Pontormo

I love oranges, truly, madly, deeply. However, it is that time of year on the east coast of the United States when the snow predicted for this afternoon will fall upon the open blossoms of flowering trees throughout a fairly southern city. The plastic clam shells of strawberries on sale were just too much of a temptation, so I turned my back on the green bananas and picked up the best looking pint on display. I just couldn't wait until the local season had begun and wanted to move from oatmeal with raisins to Cheerios and fresh fruit. The ones I bought are from a company I had not noticed at Whole Foods before & shipped from Florida. Starting in the 1990's, strawberry growers from Watsonville began to dominate the market in many parts of the United States. Ultimately, Driscoll's seemed to have become the favored producer among shipped brands, and not just at Whole Foods. The pictures on the linked Web site do not resemble the large swollen berries with gaping white furry centers that are especially noticeable this early in the year. From the comments above, I wonder if the Driscoll family's efforts to produce the perfect berry run parallel to those of scientists at UC-Davis. Placed side by side with the berries from Driscoll's, the berries from Florida were much smaller, a deeper red, and more aromatic. Most clam shells from Watsonville contained berries covered with large patches of white. That said, some of the berries from Florida still have a slighly hollow core and greater symbolic value than taste. It is March.

Is this the story on NPR? It's about comfort foods.

I am glad the unusual appearance of the squid is now being addressed. Next time, it might be prepared wearing this tee shirt. Due to Kevin's dish, in part, I made a more coastal dish myself since beautiful large fresh shrimp were available, on sale, this weekend. I have been enjoying how much risotto we've been making this year, personally, so I prepared one said to be traditional in this region. Shopping too late to buy heads and scraps of the fish filleted that morning, I nonetheless managed to make a fairly aromatic broth by sacrificing a couple of the shrimp and using all of the shells along with vegetables, wine and tomato that Anna del Conte suggests. Her recipe for Risotto with Prawns (4 servings) calls for more tomato and an entire bunch of parsley which is minced and added to the pot before the rice. I think I would prefer a brighter color and taste, using a bit less later in the process. Otherwise, the results were wonderful, especially since the shrimp were cut into very small pieces and integrated in the very last minutes of cooking. I also managed, at last, to purchase Montasio, this piece neither young nor aged, but in the second of three stages identified on the official Web site I linked in this thread. I will therefore review posts of frico and make some later in the week.

Thanks to a very witty food blog by Tim Hayward, I just discovered the following tool: Library Thing. I have linked the URL to Tim's own list of food-related books--I hope he doesn't mind--to give readers an example of what the resource does. Looking at the Home Page, etc., I was quite impressed. Does the initial enthusiasm for starting a joint bibliography on Italian cookbooks and publications on Italian food still linger? If so, we might consider becoming a collaborative member, sharing the same moniker and password and then enter data as the spirit moves us, especially as we move from one new region of cooking to the next in 2006. There is also a place for adding reviews which is where the person entering the book would be able to offer a synopsis or helpful comments, especially about books that are no longer in print and therefore not linked to summaries provided by Amazon.com. What I have not yet established is if Library Thing provides a means for organizing entries in subject categories or by author or date. Please note that Silverbrow also offered a link in January to a different tool. Nonetheless, we could establish a URL link on a thread here without burdening anyone other than ourselves. We might even come up with a creative way to overcome limitations of Library Thing should organization of books prove difficult. For example, Kevin72 might be associated with regional cookbooks and each time we find new ones, we'd log into his account. I could assume responsibility for books on Italian food history, Adam on seafood, and so on. Please send a PM or post here if this proves of interest.

