have been giving cooking classes for years in Amsterdam, if you want to talk to confront or exchange experiences I can connect you with them.

Bologna is one of my favourite cities! Wendy, the picture are great. I am feeling nostalgic of years as a student when I would visit friends in Bologna every other we...and the nights after the cinema lining in front of "Bombocrepes" for a warm bombolone nutella and mascarpone The bread on the top left is the typical from town it is called pane a pasta dura, because of the low water content. It's so good. The one looking king of a butterfly is the "coppietta" from Ferrara Prosciutto in a microwave There is no more religion. Pork cracklings. They are crasy for the pork. Did you try the cicciolata? That's to much even for me

Crostata with crumbled amaretti, pears and chocolate Maybe I have been to generous on chocolate chunks

For Christmas, a couple years ago, I made capon legs, deboned and stuffed with walnuts, pork mince, soaked and dried stale bread, salt and some herbs (I should write down things that come out particularly good...). Served with balsamic glazed cipolline. It was very good and if it presented very well. My grandmother, instead, used to cut a pocket in the turkey breast and stuff with a mixed of breadcrumbs, eggs, grated parmigiano, nutmeg, salt some ham and whole boiled eggs, browned, deglazed with white wine, add sage and little stock at the time and braised on the stove.

Really, where is the vietnamese supermarket? I live in Canary Wharf. I buy weekly from Portobello food. But they don't have much of fresh produce, except for some Italian veg. I live very closed by Billingsgate market, so if I can get up, I'd go there for fish, mainly on Friday. I cannot even think of Waitrose very death fish . Actually, if there are neighbourghs interersted in buying jointly Although I hear people complaining I like to go to Borough market for meat and vegetables, living on the East side is very convenient. Sometimes I go to Lewisham, to the Turkish supermarket for particular items (like yufka), exept for the eggplants, when in season, I find the quality a little lacking. Also the market in Lewisham and the one of Dalston junction I have not been really impressed by the quality. Any other market suggestions?

In the States I always have called those summer rolls. Now in the UK, I discovered that they don't know what I am talking about. I was looking for the wrap to make them at home and I have been sold "vietnametese skin rolls" That's the only roll I make every once in a while.

Unfortunately very often anchovies under vinegar -store bought- are not of the best quality. Drain the anchovies from vinegar, dry well and cover with extra vergin olive oil, some slice garlic, dry hot pepper crumbled and parsley. In one day the taste will mellow a lot.

Crostata doesn't mean necessary a lattice-top and jam filling. To me crostata means only that pasta frolla (or brise') has been used. All crostate are baked in a mold, free standing gallette style tarts are not common in Italy. For crostata you can use one of the fluted tart pans with removable bottom, or the most of the people use for crostata the same baking pan they use for a torta.

Which one do you have, the store bought or home made? If it is store bought is the bigger of finer fregola? In Sardinia the bigger one is cooked "incasada" meaning dressed with a simple tomato sauce and grated pecorino. I have used the bigger semola to make a risotto style pasta, I usually have a vegetable base (very good with artichockes), add the fregola and keep stirring and adding stock a little at a time until it is done. For finer fregola is typically seved in soup with telline (you could youse cockles), or in soup with chickpeas and saffron or with lentils and spinach (or swiss chards), but I would say you can add to many vegetable soups. The handmade fregula is very fine like a basic cous cous.

I don't know Paula Wolfert recipe. In Italian this dish is called "Tonno del Chianti". From what I read here I don't think is impossible but a little impractical dish to make at home. It is prepared in July using suckling pigs. I'm just roughly translating: the pigs are cut spinkled with coarse salt and let to rest in the refrigerator fro 3-4 days. Then after rinsing from salt boiled in white wine for about 8 hours with bay leaves. Let to cool in its own broth and then packed in jars and covered with oil and more bay leaves.

Is it this one one, right? If it is the place I have in mind, close by to Piazza Vetra, I have been there some years ago...times I used to go to aperitivo very often

It would be useful to know from which Country you are writing from...

Elie, your bread looks very good. But I am with you Pontormo, I really cannot eat pane toscano or umbro. I guess the only real reason to eat pane toscano would be because prosciutto toscano is pretty salty.

Wendy, it does really look like you are enjoying yourself

Before I used to make almond flour with the coffee grinder, it did work very well. I am really convinced that the thickness of the flour can be different dipending from the coffee grinder you use... now I am using the grating disk in my bosch and I like it, I don't need to add sugar and the nuts don't transude oil. I noticed that with this method if I use toasted almonds it comes coarser flour than regular almonds (dry but not toasted).

Pontormo, I know that one of these days I am going to walk back home loaded with chestnuts , with all the chestnuts soups talking... This is another soup from Puglia. It should be made with tubettini but I couldn't find in my local Waitrose...I guess british don't like minestrina So instead of tubettini e cozze it was spaghetti spezzati e cozze