Jim Dixon

The last time I brought an undeclared item through US customs was Nov 2001. I had a nice block of bottarga, and while it wasn't meat or sausage I wasn't sure if it would be allowed in, so I double wrapped it, taped it with plastic packaging tape, and stuffed it in the back of pants with a shirt hanging over it. I made it through, maybe because we always declare our legal food (cheese, canned stuff, cookies, etc) and the inspectors were busy inspecting. But security was much tighter (this was right after 9/11), and a few minutes after we'd cleared the area I pulled out my bottarga and realized the plastic wrapped and taped little square looked pretty suspicious. I know others who've made it through with other meat items, but an 8-lb culatello might be hard to hide. You can always try, but I hate to think of all that nice pork getting tossed (or eaten by some customs inspector). Jim

Adam, Those pictures make me hungry. When we stay in Chianni we drive to Pontedera to grab the train into Firenze, and there's a tiny bakery a block from the station (in Pontedera) that makes a great schiacciata con uve. A Table in Tuscany, by Leslie Forbes, has a recipe for cantucci di Prato that comes close to those we ate in Tuscany. Jim

Given the increased scrutiny at Customs these days, the pancetta would likely never see the inside of your fridge. Unless it's inside a can, meat rarely makes it past the inspectors. Stuffing a cured pork belly down your pants is one option, but it could lead to 'extraordinary rendition.' Jim

New Seasons (here in Portland) sells them in the bulk section...I don't remember how much I paid for single bean, but it was very reasonable. Jim

We visited Castelluccio, the mountain village in Umbria renowned for its lentils, in October 2001. Only one of the tiny town's bars was open, and when we walked in we joined a couple of grizzled frarmers watching the ground zero memorial with Bocelli singin Ave Maria. After that small world moment, we ordered some food, including, of course, a bowl of lenticchie. At one point Judith began to sprinkle some Parmigiano over her lentils, and as I glanced at one of the farmers, he wagged his finger and said, "non formaggio." We talked a bit (struggling with my crappy Italian), and he explained that cheese masks the delicate flavor of the lentils. I asked him how he cooked them, and he said, "solo aglio, olio, sedano, sale, e aqua...non formaggio." So that's how I've cooked lentils ever since. I'm still hoarding a bag iof lenticchie al Castelluccio in the freezer. Lenticchie al Mauro (Mauro was the farmer's name) 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup extra virign olive oil 1 stalk celery, small dice salt to taste 1 c small green lentils (also called French or du Puy) cook the garlic in the olive oil over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes, being careful not to let the garlic brown add the celery and cook another couple of minutes add the lentils, water to cover (2-3 cups), and a good pinch of sea salt. bring to gentle boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15-20 minutes or until lentils are tender but not too soft adjust salt and drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil Jim

In Portland: New Seasons (bulk) Sheridan (bulk) Pastaworks has the real Umbrian lenticchie...good but pricey. I suspect the "French" lentils we get here in bulk are grown out in the Palouse, but I couldn't get a definitive answer from the WA lentil commission (it actually has an even nerdier name but I can't remember it). Jim

From the eGullet archives..... There are some links in the original post that didn't copy over. I also make polenta regularly (like last night) in the microwave. You may commence with the culinary ass-whipping now.... Jim ps.....I'm going to start reducing stuff, too..thanks andiesenji

Bux, Thanks for taking the Fat Guy to olive school. You're correct in pointing out that green olives are green because they're not ripe. The Kalamatas mentioned are ripe and illustrate just one of the colors (purple, in this case) of ripe olives. The canned black olive results from a process that is unique to California's olive industry. Green olives are processed in solution of ferrous gluconate that oxidizes them and turns them black. They're similar to maraschino cherries in that the original fruit loses its identity and becomes a vehicle for the added flavoring. Jim

I haven't been to Rivers yet, but the word is that Rollie''s food is very good. Jim

I just learned that the Sunday market is cancelled for today..... Jim

I don't think they have anything online, but here's the contact info: (503) 985-0177 aboutard@orednet.org And since Portland is covered with a sheet of ice today, I'm not sure if the Hillsdale Market will even be open. Most everything that requires travel around town has been cancelled. One online bean source is eGullet member Rancho Gordo. Jiim

trillium introduced me to Ayers Creek, and it's worth making the trip to Hillsdale to pick up some of his beans, if nothing else. Here's what will be available this Sunday at the Hillsdale Farmers Market: from the Ayers Creek email... One warning...once you eat Ayers Creek's beans, you can't go back to store-bought. Jim

