Pontormo

Hathor, what a wonderful document of your experience in this area. Now I understand your nostalgia better. I am fascinated by those herbal gnocchi, especially the sauce. I know you said their creator was not especially forthcoming, but could you tell what kind of flour was used for the gnocchi? Egg, I presume? Ricotta or potato? Herbs in the gnocchi AND that brilliant green sauce? It seems that the favored herbs are the same that we've been using during our month in Piemonte, and to some extent in Lombardia: sage and marjoram. I was surprised by the basil that finished off the soup that I made last night. Any others?

Genny: I have lapsed when it comes to using up everything in my fridge before it goes to waste and am glad to see you're doing better there. There's always something down at the bottom of the vegetable bin that liquifies before I get to it; this time, a cucumber. As for my resolution to eat turnips, I finally made mine into Lulu's soup. I always make soup on the rare occasions that I buy them. However, this month down in the Italian forum, eGullet members are cooking the foods of Friuli-Venezia Giula* where turnips are perpared as a kind of sauerkraut. In Molto Italiano, Batali pays homage to Friuli by roasting them. *Invitation to those who say they need to eat more vegetables: If you like soup, read my description of a soup I cooked last night on this linked thread. The recipe includes enough vegetables to nourish a football team for an entire week. Another resolution that I made without posting it here was to buy at least one food item every week that I had never purchased or tried before. This has been fun, and I have been pretty resolute about it until this past Friday. The slacker way to go is trying new cheeses or bottles of wine. I feel most pleased when there is something overlooked in the produce section...or in a food store entered for the first time.

I appreciate the link to Kevin's blog in January 2005 since Friuli-Venezia Giulia is covered beautifully. Orzotto with mushrooms is one of the dishes prepared. Thank you, too, Hathor, for information on your frico. I am still trying to track down a local source for montasio. If unsuccessful, I may try using the last bit of Lombard capra in the fridge. And Bernaise, it's wonderful to see both you and Ludja here, given your ties to this region. I would love to learn about your times in that part of Northern Italy and what your family knows about its traditions, especially as they pertain to seasons, important feast days and food. (While looking at online library catalogues, I found an Italian publication devoted exclusively to demons and witches in Friuli. It also seems that linguists have studied the dialect in great depth.) * * * * Last night I made Friuli Basil Soup with Vegetables, Beans and Barley, a recipe from Marcella Cucina where the photograph of the dish inspired my grocery list. Last year, Kevin discussed the way he prepared Jota; the technique for this soup is identical in that three or four pots are on the stove at once before all the ingredients are combined. In this case, barley, pre-soaked cranberry beans, and vegetables are all cooked separately before they are combined. The recipe is perfect for vegetarians, nourishing, and for me, a wonderful introduction to the region. I was influenced by comments made about Marcella Hazan's milder palate. Instead of boiling everything, I increased the number of onions and garlic cloves and sauteed all but one clove of garlic in olive oil first, before adding a chopped carrot, a cup of celery leaves (! this ingredient intrigued me), potatoes, zucchini and an entire bunch of deep red chard. These stewed in a minimal amount of water until they were mush. Instead of pureeing the entire batch, as recommended, I left some solid, before combining the thick brown sludge with the grain and beans, pouring in olive oil and adding green beans and peas. After the flavors merge and new vegetables are fully cooked, a little butter and finely chopped basil are stirred in. From what I understand, temperatures will climb steadily in the week ahead and by Saturday, we will be walking around in tee shirts and sandals. Last night, however, furies rode the wind, so this soup and a thick slice of bread were all that I needed.

Impressive visual documentation! I suspect most of those grants to graduate students engaged in pork studies went to reducing the mm of fat that you record.

Why worry about your birthday in May? Let your husband take you out to dinner in whatever region we are visiting down in the Italian forum's cooking thread (I do hope you'll be inspired to prepare something with seafood for this month's thread on Friuli Venezia Giulia.)

Cute. I bought some BEAUTIFUL little pale green ones at Rodman's a month or so ago, but they were on sale. I hope that doesn't mean the inventory was being cleared. They were in boxes. Still haven't cooked them.

