Shaya

Kevin, what an amazing meal. Your family is very lucky. I can just taste that lobster pasta, it looks so juicy and flavorful, and those shrimp look amazing. Bravo.

I think your method for making them is fine. I would drop them into boiling water until cooked through, toss with butter or olive oil, then store in the fridge. When ready to serve, I would heat up a frying pan with butter or olive oil and saute lightly until heated through. If serving more than two days later, you can simply freeze (don't bother to add butter or oil) then boil and saute if desired. Good luck.

Kevin, those strichetti are so gorgeous. They must have been tasty with the lemon zest and parsley. Did they not give you any trouble to roll out? Your veal and beans look great too. Elie that dinner looks wonderful. Beautiful pasta. And that cake... I commend you for pulling off so much great cooking with such a little baby in the house. What sort of surface did you use to cook the piadina?

Bravo, Chufi, I'm so excited to see what you've done.

I find cooking to be a wonderful way to take your mind off the pressures of daily life. I hope you can find some solace this weekend.

Thanks for the kind comments. Kerry, this mentality rings so true with me. I think we are supposed to learn by osmosis or something. It's the school of watch-and-learn. The one time I "officially" asked my Grandmother to show me and a friend how to make her little sambousaks, she had everything prepped and halfway folded before I got there. My friend and I still joke about it, 15 years later.

I would boil them today until just-cooked and tomorrow finish by sauteeing in butter. You can make them crispy or not. I like them slightly crispy. Here are the ones I made this summer:

I was standing at the stove this morning, just after 8am, which is very early for me, but has become my new reality since my oldest has started school. On the menu was a simple rice dish for my kids and their babysitter, as my husband and I have other plans for dinner. The dish is called kichree, and it's a red rice dish with lentils. Melt some cheese and tomatoes to form a crust at the bottom just before serving, and add white yogurt on the side of the plate. Comfort food. Food that takes me back through all the years of my life. I realized, while cooking this dish, that each time I cook I am taking a little journey. The emotions began almost immediately. As I heated up the oil and added my onions, I was transported to the multiple pots my Mom would have on the stove, oil shimmering on the bottoms, awaiting the addition of the all-important base of nearly every dish she cooked: those onions. I recalled the confidence I felt when she first entrusted me with the task of stirring the onions and determining when they were "ready" for the addition of the next ingredients, usually turmeric, salt, pepper and some sort of diced up meat. Then some very different thoughts overcame me. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the onions softening slowly and gently in the smooth enamelled surface of my Le Creuset. I felt I was witnessing perfection, and the miracle of cooking filled me with joy. In went the cumin. Then the tomato paste. Italian. From a tube. Unheard of when I was growing up; we had those little cans that were far too large for one use but quite troublesome to transfer and store. Somehow this little tube brought in a flood of emotions relating to my Grandmother. She calls it "paste tomato". I remembered how she taught me to transfer the extra paste into a zip-lock baggie and toss it into the freezer for a future use. As I tossed the tube back into the fridge, I recalled that she and I discovered the little tubes around the same time; she is the only person I know who gets as excited about them as I do. This thought made me smile. Then it was time to add some water to make a tasty cooking broth. When I could smell the aroma of cumin entangling with tomatoes. I knew it was time to add the rice; beautiful long white grains of basmati. I added every grain, scraping the bowl with the sides of my hand, just as I had watched my Mom and my Grandmother do time after time. Rice is precious, not a grain to be wasted. Same goes for the lentils. Each one must make it into the pot. This must be how superstitions stay alive! Lost in my thoughts, I added the lentils a little too hastily, realizing too late that I had forgotten to go through the ritual of checking for stones. My Mom always spreads the little grains on a wide tray and hunts carefully for any bits that do not belong. I recalled my younger self looking askance at these unsightly hard obects in the midst of the perfect orange disks, and wondering how on earth they had gotten there. This morning, my older self still did not have the answer. I snapped myself back to the present and looked down into my pot. The rice looked a little pale to me. "Check the color. If it is too pale you can add more paste tomato" I could hear my Grandmother's voice speaking arabic in my head. So I added some more paste and stirred it around. Stubborn streaks of red emerged and brought back another memory, this time a comical one. It was of a time when my Mom was away and my Dad (a great breakfast and salad cook) decided to cook this dish. It turned out to be a mixture of white rice with red streaks and seriously under-cooked onions, rice and lentils. I think that day he realized the "magic" of cooking and developed a new appreciation for our daily food! Then came the tricky part: when to turn down the heat, when to put on the lid, what temperature to keep it steady. All learned by watching; nothing written down. Just as is done in countless families around the world. I searched in my memory for the desired texture and temperature, and snapped on the lit when it felt right. I turned around in anticipation of another cooking project; I was disappointed to realize that there was none. The sentiment of preparing food for my family grew inside me. I recalled the multiple dishes my Grandmother used to prepare in one day: rice dishes; stews; those dozens of kebbah, meatballs sheathed in a paste made with semolina; and m'hasha, those lovingly stuffed vegetables, bursting with flavor and color. These last two so laborious that the rest of us have yet to take them on. She tended to the food while we attended school. This, I thought to myself, must be how she felt. The joy of the cooking process, anticipation of our return home at the end of the day, the pleasure of feeding our family from her heart. I was beginning to understand how powerful are the emotions of cooking.

