Craig Camp

Martini Bitter is just a Campari rip off. Yes it is much cheaper but is basically unavailable to those who live outside of Italy. Neither the Martini Bitter or Barbero bitter are Amari. Brands like those mentioned in my article are at the pinnacle of Amaro production, unlike Mondavi or McDonald's so I do not understand your reference.

Is this like a regular cafe shakerato but with Campari? Sounds interesting... Jim Campari with a dollop of gin - shaken on ice in a martini shaker.

Interesting. Here in NY, fresh ricotta cheese is rather wet and loose. Do you ever peel the tomatoes, or is that too French a thing to do? Here is it just solid enough to stay together if you cut it carefully. When I say chunks it is not as in a firm cheese. Just larger barely solid pieces. As soon as you stir your pasta in the bowl is starts to break up. That is part of the wonderful flavor of the dish. The way I learned this dish is you leave the skins on so there are actual chunks of tomato to pick up with the pasta. Obviously perfect tomatoes are a must.

This is an adaptation of a recipe shown me by an excellent home cook in Puglia. Sometimes the juice is too good to toss. I don't think you can do it with store bought tomatoes and have never tried. They have to come right off the vine. With the tomatoes I make this with I always end up eating one like an apple when I pick a few. They are still warm from the sun and outrageously good. I have had the recipe you suggest and love it. Happy to eat it at any time.

...aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Yes, overdraining pasta is a common mistake.

My current favorite: a bunch of ripe tomatoes right off the vine a bunch of just picked basil big dollop of EVOO chop both the tomatoes and basil together trying not to lose any of the tomato juices and mix with EVOO. add salt and a good dose of finely ground black or white pepper. Let set for at least 30 minutes. Cut fresh ricotta cheese into small chunks. Grate a substantial amount of reggiano and blend into the sauce until it has a very slight grainy texture. Do not blend it into the sauce until the pasta is almost done. cook your pasta. I like to use Orecchiette with this dish, but others work well too. As soon as your pasta is done drain and toss with tomato basil mixture and plate it. Scatter chucks of ricotta over the top of the pasta and garnish with a whole basil leaf. Serve with a light, slightly chilled red. Vivace barbera is a good choice on a hot day. WARNING: do not expect much from this dish with crappy ricotta. copyright 2002 Vino e Cibo.

Some brands do include this designation, but not many. As far as I can remember those having that designation are large commercial brands of no particular interest. I have never been served any pasta in Italy that was not roundly criticized by the table if it was the least bit overcooked. I just went over to my cabinet to check and out of the 9 brands of pasta in there at the moment only one has the two cooking times and I would not buy it again. 'al dente' is kind a moving target as it slightly different for different shapes. Please remember there are a lot of bad cooks in Italy: just fewer than in other places. One of my current favorite home brands of spaghetti is Spaghetti alla Chitarra from Garofolo in Naples. They recommend 14 minutes and it takes every minute of that to reach the al dente stage. It is packed with flavor and excellent with the uncooked tomato sauces we seem to be making everyday in order to be not overrun with the tomatoes in our garden.

I think Barolo Chinato is mainly kept around for reasons of nostalgia. I can think of no other reason. As you can imagine they only select the finest Barolo to abuse this way. Perhaps it is a good way to get rid of lousy Barolo. There are a lot of grocery store Baroli that perhaps wood be better with a little china root thrown in.

WINE: COMMITTEE TO SAFEGUARD DOC AND IGT BRANDS (AGI) - Rome, Italy, July 29 - The 2003-2008 national committee for DOC and IGT wines has been established: the chairman is Tommaso Zanoletti. "The committee has always - said the undersecretary of agriculture, Teresio Delfino - reply firmly to the needs of our appellation controlle' wines, and will pursue initiatives which are already underway (reform of law 164), for a concrete wine policy". The administration will enhance the committee's tools, in order to meet the demands of the wine sector. (AGI) 292034 LUG 03 COPYRIGHTS 2002-2003 AGI S.p.A.

