Fluffbuff

What is Tanta robina?

Well, depending on which party of Italy you are in, it can mean "lots of stuff" or "good stuff", especially "yummy food".

Last time I was in Italy, I went to Maremma with Ben and a couple of friends and loved how the locals used the expression tanta robina to mean "yummy things". So, it seemed like the perfect name for my food blog as I plan to talk about lots of things and all related to food.

I hope some of you will keep me company in this food adventure. Tanta robina will document my year in culinary school and serve as a notebook for my thoughts on food and anything related to cooking and eating.

Please bear with me while I solve the initial glitches of using new blogging software and refining my initial layout.

And Happy St. Patrik's Day to you all! (Believe it or not, I am partially Irish)

Posted by Francesca at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Happy International Women's Day!

Today, for the first time in 16 years, I was presented with the traditional mimosa twig and it felt so special. While we were on a walk in the neighborhood the other day, I discovered a mimosa tree and told Ben how on March 8, in Italy, wherever women go they are given a little twig of mimosa. So, when I went out for a coffee tasting seminar this morning, Ben went and snapped a little twig from the tree and surprised me with it. Wasn't that sweet?

I had planned on posting sooner, but it's been a little crazy around here. Yes, you have guessed it: I am going to culinary school and I can hardly contain my enthusiasm. The coffee tasting seminar this morning is part of the Success Seminar series at the California School of Culinary Arts. It was interesting, enjoyable and I loved the friendly atmosphere, not to mention the wonderful little bites that went with the coffee. For every kind of coffee we had both savory and sweet morsels, paired specifically with the coffee. It's going to be difficult to wait until April 7 for the start of my classes.

In the meantime, knitting is taking a back seat and fluffbuff will shift from mostly knitting to mostly everything, other than food. For that, I am starting a new blog to document my experience of going through a year of culinary school and everything else to do with food that comes to mind. More about the food blog in the next few days. Since we are starting to develop in Ruby on Rail and that's not supported by our current host, we have to solve a few technical issues before I start the new blog. If everything goes well, it'll only take 2-3 days.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Posted by Francesca at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)

Happy Valentine's Day to you all. Thank you for all the comments and emails after my last post. I didn't mean to be silent this long, but working at the computer is what caused and now aggravates my arm/shoulder problems. Not knitting for two whole weeks only made things worse as I ended up spending extra time at the computer. Once I realized the error of my ways, I picked up the gray cashmere sweater again — it was so close to being done — and hope to finish it in a matter of days. Honestly, I could finish it in one sitting if I didn't dislike sewing as much as I do.

Are you having a fun Valentine's Day? If not, do yourself a favor and go over to Poppalina's blog to read her Teddy Bear biscuits entry.

My special treat this morning was Ben making waffles. Six or seven years ago, for Christmas, he bought me a waffle iron and I reacted rather ungratefully saying that it was a gift for the house, not for me. So, being the nice guy that he is, he pledged to always be the one to use it and he has kept his word. We don't have waffles very often, but when we do, I just sit back and watch him prepare breakfast. The boys were watching too, today, and Pipie stole a piece of waffle at the end. Sound familiar?

By the way, I am still thinking about that school thing and it may or may not happen, but in case you were wondering, it's the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena, a Cordon Bleu program that lasts 12 months plus 3 months of externship. Go ahead, tell me how crazy I am.

To test whether I can actually stand and cook for five hours a day, five days a week, yesterday I spent most of the day in the kitchen trying out new recipes. The rhubarb custard was a near disaster. The roast potatoes in the pan were not perfect, but very satisfying and the tomato ketchup I made following a recipe on Il Cavoletto di Bruxelles stunk up the house with vinegar and I can't really judge it because I despise ketchup, but Ben seemed happy. I thought I'd do something just for him for once. :)
Il Cavoletto di Bruxelles is a food blog written in Italian by a Belgian girl living in Rome. I've been following a few food blogs lately and so far this is the one I like the best and the only one I've actually tried recipes from; I highly recommend it.

Posted by Francesca at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)

One last detail about the torta di riso. Paper towels are no protection against the evil gray master.

While I was blogging about the recipe… Pipie sneaked under the paper towels and…

ate all my favorite parts! the crusty sides and corners!! Aaaarghhh…

Next house we get ourselves into, I want a kitchen with doors. That's it, no more open plans, I tell you.

What kills me is that when I went back into the kitchen, the paper towels were still in place and I didn't even notice the tear and holes right away. He carried out his blitz attack all under the towels.

Who, me?

Posted by Francesca at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)

  This is the torta di riso inspired by my friend Giorgio's mom: signora Vittoria. Grazie, Vittoria! It's really mostly her recipe with just a couple of modifications.

Not the best picture, but the torta is yummy, that is if you like the Italian kind of homemade, rather rustic cakes. For my American friends, a word of advice. Italian desserts have a considerably lower amount of sugar than what you are used to, but please, don't give in to the temptation to up the dose. We eat most of our desserts outside of meals and in Romagna we often do so with a glass of wine. I know… you'll probably go for coffee or tea; I'm just giving you the background. But enough with the chit-chat.

What you'll need

Ingredients
— 300 gr Arborio rice
— 3/4 liter whole milk
— 3 eggs
— 250 gr sugar
— a few amaretti
— 2-3 tbs of Grand Marnier
— 1 lemon
— salt
— 2-3 tbs of ricotta fresca (optional)

For the pan
— butter
— flour or bread crumbs

Tools + Props
— rectangular "springform" pan (mine is 13.5" x 9.5")
— 2 wooden spoons (used only for desserts)
— mixing bowls
— whisk (to beat the egg whites)
— meat tenderizer (to crush the amaretti)
— zester (for the lemon)
— scale (to measure/convert weights)
— toothpicks (to test for doneness)
— timer

Substitutions
Baking pan: I encourage you to experiment with different pan shapes and sizes. I tried two circular forms, first, and liked the rectangular one best for this cake.

Rice: Vittoria's original recipe called for Roma rice, but I couldn't find it and Arborio has always worked well for me. It's the same kind used for risotto.

Sugar: I tried a few kinds and liked raw cane sugar best for texture and color. It makes mixing the eggs and sugar a little less smooth, but this is a rustic cake after all. Go wild!

Liquor: Pretty much anything goes, in fact I am going to try rhum next time.

Ricotta fresca means the soft, moist, expiring-soon kind of ricotta, not the brittle tasteless brick with a two-month expiration date you are likely to find at the supermarket. Sorry folks, can't help you with sourcing the real thing as I'm having trouble with that myself. To give you a hint, even if you find a ricotta packed in water, check the ingredients. If it contains vinegar, it's ain't real ricotta. And one last thing, the best ricotta is made with sheep milk. Just saying…

Directions

Turn on the oven at 350 F (about 180 C) and prepare your ingredients.

