Search the Community

Years ago in Varenna, Italy on Lake Como, I had a wonderful version of eggplant parmigiano. The eggplant had been either fried in olive oil (not breaded) or roasted, and then layed with cheese and tomato sauce. I loved this version as it seemed lighter than the breaded version seen so often. Do any of you have a recipe for this other version? Is it a Northern Italian thing?

One of my quests this summer is to find a good wood-burning oven pizza, so I'll be visiting Italian restaurants to find it. First stop, Pizzeria Gusto. Nice space, but very similar to other spaces done by the same design team (I assume it's the same design team as Siam and Ivory, because there are many similar elements--meant to make each place distinct, but really creating something more like a housing development effect). We went for a late lunch, so the space was maybe 1/4 full, but I can imagine the place being quite loud when more people are around. The lunch menu is quite limited--a few salads, appetizers, several pizzas, some panini, and desserts. There's certainly enough variety at lunch without overwhelming the diner. I ordered my favourite--Pizza Napoletana--pizza with tomoatoes, mozzarella, basil, anchovies and capers. I think it had dollops of ricotta on it, too. I was hoping for some good olives, but no such luck. My mother had the lamb panino--lamb, arugula (?) and thinly sliced cheese (provolone?). When the server took our order, she also poured water, but there was only enough in the jug for one glass. She said she'd be back shortly with more, but we waited, and waited, and waited. Since it was past the lunch rush, being busy with other customers could not be used as an excuse. Another staff member was pouring water for another table, so I assumed he would come over and poor water for us, as well. No such luck. I guess they work in stations at this restaurant. I tried to catch our server's eye more than once (as she cleared and set tables that were maybe 10 feet from us, or as she was doing stuff at the bar maybe 20 feet from us), but she wasn't very aware of what was happening at the tables in her station (like me caressing my empty water glass). I was finally able to ask for water when she brought us our orders, but it pissed me off that I should have had to have asked at all. Now the food. My mother's panino looked filling. There was a substantial amount of lamb (possibly sliced from a roast) that looked moist, though rather plain (I didn’t notice any ground pepper or herbs on it), and there was a good amount of arugula, as well. The bread was lightly toasted, but I couldn't tell if the sandwich had been grilled. The cheese wasn't melted, so I would assume the bread was grilled separately rather than as part of the sandwich. I didn't try it, but my mother said the lamb was, in fact, moist, but not flavourful. It didn't have a bad flavour, it just didn't have any flavour. She really liked the bread, though, and said it was even better than the Italian bread we usually buy (I think they use ciabatta, but I don’t know if it’s house-made or not). I was a little disappointed with the looks of my pizza. The toppings looked right—light tomato sauce with chunks of (canned) roma tomatoes, blobs of melted mozzarella (as opposed to the even spreading of North American-style pizza). But the crust, which is most important to me, looked like a regular North American-style thin pizza crust. The rim of the crust was perfectly formed, and it didn’t have those bubbles and crusty bits that I come to expect from Neapolitan wood-burning oven pizza (like the picture here). The texture also was not quite what I expected—a bit of crisp when you bite into it, but with some chewiness (not to be confused with toughness) is what I like. This almost had it, but was a little too much like NA-style pizza. I liked the flavour of the pizza, though. The tomatoes are most important, in my opinion, and if the sauce had been cooked, it had only been slightly cooked, which left a very fresh flavour. The anchovies could have been distributed a bit better, but I was happy to be able to taste them, and there was a good amount of fried capers. The ricotta was fine—I would have been OK without it, and it made the pizza a bit soggy by the time I started eating the second half. I asked for chile-infused olive oil, which I love with Neapoletan-style pizza. They didn’t have that exactly, but I was given some olive oil that had been infused with cloves of garlic, some chile, and I think sun-dried tomatoes. It wasn’t really spicy, but my mother also added some to her lamb panino, and she said it made the sandwich much better. With my pizza, by the way, came a fork/pizza cutter. It was a waste of space. The cutter was sharp enough, but the fork sometimes got in the way of cutting, and the fork was pretty much useless on its own unless you always eat with your fork facing downwards. Verdict? Service was friendly, but it definitely could improve in terms of the actual service. I’d go back for the food, but I think it’s a bit of a waste (or gimmick) to have a wood-burning oven, but to not produce a good Neapolitan-style pizza crust.