Sorry, I can't help there, though I wonder if you've tried Best Way in Mount Pleasant. MY Question: Has anyone seen montasio lately? It's an Italian cheese from Friuli-Venezia Giula, this month's region in a cooking thread of the Italian forum. Dean & DeLuca USED to carry it. Same with Tenley Town & P St. Whole Foods. Georgetown's WF had it last week but sold out. The manager seems to have REALLY needed coffee and grumbled to the team member on the phone with me that no one buys it and he didn't intend to order it again. Are there any other good sources for cheese around here? P.S. Thanks to another post above, I was inspired to call Balducci's. "Sorry, Madahme, we stopped carrying that cheese a long time ago."

Kathy, this is fun. Thank you for taking the time out of such a busy schedule to blog. I realize that your week is nearly over, but if you help out at school again around lunchtime, I'd love to see what other children are eating...if it's okay to take pictures of the food alone. More about eating white and progressive moves towards items like beef and broccoli are welcome, too.

I will definitely search for a local supplier of Montasio after seeing these first posts. Hathor, did you use a different cheese? I notice that the Gourmet cookbook edited by Reichl includes a version with Parmigiano...with flour added. And April, I will be joining you shortly. The soups of this region are impressive and the weather has become blustery and cold once more. Thank you, everyone for the links and references. I do have to wonder about the relationship between this thread and the scarcity of Fred Plotkin's book! While I haven't been able to consult La Cucina di Lidia yet, I found several relevant recipes in Lidia's Family Table, including a minestra in which readers are invited to dump extra pork into the soup pot to eat separately. There are also two exquisite desserts that reflect Austrian debts: a strudel with winter squash and cranberries, and another with ricotta and prunes that sounds quite a bit like some of the sweeter fillings used for cialzons. I also consulted Marcella Cucina for the first time, Hazan's cookbook that deliberately explores different regions. She is careful to categorize her recipes as being in the "style" of a particular region, to avoid the "traditional" or "authentic" debate. The index is extremely useful and I wish more authors would list individual regions with their respective dishes. There is not much from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, but one of three soups is especially tempting. She also includes a recipe for pasta in which she urges cooks in the U.S. to substitute lobster for the Italian region's prawns. Several authors mention orzotto as a modern dish, that is, a risotto prepared with barley, a grain favored in the region even if corn is its biggest crop. I am going to try to do this--with mushrooms, of course.

Finally, Adam, I am very impressed by your home-made sausages! I for one could eat risotto forever, especially in new combinations such as the one you share. You mention that the meat was rather dry. I wonder if European--or Scottish--pork has undergone the kinds of transformations experienced in the US where chops, loin roasts, etc. are far too lean. When I was in graduate school, there were always notices on the bulletin board outside the Office for Financial Aid offering generous fellowships for research projects devoted to pork. And Nathan, I am impressed by your appetite as well as your meal. I found pizzocheri very, very filling! As for your bounty of artichokes, do local growers sell the tiny ones that Romans stew and, yes, add to risotto?

Kevin, I have NEVER seen that variety of raddichio...and when I saw the first image alone, without knowing the texture, it seemed to be a spinach pasta dough ingeniously streaked to resemble borlotti! Might the Central Market be willing to share the name of its supplier? It's gorgeous! Are the leaves softer (thinner) and less bitter or...? Your dietary adaptions are admirable, too.

1. They do look exactly like bagels...and softer than rounds I've purchased in Naples. Are there any Italian breads that are boiled after they've risen? 2. Did you make the shanks? I agree that they might be good if you prepared them as ossobuco--perhaps without the tomato--even if that's not traditional. Now that it's March, if you're interested, I'd be willing to share a recipe from Venezia Giula that calls for lamb shoulder and horseradish!!!! (Anna Del Conte.)

Klary, how impressive! Brava, brava! I agree--the ravioli are especially beautiful, as is the cake. It is also wonderful to see the unexpected note of appreciation from one of your dinner guests. What I would like to know is if you've changed your mind about cooking fish now that you've had such a success. Am I correct in assuming there was no need for the stand-by chicken?

P.S. The entry above was written before seeing the newest entries. I can't believe how in synch my initial comments are with the exchange between Nathan and Hathor which I SWEAR I did not have a chance to read until just now! It will take me a while to catch up with all of February's postings let alone the most recent. I must add a quick note of appreciation and vicarious pleasure after what I glimpsed while posting my last entry. Arrivederci.

