Pontormo

Pavlovian hot dogs Black doughnut holes Marsipan Madame curry Grilled quark sandwiches

Vee arrrr da VIEnies hu VhEIne!!! I'll have you know that I caught and skinned sand sharks on a little island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where the only other things we had to eat were grits and Cheese Wiz. I gutted an enormous striped sea bass and ripped the backbone out while my cooking companion read Marcella outloud. I type this with a shiny scarlet stigmata-like wound on the top of my foot with nearly a 1-inch diameter where the oil leapt to escape the frying pan, turned into a blister and got rubbed under the bandage and the sandal as I walked. All in the name of cooking Sicilian food . Yes, I am sure Clifford Wright and maybe some others have similar recipes listed as dolci. I'll get back to you on this...and more later, after the new 15-pound watermelon goes under the knife. Franci, thank you so very much for the demonstration (which I see is standard on the web site you linked). I also noticed that the dish comes from a part of Sicily known for its cows AND chocolate. I will have more to say and ask later today after sleep....if not, tomorrow.

Eaten with Big Bangers?

I expect grim, but figure I can stop the DVD to go wash the dishes. We should all know the source of our food and have some respect for the reasons so many Sicilians emigrated to North America and influenced how we eat. Not sure about either the taste in music or fantasy, but cf. this record of my experience in May. One reason I bought a can this time around. Nothing quite as satisfying as denial or hypocrisy.

Ketchup on hot dogs. I know, they're beef, just like hamburgers. Pistachio ice cream. Coconut sorbet. Love the nuts. Love coconut ice cream.

Qualified since I know plenty of people "not born there" who like: Rasmalai.

Disclaimer: I don't read the Food Section every week and don't have any basis for judging reviews of NYC restaurants. That said, I am sort of mystified by the attack inspired by this week's issue. I was especially interested in the article on the Greensmarkets in different sections of the city and the larger social issues the writer acknowledged. As for the world outside Manhattan, people here in D.C. are patting a local on the back for being consulted due to his expertise in Austrian wine. Perhaps Washington, D.C. as a daily destination or point of departure for many whose jobs send them back and forth between the homes of the Post and The NYT does not represent a sufficiently broad focus for a national newspaper, but there is also a brief report of Agraria, a restaurant started here to bring the political interests of North Dakota farmers to the attention of our lobbyists. (I would have spent more time investigating the implications of this restaurant were I assigned the piece.) What I appreciate in food sections are lots of recipes acknowledging seasons, newly available items, trends... Not something for busy New Yorkers? Or for both genders when this isn't the Women's Pages? * * * I still don't understand how the fate of the contemporary newspaper in light of online media is related to your critique. I don't see ways the perils of lost revenue can be addressed by changes in the Food Section---or the power of the online version of the Times might be exploited. Actually, I take that back since I just thought of one thing, but am keeping it to myself since I'd rather hear what critics say. I do know that now that The NYT seeks profit from online subscribers, the food & travel sections seem to be accessible for free for longer periods of time than other features. Does this suggest the paper's sense of priorities?

In case you missed it, Andrew first mentioned the book here, I believe. I agree about this movie. Found a copy of Vittorini's Coversation in Sicily on my shelves the other day & before the week is over, I'll watch the fish you ate being ritualistically slaughtered in La Terra trema. We're all getting lots of Sicilian culture this month.

See Post #3 in thread devoted to the same topic in the Italian forum.

It's called supper. Tim?