Like Foodman and Fanny, I love my Camargue de Saunier. For finishing of course.

Wendy, that dinner looks great. Ugh, Klary, those are some gorgeous tortellini. Like little emeralds in the sand. You should try the veal filling (ground veal, proscuitto, parmigiano) - it's really delicate yet hearty and satisfying. I am trying hard to follow all the discussion on ragu and to think about what I do when I make mine. It is pretty much my own interpretation based on what I have read and really on my own preferences. I usually use smoky bacon or pancetta, and sometimes mirepoix and sometimes not; I use veal and beef, leaving out the pork as it is not a flavor or ingredient I am accustomed to. I add some tomato puree, stock, red wine, garlic, parsley and thyme. A dash of nutmeg, coriander seed and cinnamon sometimes. I also baste semi-frequently with milk. Sometimes a mushroom base like porcini or cremini. I have no idea which region this is from, but I know I just love the stuff.

I didn't try for the poofs, they just happened!

Pontormo, your descriptions of lasagne are so wonderful. How I would have loved to taste the artichoke lasagne you made once upon a time. But last night's sounds just divine. I would love a bite of those too. Kevin, your eyes are good. There isn't any wine, but I made the dough on Friday, and I found that by Monday it had discolored slightly. I wonder if that's from the egg yolks? I just adore this LRK book. I think Emilia Romagna is a must-see region for me. I could eat just about any dish she describes. I only have a few more days to cook from it before going "home" for the holidays, so I am certain I will continue with it in the new year. I have already decided to make a lasagna for the familia over the holidays.

Today I made Pamela Sheldon John's veal tortellini - they are filled with veal, parmigiano and proscuitto I served them two ways; con burro e formaggio, and "in brodo" or my homemade consomme.

These are the little Piemontese ravioli that Keller describes in his FL cookbook. Here is a link to show how to make them: Click

From a brief stufy of The Splendid Table, Here is how I understand the different shapes: Tortelli - rectangles Tortellini - little hats made from circles (legend has it they are in the shape of the belly button of a beautiful lady) Tortelloni - larger version of tortellini Cappellacci - in Ferrara, these are big hats still Cappelletti - in Romagna, these are like tortellini but formed from a square rather than a circle "little hats; or, in Reggio, these are disk shapes

Chufi, that lasagna is sheer perfection. I would like a bowl of that right now, please.

Thanks Abra. The recipe is not posted but I can pm it to you. Very nice cooking, Elie. I have been trying to get to make my tortellini since Friday, but the weekend was really busy. Hopefully today. Isn't stuffed pasta so satisfying? Your bread looks great too, really soft. And that bunny looks really flavorful. I wonder about dishes that involve baking layers of meats with rice. We have a Persian dish called Ta'cheen that I've made a few times, in which chicken is layered in between basmati, and I also find it to be a bit bland and on the dry side. I think I would go instead for some of LRK's recipes that involve making a risotto and toppping or layering with a wet ragu, and no baking.

This is very exciting, Chufi. I can't be any help on the technical side but I'm cheering you on from across the sea.

I agree with you, Pontormo, Emilia-Romagna inspires. I think we should take Kevin up on his thoughts to cook from LRK's book for a few months more. It's incredible. Your ragu sounds great. Wish I could have some of the lasagna when it's done. Will you use your fresh pasta sheets for it? Last month Franci passed a recipe to me for gnocchi with radicchio. Somehow I decided to make it today, and only realized afterward that it is from the Piacenza region, which is right here in Emilia-Romagna. They are made with radicchio, potato, ricotta, egg and parmigiano, and tossed with butter and pancetta.

Pontormo, funny you should bring this up today. I just finished making a chart for myself of different types of flours, in an attempt to get it all straight. Lynne Rossetto Kasper says most homemade pastas in Emilia Romagna are made using "grano tenero" flour, which is soft. The protein content is 11-14. Medium starch and gluten levels. The one I have is imported, tip "00" and grano tenero. "00" refers to the finest sifting on the scale that goes from "00" to "0" to "1" and "2".

Thanks for sharing your week with us, Dave. I love seeing how you eat, and your pictorials are just gorgeous.

Wow, Ann, that is really gorgeous. Do you add any liquid to the eggs before baking them?

Thanks for showing these, Kent, they are lovely. I have often wanted to put food-related photos up in my kitchen, and I am drawn to such photos when I find myself at image shops. It had sort of crossed my mind to just shoot my own, and I think you've given me the courage to go ahead and do so.

I've noticed you have mentioned your technique for braising twice now. Interesting. I love the way you deglaze between browning batches - I never want to toss away the browned bits but I also can't stand the way they char while I'm browning subsequent batches. I also have never tossed the veggies into a cheesecloth for a braise, although I always do when I make stock. And when it comes to cooking off the alcohol, I let it cook off slowly, whereas you go for the instant gratification method of fire! I have learned what I know from reading, mostly books on Italian cooking. I am curious to know where you learned these techniques - or are some of them of your own making? Your lamb looks great so far, by the way, I can't wait to see the final dish.

No shame, Moby, just movtivation! Thanks for the demo link Marco. I searched high and low for something like this, that loooong, lonely afternoon 2 years ago! It's great.