FoodMan

Another fun installment! Can someone elaborate on the Panache section? What exactly is it? Am I correct to assume that it is a plate of different flavors, textures and temperatures of vegetables? Anyone had it before?

Exactly. That was my main critique of this book. It is normally a type of book I would buy and read, but after reading the 3 excerpts in the Daily Gullet and was very much less than impressed with how boring content was and how amateurish the writing, I decided my money is better invested somewhere else. I guess I should thank tDG for posting the excerpts and saving me a few bucks which if I am not mistaken went to buy another Harry Potter book. Now that was a an awsome read...

The Houston Press' cover article from this week was about this very subject. It offers a very balanced and informative point of view, here is the link. My position on this issue is the same as my position on all animals killed for meat. What matters is how they are treated and killed. I would rather a horse (livestock to me, not a pet) be used for food for humans, rather than waste by injecting it full of poison and burying it. I've never had horse meat, but next time I'm in Europe, I will make it a point of checking out a salami made from it. Someone asked earlier how to order horsemeat in the US. I do not believe this is possible. Al horse meat here is shipped to Europe or used for pet food.

Thank you Mr. Rogov for a well balanced and informative post regarding this issue. We can all disagree but there is no need to throw punches. Nicolai- My post was not arguing whether tabouli is Lebanese originally or not. It was refering mainly to blanket statements like this one Like Rogov pointed out, the country of origin really does not mean that much. Case in point I would add the amusing intro to the "Cassoulet" recipe in James Peterson's "Glorious French Food". In Cassoulet country in the SW of France he had the worst version ever, made with canned beans canned hot dogs and little else. So yes, maybe Tabouli is Lebanese in origin, but saying that no other place makes it right is a blanket statement that makes no sense and diminishes the value of your post.

sazji- that second way for preparing pumpkin is in Paula Wolfert's book and she tops it with walnuts and clotted cream as well. I tried it once and it really is an excellent dish. Your description of jazarieh sounds great as well, it sure is very different than the one I am familiar with though.

I have to say...I almost diagree with you on all points. Lemons are everywhere in Lebanon. Limes not so much. Lemons IMO are more classy, vibrant, complex and delicious than limes when it comes to mediteranean or middle eastern food. I agree with Nicolia. In Lebanon these are the tabbouli ingredients. Unfortunatly there is a growing trend these days in Lebanese restaurants and homes both in Beirut and in the US to eliminate bulgur! Last time I was in Beirut and having dinner at a family friend's house, I noticed that the lady of the house who prepared the meal did not but bulgur in her tabouli. I thought she forgot and pointed it out. She says "oh, sweetie, no one misses it and I like it more like that" . I simply whispered to my mom "She made a very good parsley salad, but a tabouli it is not". Mom agreed.

You beat me to it. I am not sure if the W&D article had anything to do with the restaurant not charging him the extra 20% though. They just did the decent thing right off the bat and never charged it. If they did he would've seen a credit of 20% on his bill. I also have to agree with the whine about Lupe's Tortillas this week. I just do not get it. Their fajitas ARE very good, but nothing you canot find at many Houston restaurants like Pappasito's or Guadalajara or Gringo's. So why are patrons of LT so willing to endure long waits and less than expemplary service (which LT is proud of) to eat their grilled meats? The location on Hwy6 and 59 just opened a couple of weeks ago and you cannot set foot in the joint without an extended wait! Is it just me?

yeap, like Jason said..it is easy to make. Or you can visit me in Houston and try some when I make it.

prosciutto is more tricky, needs a much longer curing and drying time. As you know in Houston with no real curing chamber, this could be bad. I am planning on making a boneless lamb prosciutto soon though based on the notes in the Cahrcuterie thread in the Cooking forum. The samples shown there look amazing. Currently my wife will surely vito a suggestion to buy a meat slicer thingy...no room in the budget for it . A very sharp knife or a good bread knife is what I use. No, no Roman beer. That is actually a picture taken a few weeks ago when I first cut into the pancetta. The beer I think was a Sierra Nevada