I am bumping this up since the current version of this topic is devoted exclusively to covers. I should mention that I only started to receive issues on a regular basis in April, thanks to a free subscription after an order at Jessica's Biscuit. I am a fan of most of the changes made after Ruth Reichl became editor, especially the kind and quality of literary content. The diversity of subjects and intellectual substance strike me as welcome changes after all those years in which the connotations of the name of the magazine set my teeth on edge. I am all for certain kinds of elitism and can live with the ads for Lexus, Infiniti, Rolex and even the diamond industry and Ralph Lauren in what is, after all, a Conde Nast publication. However, Gourmet's classism has always been at odds with my own. Now there is more than the Sterns to acknowledge that food is food and not only a sign of pedigree. I seem to represent the minority in enjoying what I view as an equivalent lack of pretension in current photography. I like the covers. The text now found on the spine is very handy; I used to scrawl in "Colwin's fake tandoori" or "Louisiana road trip" myself after the old annoying stapled format gave way to one that's flat and glued. What DID bother me to pieces was the obnoxious issue this month where the fold-out ad on the cover (always a grrr moment anyway) reversed direction so that the cover image was on one half of the BACK SIDE of a double-spread layout of something you were supposed to want to buy and you couldn't just tear off the ad, keep the cover shot and be done with it. Clever little market editor! Would love to trip at a cocktail party and spill red wine on her vintage Chanel. Second, as much as I love the photographs inside the magazine, I often find the slick graphics annoying even though I can admire their artfulness. A: because they are so fashionable and of the moment, it is hard to distinguish them from the actual advertizements; the talent behind both was refined at the same schools. Reminds me of television. B, my main point: the bold and busy layout distracts from text in articles that tend to be shorter than they used to be, or appear to be shorter on average. Visual grazing for the ADD Postmodern world that perhaps is based on the assumption readers don't want to sit down for a while and concentrate on a sustained argument or essay. Self-fulfilling prophecy? The New Yorker breaks up its notoriously long articles with cartoons, ads, and itty-bitty drawings, but I think it's more than familiarity that makes my experience of reading this publication different.

Franci: Gorgeous!!! A couple of questions: 1) Did you purchase your tuna in thin slices in London, or....? 2) What did you serve with these involtini?

Edy's TANGERINE Fruit Bars. REally, the best!!!! ETA: Just read the two preceding posts. So sorry, you guys!

No, no, no, nothing like that. I wanted to reserve judgment until I spent more than a few hours in superficial browsing, thus the inquiry. The author's a graceful writer who shares her passion for her research and subject in a direct, natural style. I definitely would like to read her memoir; her story's interesting. She takes advantage of the lack of copyright law in a liberal use of illustrations from the old books she finds in libraries throughout Palermo in particular, including conventual ones, and offers long passages from both local literature and travelers. I love these kinds of sources and appreciate the broad range of cultural contexts in which she sites ( ) Sicilian food. Following the desire of many cookbook authors to find an alternative way of organizing her material, Mary Taylor Simeti decided to act as the historian above all else, moving chronological from Homeric Sicily and Ancient Rome to medieval Arab transformations onward, proceeding rapidly to the eighteenth through twentieth centuries, presented in terms of sacred and civic ritual, monastic kitchens, street food, etc. until culminating as most of us do in ending our days when in Italy at this time of year: by celebrating gelato. While this is not as convenient for a cook in search of a way to prepare the swordfish on the counter as successive chapters on antipasti through dolci, the index is thorough. Starting the first chapter, I was thrown by the recipes selected. One of the first is for 'strattu, or estrattu which Anna Tasca Lanza also includes in the other book I borrowed at the same time. I just couldn't figure out what a recipe for uncooked tomato paste* was doing in the middle of Ancient Greece without even an explanation or justification such as pointing out to the reader that she will tackle the 16th-century tomato and 19th-century sauces later, but the "primitive" method of concentrating the fruit is akin to something oh Cyclops did with the brains he smashed when Odysseus visited. There are also recipes for pasta, Christmas cookies and Cuccia, or Saint Lucy's Pudding in this chapter, though it looks as if she does explain herself. Greeks were sea farers who ate fish. The Cuccia is made from farro, thus can be traced back to a ritual dish of boiled seeds Greeks made in honor of Apollo and to Roman dishes reported in Apicius, now recast as a Christian expression of devotion at a particular point in the liturgical year. This last example is intriguing and makes a lot of sense to me. The 'strattu, no. If I had the chance to buy the book for a lot less than the $50-$85 figures that are quoted as the lowest for this out-of-print source at Amazon.com, I would. Wright can get a bit monotonous (look at all those "o"s; even the word's a bit monotonous) with pine nuts, currants, sultanes and cinnamon in just about every recipe, but what I like about his book is the focus and the real difference between the cuisine he presents and the Italian foods I as a foreigner tend to cook. I also like the one book by Anna Tasca Lanza I've seen, thinking the two balance each other out. Hell, I'd like them all. *Requires a long stretch of intense heat and sun, you all.

I have just half a dozen small zucchini with rather small blossoms attached that I need to cook today before the blossoms lose their freshness. Elizabeth Schneider provides two suggestions, although I do not own a microwave (yes, that's right), the tool she finds most practical for keeping everything intact. I have ricotta, I have bread to crumb, herbs, etc. Getting surprisingly sick of anchovies these days, but am open to whatever you've got. N.B. I conducted several searches before I posted this new thread. Should some of you have links to previous discussions, do share.

