I buy zucchini blossoms exactly once per year, and not because I want to. Sure, they look pretty, and I love the concept of fried zucchini blossoms – crisp and airy, redolent of fields of flowers – but I’ve never been able to deliver on that idea. Instead of light and crunchy my fiori come […]
5 comments | beer battered, Deep Fried, fiori di zucca fritti, Italian, summer, Zucchini, zucchini blossoms
Not three hours after Martha published the news yesterday that we had taken delivery of a winter-blues-banishing box of limes and Meyer lemons from the good people at FruitShare, we received an email from one of their marketing people thanking us for the post. Lest you think something untoward has taken place behind your innocent […]
4 comments | Blogging, fettuccine, Italian, lemons, limes, Marketing, Meyer lemons, Pasta, Pesto
Far be it from me to complain about having a job in this economy, but there are certain inconveniences for the food blogger engaged by day in the 9 to 5 grind. Like bread-baking: for me, it has to be a weekend activity, since even if you take the delayed-fermentation route – doing most of […]
4 comments | Delayed Fermentation, Focaccia, Italian, Office, Olive Oil, Work
As much as I love a good risotto, what I’m really hoping for when I serve one is that people won’t want to finish the whole dish. I wasn’t after a risotto lunch; I wanted to try an idea I’d had in mind for a while. Probably the best thing to do with day (or […]
2 comments | Arancini, Breaded, Deep Fried, Fried, Italian, Rice, Risotto, Sicilian
Last night was one of those “too lazy to go to the store, guess I’ll make fresh pasta” nights. When this involves breaking out the pasta machine and its requisite rollers and cutters the idea that I am saving any work by avoiding the store is patently ridiculous; with a more free-form shape like corzetti, […]
5 comments | Corzetti, Encyclopedia of Pasta, Genoa, Italian, Liguria, Pasta, Pesto
It’s springtime again, which means the Internet is running rampant with reports of ramps. Amidst all the gushing over this early allium, I read probably the best assessment of ramps ever written: Most “spring” menus are cruel teases. The good stuff we really want, like local peas and asparagus, doesn’t turn up for at least […]
6 comments | Allia, Garlic, Italian, Local, Pesto, Ramps, Seasonal, Spring, Trendy
In mid-nineteenth century Italy, as power passed from one faction to another fighting to control the unification of the country, many lower-class people – ever ignored by political elites – resorted to brigantaggio, or brigandage, both as a means of securing a living and a form of resistance against occupiers foreign and domestic. In the […]
5 comments | Brigands, Italian, Italy, Pasta, Ragu, summer, Tomato Sauce, Tomatoes
I mentioned in one of my more recent posts that I’ve come a long way in the past couple of years with the help of a couple of cookbooks and someone named Tom. You can tell from our postings (I think) that my core of inspiration centers not around dinnertime but around the dinner table, […]
3 comments | Cooking, Dinner, Italian, meals, minestrone, mise en place, soups, Technique
Bread in three hours.
4 comments | Focaccia, Italian, Lazy, Olive Oil, parsley, Quick, Rustic, Sea Salt
Martha makes SPINACH LASAGNA from an old Cook’s Illustrated magazine (March/April 2004).
3 comments | Cook's Illustrated, Fontina, Food, Italian, Lasagna, Microplane, no-boil, Noodles, Nutmeg, Pasta, Rustic, Shallots