Shaya

Beautiful food, Franci. Kevin, why didn't you say those calzones had escarole from the very beginning? I've had a beautiful head of the stuff begging for my attention from the depths of my fridge for almost 2 weeks now! I just read your post about the ingredients tonight, after putting the kids to bed. Quickly got out the head of greens, salvaged as much as I could, and supplemented with farmer's market spinach. My 5-year-old popped out of bed just as I was whirring up a batch of dough (I used Mario's version with wine and honey, I figured, why not give it a try?) So my little guy sauteed the greens with all the various goodies, the dough is rising and I shall put the whole thing together tomorrow. Thanks for the inspiration. Now if only I'd known about the greens earlier So my question is this: do I deep fry or just coat in oil and fry - your posting is ambiguous on this point. Another question for you all: I got some - I should say MANY - gorgeous baby eggplants from the farmer's market on Saturday. I also have some gorgeous basil. My resources on the region are very weak. Any ideas for what I can do with these glorious ingredients? Here is a photo of the eggplants from last week's market - I used these to make a Thai curry, and they were incredibly creamy. Delicious. Oh, and I'm about to order Naples at Table from a Canadian discounter - too late for this thread, but I'm psyched nonetheless.

Ling, that fig tart is gorgeous.

Once again I was inspired by Kevin's crazy year of Italian cooking. We had Gnocchi alla Sorrentina tonight. In my never-ending quest to make light-as-a-feather gnocchi, my husband and I have found them to be a tad "too delicate" lately. So I added extra flour today and a bit of egg too, in an attempt to make them hardy enough to stand up to being baked. It worked. They stood up great but were still light. Delicious dish! Gnocchi alla Sorrentina - spicy tomato sauce, fresh mozarella, basil, pecorino romano I must say I am really loving this region. This is a wonderful way to aquaint myself with the various cuisines of Italy. I look forward to continuing in the new year.

Chufi's Belgian endive, blue cheese and pinenut tart here- the caramelized onions are indredibly good. You could make individual ones.

Kevin, that switch would be fine with me. Pontormo, your Genovese sounds wonderful. After 6 hours of cooking the onions must have melted right into the sauce - sounds like they act as a thickener of sorts for the meat juice, no?

What a nice birthday party for your gorgeous little girl. Kerry, your energy and your giving spirit seem endless. Thanks for sharing this week with us. It is truly like taking a virtual vacation.

I'm not sure about freezing the bacon once it's cooked. I think it would compromise the texture. Is there any way you could cut the fat from around the meaty parts and then just freeze the meaty parts for later use?

gfron1, I am not surprised by your question. I have the same wrappers you show, and I find when I make salad rolls, they are just perfect. However, when I use the same wrappers to make spring rolls (i.e. fried) they turn out a bit sticky, and not at all that fragile crispy texture I have in restaurants. Needless to say I am as curious as you are to see a response to this quandry!

Kristin, that is gorgeous. You have me wishing I lived in Japan to enjoy all these amazing creations. Did you make this?

Franci, I did two layers. Here is a photo:

Franci this looks wonderful. I shall have to make this soon. I made your Schiacciata con l'uva last night, with honey instead of suger. It was really great. I think my family was expecting more of a tart, but it was just as I was expecting - and craving; bread-like dough with sweetness interspersed throughout. Thanks for the inspiration. I used champagne grapes.

My Mother and Grandmother use them in Persian dishes, from rice to fillings for little appetizers. However, I'm not sure if they are a Jewish tradition per-se; I always felt they came from the Persian and not the (Sephardic) Jewish part of my heritage.

That almond cream dessert is gorgeous, Gfron. Abra, what a gorgeous and delicious-looking cake.

I believe there is lemon zest in there, no? If you use a fine grater there is no need to strain.

That's gorgeous, Mike. You've inspired me to want to get on the bacon bandwagon.

Docsconz, thanks for the information. It explains a lot. Growing up I often saw my grandmother adding pine nuts and raisins to her middle eastern dishes.

Ludja, I made these up after seeing Kevin's version; I also used a pizza dough. I let them sit about 20 minutes before frying and they are most definitely deep fried!

Elie, that meal looks fabulous from start to finish. Regarding the meatballs, I tend to think of pinenuts and raisins as being typicially Sicilian. Interesting to see them in a Neapolitan dish too.

Thanks Pontormo, Kevin. Kevin, the eggplant sandwiches get 5 dunks: flour, egg, breadcrumbs, egg, breadcrumbs. I needed 4 eggs to make 16 sandwiches. Held together like a charm.

Cajungirl, the pane Siciliano looks wonderful. I can't wait to try it. Thanks for the feedback, ohev'ochel. I seem to understand the rest of the mechanics of breadmaking. The slash seems to be my achilles heal, I need to study it more deeply. I made a grilled cheese with my French poolish round loaf today - thought I'd post so I can get some feedback on the crumb. It had a great texture, but I kept wanting more salt.

Tonight's dinner was a salad of red-leaf lettuce and a little treat from the region. I saw these made by Curtis Stone (the Take Home Chef) and had to make them! Layers of eggplant, basil, fresh mozarella, double-dunked in egg and breadcrumbs, then fried to golden crispy goodness. Eggplant Fritters with Fresh Cherry Tomato Sauce

That pasta with eggplant looks delicious, Judith. Gorgeous pizza, Pizza Napoletana. I think I've followed your writings on a pizza website in recent months, as I was in search of the secret of the amazing pizza I had at A16 in San Francisco. Would you say this is a great example of their pizza? I can't stop looking at your photos; I can even smell the charred crust through my screen! I had some extra dough starter in the fridge, and I was reading Kevin's thread on Campania from last December, and I got inspired to make his gorgeous calzoncielli filled with cheese. Click. I didn't have any ricotta so I used what I had in the fridge. We had these late in the afternoon, and a dinner of risotto with mushrooms, pancetta, and peas soon followed. Calzoncielli - filled with fresh mozarella, sheep's feta, pecorino romano, anchovies and parsley. Really good. Next time I will go for the ricotta, though, if nothing else just so they fill up the pocket better.

I made more French breads today. More baguettes, and I decided to do a boule shape too. Here are pics of the dough slashings on the boule, as well as the final product. I am really not clear on what I am going for. Could somebody please explain what I am trying to accomplish with the slashings? Also, which, if any of these, looks like it was done right? And which slashing produced the big lip (left hand side) on the final product. I suspect it was the deeper slashing, but I'm not certain. Is this lip a good or bad result? Thanks! I will show the crumb later on, once it has cooled.

Thanks Tino. I might try that. I forgot to mention Alanamoana, that I did indeed use steam; I had a pan on the top shelf with boiling water and I spritzed the inside of the oven 3 times in 30-second intervals, as directed.

You're right, slashing is a big problem. I have these razor blades that we use to clean our glass-top stove, but I couldn't seem to get the angle right, it kept pulling at the dough, so I used a knife, but I'm sure they didn't go deep enough. I don't think I quite get how to slash properly yet. Regarding timing, the poolish was made the day before, I mixed the dough the following morning, and did 2 rises of 2 hours each.