Jim Dixon

braise it in milk..... Rub with olive oil crush 2-3 garlic cloves, bruise stem of rosemary (leave intact) and mix with 2-3 T coarse salt...let sit for a bit Rub the pork with the seasoned salt pull out the rosemary) and a tiny pinch of cinnamon and clove Let the pork sit for a few hours Sear well in heavy braising pot Add milk to come halfway up pork Braise on stovetop at very low heat about 2.5 hours Remove pork and rest If you want a thicker sauce, reduce the braising liquid (I never do this...) Serve sliced pork with braising liquid, including chunky milk solids This is much better if the pork is chilled overnight, then sliced and reheated in some of the sauce. Jim

Judith is unquestioned Queen of Corn here, and we use the same popper (always bought at thrift stores or garage sales for a few dollars...we've gone through several). But we, or I should say she, has found exactly the opposite. The first batch is better than the first unless she either allows the popper to cool completely or she cools it with cold water (on the outside...it's thin aluminum so it cools quickly this way). Judith uses olive oil, pours the corn in all at once, at turns it on high. She always makes much better popcorn than I do. We usually flavor it with coarse salt, fine nutritional yeast, and a sweetened soy I make by diluting regular soy in half with a simple syrup. I also like Crystal hot sauce on mine. Jim

I've coooked tomato sauce and other acidic foods in my cast iron for 20 years. I've never detected any kind of metallic taste, and I've never had anyone else say they did. I don't think it's an issue. I recell reading soemthing about getting a little iron, but that's actually one of the benefits of using cast iron. About the only thing that might happen is a slight loss of the pan's seasoning. The seasoning is actually fat filling the pores of the cast iron, and other foods can remove it, too. But it happens all the time. When it does, just cook something in fat the next time you use the pan or wipe it with a little oil. Jim

I'll add to the confusion by making a pitch for a plain cast iron 'Dutch' oven. I have a couple and use them for both stove top and oven braising. They work great, are easier to clean than enameled cast iron (and don't chip), and are much cheaper. Jim

trillium, While the old Sicily hands say it's a shadow of its former self, the Vucciria market in Palermo is still a food lover's wonderland. I had some kind of meat panino (not sure if it was the spleen special already described) served by a street vendor who used a sort of inverted hubcap wok-like device to quickly cook thinly sliced meat (beef or veal, most likely), scoop it onto a roll, and squeeze a half lemon over it. Another good street food is panelle, thin chickpea flour fritters often served as panini. There's a small bakery in Cefalu (on a side street from the piazza near the duomo, headed toward the water) that makes really good ones. In restaurants I learned to alway order the fritto misto.You get whatever was caught recently, small whole red mullet, incredibly tender calamari, sometimes langostines. I've brought back bottarga, but I'm not sure if it's legal or not. I usually wrap it really well and stick it in a pocket, altho' this may not be a good idea post 9/11. The last time we re-entered from Italy was Novemeber 2001, and I had a block of dark brown bottarga double-wrapped in plastic and brown packaging tape stuck in a back pocket. After we cleared customs, which was more intense than prior trips, I realized that I was carrying a really suspicious-looking package. We hit the seafood market in Trapani one day and bought most of the stuff there. You can also find dried tuna belly, called mosciano (sometimes spelled differently in dialect), that is a sort of tuna jerky. It comes in blocks about 2 inches square by about 12 inches long. You slice it thinly, drizzle with olive oil and lemon, and eat as an antipasto. I've carried this back, too. The best salt-packed capers come from Pantelleria, and you can find them in even in small markets, often in bulk. These are, I think, okay to bring in. I've also brought back canned tuna and anchovies, and always a wheel or two of young pecorino. I've never been qustioned about the cheese, but if asked you should probably say it's aged at least 120 days. We stayed in Cefalu about 10 days, mostly because I found a cheap house to rent (slept about 8, right on beach, $38/day). It's a nice little town, apparently overrun durng the summer but pretty quiet when we were there in October-November. The next town east is the Deruta of Sicily and has a handpainted majolica for much less. There's a lot of info on this Cefalu website. (Cefalu is sometimes called the City of Women because many of the town officials are women.) I'm jealous....if you want to look at our photos email or call. Jim

I think it's salt...ask for a dish of salt when you get the fritters. The chef may frown, but the crunchy grains of kosher or sea salt (depends on what's at hand when you ask) really make these a lot better. Jim

t'anks

I made one salad with some tiny arugula and salad cress (the thinnings from my garden...I actually spilled some arugula seed onto the path between the raised beds and of course it's going like gangbusters there, more so than in the official planting...but a good source of early season greens)..also added preserved lemon, capers, shallot, celery (leaf and diced stalk) and parsley, with lemon jiuce and olive oil. This was good. Tonight probably eat it warmed with some Corona beans (also called gigante, used a lot by Greeks). I'm driving to California tomorrow, so I'll make up a container of tuna salad for road food. I've kept this in the reefer covered with oil for more than a week. Jim ps...That Ben really is a turd-polisher, isn't he?

