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I mostly followed the recipe from Culinaria, but the brasato probably wasn't the best, as I really cheaped out on the ingredients. The carbonada that I made last week was similar, and rather pricey, as I used dried beef and a nice Barbera. So for the brasato, I used chuck roast and cheap cabernet that I'd purchased awhile ago. I braised the meat until it was tender, about three hours and then further reduced the sauce. The meat was fine, but the wine flavor was not very strong even though I marinated the whole thing overnight. Actually, the leftovers last night tasted better. Overall, the dish was less rich than the carbonada. I guess that the lesson is not to scrimp on all of the main ingredients in a dish at the same time. Culinaria suggested mashed potatoes as a side, much to my husband's delight. Somewhere I foggily recall reading that the Piemontese were fond of eating wild mixed greens dressed with walnut oil. Around here at this time of year, that means a bag of "mixed spring greens" from the grocery store, tossed with a vinagrette made with walnut oil. The meal bore an uncomfortable resemblance to typical mid-western meat-and-potatoes fare. They were both squeezed out of a cookie press, which is far more fun and simple than having to roll out dough for cutting cookies. And you don't give your pastry skills enough credit. The calzones that you did last month, for instance, were great!April

Dinner last night was Brasato. It wasn't very photogenic. Afterward, I spent the evening baking cunchy, cornmeal-lace Krumiri from Piemonte and the light, hazelnut wafer from Val d'Aosta called Tegole. The half-moon shaped krumiri turned out to be one of only two recipes from this month's regions that I had previously prepared. I'm crazy for anything with cornmeal, and its presence in what's essentially a butter cookie makes them seem exotic. The cornmeal always draws surprised comments from guests when I serve Krumiri to them, but the cookies disappear quickly. Krumiri aren't sweet when compared to American cookies and they are nice for dunking. By contrast, the tegole are crisp, airy and very, very sweet. The wafers have a wonderful, intense hazelnut taste that makes me wonder why hazelnuts aren't more popular in the U.S. Why are there only two cookies in the photo? Well, I'd never made them before, and those are the only two left that I deemed photogenic. The first cookies were underbaked, and were a sticky mess. The second batch was better, but very brown around the edges. I'm not sure that the cookies are supposed to be that browned. Out of the second batch, only two remain because my husband raided the cookie jar last night. It's a wonder he wasn't bouncing off the walls from all of the sugar. I just got Matt Kramer's A Passion for Piedmont in the mail today. It took long enought to get here, but I like the selection of recipes that he presents, far more than what I have found in my other cookbooks or on the web. I see some more exciting meals in the near future. So, does anyone want to start voting for the next region? That way, I could get related books before the end of February. (I vote for something in the North, like Lombardia or Friuli). April

Can you add dried, ground citrus rind, or would that be considered cheating? April

No, it doesn't look lovely at all. But after all of the delicious Dutch cooking that you've iintroduced to us, we can trust you, Chufi. I can definitely see the textural change. The soup on the second day looks almost glossy. Do the leftovers freeze well? April

Close. My husband wanted some more "normal" meals this weekend. He doesn't have adventurous tastes in food, and he wanted some familiar comfort foods to balance all the new things that I'll be cooking over the course of the year. I have plans to do some baking later today, and to finally make a Brasoto tonight. I agree with Kevin about the cast iron retaining too much heat. Perhaps you could melt the butter, throw in the garlic and then remove the pan from the burner, which would allow the garlic to cook in the residual heat. The one time friends and I made Bagna Caoda, we even skipped that part and just heated it all up in a fondue pot. Your secondo and risotto sound sublime. I've braised pork loin in milk many times (from Marcella's recipe), but I've never considered chicken. It's something new to try. April

← Thank you so much! I can't wait to try this. But anything that beautiful isn't "just" a fruit jelly. I also made your tomatade recipe. Wonderful! (I have to start with the simple recipes and work my way up to Cassoulet.) April

What a fabulous birthday dinner. May you have many more. Would Mary allow you to discuss the construction of her Terrine des Fruits? It looks like a refreshing antidote to a very filling meal. April

I'm really regretting following that link. The Gosford is nice, but now I'm lusting after these: Ricco Deruta. At a mere $285 per place-setting, it's almost a bargain. Hmmm, I think that the dog wants a new bowl. . . April

April - did you blancH them? It is usual practice to wrap them in newspaper etc, so that they will not be so bitter. But this takes away their visual impact in the garden I guess. ← No, I didn't. By the time I found out that I shouldn't consider blanching optional, the plants were too large and the leaves were too brittle. I'll know better this year. I'll start wrapping the cardoons when they're small. Oddly, the artichoke-like flavor was more pronounced when the cardoons were bitter. April

