A year of Italian cooking

[Kevin72]

Yeah, you braise the greens (and SWISS CHARD!!!, for you!) with the pancetta and onions, then cook off the liquid. There's eggs and parmigiano in the filling as a binder once it's cooled, and don't forget the garlic, onions (two) and pancetta. There's a variation with ricotta mentioned in Splendid Table, and I was, for some reason, considering some potato in there.

[mrbigjas]

sweeeeet. i'm totally gonna prep this tonight and cook it tomorrow. thanks!

[hathor]

Spaghetti bolognese is the ultimate comfort food for me. Yours looked just lovely, and bravo for making your own pasta! (we can talk about using the food processor or blender later... )

What kind of pot did you use to cook the ragu? I've had good success using an earthenware pot, you get even heating all up and down the sides. Its also good to throw in the oven on very low heat, and then when you come home after work, its just fantastic.

Also, loving the tortas! Ah come on, lard is g o o o d!!! Its just gotten a bad name...secondo me!

p.s. you HAVE to make those poofey fried bread things that go with salumi from E.R.! And find some brachetto to drink with it. ....mmmmm.....would make Homer Simpson's heart go pitter pat!

[Kevin72]

Wait, I only use the processor the get the aromatics chopped fine and the pancetta ground up. I use the stand mixer for the gluten buildup on the pasta. I . . . can't go back now after trying a batch of pasta that's been pounded for five minutes or more at higher speeds. So firm and supple. C'mon! I rolled it out by hand this time!

Edit: I used my Le Creuset pot for this. And, your use of earthenware is exactly what Marcella says is most ideal for this sauce.

Edited November 8, 2005 by Kevin72 (log)

[Chufi]

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Thanks Kevin, it was that picture which made me realize it had been way too long since I made ragu.. so now I have a pot slowly simmering away on the stove.. I have been tasting every now and then for the past couple of hours.. oh how I love this stuff.. I love it so much I think I could eat it without the pasta! Just spooning it from a nice big bowl, like soup!

[Kevin72]

Oh, that smell it fills the house with!

I love eating it just with a spoon too, particularly over the many hours it cooks and tasting that transformation. And dipping bread in to sop up some of the fat that collects at the top . . . but once it hits the pasta it just goes into orbit.

Any differences in your recipe?

[Chufi]

Any differences in your recipe?

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It's funny, since my experiments in dutch cooking, where I need to follow recipes to the letter before posting about them, I have become increasingly aware of the fact that so often, I think I am following a recipe, but I'm actually not. You know, so many times you just add some of this and some of that .. and I guess that was what I have been doing with Marcella's recipe for the past years.. but today I did it exactly according to her rules.. actually measuring everything.. and I think this is going to be one of the best I ever made!

[Kevin72]

Ha, I do that too! I said this a few months back, but the more familiar I am with a cuisine, the more experimenting I do. I was pretty precise and even measured ingredients when I was doing, say, Friuli, but with places like E-R, I skim the directions real quick, make sure I have all the right ingredients, and then go to town. But even then I don't always get it exact: that erbazzone had a whole bunch of extra steps at the end that I totally missed. Not that the final product suffered any. And I was precooking some stuff for tonight and as I was wrapping up I saw a little batch of ingredients that I had left out, and I could have sworn some ingredients were in there that actually aren't.

Of course, I'm only talking about cooking here. With baking I've got the book right next to me on the counter and I'm reading each line of the instructions and following them to the letter.

[Kevin72]

Kevin, as weird as it is since we've never met, I thought of you on the drive home today. NPR had a story about the newly translated Silver Spoon cookbook -- Basically, Italy's Joy of Cooking.

Amazon link

I think I see that and Cook's Book in my near future. They probably won't get here in time for our move, but I am sorta resigned to schlepping them over in my suitcase.

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I've followed the thread on it over on the Food Media board and checked it out on Amazon. My only hesitation, and this is not a knock on the book itself, is that with cookbooks I really like the writeups and intros and backgrounds on each recipe. I just glaze over when I get a cookbook and it's just one recipe after another, and from what I saw on the Amazon samples, that's pretty much how this book is laid out. I think maybe that's why I struggled with Bugiali's Tuscan cookbook: while he does do an intro to a group of recipes, he doesn't say much after that and I just lose interest.