My midweek Roman meal yesterday consisted of, Romain alla Romana, of course this is based on the Puntarelle alla Romana recipe. what Mario believes to be the "real" Ceasar Salad. I had no Puntarelle so I went with Romain lettuce with very good results. Even my anchovie-phobe wife loved it's garlicky salty sour notes and the crunchy greens. Pollo alla Romana, taken from this recipe. This is different than Mario's recipe that uses red bell peppers. I also used my own home-cured Pancetta instead of ham in the dish. All in all not a very "exciting" dish since I cook similar chicken dishes all the time. The flavor was very good and the prep very quick and everyone loved it, what else can we ask for. Certainly a lovely mid-week dinner. I also loved the loads of fried parsley in it, just like the lamb dish. Is this (frying chopped parsley and garlic as a base) a typical Roman thing? here is the pancetta BTW, sorry I could not help but show off Crispy baked Potatoes with herbs and garlic made a perfect contorno to the chicken. These are based on a drum-roll please....Mario recipe again. They are blanched in boiling salted water, drained, tossed with garlic, oil and herbs and roasted at a high temp. plated dinner

LOL...all you are missing was some liver ! That fava bean pasta sound great. I might try it once I get a hold of some good frozen or fresh favas. mrbijas- these sandwiches looked great. You definitly have to pour them flat and cut them with a cookie cutter for a more even shape and certainly drier polenta will produce better results. In any case you really made want to try them more. The batter looks pretty crisp though. Was it not? or was it just too light and not substantial? I might try breading them for the sake of experimentation when I do it. Kevin- more details about that rotollo please. Was the dought similar to a potato gnocchi dough?

the little drawstring bag is what the saleperson gave me when I asked for "hop bags". Are they not what you had in mind? The nylon grain bag is indeed large, actually "Jumbo" since the only sizes they had available were "small" and "Jumbo". I do have the hops and yeast in the fridge per their instructions. I took them out so they could pose BTW, all I can find are 1 liter soda/seltzer bottles or those itty bitty 250 ml ones. I still think 1 Liter is too large for me and would rather have 500ml bottles. Any idea if this size is even available?

As soon as I have a properly made batch that is not mush..unfortunatly pumpkin season is over, so it might be a while

Many thanks for clarifying this Pontormo. I saw them in the book and was planning on making them, but never read the recipe in too much detail. I hope you let us know how they turn out mrbigjas.

Thanks again all! SO it is basically pickling lime? I should have no problem finding this here in Hispanic markets as well. So the procedure should basically be: 1- Soak the pumpkin in pickling lime water for a day or so 2- remove and wash 3- Follow normal canying procedures like one would do for candying citrus rinds and other fruit. That is simmer gently in a heavy sugar syrup, let cool. Simmer again, let cool...until you read desired consistency.

Christofer- I used regular lamb shoulder. I am not sure how to get real suckling lamb. Though the dish was very good, I had trouble removing lots of fat and gristle from the shoulder pieces. I am assuming that would not be a problem with suckling lamb. Also the pieces cooked for a good 30 minutes longer than the recipe specifies, probably becasue it is older lamb. In the future I will use leg of lamb instead UNLESS I can get real suckling lamb. Of course with the leg you have to cook it for a shorter period of time but I have no doubt it will be spectacular. Maybe even cook it in larger chunks and slice it before serving for a better presentation. Kevin- I have not been to CM in a few weeks. I bought these globe artichokes from HEB for 1.99 a piece. Mrbigjas- I do not have the book in front of me (again the Molto Italiano book), but they are basically cooked polenta rounds (cooked like you are going to grill it and cut with a round cookie cutter), with a piece of anchovie sandwiched between two pieces. The whole thing is lightly breaded and fried. I think that is all, and they do sound and look good in the book. Mario said he had them at a small fry shop in Rome and could not get enough of them....

Ok, did my shopping and I am ready to go Now I am off to waste a bottle of perfectly good Malta for the sake of "fun" experimentations. Maybe I'll post some picks of my local-resident-yeast growing in Malta....

Here is my Roman meal from Sunday: Primo: An interesting pasta shape I picked up at the store called Radiatori with lots of grooves. I served it tossed with the lamb cooking juices, parsley, chile and lots of Parmesan cheese Secondi: Abbacchio al Latte from Mario's Molto Italiano. Truth be told I was planning on making the recipe right after it in the book Abbacchio alla Romana but MArio's poetic description for the succulent lamb cooked in milk won me over and made me change my plans. He says in part, "this is what the Roman empire must've tasted like - supreme!" and it sure was. Not very pretty as is true of most Italian braises, but flavorful, rich and satisfying Contorno: Carciofi alla Romana also from Molto Italiano. I could not wait to try the Roman style artichokes and these were the "indisputed" star of the meal braised with lemon slices, garlic, mint, chilies, white wine and olive oil. My wife does not care much for them so I ate all 4 artichokes myself. Too bad they do not come very cheap here in Houston. here is the lamb and artichokes with some fresh country bread to mop up the lovely sauce Dolci: Budino Di Ricotta from...well I guess all the meal is from Molto Italiano. I made this with homemade ricotta. It is simple easy and delicious. Served it with homemade plum syrup. I was planning on some fried polenta-anchovie "sandwiches" for antipasto, but timing did not work.