Nice idea, ChefCrash. It looks great and matches your cabinets. Did you build it? What keeps the shelf in place when it is closed? Friction between the screw and the wood? I'd like to adapt this to hold large, over-sized cookbooks. April

I'm envious as well. I'd never seen nor tasted them until I grew some for myself in my garden last summer. The plants were imposing, and very bitter until late summer when the nights got cooler. Then they tasted similar to artichokes. I wish that it had occured to me to freeze some. They'd come in handy about now. Since the sformato can be made with a creamy texture, perhaps you could substitute artichoke puree. It's not quite the same, but it might ease your pain somewhat. April

You've sparked a memory: My mom loved to squirt yellow mustard on bologna, roll it up, and eat it as a snack. As kids, my brother and I considered it a treat as well. Other trashy bologna comfort food: This thread is making me crave the meal my mom most often served us for lunch in the summer. It was two slices of white bread, butter on one slice, and mustard on the other. One slice of bologna, one slice of Kraft processed cheese, and an iceberg lettuce leaf. Oh, and two sweet pickles, either on the side, or sliced thin and placed on the sandwich, diner's choice. Sides included plain Lays Potato chips, carrot sticks, and slices of cucumber and tomato from our garden. This was all washed down with a tall glass of milk. Entertainment was a game of cards or maybe a board game. I'd skip a meal at the finest restaurant in town to eat like this again with my mom and brother and recapture those moments. April

Wow! I'm going to fantasize about this! Your architect obviously understands your addiction. I don't have much space to collect whole sets of dinnerware for myself. I assuage my needs by collecting small bowls to hold ingredients when I'm cooking. I also buy bowls and plates for my dog and cats. They each eat out of their own dinnerware patterns! My one big indulgence is in vintage chromed barware like my father had when I was a child. It's usually very cheap, so I've amassed huge amounts of it. Now, I just need to have a cocktail party. But then I'd need new linens and. . . April

I have to agree with the others. Crudites and fresh fruit pieces would add a nice balance to the richer offerings. Picky eaters who are suspicious of new foods would be likely to eat these. Of course, nothing is stopping you from offeing a nice blue cheese dip. . . I'm glad that you liked the mini potatoes! April

Hathor, my photography was misleading. The meat wasn't juicy at all. The wrapping it came in remained dry, and no juices ran out when I cut it up. The local Hutterites produced it, but I don't know exactly how. The butcher just stated that it was salt-cured and then dried. I've never had bresola, so I can't compare. The meat was quite firm, nearly as firm as the mass-produced hard salamis that you find everywhere in the U.S. Here's a photo of the finished product: I simmered the Carbonada until the meat broke apart into strands: Oddly, each individual strand of meat was still firm when chewed. April

Dinner tonight featured two Valdostan recipes, Carbonada and Pears in Red Wine Sauce. I was intrigued when I read that Carbonada was traditionally made with salt-cured meat. Most recipes mention salt-cured beef, though I swear that one on-line site mentioned that salt-cured chamois was also used, before the chamois became protected. This stuck in my mind while I was out shopping yesterday. When I arrived at the meat counter, there was a nice chunk of meat labeled “dried beef”. This is usually sliced thin to be used on sandwiches, but I had an idea. . . The butcher was happy to sell some to me unsliced, but it definitely made him curious. Here is a before photo of the dried beef. I’m happy to report that the Carbonada turned out well. I even found a Barbera d’Asti wine to use in the recipe. The resulting sauce was very dark and flavorful, though I should have soaked the meat ahead of time to remove some of the salt used to cure it. I'll try to post photo of the finished product tomorrow. All of my attempts to photograph it tonight turned out blurry. I guess that I had too much wine sauce! As for dessert, didn't quite work. I tried following the recipe in Culinaria:Italy for Pears in Red Wine sauce. The pears are supposed to bake for about an hour in a “medium” oven. The accompanying photo in the book shows pears that are soft and collapsed and a lovely wine color. After baking for two plus hours at 350F, my pears are were still tan and resolutely pear-shaped. They tasted sweet, but didn't seem to have absorbed much wine flavor. Nathan P., your version of Zuppa Valpellinentze looks better than the one in Culinaria! April