Birthday Dinner on February 25, 2006 In The Lives of the Artists, Vasari describes the sorry condition of The Last Supper painted on the north wall of the refectory at Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan scarcely half a century before. After preparing a five-course Lombard birthday dinner for a friend, I think I understand why Leonardo foolishly did what he did when he executed his fresco. All that butter! All that cheese! Trained in Florence, moving north only after political turmoil demanded that he seek new patronage at the Sforza court, the painter must have longed for the lighter fare of Tuscany. Recalling the pleasures of a grilled steak and a green salad, simply dressed, he mixed his pigments and yolks with oil before applying a brush to the surface of the wall, an unorthodox technique that led to the rapid deterioration of the composition. THE MENU Tortelli di zucca e tortelli di Crema Tacchino ripieno alla Lombarda Mele in Padella Insalata di finocchio Crescenza e Capra Valtellina Torta di Paradiso colle more di rovo Wine: Mazzolino Bonarda (Oltrepò Pavese) 2003 Bread: Ciabatta There are many cookbooks in English that offer recipes for tortelli di zucca, or small ravioli stuffed with pumpkin. The major variable is the balance of sweet and savory qualities that each author prefers. Paul Bertolli includes an elegant, pared-down recipe in the first Chez Panisse cookbook, one that calls for browned butter; I sauced the pasta according to his advice, with reduced stock, Marsala, butter and sage. Having already decided to prepare Anna del Conte’s tortelli di Crema, I also followed her instructions for a filling, using butternut squash since I did not trek down to the farmer’s market to forage for Long Island pumpkins or a more exotic vegetable. Both pastas were made with dough that incorporates water after the eggs are added to the flour [imported, tipo 00], something she calls a “poor man’s” technique. The result was extremely malleable, easy to knead and fill. Del Conte requires mostarda di Cremona which I bottled earlier in the week, adapting the one online recipe at the Food Network site where Mario Batali substitutes mustard seeds and prepared mustard for the essential mustard oil that is unavailable in the United States. (Kevin, I see you’ve made it, too.) I found that cooking the ingredients briefly made for a more interesting consistency, as opposed to merely seeping the fruits in the thin wine syrup. However, the seeds did not contribute much to the taste and had to be wiped off before the mostarda joined the cooked squash, ground amaretti, etc. I had never eaten cookies in pasta before, let alone mixed with the chocolate, marscapone and raisins in the tortelli di Crema, or coated with grated cheese and herbs. The combinations seemed to emerge straight out of a Renaissance banquet. “Dessert!” exclaimed the Honored Guest. “Do I have to try them?” asked her seven-year old who turned to the macaroni and cheese I baked just in case. Leo, the youngest, loved helping me turn the crank and hold the dough as the very last batch was being prepared. However, all HE would eat was buttered bread and apple slices, raw (“Not the GREEN ones!)…and cake, of course, without the blackberries. While I did not follow April’s example and bake the loaf myself, I was grateful for the fact that ciabatta is a regional specialty. Mario Batali supplied the recipe for the main course, something he associates with Christmas, especially when served with savory, tart sautéed apples. While capon is more traditional and available here in Washington, D.C., the HG is fond of white turkey meat. I’d be interested to learn more if anyone knows what is “characteristic” or Lombard about the way the boneless breast is spread with a paste of sweet Italian sausage, chestnuts, egg, Parmigiano, sage, rosemary, chicken livers, onion and prosciutto crudo before being rolled; prosciutto cotto stuffed under the skin [excessive, I felt]; and then tied up and roasted in a shallow bath of chicken stock and dry white wine. The spirals in the slices were very Leonardo (drawings of whirlpools, loosened tresses and petals) and quite delicious even without the chestnuts. There is enough left over to serve all thirteen figures in the artist’s Last Supper, except it’s not exactly Kosher. Better to feed it to the community of friars who dined before the fresco…or the rulers who paid for the commission since they’re more accustomed to such rich food. To go with the turkey, the artist conveniently wove green apples into the illusionistic garlands in the vaults above the biblical scene, appearing directly below the coats of arms of the Sforza and Este patrons. While the children were happily prone before the DVD player, it was nonetheless getting late, so I served cheese