[FoodMan]

Kevin, as weird as it is since we've never met, I thought of you on the drive home today. NPR had a story about the newly translated Silver Spoon cookbook -- Basically, Italy's Joy of Cooking.

Amazon link

I think I see that and Cook's Book in my near future. They probably won't get here in time for our move, but I am sorta resigned to schlepping them over in my suitcase.

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I've followed the thread on it over on the Food Media board and checked it out on Amazon. My only hesitation, and this is not a knock on the book itself, is that with cookbooks I really like the writeups and intros and backgrounds on each recipe. I just glaze over when I get a cookbook and it's just one recipe after another, and from what I saw on the Amazon samples, that's pretty much how this book is laid out. I think maybe that's why I struggled with Bugiali's Tuscan cookbook: while he does do an intro to a group of recipes, he doesn't say much after that and I just lose interest.

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Kevin-

That Ragu is really mouthwatering, especially at 5:23PM and I am still at work . It HAS been too long since I made a proper Ragu as well.

As for this book, I said it on the other thread I think, but an Italian version of Joy of Cooking is not something I am looking to acquire. I have way too many Italian books in my wish list. I will not buy one that tells me how to make a curry or enchiladas or fried rice.

[mrbigjas]

kevin, as i mentioned, i was inspired enough by your erbazzone that i made one myself, but of kale instead of chard, because that's what i had. i found mario's recipe here, and went ahead with it:

i was happy with the lard-based pie crust--well, lard and olive oil, really, if you look at that recipe. i hadn't made one before--it was flaky as hell, although a little tougher than my mom's shortening-based crust, and i don't think i overworked it. next time i think i'd refine my technique a little bit, though, because i had kind of a big chunk of crust near the outer edge where i folded it over. it was kind of... how shall we say... 'rustic.' yeah, that's the ticket.

anyway, thanks!

Edited November 10, 2005 by mrbigjas (log)

[Kevin72]

Huh, you're right it isn't working. I'll post last night's dinner later.

I usually have a problem with that folded up part in a corner, also. One thing that really helps with the flakiness I've found (not to assume you didn't do this) is to brush the top with beaten egg. I keep thinking it's superflous but everytime I've done it it adds a wonderful new texture to the pie, soaks into the crust and keeps it more moist, and reduces the whole flaky thing.

[mrbigjas]

yeah, beaten egg or milk does provide a nice glaze on top of a pie--although i have to admit i only know that from my mom's pies. i don't have that much experience with the whole piemaking thing myself, which is why i followed mario's recipe pretty much to the letter. he had you brush the crust with an olive oil (or lard) and garlic mixture about halfway through. i'm not sure what that did, exactly.

but i should clarify: i don't think a flaky crust is a bad thing! to me it's a sign that you've done things right, if you're trying to make what i consider a good pie crust. maybe this one should be a little tougher or... uh, solid? i mean holding together better, so it's more sandwichy and less messy. but the fact that mine was flaky and messy, i consider a success in light of what i was trying to do.

p.s. there's a workaround for the imagegullet issue in the tech support forum.

Edited November 10, 2005 by mrbigjas (log)

[Chufi]

Kevin, just wanted to report that the ragu was delicious.. and I even made my own pasta to go with it...

there's a pic here in the Dinner! thread

thanks for the inspiration!