Boil the rice in salted water for about 3 minutes. In the meantime, zest the lemon and start measuring the ingredients.

Strain the rice and put it back in the pot with the lemon zest, half the sugar and enough milk to cover the rice. Set the timer for 15 minutes. Make sure the rice boils gently, mix it often and add milk gradually.

While the rice is cooking, butter up your pan and coat evenly with flour or bread crumbs. For this cake I use semolina flour, because it adds to the rustic feel.

When the rice is cooked, set it aside to cool down. If it seems too hard, add some milk and mix gently.

Separate the egg whites from the yolks and place in different bowls. (Vittoria's recipe didn't call for beating the whites, but I like the result better this way. You decide.) Crush the amaretti (Italian biscotti/cookies) with the meat tenderizer. I like to crush them well, but leaving enough variation in granularity to add textural diversity to the cake.

Mix the yolks with the second batch of sugar, add the crushed amaretti and a couple of tbs of liquor. I'm rather liberal with my alcohol and go for three tbs. :)

If you have some good ricotta lying around (see note about ricotta under "Substitutions"), add a couple of tbs for softness.

When the rice is lukewarm, add to the mixture. Now add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat some sense into them (good when you have anger issues or you've just come back from 2+ hours in crazy LA freeway traffic), then gently fold the whisked whites into the mixture.

Pour into the baking pan and put in the oven.

Cooking times will vary depending on your oven. I run my first toothpick test after 45 minutes and the cake is usually ready after 45-50 minutes.

Let it cool off for a couple of hours at least. Torta di riso is good for a few days. I wrap it in foil and keep in the fridge.

I hope you like it!

Posted by Francesca at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

  We've been a sick household for the past several days. So far the only one who hasn't gotten the bug is Ben and we are keeping our fingers crossed. I think I picked up the latest cold-flu bug last Saturday from one of our guests. The open house is always fun although I get stressed ahead of time and usually feel sorry afterwards that I don't seem able to talk to my friends much, but I hope they know that it's all part of being a host.

I am happy to report that my second torta di riso came out better than the first one. Getting a kitchen scale, a zester and a rectangular spring form made a big difference. I also made a couple of modifications to the original recipe. If Giorgio gives me the okay, I'll translate his mom's recipe (plus my adaptations) into English and post it here in the next few days. I've had requests already. :)

Everybody seemed to find food they enjoyed, including the cats.

Kelvin grabbed a filet of smoked trout, whiskered a bowl of crème fraiche, and tried at least a dozen laps, mostly clad in black trousers. Lint rollers were happily passed around throughout the day. Pipie got his face in the cheese bowl and ate several emmental cubes coated in cornstarch. If you were here, not to worry; that happened *after* the cheese fondue.

And now I'll go flop on the sofa and feel sorry for myself and Pipie (he's sick, too) 'til we beat this stupid bug.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo a tutti!

Posted by Francesca at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

  With the Christmas kitsch in full swing (the first decorations were up *before* Thanksgiving), our holiday open house only a few days away, both our Macs barely recovering from the recent Leopard installation, us sharing a 15-year-old car on its last legs after Ben's car died, and a spate of other minor breakages…

…our electric cooktop reached the end of its useful life. Not only have I been cooking with props(*), but the main ring in front shortcircuited as I was cooking last week. At last, we had to do something about it.

(*) Cooking with props = the four rings were so tilted that I had to prop my pans placing bowls and whatever was handy under the handles to keep them reasonably level. Sheer lunacy.

I hate electric cooktops with all my heart. It just was too much trouble and money to do something about it until now. As I type, contractors are hammering, sawing, welding, etc. around the house to bring a gas line from the basement to the kitchen.

The past few days have been taken up by figuring out what to do and how to do it. Finally, an almost brand new gas cooktop is sitting on the floor waiting to be installed. I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly while I am freezing my butt off 'til we can turn the heating back on. The new cooktop is a display model that comes stress-free with a couple of built-in scratches; that way we were able to afford a better model and I won't stress about the first inevitable scratch. It's a win-win situation.

Preparations for the holiday open house have of course suffered, but I did manage to test a new recipe yesterday afternoon. After spending way too much energy looking for the right ingredients to make panna cotta, I thought I'd go for castagnaccio. What was I thinking? Farina di castagne proved just as elusive as panna fresca. It's not that I couldn't find a deli that carries chestnut flour…I cound't find anyone who even knows that such a thing exists.

Never mind… plenty of Italian desserts to choose from. I like "dolci caserecci", desserts that have a homemade quality: ciambella, torta della nonna, castagnaccio, torta di riso, zuppa inglese and the like. So I went for torta di riso using a recipe that my friend Giorgio in Faenza got from his mom, a seriously good cook(TM). Too bad for me that her notes were meant for someone with some practice and lacked the kind of information I find reassuring, such as cooking time, size of the baking pan, and so on.

Nonetheless, I converted the metric measurements into cups (note to self: get a kitchen scale), spent half a day shopping for basic ingredients that Giorgio can procure simply by going down the stairs and crossing the street to the corner shop, and I eventually baked my first torta di riso. Lots of room for improvement, that's for sure, but none of it will go bad. :)

The plumbers have just finished cutting the tiles on the kitchen counter to accommodate the new cooktop that is 6" wider than the old one. Keep your fingers crossed, too, folks, please. If all goes well, tonight I will cook with gas for the first time since April 1992.

Weeeeeeeeee!!!

Posted by Francesca at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

  Thank you for all the good suggestions and resources, on- and off-line. There is no panna in my future (yet), but my ideas a little clearer. Here is what I found in my pursuit of panna cotta.

Ingredients: there are two kinds of panna: "panna fresca" and "panna da cucina". Panna da cucina is very dense, has a rather long expiration date, and is used in non-dessert dishes such as pasta. Panna fresca is less dense, although very high in fat content, can be whipped, and is exactly what's required to make panna cotta.
As for possible substitutes, I've been warned by those in the know against trying to use heavy cream (much lighter than panna, available in the US) or the British "double cream" (much denser and closer to cheese than panna) or even crème fraiche (more acidic).

Availability: Even with all the help I received from you, I cannot find panna fresca. So far, I have only been able to find panna da cucina. Note to self: remind Ben that we need to move to Italy… or close enough that foraging is less of a pain.

Recipes: the older recipes — predating my move to California, fifteen years ago — did not require the use of gelatin. All the recent recipes do, at least the ones I found in books, websites, blogs and talking to Italian friends, including one who is active in the Slow Food movement. Using gelatin does not appeal to me. It may be a combination of what those sheets of gelatin look like and what they used to be called in Italy: colla di pesce (fish glue). Whatever the reason, I find the idea slightly distasteful.

So, what next?

I think I'm ready to give up on the whole panna cotta thing. Sorry, folks. I know a couple of you were really eager to hear that I found the perfect panna and the perfect recipe and that I was going to share it all. Alas, not this time. However, I do want to make some kind of dessert for my little Christmas party and most likely it'll be something Italian so… stay tuned.