and bread beside a very simple salad of shaved fennel (HG’s favorite), lemon juice (husband of HG’s favorite) and an intense Spanish olive oil. The Crescenza—“without added cream” says the label—is a type of stracchino, a mild, slightly sour and very runny cheese that tries to become milk again as soon as it is placed on the table. Inexpensive in Italy, but up there with truffles when special ordered at Whole Foods, it is delicious spread on fresh bread and even better at breakfast with strong coffee and toasted ciabatta. The goat cheese presented a perfect contrast. It resembles a pale Gruyère with a few small, scattered eyes and seems fairly innocuous until the nutty aftertaste steps forward. As for the dessert, forgoing Italian custom was in order given the nature of the dinner. Paradise Cake calls for the elimination of wheat flour altogether, or a minimal amount in some recipes. Anna Del Conte requires potato starch and Nick Malgieri, cornstarch, in Great Italian Desserts (Boston & London: Little, Brown and Company, 1990). In the case of the torta I baked, the only flavoring was provided by the zest of Meyer lemons. Essentially, one ends up with a very light, sweet slice of buttery potato that suits the turkey, I suppose. Sadly, my oven is not always reliable. The cake rose to more than twice its original height but was still at least 5-7 minutes away from being fully cooked when I first tested it. Moreover, the center rose just a little bit higher than the rest of the cake, cracking the surface slightly. (With bread, I know, mushrooming is a sign that the initial temperature was too high; this effect was more subtle.) Ten minutes after it began to cool, the center started to deflate and turn into a yellow puddle. I ended up scooping out the mess and serving slices of the fully cooked ring of cake with blackberries. I wonder if Malgieri’s recipe might have been superior in the added step of separating the eggs and folding in beaten egg whites…although premature exposure to cooler air would have done damage no matter what. The kids didn’t know the difference and loved it since it was plain, creamy white and sweet. CODA: The recipe for the turkey breast is in Molto Italiano. The pan juices were so flavorful, they did not require either reduction or roux. Even better, some of the stuffing fell out into the pan. I used both the next night to make an absolutely sensational risotto. TWO FURTHER NOTES 1. Pizzocheri I prepared this dish as a filling, solitary meal, in part, because the buckwheat flour in my cupboards is woefully neglected. I also had not used my ancient Atlas pasta maker for at least a decade and wanted to resuscitate the machine before preparing the birthday meal. Since Nathan supplies a beautiful photograph of the same dish up-thread, I will simply add that I cut mine into thick, squat, broad noodles made exclusively with buckwheat. I used chard stems, as per Marcella Hazan’s recipe, reserving the leaves for a gratin. Wowsa? Noooo…but different, wonderfully gooey, filling, seasonal, good with a light red wine. With the white, yellow and pink stems of Rainbow chard against the unusual dark grey-brown pasta, aesthetic value was high. Comments made about Dr. Hazan’s blander tastes interest me. In fact, I actually combined some of Anna Del Conte’s recommendations with the recipe in More Classic Italian Cooking BECAUSE they called for fresh sage and promised more pronounced flavors. FYI: According to the expatriate who evokes nostalgia in the new father out there in Hoth, fontina is a more accessible substitute for bitto, a local cheese. P.S. After these two months of cooking with the same herbs, I would have to say that in one of those Abandoned on a Desert Island scenarios, I would live happily ever after without marjoram, but sage is now somewhere on my list below water, but above the complete works of Shakespeare. 2. Zuppa alla pavese After defeat in battle, Francis I ducked into a farmhouse just outside Pavia, asking to be fed. A resourceful woman promptly fried up some bread, fetched two eggs to plop on top, and spooned chicken broth slowly into the pan until the whites formed tattered curls, but the yolks remained soft. Finally, she grated cheese over the contents of the pan. While the French king was accustomed to receiving gilt, bejeweled salt cellars and kinky allegorical paintings from the Medici, he was so taken with the humble, improvised dish and the ingenuity of the cook that he demanded the recipe. Thus, as we know, the French owe much to Italian cuisine [sic] and simple food produced with fresh ingredients beats elaborate dishes every time. Me, I did one egg with homemade stock and added some chopped, sautéed broccoli rabe for a quick, satisfying meal on a winter night with Artic air pouring down from the North.

