![]() |
Maggie's FarmWe are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for. |
Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page
Categories
QuicksearchLinks
Blog Administration |
Sunday, November 21. 2021With whom do you go out to dine, in Italia? And what's for supper?
Any time we saw couples they seemed to be tourists or young lovers. But young lovers do not eat much of course. One more "real Italian" dinner we had in Siena, before Thanksgiving week when it's different foods. Primi: Poached egg with goat cheese fondue and caramelized leeks
Second primi (yeah, we share each course): Chickpea puree with a hunk of cod, with crispy pancetta: And more amazing, rare roast pigeon with some roasted corn and mushrooms, with a fig sauce drizzle. That's Italian:
Our favorite cranberry relish
This has a zippy flavor: No-cook cranberry sauce. Saturday, November 20. 2021Cranberry Harvest, reposted
The canned cranberry "sauce" pictured is garbage. It's just congealed sweetened cranberry juice. The recipe on the Ocean Spray bags is pretty good, but I cut the sugar they recommend in half. It's nothing but water, fresh or frozen berries, and sugar. Better yet for Thanksgiving, game, and even chicken, is Cranberry-Orange Relish. Raw berries and an orange. Thanks to the mother-in-law for introducing me to this tangy thing years ago. A great food, the Cranberry. I love to put them in pancakes (the combination of the sweetness of the maple syrup and the tartness of the cranberries is perfect). Here's our old post on Cranberry Season and the Heart. Funny thing about Cranberries: not many animals or birds like to eat them. Maybe bears? I've seen Box Turtles take a bite out of one, but I've never seen anything else eat them. I love Cranberries, as long as they aren't cooked too sweet. Here's a tiny Massachusetts Cranberry bog, flooded for harvest:
Here's how it's done on a larger scale: Friday, November 19. 2021Castello di Monte Riggioni
Cool little fortress, but it was all silly then. Chess moves. The fortress was a rook. We split a nice snack up there: A pistachio crepe. Amazing. Ever had one? That is Italian. Mrs. BD, who loves to drive in Italia, had a Coke and I had a glass of Chianti. I like to drive in Italy too, but she just loved to drive that Citroen. Sunday, November 14. 2021Real ItalianA good supper in a cool cafe (Etruria) in Volterra. As usual, we showed up as the first customers at 7 but the place filled up at 8. It was chilly so we sat inside. No big COVID deal in Italy. Our Primo: Gnocchi with a pumpkin and sausage sauce. Far tastier than the photo looks. I had a glass or two of Brunello:
Secondo: Roast Cinghiale with a dolceforte sauce (vinegar + chocolate) on a bed of fried polenta, with a cotorno of canellini beans in some tasty broth because they had no spinach that night. Spinach sauteed in oil and garlic is one of my favorites with a secondi, but the beans were just fine. Go for a nighttime stroll after and get lost as usual. But this can be found. Go for the pistachio:
Posted by Bird Dog
in Food and Drink, Travelogues and Travel Ideas
at
13:28
| Comments (4)
| Trackbacks (0)
Sunday, November 7. 2021A menu in Volterra
Typically a nice dinner for both of us will run around 50-55 Euros, not including a glass or two of wine. Tip? In Euroland, 10% is more than enough. I plan to do an Italian food post one of these days, but for starters here's a pic of a restaurant's offerings in Volterra. If your Italian is terrible, Pasta al Nero is squid with a squid ink sauce. We will try a pasta as a primo on rare occasions, and only if it seems unique:
Wednesday, November 3. 2021We learned, long agoDesserts in Italy are not worth it. If you need a sweet, grab a gelato on the street. Or a lemon ice, which the Italians learned from the Arabs who, remarkably, imported the snow and ice from the Alps. Tiramisu seems to be a popular Italian dessert. I think it's ok, but I rarely eat dessert anywhere. I had one gelato (coffee) in Italy, and it was disappointing. The guy who invented Tiramisu in the 1970s has died.