Notes of my favorites from a trade tasting of over 100 Italian wines in Portland Oregon hosted by Columbia Wine Company. As usual, all are recommended. Admiralty Imports Barolo Canubi, Brezza, 2001 - A classic beauty that is nowhere near ready to drink. Big time tar and roses in this wine. Barolo Chiniera, Elio Grasso, 2004 - All you could want from one of Barolo's greats. Rich, powerful and structured. Barbaresco Riserva, Gallina, Ugo Lequio, 2001 - Another elegant classic with great balance. An excellent nebbiolo. Sagrantino Montefalco, Antonelli, 2004 - Deep, rich and powerful with substantial tannins. Needs age or some wild boar right now. Brunello di Montalcino, Caprili, 2003 - Finally Brunello that tastes like Brunello instead of barrique. Earthy, structured and complex. Toscana VDT, La Gioia, Riecine, 2004 - Yet another lovely wine from one of my favorite estates in Tuscany. As always with Riecine, the balance of this wine is impeccable. This is their Super Tuscan. Neil Empson Selections Franciacorta Cuvee Brut, Bellavista, NV - Consistently my favorite Champagne method sparking wine producer from Italy. This wine did not disappoint with its creamy, frothy texture and toasty fruit. Pinot Grigio, Bortoluzzi, 2006 - A big step up from industrial pinot grigio. Bright and citrusy with ripe, fresh apply fruit and good depth. Soave Classico, Pieropan, 2006 - As always, just a stunning value in a crisp white that offers real complexity beyond its bright, refreshing character. A great white wine producer. Kobrand Isola dei Nuraghi I.G.T., Sardegna, Barrua, Agricola Punica, 2004 - A dead ringer for Spain's Priorat wines from an old carignane vineyard on Sardegna. Deep, rich and powerful with a touch of porty ripeness. Bolgheri Sassicaia, Sassicaia, 2004 - A perfectly politically correct wine with just the right amount of everything. Svelte and stylish. Their website is just terrible. Toscana IGT, Crognolo, Tenuta Sette Ponte, 2005 - Deeply colored, powerful, rich and velvety with big, sweet oak highlights. A modern Italian wine of the first degree. Not for traditionalists. Wilson Daniels Castello di Volpaia: Chianti, Borgianni, 2005 - This is a very, very nice Chianti for the price. Real character and personality. Best of all it tastes like sangiovese, not merlot. Chianti Classico, 2005 - You can see what a great estate this is by its straight Chianti Classico, which is a structured beauty with touches of black truffle and porcini mixed in with the ripe clean fruit. Chianti Classico Riserva, 2004 - A potentially exceptional wine with a few more years in bottle. Great character and complexity in a balanced wine of great length. Coltasalla, 2004 - Always outstanding, Coltasalla is a single vineyard wine produced from sangiovese and mammolo only. Happily there's not a French variety to be found in the blend. A wine of great depth, complexity and personality that needs to be aged. Winebow Prosecco, Zardetto, NV - I've been seduced by this charmer for years. A delightful little pleasure. Roero Arneis, Bruno Giacosa, 2007 - As with everything Giacosa produces, their Arneis is a perfect example of this variety. IGT Veronese, Palazzo della Torre, Allegrini, 2005 - Smooth and velvety with a richness without heaviness. A good reminder how much I love wines from Valpolicella. This is a ripasso, which adds the extra texture on the palate. Delle Venezie IGT, Pinot Noir, Kris, 2007 - This is just a pretty little pinot noir. Serve lightly chilled at summer picnics, with Asian food or pizza. Light, fruity and delicious, it's almost more like a dark rose than a red wine. Totally charming. It's a little sad to see it called pinot noir instead of the Italian pinot nero, but I understand the marketing decision. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Valdipiatta, 2004 - A blend of 85% prugnolo gentile (sangiovese) and 15% canaiolo that fortunately is not overwhelmed by a brief voyage in barrique before going into large casks. The angular, rustic character of Vino Nobile is preserved in this interesting wine. The edgy character makes this a great steak wine.