My wonderful husband gave me Culinaria: Italy for Christmas, so I'm set there. Some searching for more Piemonte cookbooks has turned up some more possibilites: Piedmont by Maria Paola Dettore; part of the Time-Life "Flavors of Italy" series; published 2000, has 60 recipes The Food of North Italy: Authentic Recipes from Piedmont, Lombardy, and Valle D'Aosta by Luigi Veronelli; Cucina Piemontese by Brian Yavin and Maria Grazia Asselle I don't know anything about these books, and only the last one is available "new" with a 4-6 week shipping time, from Amazon. They can all be had inexpensively from on-line sellers, however. Does anyone have any experience with these books? Here are some on-line resources: About.com's Italian Food Site VirtualItalia DeliciousItaly These sites have on-line recipes listed by region. The order doesn't matter to me, but I vote for giving precedence to the regions that were missed last year: Lombardia, Trentino Alto-Adige, Molise, and Sardina. Now, I'm off to decide what to make for my contribution! April

How about the pumkin pie recipe on the back of the Libby's can? That's a staple on both sides of my family. I still get suspicious looks at holiday time when I want to roast a *real* pumpkin for pie. We also used to make "chile-cheese dip" from a recipe on the Velveeta box years ago. There were also "tavern sandwiches" from a recipe on the back of the Campbell's Condensed Gumbo soup label. Now I have a craving for these! April Edited (a few minutes later) because I just remembered: Fudge from the recipe on the back of the jar of Marshmallow Fluff. It's nice way for a beginner to learn how to make fudge. I guess that I have "tinkered" with the Libby's pumpkin recipe, since I now use fresh pumpkin. And when I get a craving for tuna noodle casserole, I make it with bechamel sauce and fresh mushrooms. Oooh! And my husband's invention: Sloppy Joes/Manwiches made with spicy fresh pork sausage instead of plain hamburger. Does that count? He considers it his personal culinary triumph. Signing off now. . .

Wow! I love this quote! What a wonderful sentiment. I'm looking forward to spending a vicarious holiday with you and your family. I'll be lining up for a big plateful of buffalo stroganoff. Yum. April

Thanks, everyone for your suggestions. I was leaning toward roasting them with olive oil and herbs (no duck fat at the momemt) and then possibley serving with a dipping sauce. It seemed like far less work. But, the filled potatoes sound fabulous and would make for a prettier presentation. I think I'll have to follow jsolomon's suggestion and try out both! Now, if I could just finagle some friends into helping with the preparations. . . April

I've been trying to come up with tasty, inventive, yet not-too-fussy appetizers for a small New Year's party. Has anyone ever served pieces of roasted veggies like this at a party? I've been making roasted potatoes out of these extra-small fingerlings from my garden (sorry, no pics of actual roasted ones!) The potatoes are small enough to be eaten in one or two bites. I caught my non-foodie husband eating the leftovers as a snack, which gave me the idea. I was thinking that cubes of other veggies, tossed with different herbs, would also work. They would make a nice contrast to crudites. If I wanted to get fancy, the veggies could be wrapped with a bit of bacon or prosciutto. Any thoughts? April

The only nutcracker that does this right (and also gets whole Brazil nuts out of their shells) is an ancient one I inherited from my parents. It's got a cast iron holder shaped like the palm of a child's hand, with a flange at the bottom (with a hole in it to anchor the tip of the nut) and a screw-down cracker at the top with a conical end that fits over the top of the nut. It works easily and every time. I have no idea whether it's still made and would love to find a source for gifts. ← I am having a hard time visualizing this one. Any chance you could put up a photo? Brazil nuts don't fare well in my pecan cracker. Doc ← This web site Nutcrackers has the "Reed's Rocket" nutcracker, halfway down the page. I believe it operates on the same principle as the one that k43 described (just not nearly as fancy). This is the one that we have, and it does an excellent job of extracting the nutmeats from all types of nuts without pulverizing the shells. You can usually get walnut shells to crack into two halves, though not always exactly along the seams. I've also had luck splitting walnuts in half by inserting the blade of a flat-head screwdriver into the hole on the butt-end of the walnut and giving it a gentle twist. April

Try this combo: Pear +ceylon cinnamon, galangal, rosemary and juniper It works really well as a filling for a sweet bread. Chocolate +anything citrus doesn't do anything for me. I don't know why. April

I've lived in the Midwest most of my life, and I think that we suffer from some sort of culinary insanity up here. I'm surrounded by millions of acres of corn and soybeans, and if I want grits, I have to go buy polenta imported from Oregon. Last summer, I was at a local art fair, where there was actually one food vendor selling roasted soybeans (soynuts). The next booth over was being run by the South Dakota Soybean Growers Association. They were selling doughnuts! They didn't think it was funny when I asked why they weren't promoting their own product. Confession: I eat my grits with milk, honey and dried fruit for breakfast most mornings. I'm sure I'll be vilified by both Southerners and Italians. April

We'll be waiting for you with much anticipation! Get well soon! April