Posted by Francesca at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

  With the holidays behind the corner, I am getting itchy to prepare foods I don't normally even think of. This year, for our Christmas open house I've been toying with the idea of making panna cotta. It's a bomb of calories, but what the heck… life is short.

Only, there seems to be no panna to be found in Los Angeles and it ain't no panna cotta without the panna.

Well meaning people have suggested that I substitute panna with other kinds of creams such as heavy whipping cream or even the super liquid half & half. No! Would you dress up a chicken and try to pass it for turkey? I happen to prefer chicken, but that's not the point. You can't call it apple pie, if it there are no apples in it.

A dear friend has already checked her local Italian deli and sent me links to other LA delis worth checking. So far, no luck.

I remember a conversation with Ms. Cornflower a while back about panna. The British call it double cream. Here in the US it doesn't seem to exist. The fat content of panna and double cream is much higher than that of heavy cream and that makes panna cotta what it is.

It's starting to look as if I'll have to revise my dessert plans, unless one of you can come up with a plan to save the day. Anyone?

Posted by Francesca at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

  England to Timbuktu in a truck powered by bio-diesel that started its life as chocolate. I am not sure how to feel about this. On one hand, I am all for bio fuel and saving the earth; on the other, I hope that that was low grade or expired chocolate. The BBC article only says that they used chocolate misshapes. Was shape the only problem with it? I know, I am being silly, but the thought of depriving chocolate lovers of 4,400 kg (8,800lbs) of chocolate so those two guys can go on a trip to Mali, well… why did it have to be chocolate in the first place? Couldn't they have used something gross like peanut butter for instance?

Posted by Francesca at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I was already at my computer after dinner when I heard a cry for help from the kitchen. Someone needed to have a cat taken off his back.

Kelvin has gotten into this habit of jumping on Ben's back when he opens the freezer, but only when he's about to take out the ice-cream. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

I usually run to Ben's rescue, but this has happened often enough that this time I had the presence of mind to take pictures.

Kelvin was very pleased with himself, even though he didn't get any ice-cream.

Posted by Francesca at 9:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

  See? It's not just me; I didn't make this up. Most of the time, Italian restaurants abroad are really awful.

If you don't believe me, trust the Accademia Italiana della Cucina. See the article on the BBC website.

Posted by Francesca at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I am not sure how that happened, but there's shamrock in my rosemary pot and origano in my sage pot.

No basil-labeled pots, but plenty of basil. This one is anise basil I got the other day. And before someone tells me how well my herbs grow… ahem… they seem to do well because I keep buying new plants. Regrettably, my thumbs are anything but green and my herbs wouldn't even last a week if it weren't for Ben's continued efforts.

Italian basil, 'cause I can't stand the gargantuan kind with leathery leaves that is so popular around here. I like my basil thin and fragrant and fresh from the plant, though I've been known to use the "other" kind on occasion, but only in tomato soup, certainly not in salads. It's like chewing hide.

Origano.

Some pots awaiting new plants. I haven't been able to find thyme or sage plants in quite a while so these pots have just been lying there.

Okay, not a herb… this is Piper stealing Kelvin's breakfast. Today I let him because it's his birthday. Our little one is four today.

Posted by Francesca at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

   My grandmother used to buy chocolate-dipped alkekengi at a pasticceria in Bologna, under the portico besides San Petronio. I think it was called Pasticceria Zamboni or another name starting with Z, but I am not sure. Maybe my friend Betta can correct me here. Alkekengi, or chichinger as they are sometimes called in Italian, were not a popular fruit and that pasticceria was the only place I had ever seen them. They were delicious and available only a couple of months out of the year — when the fruit was in season — and that made them even more special. Since we lived in Ravenna and my grandmother would go to Bologna only every few months to buy bookbinding supplies for my grandfather, we only ate those treats once a year. Dipped in dark chocolate, with the dried leaves sticking out to be used as stems, they made a lasting impression on me.

Over a year ago, I found them at Whole Foods without realizing what they were (here they go by the name "golden berries"). They just looked yummy and I can never resist golden yellow. After I brought them home and tasted them, I realized that they were alkekengi. I tried to get the people at Whole Foods to procure some with the leaves attached so I could dip them in chocolate, but they could only find them already plucked and packed. I did try the chocolate treatment, but it was a bit of a disaster.

A couple of days ago, I found them again. I was surprised because I remember distinctly that in 2005 they were in the store in October or November, so maybe these come from a different country or maybe they are in season twice a year. Anyway, I'm going to get me some chocolate and try again.

Chichinger al cioccolato! Yum.

Posted by Francesca at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

   Tonight marks fifteen years since I landed in LA. I never thought I'd still be here. I blame it on Ben. ;)
When we met, I was just about ready to move out and move on, then we started dating, I started grad school, we bought a house, started a business… Life happens.

My first two years here were very difficult. I had left all my family and friends behind, married a man who turned out to be a horrible choice, and found it hard to transition from a small town in Italy to the big metropolis. As a consequence, I went through culture shock, divorce and undergraduate school all at the same time.

Now, I have many good things going: a good relationship (I'm trying to convince Ben that that's portable), good friends (and yesterday I met an old friend from my Art Center days that I hadn't seen in over twelve years), two wonderful cats (they're portable, too), the business (hm, that's not as portable). So I have mixed feelings about being still here cuz I've been restless for a while, but the good stuff is good and I'm feeling more like celebrating than regretting or reminescing.

In true celebration mode, over the past week I have splurged on some aceto balsamico tradizionale…

…spicy hot chocolate, and hazelnut biscuits.

By biscuits I always mean what the British call biscuits, the Americans call cookies and the Italians biscotti. Of course, confusingly, the Americans use the term biscotti to mean something else, i.e. a specific kind of biscuit, er… cookie. I'm finally getting used to seeing Italian words used to mean something other than what they mean in Italian, though I really don't understand why someone would pick a foreign word to mean something different from what the word means in the original language. Take "latte" for instance. Latte is Italian for milk, but in the U.S. it's a coffee beverage that includes variable amounts of milk, coffee being still the primary ingredient. Why call it "latte" when they could call it "caffelatte" or "cappuccino" or make up a word in English?

I also got myself some flower tea…

and a tea posy…

I am going to spoil myself rotten this weekend. :)

Posted by Francesca at 9:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Chocolate lovers, rejoice! Soon we'll be eating chocolate — at least dark chocolate — per doctors' orders. And really, is any other chocolate as good? (and here my American friends will get up in arms because they do seem to have a predilection for milk chocolate).