Over the years I've been collecting and using some less well-know Italian pasta sauces which have come to me from various sources - from restaurants, from friends, on line, from books, and other sources. So, if you know of, or have, any interesting recipes, especially those that might be a local specialty, a local version of a more well known dish, or something that a particular restaurant might be noted for, I'd sure like to see them. Thanks! shel

I've had a request to imitate the Pepperoncini Chocolate truffles that someone had at Cafe Gilli in Florence. Of course I've never tasted them, and that makes this an interesting challenge. She said they were dark chocolate with a bit of a bite when they hit the back of your throat. Anyone tasted them? Are there any other spices in there? Would you assume they have just used the dried peppers or the peppers preserved in vinegar? Any thoughts about what chocolate has been used?

Not sure this is where I should be posting this but I am seriously thinking of doing a cooking class in either Italy or France as a vacation with a friend. I want something that is about a week long, cooking and shopping at the local markets, maybe seeing a winery and some local artisans. I know there are lots of those types of trips listed on the internet but I thought I'd see if any of you have any recommendations or personal experience. Thanks for any input.

Hi - My daughter is leaving for a High School exchange later this month (she is 16). We have hosted 8 students and my favorite gifts were local cookbooks, most were in English. I was wondering if there were any American cookbooks that are translated into Italian. And if so would you think it would be good gift. If not maybe you could give me other ideas. I'm from NJ. Thanks - Lisa

Just got back from 2 weeks in Northern italy - Torino, Ballagio, Mantova and Milan. A good solid vacation - great meals, wonderful art, beautiful villas and gardens. And I promise a trip report - but i have a question: While in Torino - I had this wonderful fish dish - the fish was fried, then marinated in a sweet & sour marinade for 24 hours, served cold - sometimes plain, sometimes with onions and raisins. Similar to sarde in saor from Venice. Does anyone know the name of the dish I'm refering to? (And I thought the cuisine in Mantova was delicious - especially the uniquely spiced pumpkin ravioli) Thanks.

When eating at a friends last evening, she served her grandmother's recipe for a fresh tomato sauce that she knows a "ah moy gyu". Her grandmother was Sicilian and the sauce was chopped fresh tomatoes, crushed garlic cloves, lemon juice, and fresh oregano. She served it as a condiment with grilled steak and said that was the way it was served when she was a child. I am sure that this name is a bastardization of an Italian name and am interested if anyone recognizes this sauce and knows more about it.

A friend has given me some chocolate orange farfalle. a) Please tell me they are not as much of a perversion as I think they might be. b) What do I do with them? Sweet: Creme Anglais, strawberries or raspberries, maybe pistachio ice cream Savoury: Duck strips, mole,

I just got back from Turin Italy. Was there on business (another job), but we had a dinner one night at a pretty good restaurant called Tre Galli. We had a 6 course tasting menu. Great food, we were stuffed and closed the place after Midnight. We had people from Italy, France, Portugal and the US. You should have heard the translations going around the table all night. I have been able to find recipes online for everything we had except two things that I didn't get the name of. One looked like a Greek Dolmades, but was an Italian version with a Garlic Sausage filling, no rice or anything else. The other was some type of spiced fruit that was served with Bollito Mista, Boiled Meats and Vegetables. Does anyone have a clue what they are called and know where to find a recipe for them. Thanks, Angela

I am icing a cake with Italian meringue buttercream and would like to use ganache to pipe a message with on top of the cake. Will this work? Or will my ganache get all messy and gooey? I had this happen one Easter: But that was royal icing over cream cheese frosting. Does anyone know if the ganache might do the same thing over the Italian buttercream. It's for other people, so I really don't want to mess up! Thanks!

I've poured over both the Chester County and Montco threads, but there seems to be a dearth of recommendations for Italian - posting a new topic as my area sort of straddles the topics of those threads. Looking for something with a nice atmosphere suitable for taking a lady-friend one might be in the early stages of trying to convince to spend more time with him, pref with entrees in the $25 range. BYO preferred, but not an absolute requirement. Ideally somewhere in the rough triangle formed by KoP, Phoenixville, and Skippack - I'm willing to stray a bit farther, but much beyond that area and I may as well go down the city. Thanks!