Saturday, October 30. 2021Chocolate Cream Pie Many things taste better in a diner, especially breakfast after church. Thursday, October 28. 2021The two best meals of your life: A Maggie's Scientificalistic SurveyI would amend that to foods or meals. I'll start it off: A dinner which included woodcock ravioli with gibier sauce, followed by roasted (boned) Quail stuffed with foie gras. The appropriate wines, of course. Followed by a tarte tatin - with a hard caremelized crust. Ice cream on top. My second might be a dinner when we indulged in 24 Wellfleet oysters each, followed by broiled Cod, Portuguese-style. I could go beyond two, but that's the science. The Mrs. would list Maryland Crabcakes in a Eastern Shore crab shack, and a burger she and her gal-pal had in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She claims they are both worth a trip, and I concur with real crab cakes. I've had fancy meals all over NYC and Europe, but those are my best. What about you?
Sunday, August 29. 2021Life in America: Peaches and Porgies Last night I made a bowl of Peach salsa from our peaches to accompany Indian take-out, and Mrs. BD made a peach pie (yeah, she always makes her own crust - rolls them out with her grandma's rolling pin). Thing about peaches is, for cooking, best if they are firm and far from ripe. For salsa, not ripe but slightly softer and crunchy like an apple. A skewer of hard peach chunks on a grill makes them perfect. For fresh peach chutney that you don't want to bother canning (I am done with canning - it's a pain), you want to use unripe fruit. Just cook it up and put it in the fridge. Peach salsa and peach chutney go with everything, but especially shrimp and fish. And Porgies. Wednesday, August 18. 2021A good day for a Root Beer Float![]() Saturday, August 7. 2021Great sandwich: Grilled Cheese
I like ketchup on the side. Sunday, July 25. 2021Some types of Pesto, reposted
I told you that in Sicily last Spring we had Parsley Pesto (with grilled swordfish) and Pistachio Pesto (with grilled pork), but we never saw a Basil Pesto. They do love their Pistachios in Sicily - they use them with everything. We brought a small, overpriced jar of pistachio pesto home, but it's fairly easy to make. "Pesto" means something that is pestado - pounded or ground up, as in English "pestle and "paste." Walnut-Parsley is a popular combination. Also, fresh mint pesto. The Cuisinart is what made Pesto easy. More: Move out the way, basil. Cheese + nuts + olive oil + garlic + whatever the hell you want = awesome pesto. Pesto is for seafood, vegetables, noodles. Thursday, July 8. 2021A Sicilian Classic: Spaghetti alla Norma, reposted for Eggplant season Truth is, the cuisine of the Mezzogiorno is not exactly wonderful. Sicily, unlike southern Italy, is not big on pasta (more couscous and rice), but they make a few pasta Primis that are not bad: alla Norma, con le Sarde, and con Vongole (in order, with eggplant, with fresh Sardines, and with Little clams or cockles. (The northern Italian pasta Primis I have liked have been Pappardelle con Funghi (only Porcinis) and alla Bolognese. Given a choice, I'd often prefer a gorgonzola risotto sprinkled with a red wine reduction instead. Or a small bowl of steamed mussels with wine and herbs.) Reminder: In Italian cooking, Pasta and tons of other things serve as Primi, meant to be small amounts of tasty first courses before the meat or fish Secondi. When I think of Sicilian food I think first of eggplants, lemons, grilled pork and seafood, and couscous. Sicily grows lots of eggplant and it is used in lots of their poverty cooking. Many people think alla Norma is wonderful but I think it is just OK, in small amounts. Here's a recipe. Try it for yourself. Monday, May 31. 2021Far Northern Italian food, etc.Over the years, we have tried to inform our readers about regional Italian food. I guess we usually refer to "northern Italian" as north of Rome, but that covers plenty of cultural diversity. This episode is from the most northern part, where there has been plenty of milk, butter, potatoes, cabbage, and beef during the good times. Also, maize. I've never had anything made with chestnut flour, but chestnuts are found all over Italy. The amazing roasted chestnuts on the streets of New York are all from Italy, and they are darn good.
