Pontormo

Since Francis is a penitential saint, I don't think feasting would be considered appropriate. In a visionary treatise, the Franciscan Bonaventura describes a tree of life and all the fruit it bears, so maybe an apple or a pear. Of course, the thirteenth-century Umbrian was the founder of a mendicant order and while preaching, he and his followers went begging with their bowls cupped in their hands, depending upon others to feed them.

Pizza, those look really good! * * * Just want to add another plug for Franci's eggplant-stuffed pasta. I second Shaya's endorsements. You have NO idea how fabulous they are. Since eggplant parmigiana is a favorite dish of mine, I was tempted to just go ahead and bake some instead, especially since I love leftovers in a sub sprinkled with red chili flakes. However, this beat expectations---even good on the first day despite the fact that eggplant's always better the next. Eaten with the most amazing fagiolini, simply dressed, on the same plate. Very time-consuming, though. The embarrassing Jumbo shells actually speeded up the process somewhat since they were easy to fill. My only problem was in frying the eggplant. Normally, I do not bother to coat eggplant slices with flour. I don't salt, rinse and dry them either when I buy my supply at the farmers market since they aren't bitter and become tender in a blink of an eye. However, I decided to follow this part of the recipe and ended up wasting a LOT of oil. Even when I shook off excess flour before sliding slices into the hot oil, a lot came off and eventually formed algae-like clusters that eventually turned black and sank to the bottom of the pan before smoking. With a kilo of eggplant, I ended up emptying two pans of the icky stuff before reverting to flourless slices for the little that remained.

Fab: Hathor and other eG members such as Ore, Divina or Franci know a lot more than I do. However, I hope it's okay for me to pipe up and say that you'll find a lot of those nonne are respected, nay reverred culinary professionals, some of mythic stature, who run their own kitchens. Mario Batali may be said to have an idiosyncratic take on the whole Madonna/Whore dichotomy if you trust Buford's profile of the man. He may grab and make crude remarks, but he also believes women make the best cooks, in part, because of the close relationship between home-cooking and the meals served by professionals. In his book on Piemonte, Matt Kramer notes that the most prestigious kitchens in the region are run by women and that this fact reflects local tradition.

Elie: I don't know why I overlooked that. I assume you'll be preparing fava beans at one point this month. Batali has a few recipes, too on the Food Network site, though Le Marthe [sic] and Umbria I reveals nothing. The remaining programs still are linked to recipes. However, I just checked the site Hathor mentions and am linking it here since it is wonderful: Umbria in Bocca. Franci: I overlooked the link to your new blog. It's a terrific resource for finding all you've taught us thus far.

that is so interesting. I never thought of it like that. ← Klary honed in on my favorite observation so far. The humor and insight are typical of you, Judith, but I have to say this is particularly brilliant. As far as the technological glitches go, trust that we are la gente simpatica. It's maddening, I know. You said that your town isn't on any maps. I looked at the web site you linked to see you're close to Arezzo (Tuscany), however, when I checked my Italian Touring Club guidebook on Umbria, I noticed there isn't a single mention!! Not even "On your way from X to Y, you will see up on the hill..." No wonder your service isn't the greatest. Meanwhile, I'd love to know if the tall stalks in your beautiful still-life are cardoons or if they're something else entirely. And heads up to Italophiles (sp?): today is the Festa of St. Francis of Assisi. Since Umbria is filled with towns where the medieval saint and native son snatched babies from the jowls of wolves in the nick of time (Gubbio) and secluded spots where his followers led lives of austerity, it's a big day for celebration and penitence in this particular region.

Nishla, benvenuto! It looks just as delicious down here

As far as pimenton goes, oh well. I knew there was something else I should have picked up when I traipsed out to the suburbs to buy my other Spanish ingredients. Despite the use of Hungarian paprika, I have to say I am profoundly impressed by my first taste of home-made sofrito! It's the end of tomato season, so this was made with not the greatest plum tomatoes. Even so, a recipe in which caramelized onions dominate is always something I would appreciate. This is so rich and jam-like, I could imagine spreading it room temperature on a thick slice of toast, rubbed with a raw, cut clove of garlic and drizzled with olive oil first if you'd like.

From Slow Travel; look to index on right for more stories. I think there are recipes here, too. Barilla's regional recipes for pasta; you may get a message that search has expired. Just look for Umbria on list to the left. No English here at Cook Around, but an informative list. Here's About.com. Something simple, pasta again. And finally, I can't get this to open now, but it is the best I found so here's the URL. Here's hoping you have no problems at a different time: http://www.ilbongustaio.com/inglese/eerecipmenu.htm

Some links, though not many. Umbria does not inspire Kylle Philips at About.com all that much, and in general, a quick search does not reveal much. Nonetheless, there are a few good dishes to inspire us here: Virtual Italy--don't worry about message at top. Just scroll down. Delicious's few. Rustico. Just two here at bottom of page, but they look interesting.