On separate notes, I have another question about meal-planning. Context: I am planning on making two tortelli this weekend and serving them together. This is not traditional practice, but since this will be the only full meal I make for February I will make both the tortelli di Cremona and tortelli di zucca. Then main course will be a stuffed turkey breast alla Lombardia, courtesy of Mario Batoli, with sauteed apples instead of a vegetable as a contorno (traditional, actually for Christmas). Question here: salad before the cheese course? It is February, after all. To what extent are we respecting regional traditions and sticking to dishes that are seasonally appropriate? Since all sorts of greens are available nowadays, I am leaning toward being contemporary. However, if there is anything particularly Lombardian that I should do for a salad, please let me know. Thanks.

If someone has a recipe for mostarda di Cremona, would s/he be willing to share it through a Personal Message or here on the thread? I would like to make a little with pears to use to stuff my tortelli on Friday. I seem to recall a discussion of mostarda somewhere here & have not had the chance to visit the Library of Congress yet. The local Whole Foods is selling mostarda in small, exquisite jars from Mantova. While I understand why they cost $15 each, I think I would prefer not spending that much. (If I have time, I might also try making my own marscapone, too, since I found instructions in a book devoted to Italian desserts.) Edited to say: I jsut read through the thread devoted to mostarda di Cremonia. I am not sure if all issues were resolved, especially regarding the Essence of Mustard [senape]. So, my inquiry stands ONLY if egullet members have any new discoveries made while cooking this month.

I have just started catching up to this thread where I will be able to participate again very soon, and with my new computer finally giving in to the practice of photographing food, though the Luddite in me still wishes words suffice. Meanwhile, April, first, let me say I regret overlooking the praise due to you for making ciabatta, one of my favorite breads. Your loaf looks beautiful. Adam: Thanks for further information on rice. As for the tortelli di Crema, I indeed was referring to Anna del Conte's published recipe. I realize that I am drawn to the slightly eccentric, but I like the idea of making dishes that emerge from early courtly roots. Alberto: Of course, your most recent meal looks beautiful. I am wondering if you have ever made polenta using buckwheat flour (what is the Italian word for that grain)? From what I understand, buckwheat was used in certain parts of Lombardia before corn came to Italy. Nathan P: You seem to be having great success with your local wine sellers! While I haven't yet made a pilgrimage to the store most frequented by the diplomatic circles here in D.C., my principal source is rather spare in offerings from Lombardia. There is one choice of an Inferno (which of course I have to try); there may have been a Sasello, too. Hathor: Anna del Conte, a native of Lombardia, complains about the number of recipes for osso bucco that call for tomatoes...including those by Important, Established Cookbook Writers . I beat she's got Marcella Hazan in mind since her first edition of Gastronomy of Italy includes numerous recipes by the Regina della Cucina which the second omits. A del C explains her huffiness by saying that recipes for osso bucco appear in very early cookbooks, long before the tomato was used in Northern Italian Cooking. In other words, she's a purist. However, her objection is implicated in some of the same debates that rage among folklorists, musicians, linguists, conservators, and anyone, really, who thinks about cultural phenomona: how do you determine what is authentic and traditional---and does it matter? Osso bucco has evolved and changed over time and now there are different ways to prepare the dish.

The meals above look great, one and all, especially the beautiful little substitutes for porcini. Thanks for the information about the rice, too. Speaking purely from memory, I seem to recall that rice was orginally used as a soup (sort of a congee) before risotto was "invented." Therefore, the recipe that Roberto Donna has for crema di riso ( soup) surrounding a sformato may be quite traditional. I am wondering if anyone here has ever had torteli (sp? NOT tortellini) di Crema, a kind of chocolate ravioli made in one small town in Lombardia. Since the filling also calls for amaretti, I am thinking of making a small batch along with one filled with zucca and the same cookie. Tonight: pizzochero finally.