A recent study on the Kuna people of Panama identifies their weekly consumption of 40 cups of cocoa as a possible major factor in the very low incidence of stroke, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. "The Kuna also appear to live longer than other Panama inhabitants and do not get dementia". Although "genes and other lifestyle factors also play a part", Dr. Norman Hollenberg of Harvard Medical School seems convinced that epicatechin, a flavonoid present in cocoa, is responsible. Are we to believe the good news?

Since I am no scientist, I looked around at other sources and found that even though flavonoids are ineffective as antioxidants because our bodies get rid of them quickly, the act of eliminating flavonoids from the body "… is inducing so-called Phase II enzymes that also help eliminate mutagens and carcinogens, and therefore may be of value in cancer prevention..." (quoted from the Wikipedia entry on flavonoids). For the other claims (heart disease, blood pressure, etc.), I guess we'll have to wait for more studies.

In the end, it all comes down to what we choose to believe, doesn't it? For me, the best explanation so far of why chocolate is good for you is in this delightful little book.

Chocolate: The Consuming Passion
by Sandra Boynton
108 pages
ISBN-10: 0894801996
ISBN-13: 978-0894801990
(My 1982 copy actually has a different ISBN: 0 413 51170 7)

The book profiles various chocolate lovers…

debunks many myths about chocolate…

offers facts backed by rigorous scientific research…

provides some provocative observations…

and practical tips.

If all this chocolate reading has wetted your appetite for cocoa-filled dishes, look around Mrs. Cornflower's blog; among the book reviews and flower photos, there are many food entries with chocolate as the main ingredient.

And if you are conscientious about where your chocolate comes from, these are some suppliers of organic chocolate:

Dagoba
Endangered Species
Green & Black's
Theo
Vere

There… now you can eat chocolate and feel good about it, too. Life is good.

Now, if only scientists would start conducting this kind of research on gelato.

Posted by Francesca at 7:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

  This week I got a kick out of an article on Science News: Crafty Geometry: Mathematicians are knitting and crocheting to visualize complex surfaces, by Erica Klarreich.

Crafty Geometry is featured on the December 23 + 30 paper issue (Vol. 170 Nos. 26 + 27) and also available to non-subscribers on the Science News website.

On a difference subject, if you are interested in food, check out The Alchemist - Part 1 on Technology Review. As unlikely as it sounds, it's about a chef — Grant Achatz — and his restaurant Alinea in Chicago. This 32-year old chef is blowing food critics' minds by using high-tech cooking methods, unusual ingredients and odd presentations which include custom-made holders and contraptions such as pillowcases filled with aromatic air that are placed under a dish and slowly release scents captured during cooking through tiny holes. Cool, huh?

Posted by Francesca at 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

  This week has been cramped with work and stuff, but I did manage to make some food experiments. First, a carrot and coriander soup and last night, my first tortillas. The other day I bought a tortillera (tortilla press), a tortilla warmer, some masa and maseca.

I tried to take pictures sans kitties, but I didn't have all evening.

Masa is a corn dough I got from Vallarta, a Mexican supermarket. I figured since this was my first time making tortillas I'd make things easy for myself. Good thing, 'cuz I had trouble making the little buggers even with the prepared dough. Maseca is corn flour and I got it to prevent the dough from sticking to the parchment paper, but let's start from the beginning.

First, you make little balls of dough (eventually I want to make my own dough), sprinkle some corn flour on them, place a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom of the tortilla press, put the dough on top and another sheet of parchment paper over that. Close the tortilla press, squeeze the handle and voila, half your dough goes out one side of the tortilla press. Try again. I think the size and placement of the dough on the press makes the difference.

I made several tortillas, all rather thick and I had some difficulty peeling them off the parchment paper even using the maseca. Oh well. I'll get better… I hope.

The masa had a really strong smell and it permeated the fridge and the house. I cooked the tortillas on a flat griddle witout any oil or other fat as instructed by the Mexican guy at the cooking supplies store. I cooked them a couple of minutes on one side, then the other, then turned them over one last time to finish them off. I didn't like them too much, but Ben is always a sport and put on a good show of enjoying them. I think I need to see someone make tortillas to really learn. Maybe I should check YouTube for video tutorials.

In any case, the red onions, bell peppers and beans came out all right and the leftover chicken from the night before worked just fine. Not the same thing as a chicken fajita, but with a little practice I hope to add some Mexican dishes to our repertoire soon.

Wish I'd recorded the actual tortilla making, but try taking pictures with your fingers covered in sticky dough!

Posted by Francesca at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

  From my food correspondent in Italy — well, my friend Giorgio — some pictures from the Sixth Salone del Gusto that took place in Torino, Italy, a couple of weeks ago.

Giorgio has been involved with the Slow Food movement — a sponsor of the event — for several years and is passionate about food, so he travelled from Faenza to Torino where he spent a few days enjoying good food and lectures about good food.

A bustier made entirely of pasta, I think.

Ah, to have been there and smelled the air… have you ever seen that many wheels of parmigiano in one place?

Ravioli. Yum.

Blue eggs from southern Chile.

The Mali food stall.

Formaggio nel sacco (cheese in the bag).

Spalla di cinta senese. I have no idea how to translate this.

I wish I could have been there and seen and smelled and tasted all the good stuff from many parts of the world. Maybe another year.

Posted by Francesca at 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

  While grocery shopping at Trader Joe's today, I found a fruit I'd never seen before: the rambutan.

So colorful and exhuberant… I had to take some home.

My rambutans came from Honduras, but the fruit is originally from the Malay archipelago, at least according to Wikipedia and a few other websites I checked. Rambutans are related to lychees, but their skin is thicker and their seeds slightly smaller, so they have a little more flesh. Inside, they look translucent and milky, just like lychees, but I like them better because they have a little bit of tartness to them.

Posted by Francesca at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

  Some of you have noticed that I haven't made any food entries in a while. Between the heatwave, the bug infestation and consequent lack of sleep, and then starting to work out and watch what I eat, the past two months have seen little beyond survival cooking.

This whole getting in shape business can be pretty sad at times, especially for someone who grew up not just in Italy, but in Emilia-Romagna. But enough with the whining; I am talking food again.

As part of my new regime, I've given up my beloved baguettes in favor of whole grain bread (fortunately I've found a bread called seeduction at Whole Foods that I like a lot), eliminated butter and in general reduced quantities. The tricky part is making what I prepare as tasty as possible while keeping the amount of fats and salt down. Since I am using a lot less olive oil, I decided to splurge on some aceto balsamico tradizionale. Without getting into the intricacies of tutelage and nomenclature, aceto balsamico tradizionale has to age a minimum of twelve years under very specific conditions. The long production times and heavily regulated process make it an expensive product, not easy to find at most food stores. That's why I ended up ordering it online from Zingerman's, a deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Hey, it's for a good cause.