Franci: You're right. There is little on the internet. All I found in a quick search was this: dessert from neighboring region that Ada Boni says cooks very similar dishes. Could you tell us more about what this lovely spiral of pastry contains? * * * Here, nothing truly noteworthy or especially Umbrian, except for the fact that an Umbrian woman told Lynne Rossetto Kasper to make sauce this way and so am I, more or less, using "seconds" from the farmers market for what will probably be the last of the season.

I am bumping this thread up again to gauge whether there is any interest in broader issues that home cooks encounter. I know I would be grateful were a professional to conduct an eG course on sanitation and measures we should take in our kitchens to prevent poisoning family, guests or ourselves.

Thank you for the very informative posts here, everyone, especially Andie for providing all the links to relevant threads, recipes and sites. Rachel, 'twas I who asked you about wrapping tomatoes in the Dinner thread and you wrote an incredible post in response. Now, I have a different question. Is there anything specific that you do with green plum tomatoes? One of the large farms in my area is planning to bring tomatoes to the market for at least another two weeks. This past week was the first time I saw green tomatoes mixed in with their ripe standard slicing tomatoes and there were lots of unripe pale orange and green Romas, too. Shoppers were piling their bags with both, intending to use the big round green ones for the usual dishes, smiling at the prospect of frying them. One Italian man said he was going to slice his for a salad, although I thought the kind of red-green tomato served that way in Tuscany was a completely different variety. However, scavengers focused on the bright red Romas to make one last pot of sauce. I didn't notice anyone snatching the unripe ones.

Nina, I am in awe! Delighted to hear the cake was enjoyed by others, too.

Judith: While I have a feeling that you never would run out of things to say, I was wondering if you could expand upon an earlier comment you made about eating locally, especially since you would be lending an international perspective to a subject that phlawless explored in her American blog. Would it be possible to share (some of) your knowledge of regional food in Italy, focussing on Umbria here in your food blog?* Especially since you were asked about Slow Food, I am sure there's enough interest. *Umbria is the subject of the cooking thread for October in the Italian forum.

Well, instead of spending a lot of time with an eggplant dish from Campania tonight, I ended up preparing something extremely quick, odd and as luck would have it, very good. Warning, turn your computer's volume down to mute before clicking: Pasta alle olive Instead of cooking the sauce in stages and processing solids into a paste, I simply chopped big green olives finely with a few mushrooms and stems that were originally reserved for duxelle, parsley, garlic and then stirred in red chili flakes before sauteeing the mixture and pouring in cream to reduce. Upon adding the spaghetti, I grated Grana Padano. It is often the case that beloved foods just don't complement one another. However, I am guessing that just about anything works when heavy cream serves as the unifying factor. Ada Boni may compare the cooking of Umbria and Le Marche, but given the little I know, its relationship to Tuscan food strikes me as equally important. It's the lentils instead of big white beans, the hearty soups, the salume, pigs, mushrooms and black truffles. In Massa Marittima I once ate a primo of spaghetti with finely chopped black olives that is somewhat similar to tonight's dish. Instead of making a secondo, I simply sauteed cavalo nero with minced prosciutto, a little onion and garlic.

Lorna: You rose to the occasion beautifully! I really like the way your new dish responds to the concept of an upside-down cake. As a re/visionary baker, you are more literal than the creator of the original dessert and irreverent at the same time. For that reason, I'd consider this a Postmodern version of a modern recipe. Out of curiosity, what did you think about the cherry flavor in the ice cream combined with pineapple? P.S. Am I guessing who you might have asked to face the next challenge correctly?

I am impressed by the flurry of activity here, including the lovely, fully orchestrated meal prepared by Our Founder and the timbale. Also looking forward to reports on the chocolate eggplant torta! I still haven't put together Franci's eggplant-stuffed pasta, though I am aiming for tonight. Just had to chuck a small portion of La Genovese since the little white dots I noticed a couple of days ago were spores and not, as I had hoped, just dabs of congealed oil on the surface. Wish me luck. I added at least 1/3 cup to some chili along with the heel of the meat. So far, no ill effect, but I put the rest of the long, long simmered chili in the freezer just in case. And, yes, I may roll my eyes oat MdB's dramatic excess, but her cookbooks do have interesting recipes that are not merely the same-old, same-old. She does make you want to cook and glad that you did. While I own very few DVDs, along with Buffy Season Two, The Godfather is on my shelves. You all make me want to watch it soon.

These kinds of difficulties should be raised directly with your academic advisor. People who conduct research constantly run into obstacles for many different kinds of reasons. You might need to re-evaluate the questions you are asking or the scope of your project. Who knows? In any case, seek guidance in your department. You are still a student and the thesis is an important part of your education.

