Andrew Fenton

You know, I was just thinking about the risotto I had in Croatia (on the coast), which is also pretty soupy. Which makes sense now, given the Venetian influence there.

Carlino's in Ardmore is hardly a secret; displayed behind the cash registers is a wall of "Best of Philly" awards of various stripes. But until I was tipped off to it, in the recent tomato pie thread, I'd never heard of the store. That's in part because I'd rarely had occasion to spend time on the Main Line before recently; and even if I had, I wouldn't have gone by the store, which is tucked away in a residential neighborhood a few blocks from Lancaster Ave. But it's a great place, and I'm delighted that I know about it now. The tomato pies are very good, as is the garlicky, oily white pie, and the semolina bread is as close as I've seen in the US to the bread I bought every week in Rome. There were four kinds of Italian prosciutto today, and something that in a way is even better: prosciutto ends. A nice chunk of prosciutto, perfect for cooking, is only $5/pound. The cheese selection seems pretty good, though distressingly, it's all wrapped in plastic. Free your cheese, Carlino's! Let it breathe! I'm curious about Main Liners' reaction to the prepared foods at Carlino's. If they're good-- and they look pretty good-- they'd be worth trying. Most days that I drive to work (not that often), I'll also be coming home late, and it'd be nice to have a good no-cook option.

Though this is exactly the sort of statement that you want to avoid, if you don't want to see foie gras banned. Freedom of choice, traditional farming; those are good talking points. The right to just, like, kill whatever you want? Not so much.

Front of house?

If you're serious about it, call or write a letter. Those will count for a lot more.

How often does legislation put forward by a freshman NJ assemblyperson ever get anywhere? I was under the impression that the answer is "pretty much never"; but I'm sure that there's someone around here who has some actual knowledge.

Just tip their heads back and put a tube down their throats. Then you can force the consequences right down... sorry. I kid! I kid!

Didn't Duchamp also display something less... savory? And is a mass-produced votive item (like the pomegranate) art or not? That's the sort of question that keeps art historians busy and off the streets; unfortunately, it's above my pay grade. Anyway, because you mentioned Roman messy floor mosaics, I can't resist posting this: That's a section of the most famous messy floor, in the Museo Gregorio Profano at the Vatican. It's pretty cool, too-- sea urchins, lobsters, crabs, figs and even that little mouse heading for a nut. And it's definitely art: I mean, not only is it in a museum, but it has been signed. As Duchamp showed. Anyway, as I don't know nothin' 'bout modern art, I'd probably better bow out now...

And don't forget his sculpture "Fat Corner", which, from what I understand, consisted of a pile of fat. In a corner. (If he'd lived longer, I think that Beuys would have loved "Snakes on a Plane.") And according to Wikipedia, he once threw a blood sausage over the Berlin Wall, "to unify the nation symbolically". A year ago, in this thread, Alberto Chinali (albiston) posted this photo of votive fruits and vegetables, from the Italian Greek colony of Paestum: To which we could add my lousy photo of this lovely little votive pomegranate, which is at the national museum in Reggio Calabria: (Does that count as "art" or as "religious object"? Well, that's easy: it's in a museum, therefore it's art. Right, Pontormo?) And from the same museum, this very cool hare vase: What I like about this is that, while the Greeks made tons and tons of drinking vessels in the shapes of animals-- you can see the two boar vases in this photo-- this is rare in that it's in the shape of a dead hare, that is, one that's specifically destined to be eaten.

According to my friend, "everybody agrees that Sapporo East on Route 11 is excellent". That's outside of Harrisburg, heading towards Carlisle; I'm afraid, however, that I don't have an address. I know that there's a new sushi place in Carlisle, in the space that formerly belonged to Empire (which was a first-rate restaurant, not just for Carlisle, but for anywhere; I'm sad that it's gone). But I don't know if it's any good. Sorry that the information is so sketchy; I hope that you or your son can check these places out and report back!

You know, ice cream was the first thing I thought of when I was eating the paw paws I'd bought yesterday. I bet it's great. Of course, the second thing I thought of was that there's no way these things are going to make it past the formidable obstacle of my mouth and arrive safely at the ice cream freezer...