This was my first time ordering from Zingerman's and thought I'd try more than just one thing so I added two items to my order: a box of Spanish saffron and a guide to good Parmigiano-Reggiano. Yes, I entrusted a Jewish American guy — Ari Weinzweig — to educate me about Parmigiano-Reggiano. And why not? Only Emilia-Romagna can make it, but I am open-minded about the rest.

My package arrived yesterday and I am almost done reading the booklet. It's a really good read: informative, straightforward and with some humor. By contrast, the booklet that came with the vinegar, written in Italy, had me yawn after the first few lines. I had forgotten how logorrhoeic Italians can be. But back to the cheese. The Parmesan cheese in the photo is not from Zingerman's, but after reading their little guide I really want to try their own. If only they weren't so expensive; shipping alone is a killer. Anyway, the balsamic vinegar is yummy (already tried it with salad and grilled salmon) and I'll let you know how the saffron fares next time I make risotto allo zafferano.

Five pounds down, twenty-five to go…

Posted by Francesca at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

  Sangria is like pizza or risotto: there are hundreds of variations. I should probably call this "Sangria, my way". For one thing, this is my variation of a Spanish drink that I learned to love in Italy, so who knows what the real thing is? Well, after a couple of glasses you won't care, so what's the fuss?

What you need
— dry red wine, a bottle
— brandy, a few splashes (optional)
— fresh fruit, in season, ad lib
— sugar, 3 teaspoons

Directions
I tend to make sangria in summer, so I often use peaches and apricots, but you can use all sorts of fruit. Things I tried and don't use anymore are bananas and kiwis, because they take on a yucky color after 2-3 hours in the fridge and, although I don't go to extremes to make things look pretty, I don't want them to look unappetising. Peaches — both of the hairy and nectarine variety — work particularly well because of the color contrast between peel and pulp.

1. Wash the fruit and cut into chunks.



2. Today I found some good looking champagne grapes. No need to cut those.







3. A couple of spoons of sugar goes a long way. Better not overdo it.



4. Pour the wine. Add a splash of brandy if you have it handy. Mix gently, cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. That's all there is to it.
5. When it's time to serve, pour the sangria in big transparent glasses making sure everybody gets both wine and fruit. You can add a couple of ice cubes per glass. I like my sangria with some punch and most of the time I don't add ice.

Notes
Why start with dry wine if you have to add sugar?
Two reasons:

• It's easier to dose the sugar content this way
• In the $5-$10 price range, dry wine is better quality

Cheers!

Posted by Francesca at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I goofed. I thought farro translated as spelt in English, but it seems that that is not so. I was looking for the exact translation of farro perlato and, in doing so, found that spelt may actually not be farro after all. Some sources say that farro is spelt and others that farro is emmer. Since the package of farro perlato I bought yesterday has the scientific name on it — triticum dicoccum — I thought that would be a safer starting point for my research than farro. Based on wheat taxonomy, triticum dicoccum is emmer. No wonder my farro soup made with spelt didn't taste like the zuppa di farro in Maremma! Duh, duh, and triple duh!

And the Italian farro products contribute to the confusion by using the word spelt on their packages, but how can we expect Italians to know the English translation of farro when there doesn't seem to be a consensus in English speaking countries? For me, the solution will be to buy only farro from Italy, regardless of translation. Hopefully, they know what they are growing.

Posted by Francesca at 5:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

  The trip to Newport Beach was a nightmare: 1h40' in a car without air conditioning in the middle of the day under the LA sun. It was stop and go most of the way. We missed the first ten minutes or so of An Inconvenient Truth, but it was definitely worth seeing. We came out of the theater feeling all galvanized and ready to spring into action. What action, we still don't know, but I hope we do't lose the energy.

After that, we went to Caffè Il Farro where we had a very enjoyable dinner that included zuppa di farro invernale (perfect for July 12th, don't you think?) and a farrotto. Farrotto is like risotto in the way it's cooked, but made with farro insted of rice. Finally an Italian restaurants with Italian staff. Great service, great food and I did find farro perlato. That alone was worth the trip.

As I found out last year, the other kind of farro — farro decorticato — requires soaking overnight and at least 90' of cooking, and even then my zuppa di farro was way to chewy. According to the instructions on this package, farro perlato requires thorough rinsing in cold water and then only 20-25 minutes of cooking. I'll test for myself soon.

In case you wonder, farro is called spelt in English, at least in the US, but if you find farro at Whole Foods or other such places, it's more likely to be the kind you need to cook forever.
P.S.
Correction: farro is emmer!

Posted by Francesca at 7:23 AM | Permalink

  It's a week of birthdays. Today is Ben's birthday and we'll have a short working day. We'll finally go see An Inconvenient Truth and then we'll go to Newport Beach to an Italian restaurant called Il Farro. The name bodes well and I think that in addition to the restaurant they have a deli section where I am hoping to find farro perlato.

Since I won't be able to take a picture of the birthday boy, here's the last photo I took of him when we were in Italy last year. The place was Palazzuolo and we were outside a restaurant where we had an exceptionally good meal, including an assortment of breads made following medieval recipes. I am getting homesick just thinking about it.

And July 14th, Bastille day, is Kelvin's birthday. Our big boy turns four.

Posted by Francesca at 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

: Uova alla diavola

They are tasty, they are easy, and everybody likes them. Can't beat that. Here is a basic recipe.

What you need
— Hard boiled eggs (see How to boil eggs and How to peel eggs)
— Mayonnaise
— Mustard
— Garnish of choice (chives, Italian parsley, paprika, capers…)
— Salt
— Ground pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise.


2. Pop out the yolks.


3. Mash the yolks with a fork in a bowl.
4. Add the mayo, mustard, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. I often eyeball quantities. In this case, I use a combined amount of mayo and mustard roughly equal to the amount of yolks. Proportion between mayo and mustard: approx. 3 to 1, but you'll have to make your experiments. In doubt, go easy on the salt and mustard.
5. With the help of a teaspoon, fill the eggs with the mixture. I like my eggs rustic-style, but you could use one of those dispenser thingies (don't give me a hard time… I am sleep deprived and English isn't even my first language). You know what I mean.
6. Garnish with something you like. I often use Italian parsely, but since I successfully killed all my kitchen herbs, this time I used capers instead. My American friends favor paprika.
7. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Notes
When I make a large quantity of deviled eggs, I split the yolks in two or three bowls and use a different kind of mustard for each bowl. My favorites are Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and some stone ground varieties.

Related tip
Whenever you prepare a dish that needs to be refrigerated before serving, make room in the fridge ahead of time. This is particularly useful when you have a cat that gargoyles from the top of your kitchen cabinet waiting for you to be inside the fridge to make room for the eggs, so he can jump on the counter for a sampling session.