P.S. Regarding books and resources. My recommendation above is based on a first edition of 1987. Last night I had a chance to examine the new revised text. There are pros and cons to each. The new edition is definitely more attractive. The photographs are beautiful. The new organization of the material includes distinct chapters, including an introduction to the history of Italian cooking and one on regions, the latter including an expansion on the text of the first edition which strikes me as a great improvement. Since the author is from Lombardy, the discussion of this month's region is excellent. Someone decided to turn the book into an illustrated cookbook, though, and in the process some of the virtues of the earlier reference book have been diminished. Since there are more than 500 Italian cookbooks in English in the US, at least in my superficial skimming of the book, I did not think the long section of "characteristic" recipes adds much. The expanded section devoted to recipes comes at the expense of the historical entries that I appreciate in the 1st edition. The short, general introductory chapter provides the only historical information. So, for example, Maestro Martino of Como ["Martini" was written in error in one of my posts above], the author of an early cookbook that influenced Platina, receives a pithy entry of its own in the first volume, albeit only a [few?] paragraph. In the new edition, his name appears in the discussion of cookbooks written during the Renaissance. The information about other individual authors tends to be brief. The reference section of the book is now devoted exclusively to ingredients & culinary terms from A through Z. Here, Del Conte has updated a number of entries to reflect the greater availability of Italian things abroad, including Great Britain, her home. Her revised PB on Northern Italian cooking looks really good. I also came across a more comprehensive regional cookbook Rustico by Micol Negrin that looks promising.

Divina Cucina is being modest--but she also may be solidly booked, Megan. Did you manage to find her schedule at her personal Web site to ascertain whether or not there would be openings? Faith Willinger is also a member of eGullet. She may hold cooking classes, or at least have recommendations.

A couple of quick things to post before I read Swiss Chef's & Azureus's new posts thoroughly. The photos look gorgeous. I never got around to making the corn pasta, but I did find a number of recipes for bagna caoda (or cauda) that are virtually fool-proof. One way to avoid burning the garlic is to cook the cloves of garlic (slivered, or whole, the latter being easiest) in milk. I boiled half a head in milk for 20 minutes, then drained them and tossed them into the blender with my beloved Sicilian salt-cured anchovies that had been filleted after washing off salt, then cooked on low heat with butter and olive oil. Melted armies of anchovies, green olive oil, tons of garlic, butter...what could be better? With a glass of Dolcetto, crusty bread, a good, runny Piemontese cheese, slices of fennel, red and yellow peppers and celery, this made a heavenly meal for a cold winter night. Roberto Donna's mother's favorite, foccacia de ceci, I have decided is a peasanty nursery food most treasured by those who grew up on the stuff. Fresh out of the oven, I found it rather blah, though unusual since it is composed primarily of mooshed chickpeas, sauteed onions, grated cheese, eggs and sage. It's more of a dry custard than a bread. Leftovers, however, acquired a more distinct taste, especially when heated up by frying wedges in a pan...like leftover polenta. This I found nourishing with a bowl of carrot-tomato soup (not very Italian, though the tomato came from one of Batali's sauces). Please note that Roberto Donna has been hired by NBC to travel back home to Piemonte during the Olympic Games in Torino. He'll be speaking about food on a number of broadcasts. I am sure other newspapers are running features related to the Games that concern food. While I don't have time to add the links now, I am sure you can find the The Washington Post online. On Sunday, February 5, there was a story in the Travel section by Daniela Deane who sought white truffles in vain since they are not in season. Yesterday, in the Food Section, Roberto Donna provided a few recipes in an article written by Candy Sagon.