Saluti!!!! Judith, as you know full well, I am sooooo happy to see you launch this blog! Since Assisi is one of my favorite places on earth, the story of your son's response to his first visit made me grin. I actually thought that jar on the top shelf of your fridge was yogurt. One thing I miss here in the fall is the way pear yogurt is sold in sweet little round jars. Never heard the word "chuga-chuga" before. In solidarity, I'm going to dust off my moka and use it; it's now serving as decoration on a shelf somewhere. I am very much looking forward to your trips to markets, seeing your home, mist rising up the hillside early in the morning and all that stuff that makes you want to roll your eyes when it's in yet another corny cliche-ridden movie about the way the Priggish and Repressed Anglos become alive in Italia--but makes you giddy and content when you are smack dab in the middle of it all. ETA: The ONLY time I eat fiocchi di mais is in Italy! Nowadays, they're "biologique" of course. Translation: organic

Speaking of old cheeses, I finally got around to cleaning out every nook and cranny of my refrigerator yesterday and came across a few tiny to middling sized cheese remnants that had been hiding way in the back until virtually petrified, in total, a little more than half a pound. Is there anything I can do to render them edible? They seem beyond grating. I'd prepare a type of savory bread pudding were there some way to make the rocks molten. Please don't tell me to put them in soups or sauces for flavor. I've got a bag of rinds in the freezer for that. Thanks!!!

Divina: Thanks for the info. It makes sense that if there's something like arancini, there would be polpetti made with bread, too. Franci: Marcella Hazan introduced me to what she called "eggplant patties" ages ago; for a long time they were one of my favorite things to make when vegetarians came to dinner. Your links include excellent photographic documentation. On Il Forno, Alberto writes about a version with molten mozzarella in the center. And speaking about polpetti, I should qualify a comment I made earlier about the eggplant-wrapped meatballs. I just find the vegetable wrapping a bit clumsy and superfluous. I just made a sandwich with the last of the ones I baked in tomato sauce, heating up a few leftover slices of eggplant, adding chili pepper flakes, pecorino and fresh basil leaves. Absolutely delicious! I see why someone earlier said that Schwartz's meatball recipe rose to the ranks of the family's favorite.

Kathy !!! Wow Are you practicing in advance of Halloween? Making things ahead so they develop mold and get really gross?

Just a modest little report of two dishes I recommend, typed with an index finger that should not have been trying to dislodge a lemon seed from the garbage disposal. I. Peperoni alla Napoletana I really love this plating of slick, pointy stuffed peppers from Klary's recent vacation: Sort of reminds me of the hats worn by garden gnomes. Only problem was that my yellow and orange-green peppers were of a very round, squat variety that did not cooperate fully during the peeling and seeding process. (Aside: Marlena de Blasi's purple prose is great on this subject. She notes that after a stint in a brown paper bag, the charred skins should slip off easy as pajamas!!!!) In any respect, I had already been planning to combine the best of two different recipes, so I took the basic set up of Clifford Wright's dish, but went with a vegetarian version, leaving out the anchovies and adding red-wine soaked yellow raisins, pine nuts, Pecorino and two different colors of chopped olives to lightly toasted bread crumbs. Since I roasted the peppers earlier in the week, their juices helped moisten the crumbs along with olive oil. I spread only the peppers on the oiled dish and piled the crumb mixture on top, baking it for only 20 minutes. At room temperature, this dish was absolutely delicious and made for a good light meal on its own with crisp celery as a foil. II. I also made Linguine alla panna di limone or whatever you would like to call it. My lemon was definitely not from Amalfi and I replaced grappa with vodka, adding salt and slivers of fresh basil at the end. If you also enjoy lemony food, you'll appreciate the contrast between the rich thickened cream studded with little pieces of lemon and the light citrus flavor. This served as a fine primo for the lemony veal polpette that I've already described.

HA ! Your libraries in Philly must be very different from the ones I've visited oh in the past 15 years or so. The age of Marian the Shushing Librarian is over, dude! * * * To get back on track, though, especially since Tim's essay is about music to COOK by, does anyone find the occasion, regional origins of the dishes, or the nature of a guest list to determine the type of music? Or is it always a matter of personal taste/mood?

I think you mean watercress? ← The stem on watercress is pretty tight, whereas there are lots of different kinds of spinach. For a long the only kind available in the U.S. was a crinkly variety with stems that were quite fibrous and sometimes hollow when picked at a mature stage of the plant's life. However, I found this which looks quite different. * * * Fun entries, everyone! I was especially taken with the recipe for play dough. I remember friends whose mothers put together homemade versions, but never with peanut butter. Sounds like a great mess!