[Kevin72]

Now that the image is up, I think that brushing with the egg is certainly the way to go to get the texture you're after. I forgot to do it with the mushroom torta and it was kinda dry, too (though the filling soaked in some in subsequent days in the fridge). The lard on the top from the recipe helps it get browner.

yeah, beaten egg or milk does provide a nice glaze on top of a pie--although i have to admit i only know that from my mom's pies.  i don't have that much experience with the whole piemaking thing myself, which is why i followed mario's recipe pretty much to the letter.  he had you brush the crust with an olive oil (or lard) and garlic mixture about halfway through.  i'm not sure what that did, exactly.

but i should clarify: i don't think a flaky crust is a bad thing!  to me it's a sign that you've done things right, if you're trying to make what i consider a good pie crust.  maybe this one should be a little tougher or... uh, solid?  i mean holding together better, so it's more sandwichy and less messy.  but the fact that mine was flaky and messy, i consider a success in light of what i was trying to do.

p.s. there's a workaround for the imagegullet issue in the tech support forum.

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[Kevin72]

Thanks again for the shout out! Looks great. So it sounded like you've only recently started making pasta . . . ?

That pasta rack in your pic reminds me that my mom has one of those at home that she once offered me when I relieved her of her own hand-cranked pasta machine. I didn't have room for it at the time, but now with a house it may be a good time to track it down. Getting tired of having to drag chairs in from the dining room and drape the sheets over their backs.

Kevin, just wanted to report that the ragu was delicious.. and I even made my own pasta to go with it...

there's a pic here in the Dinner! thread

thanks for the inspiration!

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[Kevin72]

Purists may want to avert their eyes for this post.

So, aceto balsamico. One of Emilia Romagna's holy triumvirate of artisinal products, and certainly the one that takes the longest to make. I have never even had the real deal, the vinegar aged in casks for decades to a syrupy consistency. It's hard enough to find in Dallas, and the couple times I have seen it it was obviously in the stratosphere, price-wise.

What intrigues me most about the real, legitimate product is the consistency. I've splurged on some of the higher-end commercial bottles, and friends and family have bought me similar products back from Italy, but none have that tell-tale thickness. So every time, am I just getting artificially flavored syrup?

To replicate the consistency, and maybe add another level of intensity to the flavor, I've taken up a little trick (Mario advocates a similar approach but I thought of it separately I swear!): buy a couple bottles of decent commercial balsamic (I like Colavita's), then reduce them in a pan over low heat along with trebbiano wine (trebbiano grapes are the base for the real product) and a pinch of brown sugar, as Kasper directs you to add with commercial stuff.

Yeah, the whole house gets pretty pungent. After four hours on low heat though, here's what you get:

Truth be told, mine got a little over-reduced and “cooked” tasting, but this is the first time it hasn’t turned out really well. I am certainly not claiming this subs for the real deal, or even decent facsimiles, but when the best access you have is to the thin, watery commercial kind, this adds a nice new layer and makes something better than it has any right to be.

[Kevin72]

Wednesday night we started out with an antipasto of sautéed pears with prosciutto, from Splendid Table:

We then had for the main, bomba di riso, a specialty of parma. It’s a baked “dome” of rice stuffed with a wild pigeon ragu. My lazy, midweek cooking version: I lacked a bowl suitable to go into the oven so I baked it in a springform pan, and instead of the pigeon I braised some skinless chicken thighs and then shredded them up. I also made an additional filling of peas, ham, and mushrooms to form a bottom layer.

[Behemoth]

As for this book, I said it on the other thread I think, but an Italian version of Joy of Cooking is not something I am looking to acquire. I have way too many Italian books in my wish list. I will not buy one that tells me how to make a curry or enchiladas or fried rice.

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It's not like Joy in that sense, just in the sense of being a book owned by every Italian housewife. It actually looks fantastic. Here is a review by a blogger I like:

link

And here is the rather fancy webpage about it from Phaidon press (incl preview recipes and photos):

link

Kevin's criticism holds though, there is no commentary on any of the recipes -- I suppose the Italian audience didn't need it. It's like an inverse Clifford Wright book.

Edited November 11, 2005 by Behemoth (log)

[mrbigjas]

Now that the image is up, I think that brushing with the egg is certainly the way to go to get the texture you're after.  I forgot to do it with the mushroom torta and it was kinda dry, too (though the filling soaked in some in subsequent days in the fridge).  The lard on the top from the recipe helps it get browner. 

nice, thanks. next time i'm totally gonna do that.

i'm really happy with this dish, i have to admit. is there anything greens can't do?