I associate balsamic vinegar with Gourmet and Dean & DeLuca, circa 1978 or 1979-1980 when I began reading the former and visited the latter where I made my first purchase. D & D had just opened in 1977 (in a different location) and was still rather unique. It sold many items not available--or readily accessible--elsewhere, especially for visitors coming into NYC to go to museums, performances, etc. In the United States, yes, the marketing of Extra Virgin olive oil is intrinsically linked to the "popularization" of balsamic vinegar. P.S. Regarding Kinsey's post above, I bought both volumes of Marcella Hazan's cookbooks in 1979 & 1980. The author influenced my cooking profoundly. However, I have a distinct impression that magazines written for home cooks were marketing balsamic vinegar, extolling the virtues of a simple salad dressing made without Dijon mustard, without garlic, shallots or chives: just EVOO [well, not with Rachael Ray's dreadful, addictive abbrev.], balsamic vinegar, S & P. Being incredibly receptive and impressionable then, I even recall where I was when the wisdom of that advice all of a sudden struck me in a moment of Satori.

Purplewiz: I was unsuccessful in trying to post information created by using a spreadsheet. Would you provide helpful guidelines for those of us who find the challenge daunting? The presentation of your data is exemplary. Using a Mac and a combination of Microsoft Word and Excel, I am unable to paste my own neat lists and columns onto the board. Thanks!

I hold my watercress sandwiches with ALL my fingers. As far as I know, no one has designed a fork for dividing and picking up squares of bittersweet chocolate. As for S L Kinsey's gorgeous steaks, note the use of the knife to cut through all three inches of the beef. The cook clearly served as a model of decorum, even if one of the pleasures of the meal was to pick up the T-bones and gnaw.

I swear, all these references to anthropomorphic beings are sick. Wouldn't want to plunge my fork into the flesh of Cerberus, either. He was somebody's puppy, after all. Mermaids and mermen? What, you gonna pan-fry the lower quarters and braise bodies from the waist up? The horror. The horror...

Since JAZ is adding a new post as I write, this is in reference to the long post with a series of images of the market visited yesterday. I appreciate the direct responses to my questions & request. I just had an imprecise image in my head of an emptying market with rain-soaked pavement with a Capitol-like building in the background from the beginning of this blog. This must be a different place. In any respect, I think the idea of putting a farmers's market within a shopping mall is brilliant even if the charm of the traditional open-air environment is lost. I suspect shoppers out in search of birthday gifts or a new bathrobe would take the opportunity to buy some groceries on their way out. The reason I asked about the demographics is that in Washington, D.C. it has been hard for the relatively new farmers's markets to attract shoppers who are not either young, hip & well-educated, foreign-born (& used to their native markets) or relatively affluent. Let me add that your shot of a neat row of bowls lined up Boy/Girl, Boy/Girl...with duplicate ingredients has to be one of the best visual teasers I have ever seen on this board!

Ut oh. Gee. I WAS trying to be provocative, but not harsh or unfriendly.* One thing that I DO notice here is that so many of the "guy" foods that men itemize are things that female eGullet members love to eat, too....me included, although I have a limited tolerance of offal and other innards. *I have to say, though, even though I used a mocking tone for the post above, I do think there is some truth to what I wrote.

Not to get all 1980s-academic here, but since patriorachy is the normative, hegemonic culture, it's only natural that women would crave what men want .

Yes, thank you, Janet. If you took pictures at the market during your lunch break yesterday ( better weather this time, I hope), I'd love to see them. Otherwise, in light of the topic Chris A started, do you have any thoughts about prices and quality at the market as compared to supermarkets and the other types of food stores you visit? How diverse are the demographics (economic, especially) of those who go to your farmers's market?

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Inverting the original purpose of this thread: Is this new Latino market any good? What about other mercados or bodegas in the area that you recommend, especially for the quality of produce, dairy and meat?

How did I miss this ? Ate two, Brute?

I am sure JAZ would drink to that!

Wow, Doc! Between this report of your trip to Mexico, and sizzleteeth's photographs from India, you two are really making the regional forums the place to be these days. In addition to novelties, I have to say those baskets of strawberries are captivating, too, especially since it is almost spring. Is it just that tourists have not built up a lifetime of immunities from the bacteria in the water and fresh fruit that they are cautioned not to eat them? I would like more of a medical explanation of the "Don't Drink the Water" phenomenon. I imagine you did eat some of the avocados and mangoes, uncooked. Is peeled fruit safer than berries?