I make fried potatoes the same way my grandmother (and, I think, Ma Joad) did. I typically don't have anny cooked potato or a lot of time when I get the desire. Cube the raw spuds (russets have more sugar and brown a little better, but I've used yellow potatoes, too), and keep the pieces on the smallish side (roughly half-inch). Cook them in a cast iron or similarly heavy skillet in plenty of fat (usually olive oil for me, sometimes mixed with a little butter or bacon fat) over medium heat until they're done, usually about 30 minutes. Don't be too quick to turn them the first time...they need to develop a crust. If there's too much fat left in the pan when the spuds get done, drain it off...then add onions if you want, or even better, cook them separately while the potatoes are cooking. If you mix them in, the potatoes lose some of their crisp. Serve with a couple of fried eggs and ketchup (if you can get it in Amsterdam). Jim

One hard core Griswold collector I talked to keeps a barrel of caustic soda in his garage, but I wouldn't recommend it. Just spray the skillet with oven cleaner, put it in a plastic bag, and check it the next day. If it's still crusty, repeat. Jim

trillium, I have several pounds of coarse Italian sea salt (it was closeout from Esperya, now Gustiamo) that I'm not using since I have the 'pillar of salt' in the basement (details here). Let me know if you want it....will trade for lardo. Jim

Fleur de sel (or flor de sal, but more about that below) is the fine grained salt that forms on the surface of the salt pond. When the weather allows (eg, not too wet or windy), it's raked off the surface. The salt crystals that sink to the bottom, from where they too are eventually raked, are 'just' sea salt. The only differences are the physical structure and, sometimes, the presence of additional minerals from the sediment at the bottom of the pond. The 'flower of salt' gets its name from the fact that it is the initial precipitate to 'bloom' from the increasingly salty solution, although some also say it's the result of some canny marketing. It isn't solely a French product, but they were the first to sell it as an upscale condiment. I learned about this salt after reading Corby Kummer's article in the Atlantic a couple of years ago. He wrote about a Portuguese firm called Necton that had received a Slow Food Award. (That story is available only to subscribers, but another version is here.) I realized that, along with olive oil, good salt was a key component to the food I was making at home. So I tracked down Necton, emailed them for awhile, and after about a year was able to import some of their salt. There are several flor de sal producers in the Algarve. But because of a Portuguese law dating to the 1970s that requires table salt to be 99% sodium chloride, they can't sell their best stuff in their own country. So much of the Portuguese flor de sal goes to France and becomes fleur de sel. As I understand it, EU partners are not required to include country of origin info on product labels, so if you have very white fluer it may in fact be flor. The production methods for sea salt vary widely. Large producers use machinery to scrape the ponds, some of which cover a few square miles. Smaller producers, like those in the Algarve, use hand harvesting techniques, and some have received certification from the French organization Natur et Progress that their salt is free of industrial contamination. I sell the Necton flor de sal from my web site (Real Good Food link below), and it's easy to ship. Jim

Most of Portland's better places have good burgers made from local beef that they grind themselves (or get from one of the better purveyors that grind Painted Hills or Oregon Country Beef daily). My all time fav is in the bar at Higgins (not even called a burger on the menu, but something like ground chuck sandwich), and they'll cook it bloody if you want, altho' I'm a medium rare burger eater myself. For more pedestrian burgers that you want cooked to 180F because you don't know how many cows sacrifieced various body parts to make them, Skyline Drive In is the place. Jim

David, Thanks for the great description of Il Cuculo (your check is in the mail). I should add that prices have gone up a bit in the past couple of years, and the exchange rate has made Italy more expensive. Il Cuculo now rents for between 1900 and 3200 euros/week, depending on the season. Jim

As I point out on my latke page: Ketchup has a long and honorable condiment history and a particular affinity for fried potatoes in any form. I stand by my Heinz (altho' I'll admit that I'm starting to lean a little toward the Muir Glen organic ketchup after some badgering from one of my own goyish boys). Jim

Tonight I made basic latkes (but with leek instead of onion), but I cooked them in duck fat. Oy! Jim ps...ate them, as usual, with ketchup

Along with importing olive oil, our other go-to-Italy-more-often business is helping our friend Omar with his rental business in the small Tuscan hamlet of Chianni (near San Gimignano). Untouched Tuscany Jim

Here's my annual contribution: Tex-Mex Latkes & Celeriac-Scallion Latkes As a bonus, it includes my ode to ketchup. Jim

I think the most commonly abused Italian word is bruschetta, almost always mispronounced as "broo-shetta." Jim

I wish I had been able to make this meal. My neighbor Jess told me the food was incredible, and I really want a copy of the cookbook. I paged through it at the bookstore and got really hungry. Jim

I wish I had written it.... And a Mac user, too. Jim