Posted by Francesca at 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

  Ragù is one of the most popular pasta condiments throughout Italy. Recipes abound and you'd be surprised at the extent of variations. Even within a small area like Romagna — which is only a portion of the region Emilia-Romagna — the variations are significant. For instance, I use beef, but if I could find the right kind of pork sausage, I would use a mixture of 2/3 beef and 1/3 sausage. Sometimes I use 50/50 lean beef and lean pork. My grandmother used beef and chicken livers and others use a combinations of beef, veal and pork. Another item of contention is wine. I use red; some people use white and others use milk instead. How different can you get?

If you've never made ragù, this is a basic recipe that will get you started. Try it and then modify according to your taste.

About the big quantity… it's due to a convergence of laziness and ease to freeze. Ragù freezes well, so I make about two pounds in one go (about 1 kg) and then freeze what I don't use right away in small packages.

What you need
— two medium onions, chopped fine
— 3-4 ribs of celery, chopped fine
— 2-3 carrots, chopped fine
— two pounds of lean ground beef (or meat of your choice)
— a generous glass of dry red wine
— a large can of whole or crushed tomatoes (San Marzano)
— half a cup of tomato paste (optional)
— olive oil
— rock sea salt
Helpful:
— food processor to cut the onion, carrot and celery quickly
— kettle or pot to keep hot water handy
— timer to remind you to check the pot every 20' or so

Directions

1. Chop the onions, carrots and celery in big chunks, then pass through the food processor.





2. Put some olive oil in the pan and when it's hot, throw in the onion, carrot and celery and let cook for a few minutes until the mixture starts to become translucent.



To better cook the onion/carrot/celery mix, I divide it between the ragù pot and a pan. When the veggies are ready, I transfer those in the pan to the big pot.



3. Raise the flame and add the ground beef stirring often with a wooden spoon until all the redness has gone.



4. Add the red wine and mix until it has been absorbed.



5. Add the peeled tomatos and tomato paste, lower the flame and let cook slowly for 1.5 to 2 hours.
6. From time to time check to see if you need to add water. If so, add hot water (keep kettle handy). You can also add broth but be aware of the overall saltiness. I prefer to go easy on the salt and then adjust it towards the end.
7. When the ragù is done, let it cool off for a few hours, then prepare packages to freeze.


I make my packages very flat to maximize contact surface for faster defrosting.




Et voilà, a month of pasta.

Notes
Ragù is a "sugo di carne" (meat sauce) and it's all about the meat, not the tomatoes.

Beef: I use the leanest I can find. When I want a particularly strong flavor, I get New Zealand beef; it's slightly gamier than US beef.

Tomatoes: I buy San Marzano tomatoes. They are grown on the volcanic soil of the Vesuvio near Napoli (Naples) and tastier than other kinds. Unless you grow your own tomatoes, of course… I tried that and lost to the greenhorn worms.

For directions on how to cook pasta, see How to cook pasta the Italian way.

Posted by Francesca at 7:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

  This is for my American friends who want to try real Italian cuisine without flying to Italy. There are plenty of so-called Italian restaurants in the U.S. Unfortunately, most of them are not what they claim to be. So, how do you find an authentic Italian restaurant?

First, a disclaimer. There really is no such thing as Italian cuisine. There is regional — and even more localized — cuisine: cucina romagnola, veneta, toscana, siciliana… you get the picture. Consequently, there is no such thing as an Italian restaurant. If you go to Italy, wherever you are, you eat regional dishes. In Toscana you'll eat zuppa di farro, in Romagna passatelli and in Veneto risi e bisi. You won't find dishes with couscous and sundried tomatoes in Val d'Aosta or a lot of lard and butter in Sicilia. An authentic restaurant outside Italy should give at least a rough indication of the provenance of their dishes; as a bare minimum a distinction between northern and southern dishes.

So, how can you have a true Italian experience here in the States? It's probably easier to explain how to recognize faux Italian.
Signs that you may not be sitting at an Italian restaurant:

• It's part of a large chain (i.e. The Olive Garden).
• All the dishes have pasta on the side. In Italy, pasta is considered a first course (primo) and served before the main course (secondo).
• All the dishes come as combos and you can't mix and match. In Italy, side dishes (contorni) are listed as separate menu items so you can have asparagus with your roast chicken or roast potatoes with you sole, if you so wish. Set menus do exist, but tend to be optional features in addition to the regular mix-and-match menu.
• Several things on the menu are mispelled (I'll have to make a separate entry for this)
• The kitchen staff is shouting in Spanish
• Your server says "broushedda" instead of bruschetta
• No Italian region is mentioned in the restaurant name or menu

Now that you have an idea of how to spot the fakes, how do you go about finding the real thing? Find some first generation Italians in your area, better if they haven't been here long and are still in culture shock; they'll know where the good restaurants are. If you live in a big city, there will be organizations for Italian expats and there's always the Web. Universities are also a good place to find people from other countries and they often have clubs. In Pasadena, for instance, there is a strong Italian group at Caltech. The Italian Club at Caltech is very active and friendly; they have weekly events such as movie night and lunch on campus. You don't need to be Italian or a PhD student to participate.

For a glimpse at what it means to be Italian when it comes to food, check out the movie Big Night. It's a great movie that revolves around the preparation of a big Italian dinner, but not just that. I wish they'd use real Italian actors to portray Italians in movies, but I like Tony Shalhoub anyway and they did cast Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini. Well, looks like I digressed a bit… Whatever. Rent the movie.

Posted by Francesca at 7:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

: purè di patate

What you need
— potatoes
— rock sea salt
— butter
— milk
— cold tap water
— potato masher

Directions

1. Put enough cold tap water in a pot so that the potatoes will be covered. Add sea salt and turn on the gas (or the electric range as — unfortunately — in my case). Cover with lid to speed the process.
2. Put some milk in a small pot, better if with high sides, and bring to boil slowly keeping an eye on the the pot as you take care of other things.
3. Wash the potatoes; if they are dirty use a scrubber. Red-skin potatoes tend to be smoother and cleaner than the Russet variety so I often just wash them under running water.



4. Cut the potatoes in thick slices and then again in half. This will make them cook faster and more uniformly.
5. When the water starts boiling, add the potatoes and reduce the heat to medium/medium-high to keep the water boiling more gently.



6. After five minutes or so, check a potato piece with a fork. Different kinds of potatoes require different cooking times. Red-skins seem to be harder and take a little longer.
7. When they are cooked, but not overcooked, drain most of the water. I keep a little bit of the cooking water to facilitate mashing.





8. Mash with the potato masher and incorporate some butter.



9. Put back on the fire at lower heat and start incorporating the hot milk a little at a time. The milk will be absorbed faster in small increments.
10. Taste the mashed potatoes to see if they need more salt. If I need to add salt at this stage, I use fine sea salt instead of coarse. You can also add some freshly ground pepper.

Notes

Potatoes
Variety: I use either Russet or red potatoes depending on which kind looks better at the market. I like red potatoes when I want to keep the peel (good for speed and for retaining nutrients that are just under the skin). They have different textures and I like them both, but I am not fond of Russet potato skins… too chewy. Try other potato varieties as well; as a rule of thumb, get what's good locally.