I posted this in the fall when they first opened: That lst sentence is key. Since the Oregonian called it the 'best wine bar' in town and the WW review last week, there's usually a wait to get a table. My advice is to go early, like at 6. Tuesday and Wednesday are good nights, at least for now, because former Genoa chef and co-owner Cathy Whims is cooking those nights. The service, while friendly and helpful, isn't exactly what you get most places. You'll get a menu with check boxes and a tiny pencil...you mark what you want and give it to the server. Often the food all comes at the same time, not a big problem since they're all small plates, but if you want to stretch it out a bit and eat in courses, my strategy is just order a couple of things, then ask for another ticket to order again. It can be slow, but the food is incredible and so cheap it's worth the wait. John's partner Susan (her middle name is Navarre, but the name also refers to a region in NW Spain...they both have Spanish heritage) runs the wine program and has some really nice, reasonably priced offerings. Last week I dropped off some oil and ended up at the bar for awhile. John was trying a goulash based on Renato's (a Tuscan in grad school here who works at Navarre occasionally) dad's recipe. Cathy had made a Friulian-style borlotti bean and pork stew. I ate bowls of each, had a nice glass of wine, and it only cost about $15. Be sure to try the pumpkin fritters, too. Jim

My preferred cooking method is grilling. I line up the asparagus on grill directly over medium hot coals and rotate them until they're slightly charred. Then I drizzle with good olive oil and good salt. If you oil first, it drips into the fire and flares up. Jim

EZ-Gro botulism starter... Jim

klink quiet you fool...you'll blow the whole plan Jim ps to mamster...be sure to add those "special" ingredients I sent you, the litle bag of white powder...don't let Laurie near it, though

So it really is hopeless, huh? Jim

I usually make salmon cakes with lefotvers, but you can also make a salmon loaf using pretty much the same ingredients. A friend makes a Scandinavian-style salmon soup with carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, & tomato in a clear broth flavored with fresh dill. Jim

Stone, It's okay to use a little detergent on cast iron. I have about a dozen Griswold skillets (and a couple of Dutch ovens) that I use every day. If you have a lot of grease or oil detergent is really the only way to get the pan clean, and it won't strip the seasoning if you don't scrub it too hard (and you have to scrub really hard). Seasoning a cast iron pan is an ongoing process, not a one-shot deal. Some foods are harder on the seasoning, and it's not uncommon to need to apply a little more oil every now and then. The Dutch ovens with legs and rimmed lids are usually called chuck wagon models. I think Lodge makes a cast aluminum model that's popular with boaters. We baked bread and all kinds of desserts in the bottom of the Grand Canyon with one. You need to keep the fire going so you can rake fresh coals out to replenish the ones that burn out while you're baking. My neighbor recently moved to a retirement community and gave me a Griswold #10 chuck wagon oven that looks like it's never been used. I'm not going to wait for a camping trip, but try it out in the back yard. I actually went to a meeting of the West Coast Griswold and Cast Iron Cookware Association here in Portland last week. Members are more collectors than cooks, but they had some great cast iron. Here's information about cleaning cast iron. There's also info about dealing with rust on the same page, and the site has various pieces for sale so you can see how much those old skillets are worth. Jim

I did a CSA one summer. The produce was great, but the weekly drop off meant several hours cleaning, processing, and otherwise getting the stuff in condition for even short-term storage. Sometimes I enjoyed the challenges of finding something to cook with 5 bunches of dill, but mostly it was a chore. I found I preferred going to the Farmers Market. I could support several different growers, get exactly what I wanted or what looked good, and not buy anything if I didn't need to do a lot of cooking that week. I know that some Portland-area CSAs offer eggs, meat, and other stuff, usually as an option to the regular share. This may be old, but here's a listing of Portland farms for a starting point. Jim

It's probably a bit late to make thisBeard House dinner, but I read in Wedneday's Times that Alfonso is also cooking at a restaurant somewhere in the City...the notice isn't on the Times' web site. I have a business relationship with the Iaccarinos, so I can't be completely impartial. But he and Livia (his wife, who's also in the US) are a couple of the hardest working people I've ever met. They're completely dedicated to the food of southern Italy. If you can track down where he's cooking Friday, it would probably be worth a trip. Jim

More trouble for Typhoon in this story from the Oregonian. Jim

I've taken notes,mostly on 3X5 cards, at hundreds of meals and have never been asked about it. I do think using a pda is less likely to make you look like a reviewer, but do you want to look like a total geek instead? Jim

klink, I don't think you could sharpen the slicer...it's pretty flimsy, but also cheap, so you may have to buy another one. Jim

I usually just chop it for a clove or two, but for more, I like this handy garlic slicer. Jim

Over on that other bacon thread somebody mentioned Zuni Cafe's braised bacon...anybody got a clue as to what this is? Jim

It looks like I'll be at the Sensory Evaluation of Olive Oil class at UC Davis next weekend. Any restaurants or other food places (besides Corti Bros) I need to check out? I'll be driving down from Portland, so roadside spots also requested (I will make the mandatory stop at Corning so I can buy olives at the Olive Pit). thanks Jim

Picked up some Niman Ranch bacon at TJs Portland last night...$3.59 for 12 oz. They also offer NR uncured bacon, which sounds like an oxymoron to me...label says "Applewood Smoked" but no nitrates. Jim

Ken's Artisan Bakery in Portland makes incredible canneles...they flavor them with a bit of orange zest, and I know the molds are lined with a butter-beeswax blend. I watched the batter going into the molds, and it was very thin, if that helps. Jim