I had someone ask me if I knew anything about a desert type pudding/custard called gnocchi bianco that involves semolina, milk, cinnamon and is served warm. Maybe from up around the Friuli region..... I came up with gnocchi latte from my Artusi book, but it doesn't include semolina.

A shop which I trust is selling white truffles from Alba for about $170/oz, which seems about right for good fresh white fungus. They also have, though, Italian black truffles, from Piedmont, for about a tenth the price. I generally go for French black truffles as they seem to offer the best value -- if such a word can be applied -- as compared to the much more expensive Albanians, and I've always been disappointed in "discount" black truffles: summer truffles, Burgundy truffles, Oregon truffles etc. But I'm thinking that Piemontese black truffles might be the exception that proves rule. Anyone have any experience with these?

Canary Wharf mall gets first London Jamie's Italian Jamie Oliver is to open his next branch of Jamie's Italian in London's Canary Wharf, it was announced today. The first London branch of Oliver's first independent venture will open at Churchill Place Mall next autumn alongside branches of Roka, Canteen and Rocket. Camille Waxer, vice president of retail at Canary Wharf Group said: “In the next 18 months or so we have KPMG, Fitch Ratings and State Street all opening new office buildings nearby. The continued growth in the number of Canary Wharf visitors and workers requires the quality, quantity and variety of dining options to keep pace. “We have been very impressed by the success of Jamie’s Italian in Oxford and Bath. It will inspire more food lovers to visit Canary Wharf and offer our existing customer base an exciting new option.” The first Jamie’s Italian, - described as an "authentic affordable Italian restaurant" - opened in Oxford in June with Bath and Kingston rapidly following. Restaurants are also slated to open in Brighton, Cambridge and Cardiff.

I picked this book up yesterday. I am a big fan of Carmellini's cooking, while he was at A Voce, it was my favorite restaurant. (I haven't been back since he left.) I am eagerly anticipating his next restaurant. I was very excited though, that in the meantime, I heard he was coming out with a book and when I saw it in the store yesterday, I couldn't resist. It starts out with a pretty good and interesting stories that influenced his development as a chef. As is the case with many people, as a young man he was surprised to discover in Italy that the "real" Italian food of America, was something quite different than that made in Italy. It features some of his signature dishes from A Voce, like the Duck Meatballs and his Gnocchi. After checking out the recipe, I now know why the duck meatballs were so good. He labels his gnocchi recipe "The Best Gnocchi", and at A Voce they certainly were. They were the lightest gnocchi I ever had and I have been trying to find a recipe like that for awhile. I can't wait to try it. Does anyone else had this book? Have you made anything from it yet? p.s. Over at the feedbaghttp://www.the-feedbag.com/ they've got Carmellini on video doing some of the recipes from the book.

hello everyone, I was just looking for a little help. I was wondering if anyone knew of any really good hole in the wall italian restaurants in central to northern nj. Something nice to go to but not exactly babbo if you get what im saying. Thanks for the help.

My grandmother made a chocolate pastry around Christmas time. It was a fried dough (may have been a stufoli recipe) with chocolate, chestnuts, pine nuts and citron inside. The looked like round raviolis and were fried then covered with honey. I believe she called them bastadella (sp?). Anyone know of any similar recipe? Thanks

Hey all -- I did a search, and I must not know what I am doing with the search function.... anyway. I want to make the Fassone for my tartuffi, and I was wondering what to do - which cut of meat is best -- do I add anything other than olive oil and salt??? Any help is appreciated.

We had lunch a couple of weeks ago at the Locanda della Tamerice near Ferrara -- fabulous, but that is another story -- and tasted a squash that was so wonderful that we asked what it was and after lunch went straight to the nearby farm stand that it had come from and bought one to take home to Rome for our Thanksgiving dinner, in lieu of sweet potatoes (anybody want to address the topic of patate dolci too?). Now, if I make a mess of it, I can't run out and buy another, so any suggestions from you northerners? It is not that large, as these things go, about the size of a very small baby, and, of course, hard as a rock. I cannot find how to post a picture (imagegullet won't load), but it's sort of hourglass-shaped (violin, appunto) and has bumps all over. Many thanks for any tips.

