In the early season, when trips to the farmers market yield just a few bits of local produce, the pressure’s on. As a cook, you’ve got only one or two chances to enjoy the fruits of the land before it’s back to the winter slog of canned whatever, dairy, starch and meat. So you’d better […]
No comments | Cream, Local, Local Food, Mushrooms, Pasta, Pea Shoots, Prosciutto
It’s safe to say that unless I hit the internet blogging jackpot and finally get to cash in on marthaandtom.com, I’m never going to own the recently-published Modernist Cuisine. $600 for a cookbook is just a little beyond this blogger’s budget. It’s a shame, because everything I’ve seen about the book (eGullet has some of […]
3 comments | Lemon, Meyer Lemon, Modernist Cuisine, Pasta, Ravioli, Xanthan Gum
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
There are plenty of fast foods that you can make better at home: this burger will beat anything that ever crawled out from under any golden arches, or, if Taco Bell is your thing, you can easily beat the experience at home by cooking up a bowl of oatmeal and throwing it in a tortilla. […]
4 comments | chickpeas, Egypt, Lentils, middle east, Pasta, Rice, Starch, vegan, vegetarian
Spending last weekend out of town was great fun for Martha and me, but it seriously interrupted our usual weekend meal planning and grocery shopping routine. When we returned home on Sunday night, I was scrambling for ideas for what to put on the table. Rather than spend a precious weeknight writing a menu and […]
2 comments | 90s, Arugula, Cous Cous, Morocco, Pasta, Refrigerator, Scratch
Some people have their broccoli-cheese casserole; I have this: penne with blue cheese and broccoli. It’s filled with the same comforting overload of starch and gooey cheese but has an added element of danger provided by tangy blue cheese and generously-applied red pepper flakes. I’ve been making this dish for years – I distinctly remember […]
2 comments | Blue Cheese, Broccoli, Comfort Food, Pasta, Penne, Spicy
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
You may have heard that much Italian cuisine was born out of deep poverty, but would you believe they go so far as to eat mouse tails? Mouse tails made from pasta, that is. Code di topo are another gem from Oretta Zanini de Vita’s Encyclopedia of Pasta. Although not made from actual mouse tails, […]
3 comments | Economic Crisis, Encyclopedia of Pasta, Italy, Mouse, Pasta, Simple
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