First, thanks for all the suggestions regarding Lombardian birthday celebration. I will also need to spend more time reading the thread and seeing what you've been preparing. Hathor, I LOVE juniper berries, too, but I'll have to ask the honored guest more about her personal tastes. She is mostly a salads and vegetable-person, although as a wife with two sons, she's become more carniverous in response to her family's preferences. Regarding the long discussion of saffron up-thread: Today? I don't know, but around 14th century, saffron production was quite widespread even in northern Switzerland. Later it was produced in the Valais, Ticino and Grigioni and until today, there's still a village in the Valais (Mund) where saffron is produced. Hence, we can fairly assume that Saffron once was widely produced on south slopes of the alps (like in the Valtellino) ← Thanks Boris. That puts the picture in better focus for me. Next saffron question: saffron was commonly used as a dye. Was it always used as a spice as well? Or did that come later? ← I have something more to contribute. Local legend dates risotto alla milanese to 1574 when the daughter of the master of stained-glass at the cathedral was to wed. One of the apprentices was inspired by the saffron HE used to color stained-glass gold. He decided to add some to rice that was served at the wedding banquet. In Milan, gold-colored dishes were thought to contribute to good health at least a century earlier. [FYI: Some of the major commodities in trade with the East were sold to pharmacists, and then to artisans who ground them for pigments. The semi-precious stone used to make ultramarine, or the most valued blue, comes only from Afghanistan. There might be some intersections between the seasonings used by cooks and items that made their way into the hands of artists that are worth exploring.] However, other food historians claim that there is a dish similar to risotto alla milanese in the cookbook written by the French royal cook Taillevent (Viander, ca. 1370 for the Valois court): riz engoute. Alberini in Il pranzo all'italiana seconds what everyone else has said up-thread about Eastern origins and Sicily. I have to wonder about Naples, too, though if Spain is involved, given the rule of Alfonso I in Naples and his attempts to take over all of Italy by forging alliances with Northern Italian courts during the Renaissance. However, Alberini points to a recipe published by Messibugo in an extremely important book he presented to the cardinal of Ferrara in 1510. There, the dish is called "alla siciliana." Regarding local sources for saffron, crocuses from nearby Abruzzo are harvested for a powdered spice "nowadays" according to Anna del Conte who wrote in the 1980s, I believe. She is my source on much of the information above. I cannot recommend her Gastronomy of Italy enough.

At the end of the week I will be visiting the Library of Congress where I will have access to many Italian resources, including one Alberto has been recommending. I would be grateful if anyone has suggestions for dishes to look for that might be more unusual. I am cooking to celebrate a friend's birthday. Small group of 4-6. Don't wish to do the usual ossobuco. Thinking of anolini, but my sources are unclear as to regional origins. It is supposed to be from Emilia-Romagna, yet associated with Mantova, too. Both? Other advice for recipes to consult? Thanks!

Fellow eGulleteers on this forum: Please excuse me for brevity and incomplete entries which may appear in association with my name for at least another month. I am learning how to make due without a computer at the moment and when I throw myself upon the mercies of the public lbirary system, my sessions online are sometimes limited to less than 15 minutes. Therefore, I understand my comments on 15th-century Italy were rather cryptic and the context was not established in the four minutes I had to write. Now, let me try again. The comment I cite above was one of several that I had in mind when I last posted; the subject of the court of the Gonzaga in Mantova (15th-16th century) was also raised by albiston, I believe, in relationship to the cooking of that city. There seemed to be a discussion of the relative uniformality or diversity of the cooking of Lombardy that relates very much to the political history of Italy. While jumping into that discussion, I tried to point out that the current region of Lombardy unites cities that were once separate. In the case of Milano and Mantova, the cities were centers of rival courts and rival powers during the second half of the fifteenth century when Ludivico Gonzaga ruled Mantova. As the ruler of a Humanist court, Ludivico was known for using sponsorship of classical scholarship & the visual arts among other non-military means to construct an image of power and prestige. He also established important ties to the papal court in Rome (one of his sons became a cardinal, for example; Alberti, the architect and humanist scholar worked for both the papacy and for Ludivico, thanks to connections made during a papal visit to Mantova.) One of the most important aims of Renaissance court life was to maintain and expand one's power through diplomacy and exchange. The role of the Gonzaga as hosts to the papal court, and to others with whom alliances were forged were instrumental in maintaining power. Andrea Mantegna, the painter, was hired by Ludivico Gonzaga as one of the first known court artists to earn an annual salary and live at court so he could decorate rooms used for public meetings in the Gonzaga court. Banquets, like frescoes, were also emblems of power: a chance to display splendour and demonstrate wealth while satuating honored guests. Thus, early culinary history is intertwined with the power of the court, at least when Mantua and the Gonzaga are concerned. Unfortunately I have little time to speak further on one of the humanist scholars who came to the Gonzaga court and enhanced its culinary legacy. However, the Library of Congress here in Washington, D.C. owns an original manuscript by Maestro Martini, the mentor of Platinus (a self-invented, classicizing name), a man from Cremona who ultimately became the librarian of Sixtus IV in the papal court. Platina offered a transcription of Maestro Martini's recipes at the end of De Honesta Vouptate ac Valetudine. However, he made his own mark and from what I understand, some of the recipes are novel. The entire work was translated, according to Anna del Conte, and became what she calls a bestseller after the first French edition was issued in 1505. Edited to correct spelling and a factual error.