[Kevin72]

Saturday night’s meal with some work friends began with gnocco fritto, fried puffs of dough that you then spread with a soft cheese (robiola) or cured meats. The heat of the gnocco, just out of the frier (or being kept warm in the oven) melts the topping a little and it melds in. Mine were a little too crispy, though.

We continued with pumpkin risotto. I had saved some of the pumpkin soup from when I made it at Halloween (froze it, of course!) and then swirled that it with the broth for the risotto to make a double-whammy of pumpkin flavor.

The main was pork braised in milk. This is another dish from all over Italy, and truth be told it seems fairly Roman in origin to me, but I always relate it to the richness of Emilia-Romagna and it comfortably fits in with their traditional dishes. The sauce, consisting of the cooked down, curdled milk solid melded with the pork juices, is rather hideous (and thus not pictured), but it’s the best part! One of my favorite recipes.

The contorno was an “autumn medley” of fennel, apples, and celeriac, braised with broth and butter.

I've noticed that as the months get cooler, the food gets much less photogenic. All those muted earth tone vegetables, and braises kind of make for a dull picture I guess.

The dessert was zuppa inglese, the Italian take on English trifle: ladyfingers layered between chocolate and vanilla custards. No pics; it was delicious but not very cooperative for the camera.

[Kevin72]

Last night’s meal began with a mushroom soup:

Though most recipes I’ve seen don’t call for pureeing the mushrooms and instead leave them whole, I did grow up on good ol’ cream of mushroom soup and can’t quite get away from that texture. Regular cremini mushrooms are given an added punch by a couple of packets of dried porcini mushrooms. I topped the soup with some pan-seared trumpet royales.

We continued with balsamic-glazed chicken, a perennial favorite recipe from Mario’s older shows, and mashed potatoes. When we went to Bologna we had mashed potatoes a couple of times, but there they were much creamier, almost more a puree, and redolent of ample olive oil. I tried replicating that here.

[Kevin72]

Another essential ingredient when cooking from Emilia-Romagna is their full-flavored brodo. One of the great smells to fill the house with, particularly at this time of year. When went to Emilia Romagna for our honeymoon, we stayed at Villa Gaidello, the farmstead near Modena that Lynne Rossetto Kasper mentions copiously in Splendid Table. It was a rainy, cold, miserable day, and we had had to walk from the train station in town to the farmstead since all the cabs in town were in Bologna for a huge business convention. Finally, exhausted, we trudged into the courtyard and the main house at Villa Gaidello. We opened the door and out wafted the smell of rich, luxurious brodo being cooked for that night’s dinner. Just the smell was a restorative.

Normally what goes into a brodo in Emilia Romagna is capon, but they are too expensive and too rare here to just toss in a pot. Kasper recommends using turkey wings which amalgamate the best flavors of white and dark meat and that’s what I use:

Edited November 14, 2005 by Kevin72 (log)

[FoodMan]

The sauce, consisting of the cooked down, curdled milk solid melded with the pork juices, is rather hideous (and thus not pictured), but it’s the best part! One of my favorite recipes.

Do what I do...well actually I use Mario's recipe from his first book for this dish. He makes a base for thepork with round onion slices. In the end just puree the curdled milk solids with the onions and you have the most amazing sauce for the pork. Makes for an awsome spread with cold pork sandwiches for the next day or two as well.

That chicken looks fine! I love the skin on it.

[Kevin72]

Do what I do...well actually I use Mario's recipe from his first book for this dish. He makes a base for thepork with round onion slices. In the end just puree the curdled milk solids with the onions and you have the most amazing sauce for the pork. Makes for an awsome spread with cold pork sandwiches for the next day or two as well.

That chicken looks fine! I love the skin on it.

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Marcella offers something similar . . . pass it through a food mill or puree it. It's just by that point I'm always so hungry, and we have guests waiting, so that's just one step too many. I'm not such a fan of heaps of onions, even all caramelized, so I've avoided his version of this dish.

The chicken recipe is from that same Mario book!