Nicolai, Am I correct in assuming Kiliss to be "calcium" in English? If so, then how do you buy it? I am trying to figure out how to get my hands on some in the US. Thanks for the helpful info.

I have been mulling this subject for a while now. In my family’s home and in northern Lebanon in general we never used pumpkins, called “laktin” or “Arih” in Arabic, (the large orange ones) much. I’ve certainly never had them in any savory dishes. They were always an object of curiosity to me and my friends, except when used in sweets. This brings me to the subject of this thread, and specifically the two preparations in which pumpkins are used and I am familiar with. 1- Murraba el Arih, literally translates to “Pumpkin Jam” or “Pumpkin Preserve” is my favorite. This is very different than what you would expect a preserve to be. It is not jammy or mushy. Instead the product is made of large chunks of pumpkin that are semi-dry on the surface, or they can be kept in their syrup. The best part is the texture. When you bite into one of these chunks, it is surprisingly crunchy. The texture is similar to a very ripe watermelon. Until you get to the core that is. The core of each chunk it soft and gooey as if it is filled with pumpkin jam. The best version of this concoction is made by our neighbor in my hometown in northern Lebanon. She made it almost every week during the pumpkin season and being best friends with her son I always got a Tupperware full of the stuff. Of course I never thought of sitting with her and seeing how she does it back then. 2- Jazarieh, means something like “made with carrots” and until recently I thought it was! But I guess the name refers to the color of the jam. This one is more of a candied preserve made with shredded pumpkin and has almonds pistachios and walnuts mixed in after it is made. This preparation is more widely available at middle eastern sweet shops and I buy mine from the best sweet shop in the middle east in my opinion when I am in Lebanon. I have tried making both at home. I failed miserably at the first one. With the second preparation I’ve had moderate success. The jar I have in my fridge now is pretty damn good but I think I need to up the sugar content to double the weight of the pumpkin (I use butternut squash actually) to get more of a candied (glace) texture. The problem with making the first preparation is that it always turns mushy on me and never gets anywhere near the right texture. Calls to my grandmother revealed that she is not sure exactly how to make it but knows that in addition to sugar, “kiliss” is added to the mix to preserve texture. Now, as far as I know “Kiliss” means Calcium. How on earth it is used I am not sure. Chef Ramzi in his book uses “Kiliss” for making Jazarieh as well, but has no recipe for the first one. Any ideas? Has anyone ever tried either one of these two? Especially the first one? How else are they used in sweets?

At a POTLUCK?! Grrr. Don't get me started on potlucks . . . This is from an ep where he did dishes more in the style of "older" Rome, and in fact yogurt is what he used when he did it. He may have spoken to why it was used, but then again, anything goes in Rome! I think I'm about done with cardoons. I think part of it is that you have to get them younger, not the big monsters we get here, and more fresh out of the soil so they're not so old. But beyond that, I'm just not a fan. They have this faint metallic flavor to them I don't like. But, you do have to cook them alot longer than most recipes say to avoid the stinginess factor: I poach them 30-40 minutes usually. Hell, maybe that's why they don't taste good then. ← I guess I am one of the few who enjoyed cardoons. See my comments in the Piedmont thread about my problems and successes. The stringiness is due to improper peeling. You really have to remove all those ribs on the outside of the cardoon. Recipes never seem to emphasize it enough. So, once I watched Mario do it on Molto Mario and noticed how much of the "skin/rib" he removes. After that I tried it and it worked fine. I am not sure what you folks mean by metallic taste. To me they do taste a lot like artichokes. BTW, those fried quartered battered artichokes on the previous page look awsome! Are they blanched first, or just battered and fried? I made a Roman meal this past Sunday but forgot to upload the pics. I will post about it when I do. Hopefully tonight.

Right! I think I had "Wyeast" stuck in my head and I translated it into wild yeast .

I love Goya Malta! I have a six pack in my fridge right now. Good to know that about it if I ever decide to use wild yeast in the future.

Absolutly lovely gfron1! Any steps were particularly troublsome or challenging? How much time did you have to spend on it?

Abra, where did you get fresh pork jowls from? I can never find them here. Only smoked ones are available.