Butter
I use unsalted so I have more control over the amount of salt in general.

Milk
I like whole milk (it tastes better), but you can substitute.

Variations
I've experimented with adding milk first and butter at the end, using cold milk instead of hot, and so on. This sequence (butter first, then hot milk) gives me better results in terms of texture and taste. Do your own experiments to find out what works best for you.

Posted by Francesca at 5:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Peeling hardboiled eggs is a no-brainer, but there's a couple of tricks that will make it go faster.

What you need
— Hardboiled eggs (How to boil eggs)
— Cold water
— Ice cubes (optional)

Directions

1. Put the eggs you've just taken out of the pot in a bowl with cold water (or reuse the pot). You can either use running cold water or add ice cubes. Cooling down the eggs quickly is not only going to speed things up for the dish you are preparing, but will also help prevent the yolks from turning greenish gray. I've read this somewhere, but honestly I've never had an egg turn that color.
2. After 5-10 minutes, your eggs should be cold enough to peel. Take one egg and tap the wider end against a hard surface (kitchen counter, dish, cutting board…). It's easier to start from the larger end because it has a small air sac underneath. Then tap the rest of the shell gently to create cracks all over its surface.
3. Put the egg back in the bowl with cold water so the water can start seeping through the crack and later facilitate peeling. Apply the same process to the other eggs until all the shells are lightly cracked.
4. Now pick the first egg you cracked (you don't have to follow the exact sequence, but it helps if you pick an egg that has been back in the water a while after cracking). Keeping the egg under running cold water, start peeling from the bottom of the egg where the air bubble should have left you enough room to stick the tip of your thumb. By performing this operation under running water, things go much faster.

Note
Make sure you get under the thin film that is between shell and egg.

Posted by Francesca at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

One of the first things I struggled with when I moved to California was the local obsession with speed: fast food, fast lane, speed reading… what's wrong with these people? I thought. Fast food was definitely the most offensive of the various incarnations of speeding; who in their right mind would want to gobble down food in a hurry? Food is a pleasure to be savored slowly, as is reading. No matter the demands on my time, some things just ain't right when they are done wrong. I'd rather not have pasta, if it's not al dente, and I'll happily decline coffee, if it's a "brodino" (watery broth-like drink). In the end, it's not so much a matter of time as a matter of care. Taking the time to do things properly means caring about them. Maybe that's why I like knitting and spinning, two activities that require unhurried attention and reward you with slow progress.

A couple of weeks after landing in LA, I was taken to a fast food place (I refuse to call those things restaurants). Then I understood the necessity to consume food in a hurry, like a foul tasting medicine. Sure, go ahead, call me food snob. From an American point of view, I know I am. From an Italian perspective, though, fourteen years and many a shortcut later, I fear the wrath of the food gods for my adulterated ways.

Yes, we expatriates cling to traditions more than those in the mother land. It's an identity issue. And a comfort issue. Some of the staple food of Italian diet such as olive oil and coffee don't actually have to come from Italy to be good. I use Italian olive oil in part for sentimental reasons, and I like Italian labels in the kitchen. But if Italy declared war on the U.S. and grocery stores suddenly stopped carrying Italian products, I am sure I could substitute with olive oils from France, Spain or Greece.

For some Italian foods, though, there just aren't acceptable substitutes. These are the first that come to mind:
— Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano (Parmesan cheese)
— aceto balsamico tradizionale
— mozzarella di bufala
— prosciutto

I am sure Chinese or Moroccan expats feel the same kind of frustration, only for different ingredients.

At times I go to great lengths to get the right ingredient, because a certain dish will not be the same without it. Other times I am tempted to stuff the freezer with prepared food… yup, I have my weak moments. But I have one sacred rule: no phone calls while we are eating. If it's good news, it can wait. If it's bad news, it can wait, too. When we eat, we eat.

Posted by Francesca at 8:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have visions of the wine police knocking on my door in the middle of the night to deport me. Oh well, I'll take my chances; this is a fun thing to do, parties or not.

What you need
— Fresh raspberries
— Paper towels
— Freezer plastic bags
— Tray (a flat piece of cardboard will do)

Directions

1. Pick the best raspberries
2. Wash them gently
3. Lay them on paper towels to dry
4. Line the tray with two layers of paper towels
5. One by one, very gently, arrange the raspberries on the tray so they don't touch each other.
6. Find some room in your freezer where you can place the tray as horizontal as possible.
7. Put the tray in the freezer for a few hours
8. When the raspberries are frozen, move them from the tray to the plastic bags and put them back in the freezer.

Now you can use your frozen raspberries in lieu of ice cubes for a cold glass of white or rosé wine. Even just one will turn your glass of wine into a party glass. The raspberries release quite a bit of sweetness in the wine, so this is not for you wine connoisseurs. Yeah, I know… I am going to lose my Italian citizenship over stuff like this.

Note

• I cannot stress enough the word gently when dealing with raspberries. You look at them: they bruise. Once they are frozen, you can stop worrying.
• No, it's not the same to buy frozen raspberries. Those are not handpicked, they are processed differently, and they often defrost to a mushy pulp.

Posted by Francesca at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

: pasta all'italiana

What you need
— Good quality pasta
— Condiment of choice
— Rock marine salt
— Cold tap water
— Big pot with lid (e.g. a stock pot)
— Large pan
— Long-handle wooden spoon or fork (or other material that will not melt in boiling water)
— Timer

Directions

1. Have everything ready: your pasta measured, your sauce done or 95% done in the pan.
2. Fill the pot to about two thirds with water and cover with lid.
3. Bring to a rolling boil (big bubbles), then add the salt.
4. Wait for the water to start boiling again, throw in the pasta and stir with a wooden spoon.
5. As soon as the water starts boiling again, reduce the heat a little to keep the water boiling, but less vigorously and without lid. Now you can do things like set the table, grate the Parmesan cheese, open a bottle of wine, just don't go do your laundry and leave the pot unattended.
6. Every couple of minutes or so, stir the pasta with the wooden spoon.
7. A couple of minutes before cooking time is over (according to pasta packet instructions or your experience) start testing the pasta.
8. When the pasta is nearly done, drain it in a pasta drainer in the sink with cold water running on the side, NOT on the pasta. The cold water is meant to protect any plastic trimmings in your sink pipes. Keep a couple of ladles of the pasta water (to add to the sauce pan).
9. Add the drained pasta to the sauce pan, mix in well with the sauce and cook for another minute. Optional: add a little pasta water to the pan to help bond the pasta to the sauce (the starch in the pasta water will do that).
10. If your dish calls for it, bring freshly grated Parmesan cheese to the table.