I just noticed the following review on Amazon.com for Charcuterie... by Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn: " A Cookbook for Men, January 29, 2006 Reviewer: Midwest Carnivore (Wausau,WI USA) - See all my reviews Thus far I've shown this amazing book about tasty, and time tested, food preservation techniques to at least a dozen men and women. While some of the women expressed a little interest, all of the men have either ordered the book or have it on their wish list(while they continue to borrow mine). This is a bible for creating your own sausages, jerky, bacon, confits(until reading this book I had no idea that there was such a thing as a confit!),etc. If you enjoy this type of cuisine, you won't go wrong by adding this one to your cookbook library. " (119 words, full citation.)

Have you read A Meal Observed yet? It's out in paperback now & perfect for the plane in light of your plans for lunch on Monday. Please take your camera and shoot lots of pictures of markets if you can. Consider browsing through Chocolate & Zucchini and David Lebovitz's site. I love Poujauran which is in the 7th (very nice small fromagerie nearby) and Gerard Mulot in the 6th (though the latter's apricot tart will not be in season). Consider putting together an indulgent picnic and taking the train to Chartres Cathedral late in the morning.

How about Polish Dill Pickle Soup? * * * Chop fine. Good on falafel sandwiches with tahini & lemon sauce, hot sauce, crisp lettuce and thickened yogurt. * * * Dry thoroughly. Varnish. Decorate Christmas tree. Brings good luck.

Oh, Sandy! It is a large metal appliance, not a trenchcoat, silly!

While my time as a strict vegetarian lasted for approximately three months in high school, I can understand why some vegetarians see "meat=cruelty to animals" as a black and white issue. I may not agree with them, but I neither feel there is a good way to argue with them, nor feel compelled to do so. Malawry told me that there was a good old thread on the subject of vegetarianism. I don't know if this is the one she remembers, but I suspect it is.

Regarding comments made about A2: 1) Has Angelo's bowed to pressure yet and started to serve better coffee? I LOVED the French toast made with raisin bread, but that coffee... 2) Tell me more about the dill pickle soup at Amadeus. There's someone up in the Cooking thread, I believe, who's despairing about an excess of dill pickles and wants to know what to do with them. A description posted there might be welcome.

Oh well, what can you do? I understand completely There was a period of a good six or seven years that I could not, would not go near a piece of steak. That's a different kind of story.

A little self-serving, but see this link to thread in Italian forum where members include recipes, links to photos or good references. I am a big fan of ribollita which is mentioned several times and plan to make Kevin's highly endorsed jota soon if the new wave of cold weather lingers. (See the link to Friuli below his signature line for more hearty soups made this month.) Regarding the original post in THIS thread, of course the quality of ingredients, as many responses suggest, makes a difference. However, sometimes the subtleties of very simple dishes give more pleasure to some than to others. With Marcella Hazan's great recipe, making a very thick soup with LOTS of garlic, an olive oil with pronounced taste and dark green flat-leaf parsley are all important. I recommend pureeing only one half of the recipe. Water is fine instead of stock. Regarding salt, if you're new to using dried legumes you might not know that you have to let the beans get to a point at which they're almost fully cooked before adding it. At least, kitchen wives's tales report that the bean toughens otherwise; I haven't checked McGee or Wolke to see if that's true. I do know from experience that tomatoes added too soon will prolong cooking time. Finally, I have found that adding a strip of dried seaweed, parsley, a small onion & a couple of bay leaves to beans that are going to end up in a pot of soup is worthwhile. Yes, sigh, once again credit is due to Deborah Madison for the idea. Of course, ham is good in just about everything. Lucy, yes, that bowl of soup is something I could go for right about now.