La Niña

My trifle wasn't so good. I used bananas and berries, which was a mistake. Too many contrasting flavors. The custard was good. I think a trifle should be greater than the sum of its parts, and this one wasn't. I'm not sure that pound cake is the right thing to use - sponge cake is better - the pound cake is too heavy.

Joe, I grew up in New Haven. I'm not sure it's psychological, but it could be - nothing does it for me like The Spot. We went all the time when I was a kid. Don't get me wrong, I love Pepe's, and I love Sally's. And Modern Pizza is good too. Did you ever go to the original Tony & Lucille's for calzones? And....have you been to DiFara's??

I think that's been tried...at least by the French.

I don't think Italy is really known for its bread. Italian bread doesn't genrally have much of a crust, nor flavor. When Italian bread (in Italy) is good, it's called Pane Francese, which means, guess what...

Why? In this context it was foolish. The comparison has nothing to do with the experience of Italian food or Italian competence.

Plotnicki, that was hilarious. Truly plotz-worthy.

The comparison of eating in Italy vs. eating in the U.S. is foolish and completely irrelevant, both to the original topic and the subsequent conflict on the thread.

I heard from somebody who isn't quite sure, but thinks that "ricotta dura" is yet a subcategory of ricotta, and is harder than ricotta salata. I will email a friend of mine in Italy who is knowledgeable in these matters and see what she says.

In my experience, ricotta can't really be crumbled, per se. It's sort of, say, chunk-and-drop-able, but not crumbly. I've had fresh ricotta lots of times - it's definitely not crumbly.

I really like the Buitenverwachting Chardonnay. Unusual and interesting. And I am no big Chardonnay fan.

Ahh, gotcha. Speaking of ricotta salata - I've notice that some places have been substituting the Greek cheese manouri for ricotta salata. And although it's similar, it's not the same. Manouri is drier, finer, less creamy. I've spoken to some cheese people about it and the mavens say it's just a way to sell a cheaper product. Anybody experience this? I complained to the guys at my local good Italian market - but so far, no change, so I'm getting it elsewhere. Jin, by "dura" do you just mean "hard?" Ricotta salata is hard, I don't mean hard like a hard cheese, but slice-able, crumble-able, certainly. I really like ricotta salata - I crumble it in salads, make omelettes with it, put it in tomato sauce, cut it up and serve it with olives, slice it thin and make salami and ricotta salata panini, etc., etc. I always ask for a taste before I buy any, though - because a lousy one can be extremely, extremely salty. Or too dry.

Jin - the two cheese taste so different, and the textures are so different - why do you say it's not going to make a difference?

Hmm. Regular ricotta is definitely not slice-able, but ricotta salata is. Could be an error.

Are you sure it says ricotta, and not ricotta salata? Because ricotta salata is crumble-able, not mushy like ricotta. More feta-ish.

You're on, baby.

That's a good question, Steve. I find it hard to enjoy a piece of pizza that isn't DiFara's. My bar is set so high that I'm almost always disappointed, although I keep trying.

Then I might be jointed instead. Now you're tawkin' .

And if for some reason someone feels you should not be joined?

Would it help if I confirm my confirmation?

Gotcha.

Cabby, may I respectfully request to be present when this takes place?

Yes indeed. I have also had the uncooked cold sauce for dipping calzones on occasion - that's very good, too.

Yeah, just the obvious - cooked vs. uncooked. Same tomatoes. For the cooked one, he puts in hunks of prosciutto di parma, then takes them out before using the sauce. I've had the pleasure of eating some of those hunks after they come out of the sauce - yum. Yes, square = Sicilian (didn't I say that?)

You don't have a recommendation, seriously?

Is a crepe a sandwich?