Notes

Pasta
Quality: I recommend good "pasta di grano duro" (hard wheat semolina). Some good brands easily available in the U.S. are De Cecco and Rustichella d'Abruzzo. A good quality pasta will not break while cooking or overcook too easily.
Quantity: 80-100 gr for a first course, more if you are making it the main entrée.

Water
Quantity: Pasta needs a lot of space to move around freely (at least one liter per 100 gr of pasta) so it doesn't stick to itself. Be stingy on the water and your pasta will be a blob of glue. Yum!

Salt
Format: coarse rock salt is easier to dose than the powder form.
Kind: marine salt is the one traditionally used in Italy and since we are talking about cooking pasta the Italian way…
Timing: Right after the water reaches boiling point. If you add the salt before, it'll take longer to get to boiling point.
Quantity: A rule of thumb quoted in many recipe books is 10/100/1000 — 10 gr of salt, 100 gr of pasta, 1 liter of water.

Timing If you don't have Italian material in your DNA and you were not brought up in Italy, do not despair. You are starting a little handicapped, but you can do it. Start testing early. How do you know when it's done? Bite a piece and if you see a little white line inside the pasta, it's not entirely done. That might actually be a good time to get the pasta out, before it's done, drain it and add it to the pan with the sauce. Mix it it in and cook for another minute and serve immediately.

What Not to Do

• Do not use a small pot or small amount of water (you'll end up with an amorphous blob of stickiness)


• Do not add oil to the water (it's a waste of good oil and it makes the pasta surface slippery so the sauce does not stick to it)


• Do not add salt after cooking (the taste is in the sauce, Parmesan cheese, etc. and all that salt will end up in your system. Put the salt in the water instead.)


• Do not throw the pasta against the wall to check for doneness. I couldn't believe this when I first heard it, but I am told by reliable sources that this is so common in the U.S. that it has generated the saying "Let's throw it against the wall and see if it sticks" in the business world to mean "Let's see if it's a good idea". I can only say that it's absurd in relation to pasta.


• Do not rinse the pasta with cold water. Pasta is to be served hot. Instead of draining it at the last minute and shock it with cold water, get it out of the pot a little earlier.


• Do not overdress your pasta. There's a reason we call it condiment, instead of sauce. Pasta is not supposed to swim in a sea of sauce. It should be thoroughly coated, but not drenched, just like a good salad.


• Do not overcook. This is the absolute worst offense you can make in Italian cuisine. Period.

Related Tips

• If you are having Italian friends over for dinner and you don't cook pasta this way, spare your feelings and theirs by cooking something else. Really.


• If you are taking the pasta to the table in a big serving bowl (as opposed to serving individual plates right away), heat the bowl in your microwave oven ahead of time.

Posted by Francesca at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The first few years I lived in LA, I would drive half an hour every day just to buy good fresh bread. Now, with the closest grocery store almost four miles away and even less time to go shopping, I do the next best thing: buy parbaked baguettes, cut them in thirds or halves and freeze them. When I want fresh bread (let's see… 2-3 times a day), I defrost a piece in the microwave oven, then cook it in the oven and, voila, quasi fresh bread.

What you need
— parbaked bread (as the name implies = partially baked)
— freezer wrap (we use Glad Press 'n Seal, but any kind that seals properly will do)
— space in the freezer (oh, like you've never done anything stupid…)

Directions

1. Cut your baguette or bread loaf in portions that make sense for you. I find that a combination of baguette thirds and halves works best for our family of two.


2. Wrap the individual pieces in freezer plastic and seal as well as you can to prevent condensation.


3. Store the wrapped bread in the freezer


4. Before you throw away the paper bag that the bread came with, write down the suggested cooking temperature and time. Different kinds have different requirements.

When you want fresh bread

1. Preheat the oven at 400-425F (approx. 200-220C) and wait at least ten minutes after it has reached the desired temperature before using it.


2. Put a piece of the frozen bread in the microwave oven at defrost settings for about a minute. The first time you do this, check the bread after 30 seconds to make sure it's not overheating. You want to defrost it, not cook it.


3. Put in the oven for 7-8 minutes or according to the instructions for the particular bread you are using.

Notes

• The best way to defrost food is to take it out of the freezer well ahead of time and let it defrost on its own. The directions above are meant for those who don't have the luxury of planning their meals hours ahead. I write my food entries for people like me, who want a certain level of quality without going broke, losing sleep or getting stressed. Make sense?
• You could freeze a whole baguette, but that's a less flexible system and it's also harder to fit in the freezer.
• I've used this technique even with non parbaked bread and it worked reasonably well. If you want to try it, follow the same steps as for parbaked bread (including freezing), but remember to cook it only for a couple of minutes or you'll have a piece of rock instead of fresh bread. Unless you need a weapon, of course.
• Experiment with different kinds of bread to find what works best for you.

Related tip
Let the bread cool down a little before cutting. It'll be easier to cut wthat way.

Posted by Francesca at 2:04 PM | Permalink

Oh, you think I'm joking? Nope, you can screw up even just boiling an egg. I know: I've done it. So, here is what I learned from my mistakes.

What you need
— A pot of appropriate size for the number of eggs
— Eggs
— Salt
— White vinegar
— Cold tap water

Directions

1. If you can, take the eggs out of the fridge at least half an hour before you need them.


2. Arrange the eggs in the pot so they don't move around (that's why you need a pot of appropriate size).
3. Fill with cold tap water until the eggs are covered by at least an inch of water.
4. Add salt and a dash of white vinegar to the water. In case the eggs crack, the acidity of the vinegar will cause the albumen to coagulate near the crack and prevent it from spilling into the water. It doesn't have to be white vinegar, but that way it won't stain the eggs.
5. Bring slowly to the boil. If you set the heat at max level, the eggs may crack, especially if they are coming straight from the fridge.
6. When the water reaches boiling point, adjust the heat so the water is boiling gently. You are simmering the eggs, more than boiling them.
7. Let the eggs cook this way for ten minutes.
8. Set the eggs aside to cool down before using, especially if you need to peel them. To speed up the cooling process, you can put them in a bowl with cold water.
9. Once the eggs are reasonably cooled off, you can peel them.

Related tip
When you transfer the eggs from the carton to the fridge compartment, you lose the expiration (or packing) date. Tear off the date from the carton and put it with the eggs (see picture above), and you'll always know how old they are.

Note
Now that you can boil eggs, you can make "uova alla diavola" (deviled eggs). We'll do that next.

See How to peel eggs.

Posted by Francesca at 9:24 AM | Permalink

You'll see throughout my food entries that I always start with cold water. It's an old habit I learned in Italy where most people live in houses much older than here in the US and plumbing corrosion is often present. Even if you are living in a new house or have new plumbing, it's still a good habit to stick to, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The reason is that, regardless of the type and age of your water pipes, hot water corrodes pipes faster than cold water so there will always be more lead in your hot water than in your cold one. Why take the risk?

Posted by Francesca at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)