Saturday, May 22. 2021Soft-shelled Crabs
When they moult (to grow) they are soft-shelled. Much as I love real Maryland crab cakes (all crab, no bread crumbs etc), my favorite is a sauteed soft-shell. You eat the entire juicy thing, feathers and all. The are alive and kicking at the fish market, but Mrs. BD has them kill them by cutting off their faces before she takes them home. A New England (and Maryland) classic is a soft-shelled crab sandwich. Way better than any Lobster Roll. Monday, May 17. 2021Shad Season, re-re-posted
Many of us in Yankeeland welcome this brief season - mainly April-May, when the Shad migrate from the ocean up the rivers to lay and fertilize the eggs, with the females filled with their delicious egg sacs we call Shad roe. If you drive over the Hudson River, the Connecticut, or Housatonic bridges, you will see the shad fishermen's nets spread out right now. The roe, cooked with bacon, is as good as food gets. Do not overcook it - it is Shad caviar. But the meat of the Atlantic Shad (a large type of herring, I believe) is underestimated. It requires an expert boner which makes it expensive, but it's as tasty a fish as exists. The Shad is full of crazy bones. It's a brief season for Shad, and there are Shad Festivals all over the Northeast. Photo above is Shad roe. My Mom loved it, and so do I.
Sunday, May 16. 2021La Bella FiguraLooking good is an Italian thing. It doesn't have much to do with food, but these guys visit Liguria looking for food. Yes, mashed potatoes in nothern Italy. Towards the end, how to make make and serve basil pesto.
Saturday, May 8. 2021Sicilian food: Don't forget the cannolisOn our two trips to Sicily we saw very little pasta, except al vongole. Which was delicious, of course. We never hung around Palermo but only because of our scheduling. We missed the cathedral bcause it was closed to visitors on Sundays. Are Sicilian women beautiful? Like the food, a mix of Arab, Spanish, French, and Greek. Some Italian too. Brits love Sicily. Last time, we landed in Palermo and drove around the entire coast, and up into the mountains too. Ended leaving from our lemon farm B&B to the airport in Catania at 3 AM, arrived with the sun rising over Etna. Just an amazing place.
Thursday, May 6. 2021Stay for a light lunch, repostedFrom Peter Robb's Midnight in Sicily: On Art, Food, History, Travel and la Cosa Nostra:
That is an Italian luncheon. Until halfway through the book when I decided to google her, I had thought that Marta was fictional. Nope. She befriended the author. While married to Count Umberto Marzotto, she managed a long affair with Sicilian artist, movie-maker and famous Communist Renato Guttoso who figures prominently in the book. A close pal of Picasso. Colorful people, adding a lot of life to life. La dolce vita, so different from life in Yankeeland.
Posted by Bird Dog
in Food and Drink, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
16:18
| Comments (0)
| Trackbacks (0)
Tuesday, May 4. 2021Garum, and other food cultural appropriationsWhat was Garum? They needed something tangy. Italian, and European food in general, was bland stuff before Columbus' followers brought good plants from the New World. It is funny to me to imagine Asian food without peppers, especially chiles, but that's the history. My list of some the imports to the Old World and Asia from Central and South America: Maize (corn), potato, all squash (summer and winter squash, including pumpkin), all peppers, peanut, avocado, every kind of bean (except Fava), Sunflower, Cocoa (chocolate), Tomato, Pineapple, Papaya, Vanilla, Sweet Potato. Also, turkeys. Of course, the New World brought plenty of good foodstuffs from the Old World: Most grains, cattle, sheep and goats, pigs, Strawberries, apples, Honey Bees, etc etc.
Real ItalianThursday, April 29. 2021Fresh pasta Not a big fan of pasta, really, because it feels like filling, empty calories to me. Sure, rare exceptions like when in Italy. Come to think of it, though, I do eat Thai noodles about monthly in noodle soup or Pad Thai, so there's that. The point remains, though, that pastas were invented for food storage, carb storage like dried beans. They are made to be dried. Sheesh, years ago Mrs. BD and I made fresh homemade lasagna with a pasta machine. Worth doing it once to see what it's like, but after that a waste of time.
Tuesday, April 27. 2021Cucina PoveraTwo greedy guys reviist the poverty food of the Campagna region of southern Italy. Their enjoyment of food and life is delightful. Eating fresh lemons from the tree? It's great. I do that, but not from the tree. Slice up a lemon and eat the slices, peel and all.
Sunday, April 18. 2021Goodbye to the old boss..The Castros are gone, but I still see no hope for the Cubans. I see lots of hope for the Cuban Sandwich.
« previous page
(Page 2 of 33, totaling 816 entries)
» next page
|