Very interesting and useful survey of the genre, Maggie. What do you think of the book Alice Waters wrote about Fanny? The problem inherent in cookbooks for children is that authors rarely figure out who their audience is. This is one of those cases where pitching to the person who's going to buy the book gets tangled up with who's actually going to read it. I'd like to change my mind someday, but right now I believe it's best to write for the adults who wish to reach children (their own, students...) vs. the children themselves. I'm speaking from the position that many of us share: an interactive, hands-on "lab experience" in the kitchen is superior to the book-learning that motivated kids will pick up on their own later. What I like about Cunningham's book is that she offers a strong didactice tool for adult readers. My only problem is that the recipes are dated and designed to appeal to the most mainstream of American palates. There's little adventure. Yet, then you have the common situation often faced when it comes to children and food: are they only going to eat what what is familiar? What do you do when you don't have the Edible Schoolyard to entice the stubborn--or fearful--little dullards to try the chard they grew themselves? And are contemporary demographics going to motivate us to change our notion of what appeals to Keisha, Simon, Shalani & Pedro? There's a fairly interesting set of educational books put out by Discovery on food, addressing both nutrition and culinary history. They're recipe-less. I don't know how much they appeal to young readers. And Dave, if that's yours, great illustration!

No, but pretty good type in OO. Ling, Klary owns the book you've borrowed.

Adam & Andrew, this is for you. (And me at the very end.) Click around the names of Sicilian sites. The outdoor market in Palermo is striking, too. Discovered in search for this where Mary's mantle, not slippers (Norman) is purple.

Tonight's dinner responded to the humidity and heat pressing upon us this week: Salad of shaved fennel and oranges With cured black olives, slivers of red onion soaked in cold water while preparing dinner & fresh mint. Obviously a favorite. Sorry, Kevin, but I did peel the orange especially since I used the zest to make olio santo. However, for the first time I can remember, the small plump female bulb of fennel that I purchased was virtually tasteless. I will try getting some at the market next week. Perciatelli con tonno e pomodorini I know you are not a fan of long hollow strands of dried pasta, Klary, but I like them and noticed that they're called for in a couple of versions of this dish made with beautiful, sweet uncooked yellow cherry tomatoes from the market. According to Anna Tasca Lanza, garlic is not used pervasively in Sicilian cooking, but I like it sauteed before adding the tuna, capers, parsely, etc. Cauliflower salad Because I had to use up an enormous, misshapened head from last week. Boiled just until tender and then tossed while steaming hot with olive oil, lemon juice, minced parsley and seasoned. Sounds boring. Actually a bit better than that. Suitable for weather. I just tried purple cauliflower for the first time back in the fall and was pleased to see the color retained when roasted, or last week, when sauteed. Since purple string beans turn green when cooked I was all prepared for this to turn, too as my book indicated. However, while the water turned the color of the slippers of Mary (I'm guessing) in the mosaics at Cefalu, the stalks and florets remained a pronounced lavendar over an almost ghostly translucent white; green eventually became noticeable in the stalks I didn't throw into the salad bowl. When I squeezed on the lemon, the effect would have caused a young child to gasp: instantly they were speckled with a deeply saturated florescent plum only as much this color as this. * * * Andrew: beautiful photographs! The story about Crowley is quite amusing as are the fried eggs. I think those torrone would be just the thing to change my mind about candied fruit, they're amazing! I read one recipe in which they're pressed in between the same kind of wafers that are distributed for communion--if a different shape. Ling: I'm looking forward to your reports. MrBJ: the photo reminds me of a delicious recipe for polpettone in Mario Batali's most recent book, only with a vegetable vs. egg core. Rolling it with ground meats allowed for more patch-up work though there was spillage. * * * Two questions: 1) Is anyone consulting Pomp and Sustenance, too? I've just started reading through it and wanted to hear from others before I said anything. 2) Elie or Adam: Do you happen to recall how much watermelon (in weight) makes how much juice? I bought one of those tiny round melons that weigh less than 6 pounds and look just like the ones in 17th-century paintings. Turns out to be one of the best I can e'er recall eating so I am thinking of sparing only the smallest amount to make the pudding.

Ask Russ Parsons. Meanwhile, see how proud Tunisia is: No. 1609. And talk about specialization.