Montenegro is a brand of amaro.

Campari AND Aperol? Never saw it. Gotta try it.

What's this Cynar hating trend. I love it with just a splash of soda and a orange twist on the rocks.

I'm surprised to hear that they drink this in Liguria. When we have been in Venice, this was served to us as a typical Venetian drink, and they called it a "Spritz". One year we actually carried a bottle of Aperol back to the US from Venice, it is so good!! (That bottle was heavy-- and delicate!!) Aperol is a great product. I love it with prosecco as an aperitif. The lovely orange flavor with the bubbles is a wonderful start to a meal. It is also very low in alcohol so your palate stays alive. For some reason it is not sold in the USA.

I love Campari and drink it all sorts of ways. My favorite at home is to mix it with cheap prosecco. I also drink Aperol a lot because of the wonderful orange flavors. My good friend Roberto drags me out at least once a week for Campari shakeratos which are guaranteed to pump up both your mood and appetite. My Cynar bottles go slower but I still like it very much. I usually drink it on the rocks with a wedge of orange. For whatever reason these are not considered amari, but they are certainly in the family. Italy is a great place to drink.

I did this once, but I forgot where I put my notes - and my car. My neighbor upstairs makes his own grappa and this year it is damn good. Actually better than you get at a bar if you just order grappa bianca. I have not gone blind yet so he has improved it a lot from his first effort.

Campari is not an amaro although it is certainly bitter. As far as I know it is only consumed as an aperitif. Italians love bitter drinks. There are a bunch of bitter soft drinks too.

Amaro follows wine. They are intricately intertwined in the universe.

To compare the Finger Lakes to France is well ... My first trip to taste in the Finger Lakes was in 1977 and I had the please to spend an entire day with Dr. Frank. I did not have enough cash with me to buy wine so he gave me two cases and told me to send a check when I got home. I have been back over ten times since then. Yes there are occasionally very good rieslings that are produced there, but world class ones are the exception not the rule. You say one of the problems with finger lakes wines is that there is a lot of crap being made there. In this regard they can join every winemaking region on the planet.

Ditto for me on De Cecco and Latini. It is all about taste and tasting, but the overcooked pasta loses taste like day old bread pirate.

You of course have a right to your taste preference. However the al dente concept is mostly about taste. Pasta that is not overcooked has more flavor and is more interesting with the sauce. Perhaps your palate has adjusted to the overcooked pasta served in the USA. I assure you if you give it a chance and let your palate wake up, that al dente pasta is a much better marriage with an excellent sauce. Also you should be finishing your pasta cooking time in the pan with the sauce not in the water. Sometimes there is a reason for rules. As far a cooking times on packages they are very useful in giving you an idea of when the pasta should be done. Of course taste is the only sure method. However the same brand in Italy will have a recommended cooking time of about half of what it does in the USA because the additives required by the USA makes the pasta harder and it takes longer to cook. This is a useful bit of information. Pasta cooking times are useful reference points.

I've always thought that this was one of the best merlot wines in California year after year.

$11 bucks for this swill from the coop with a label slapped on it is a rip off. Wines like this sell for 3 Euro in Italy. I really don't like this wine.

Rosenblum Cellars stole the show at Tuesday’s California Grape & Gourmet held in Sacramento. The celebration of wine and food includes announcement of the medal winners from the nation’s oldest wine competition, the California State Fair judging. Rosenblum’s overall performance garnered for them the Golden Winery award and their 2001 Carla’s Vineyard Zinfandel was chosen as the Best of Show. That wine and another Rosenblum Zinfandel from the Eagle Point Vineyard in Mendocino County each received double gold medal recognition. The winery was also awarded five other gold medals, five silvers and three bronzes.

Domaine Huët, the prominent Loire Valley estate known for its fine sweet and dry wines from the Vouvray appellation, has been bought by a renowned Hungarian producer of Tokay and his business partner.