Good advice! I bought some from Sam at the South & Passyunk market this afternoon... so very very good. And yeah, custardy as all getout. Why have I gone so long without eating these before?

Sorry, Kevin; I have a basement kitchen with poor ventilation. I don't deep-fry. (That "HOORAY" you just heard was from my arteries.) But I do have fond memories of deep fried escarole calzones from Naples... Anyway, the genovese had another four hours or so on the stove yesterday afternoon, then I removed the meat and let the sauce reduce. The long-sought onion goo was well-represented. It was like ectoplasm, only a whole lot tastier. The sauce went on gemelli as a first course (why gemelli? Because I had them in my cupboard, that's why), and the roast as a second. Both were tasty as could be. I think quick-cook is what you want. If it's like the 'ncasciata I did in July, you don't have a ton of sauce (that would get goopy and messy). It's there to keep the whole thing moist, and add flavor of course, but it's not the star of the show.

Pontormo, you are my hero. Seriously.

I put the genovese in the oven (200 degrees) last night at 10:30 or thereabouts. Woke up (stupid cat yelling) at 5 AM and decided to check on it. The onions were still pretty pale, and the meat too firm; I raised the temperature to 250 and went back to bed. Just checked on it again: the onions are golden and soft, but nowhere near the goo I was hoping for. I put the whole shebang into the fridge; I'll take it out again tomorrow afternoon and cook it for another couple of hours (maybe with the meat removed, if it's cooked enough).

You know, I almost always refer to the cheese as Parmesan, not "Parmigiano", let alone "Parmigiano-Reggiano". Insisting on the Italian-- at least, when you're speaking in English-- just smacks of trying too hard, like calling the city "Firenze" instead of "Florence."

Ooh, I'm suddenly reminded of one of the best pizzas I've even had: pumpkin and speck. Absolutely outstanding. I had it last fall, at Panella, an upscale bakery on the Via Merulana in Rome. Oh man, was that ever a great pizza. That sweet/salty combination was just perfect.

True, true; what you said. As to Ephron's book: a blurb I read this afternoon said that it includes two food-related essays. One of them describes her quest for the recipe for a stuffed cabbage she ate in her youth. (If I remember correctly-- and I may not-- that essay appeared previously in the New Yorker, and it was pretty good.) Presumably that's one of the recipes that's in the book. At any rate, to echo Maggie's point, it's also exactly the sort of thing I'd expect to see in the Daily Gullet. Whether or not it's as good as TDG's material is another thing.

Yep, I just bought some salt pork from Dutch Country: thanks! They had fatback as well. And I'm in the middle of eating an Italian special hoagie from Carmen's. It's a very good hoagie, no question about it. (But I still prefer the versions at Sarcone's and Chickie's.) edit: and drinking apple cider from Kauffman's! So, so good.

What is a northern mozzarella , sorry Andrew ← North of the Bay of Naples (say, Cuma); as opposed to south of it (e.g., Paestum).

Ravelda, this may be a stupid question, but are your pumpkins cooking pumpkins? My understanding is that jack o' lantern pumpkins aren't very good to cook with (though I've never tried). If your pumpkins are a cooking variety, however, then you'll be in business. As far as recipes go, lamb and pumpkin pair wonderfully in a tagine. I have a good recipe around somewhere; but if you google it, you'll find lots of comparable versions.

I'm with the sandwich people-- and I love the idea of mini-muffaletta-- if for no other reason than it's a nice nod to the Earl of Sandwich and his card-playing ways...

yeah, I should also say that it's become pretty ubiquitous in Italy; fresh mozzarella is available in pretty much any Italian city of any size. In my neighborhood in Rome, there were two stores within a couple blocks of me that each got daily shipments. If I remember correctly, one had the northern kind of mozzarella, and the other the southern.

Welcome, Nina! And no siree: caprese is as Campanian as Campanian can be; after all, it gets its name from the island of Capri. Pontormo, I have this image of you with your onion goo:

OK, since everybody was so helpful with the rabbit recommendation, how about another: what's my best bet for getting salt pork at the market?