Conduct a search on fava beans and adapt a few Italian dishes. The Italian forum's regional threads on the cooking of Liguria and Lazio are good places to start. In the former (the land of pesto), fava beans are used to make a wonderful pureed sauce that Chufi photographs here. Make spaghetti with pancetta or bacon and toss with fresh corn and limas. While cream's not appropriate in carbonara, it sure might be good here with a bit of tarragon...unless you use cherry tomatoes instead. Then, in the Lazio thread, look for Roman dishes that incorporate fava beans such as a springtime stew of potatoes, peas and artichokes. Follow same general principles, but again, make it a local, summer thing.

I am pretty much using all of the orange, or was, and in my next attempt I am going back to using it. The only part I am not using is the juice which I squeeze out of the rind and use for the glaze. I have found that orange juice, as in my first attempt and even the 1/4 cup of pomegranate juice in the last, gave off very little orange flavor in the muffin itself. You get more flavor from milk (fat) than juice which is mostly water with flavor burning off. I found it interesting in the flourless orange cake that they boil/simmer the orange for 2 hours. I wonder why? Maybe it takes away the bitterness from the pith or just makes it easier to obtain a finer grind. I will have to look into this. ← 1) It may be that the recipe that led you from orange juice to alternative ingredients was not as successful as later versions rather than a matter of flavor burning off. The flavor imparted by 4% of fat contained in milk is different from the citrus flavor that is retained, after all, when juice is transformed into a syrup or glaze. Yes, I agree that the zest provides the most intense flavor but encourage you to try chopping & processing whole oranges when making a batch of muffins and see what you think. The entire stick of butter is doing the dairy industry proud as it is. 2) Boiling two hours? Reduction. Concentrated flavor. Cf. home-made pomegranate molasses or intense flavor when ingredients are simmered four vs. one hour to make stock.

A favorite recipe that might appeal to you came from an issue of Gourmet (1980s): Orange-Date Muffins. Unfortunately, it did not turn up in a search on epicurious; if I track it down, I'll send a PM. Meanwhile, another suggestion: use the WHOLE ORANGE, pith, zest, etc. Just scrub it well first and chop it up. I love Claudia Rosen's Tunisian blood orange cake which incorporates the unpeeled fruit; here's a link to a similar recipe from Nancy Harmon Jenkins. (I poked holes on top and poured on a glaze, too.) I am pretty sure the orange-date muffins also call for processing the entire orange. Here's a different approach to intensifying orange flavor on Chocolate & Zucchini. Are oranges as flavorful now as they are in winter? I'm not sure how much your experiments are affected by seasons.

Given the heat wave, you might consider serving something lighter now such as spinach-ricotta gnocchi which are sometimes prepared by layering chopped, drained spinach over the ricotta mixture then rolling it up and slicing it (about 1/2 inch thick) to form spirals. Delicious with a simple, fresh tomato sauce. Chestnut gnocchi are usually made from chestnut flour* in late autumn or winter months, sometimes accompanied by other seasonal flavors such as winter squash and mushrooms used in a brothy sauce. Pesto does not strike me as complementary. *Made from ground chestnuts whose use for polenta, etc., etc. dates much, much earlier in the history of Italian cuisine than wheat flour and/or egg-based pasta...or a corn-based polenta.

Klary's enthusiastic response to the swordfish impanate that Kevin made last year inspired me to thaw ground lamb I froze a month ago and catch the boat back to Sardinia. Marlena De Blasi writes purple prose. Nonetheless she offered about the only recipes from this region that really appealed to me. In particular, there is a dough made with flour, cornmeal and a substantial amount of Pecorino, fattened with butter and moistened with egg and white wine. It's used to prepare a potato crostata flavored with mint and orange zest, passed over in favor of impanade di agnello alla Saverio di Nulvi which I truly hope shepherds do not carry to munch among their flocks at night. Ms. De Blasi needs a superior tester, not just an editor who dresses only in black, wears sensible flats and no lipstick. After finding a pot with the required diameter and taking out my dough scraper with a ruler on its edge, I decided that 2 T of lamb would not exactly serve as a heaping portion in a pocket of dough that measures 6 inches across. I also was a bit liberal with other aspects of the recipe, adding a substantial amount of chopped onion to the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, toasted fennel seeds, hot chili pepper (Vietnamese paste) and black cured olives. They're good, the flavors of the savory filling especially. The pastry itself is disappointing even though I thought it clever to brush the impanade with the oil from the tomatoes. It seems too dry, heavy versus flaky and given all the assertive ingredients in the filling, I can't really taste all that cheese. The oil was simply absorbed during baking, so an egg wash might have been a better idea.