kellytree

You know italians have certain idea like fish and cheese is a big no no. There are a lot of rules of what you can and cannot eat together ( I have a tendency break most of these rules) so my question is this: your own personal opinon - What is the bigest lie ( maybe that sounds a little too hard) in the italian cucina culture?

I really like nespole - it is such an easy fruit to eat - no emotion but satisfying and crunchy

Would be AWESOME in an amatricia sauce? Whoaaaaaaaaaaaa calm down here - everything has its place in life. Arugual and amtriciana sauce - big fat no. Last night we ate piadina (warm) with a stracchino and arugula. simple and tasty. One of my favorite arugula things is: focaccia and then top with prosciutto crudo, grated parmesan, and arugula.

fall soup.eh?? I go crazy for a white bean and tomato soup ( the last ones in season) from the Greens cookbook. simply amazing!

nespolo??? (perhaps melbalm or something like that in english)

La Pergola -- now that I know which restaurant it is ( its the one in the Hotel Janus) --- I ate there once a few years ago - I remember an amazing goose breast prosciutto and I remember that they had a really BAD selection of wine and weren't very pleased when my step dad went to the car and brought in his own (which he bought at a wine shop owned by the chef of the restaurant!!). I think it has changed hands now. Le Busche I have never been too --- Its actually further away than you think - not in kms but because the road to get there is very curvyand twisty.

My frittata is always made with whatever is hanging around in the kitchen -- its my favorite never fail braindead satisfying meal. In this area they make frittatas at easter time with wild mint - sounds disgusting but it is actually REALLY good.

ok- too late to mention a maybe wonderful place.

In Fabriano you could go to the Marchese del Grillo - its a lovely lovely place- awesome wine cellar. The food, in my opinion is ok - nothing to knock your socks off - for the beauty of the place the food should a lot better ( they also rent out rooms which are beautiful) Osteria Fricandò is a restaurant in the center of Fabriano. One of the owners mom does most of the cooking - The menu changes daily. Ive never had a bad meal there - its not fine dining but it is real italian food at its best. .. THey have a good selection of wines. There is a little tiny restaurant called Il Merlo Nero - located in Mergo (between Fabriano and Jesi) - its always empty and I dont know why- the food is wonderful. If you want pizza while in Fabriano than head over to Lara - her pasta aint bad either. Now, if you want a real hole in the wall place where the owner / waiter asks you shat you want but gives you want he gots you should go to Trattoria Martellò - The food is great (if you are picky - dont go because you cant choose!) - Its a family run place (like all the other ones mentioned above) . Nothing fancy - real homemade italian cookin'! Located in Angeli di Rosora. People that want to make a statement or want to be with the "in" crowd dont go here. Escept for some of us!! If you want I can tell you a few places not to go in Fabriano - but I wont do it public - unless y'all want me too kellytree@hotmail.com

pasta con burro e parmigiano (aka mac and cheese italian syle!)

Quick question- what is your favorite simple quick and easy pasta? The one that makes you feel comfortable and at home -

Yuki - Which hotel did you stay at? My hotel def did not have clean water. It had a really bad odor to it- really bad. As in you couldnt even brush your teeth with it. I will be going back there in a few months so I would love to hear a few recomendations of good restaurants there.

I just got back from a week in China ( Guangzhou) - I regret to say that the best thing I ate while I was there was a can of Pringles. Sad. The water situation freaked me out ( and I dont get freaked out too easy - freaked on maybe - freaked out rarely) The water was very very dirty and stinky and nasty (even in the hotel)- The veggies are watered with it and the beast drink it and the fish swim in it so how can the food be any good? A little train ride through the countryside only made things worse - garbage - more than I have ever seen ( the pigs seemed to think it was tasty) Ive heard Shanghi is better but I have my doubts.... although getting better than my experience is not a difficult task. Hong Kong on the other hand seemed to have potential as far as finding something decent to eat -

At what temperature do you bake your bread?? I use a brick oven so I just fire that baby up and when the bricks get white I stick my hand in and feel it - and then pray for the bread to bake and not burn. Im thinking about getting a thermometer but it would be pretty useless if I dont know what temp I need!

I imagine that it can be explained over and over in words but really the only way to "get" the stretch and turn system is to see it done. This time I used only soft wheat - white. Bought from my local dinky supermarket. I dont know which variety of wheat it is. Usually I mix hard and soft wheat. there are a couple mills in the area so I try to go to them..... which doesnt always happen. In the past when we grew our own wheat we had two kinds of soft wheat -- one had a great flavor but no rising capacity and the other vice versa.

I tried this whole turning the dough business -- maybe I did it wrong - I dunno but it seemed a lot like a lazy mans way of kneading bread. I also did something else new which was to put the dough in the fridge overnight. I have to say that I didnt notice any big difference from my regular way.