Hi all, I'm posting for a friend whose living in Rome. Anyone know where to find fresh lemongrass? Thanks!

I'm looking for a gift for a friend and am trying to find a book with just, or primarily, great pasta sauces. I'm not particularly looking for a general Italian cookbook, though if the best variety and quality is in a more general book, then that's what I'll get. A general search on amazon brings up a a ton of results, but I don't recognize the authors and would like to get something especially good. Any ideas?

As I mentioned over here, I have a very small kitchen with virtually no storage space. I have no oven; no dutch oven; no toaster oven; nor any immediate plans to get one. Whenever I look at an English language cookbook, I usually end up discarding it in frustration, since most of the recipes contained at some point require an oven. What can you do? It's a cultural thing. It does, however, mean I rarely acquire new cookbooks. So when I was browsing through a used bookstore in Tokyo the other day, and I came across an old copy of 'Marcella's Italian Kitchen", I picked it up only out of random curiosity. As I flipped through it, I casually skimmed the text for the telltale signs of oven temperature directions, and cooking times listed in hours. Imagine my surprise when there were virtually none. My heart started beating faster, and I thought, "Well, I'm sure all the recipes call for obscure Italian ingredients that I have no prayer of finding around here." I scanned the pages, this time looking for white truffles, strange fish, specific kinds of rock salt....nothing. Instead, it was full of recipes calling for fresh, seasonal vegetables,packaged pasta, and fresh fish... I clutched the book tightly and thought - "We have fresh fish in Japan. We have vegetables!" Then I ran up to the counter and bought it, before my husband could see me. (We have no bookshelves at home, either. Zen minimalism, you know.) When I go it home, I was thrilled to find that not only were the majority of the recipes things I could cook, they were things I would cook. So I went through and tabbed the book with coloured tabs, coded to the seasons here in Japan (green for summer recipes - tomatoes, aubergines; red for fall - mushrooms, pumpkin) and resolved to cook one dish from it each week until I got bored - or my husband begged for an end. Whichever came first. I invite you to cook along with me, if you have one of her books, and would like to increase your use of them. I have no idea if this book is her best or worst book, since I bought it used, there was no basis for comparison. There's a topic on Marcella Hazan herself, which you can use if you'd like to check out what people have to say about her books. Tuesday is as good a day as any, so I chose that for menu planning purposes - we still have vegetables leftover from the weekend, but won't need any leftovers from dinner the next day for our bento boxes, since it's my day off. This week, however, I was called away on Tuesday night to sample some mojitos at a new rum bar that opened in our neighborhood. (These things happen) So this recipe got made on Wednesday instead. The end of summer is aubergine season in Japan, and our local vegetable stand is literally piled high with bags of them for 100 yen every day. It's my favourite vegetable, so I always like to bring a bag of them home. I'm getting a bit sick of cooking them with dashi and ginger, though, so the recipe for baked aubergine with garlic and parsley on page 264 looked just the thing. I do have a small fish grill, which will grill small things, so my aubergines went in there for the baking. I didn't have any Italian parsley, so I used mitsuba (shh! don't tell!), but they came out great. She called for a half cup of olive oil, which made me gasp, but I used it all anyway. I can see I'm going to have to start buying bigger bottles. When they were done, I whizzed them up in my blender, and tossed them with hot linguine, as she calls for in the note at the bottom of the recipe (well, actually she calls for spaghettini - but I had linguine - you get the idea). I reserved the peels before I blended the insides, and chopped them for a garnish. I know from bitter experience that most recipes that feature aubergine heavily turn an unappetizing gray, and I wanted some colour punch to make it look nice. I julienned them, and piled them on top of the pasta. It look alright, but it tasted divine. And, aside from the aubergine roasting, which was unattended, the whole thing took ten minutes to put together. I think I'm in love. Now if I can only find a substitute for veal. Do you think kurobuta pork would do?

I have a friend in Bremerton who is originally from NJ. He's craving a cannoli badly, says he's had one in the six years he's lived there, at "a really expensive Italian restaurant in Seattle." That just won't do. Can anyone help me point him at a bakery near him? Thanks!