Maggie's Farm

The Castros are gone, but I still see no hope for the Cubans.

I see lots of hope for the Cuban Sandwich.

Pic is a Northern Italian classic: Veal Tonnato

When I grew up, "Italian food" meant various forms of wheat (no egg) pasta with red glop on top, and maybe meatballs or eggplant. That, plus pizza and Italian grinders. Also, Lasagna I guess, made from an American cookbook.

They don't make grinders in Italy, and their pizzas aren't any good in my view. (I gave up on them. American wood-cooked pizzas can be pretty good, though. Crust has to be half-burnt.)

This was because most of the Italian immigrants to America were from a poor southern Italy with Neapolitan food traditions. To tell the truth, I do not care too much for that stuff but I am willing to eat it if I am starving. I do like a good Pasta Fagiole but I can make the best one you have ever had, and I will have a Bolognese on Tagliatelle. Call me a food snob.

Our best Italian meals have been in Umbria, which is where Romans take dining expeditions by the busload - so they can drink and gorge on wild pig, and get a ride home. No good Italian food tastes wonderful without wine. If you're on the wagon, it's not so wonderful unless it includes truffles or Balsamic. They do not use much wine in their cooking because you are supposed to be sipping it as you eat. Wine is expected to be an accompaniment, blending in your mouth.

I had a fine Lasagna in Verona for lunch, in a sidewalk cafe near the Arena. No red sauce, heavy on the nutmeg which makes sense, given the history of being part of the Venetian Empire for a while. One Italian dish I really wanted to try in Italy was Vitello Tonnato - Veal with Tuna Sauce. Mrs. BD makes an excellent version, but somehow we missed it on our last trip. Also wanted to try their Chicken Liver with Balsamic, but missed that too. That's OK - food isn't everything - and we know some great Italian restaurants in NYC.

Italian Food Regional Cooking:  Southern Italy

Italian Food Regional Cooking:  Central Italy

Italian Food Regional Cooking: NorthWest Italy

Italian Food Regional Cooking:  NorthEast Italy

Italian Food Regional Cooking: Sicily and Sardinia

Northern Italians eat very well, but are mostly skinny. It's the walking and the minimal pasta that does it. Low carbs.

Serious chefs travel with a packet of their personal knives, but the all-purpose knife is the Chef's Knife, aka Cook's Knife. My chef friend only uses Gunter Wilhelm knives, but chefs are cooking all day.

I guess the high-carbon, high-maintenance ones are the best, but whatever. I like the ones with a curved blade so you can rock it when chopping garlic, parsley, etc. Maybe you only need two knives: a bread knife and a chef's knife.

You can sometimes find used high-carbon chef's knives on eBay.  

A semi-retired buddy has gotten big into cooking as a hobby. He is especially into old coooking tools on eBay.

- Carbon steel chef knives, for example. They need a little maintenance but supposedly are best. Here's an old one from LL Bean he likes:

Cast iron deep fryers. 

It's Russian Salad. There are so many variations now that you just have to google different recipes.

It just has to have pickles. 

It's a Primo. A platter like that is to serve at least 2 people, maybe 4. I can be an annoying stickler about Italian food but there is a tradition to it and a logic to it too.

A big bowl of pasta is not a meal and, in fact, it would be a terribly unwholesome meal. A small plate of pasta, like the Bolognese recipe (the correct recipe) featured today is an excellent Primo preceding a meat and vegetable course (the Secondo). Bolognese is a beef-flavored sauce. Some tomato sauce flavor. Typically, less sauce than shown in the photo.

Italians seem to reserve their 4-course meals (Antipasto, Primo, Secondo, Dessert - sliced fruit usually) for special occasions. It's just too much food and puts you to sleep.

However, when we are in a food paradise like Norcia, Mrs. BD and I do their 4-course dinner (around 1 pm is dinner there) we just order one plate per course and share so we get all the tastes.  Restaurants don't mind that at all.

Main rule for pasta? Dump the wet undrained pasta into the pan with the sauce with the heat on, and swirl around. Add some pasta water if a sauce is too dry or not creamy enough. 

 The use of peanuts dates to the Aztecs and Incas. They supposedly made a paste out of them too. Wow. Another New World food that I missed on my list of European appropriations of native New World foods: Squash, corn (maize), all peppers, tomato, potato, sweet potato, beans, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, avocado, cashew, walnut, etc.

A twist on the venerable New England classic. 

Here's a food question for the day: Where do Fluffernut Trees grow? 

We're making a Clootie Pudding in advance for a Bobbie Burns party. These sorts of "puddings" can last a year in the closet.

We'll make a real brandy-flavored pudding to go with it. 

That was Tiny Tim on Christmas Day. We got into a chat today at brunch with a Brit friend about Christmas Pudding. 

Whether you like it or not (it's like Fruitcake), it is a necessary Brit tradition.

How to make it is below (recipe and video). Ideally served with flaming brandy, then something creamy on top.  Funny thing about Christmas Pudding is that you can make it months in advance.

Even a year or two in advance. Just put it on a shelf. Even mice won't bother it.

1 lb. Dried Porcini

Things with truffles 

Britain is, rightly, not known for their cuisine. It's no wonder they prefer Indian cuisine. However, is there anything better than Roast Beast with Yorkshire Pudding?

A Brit classic: Cheese and Pickle Sandwich.

 This sandwich must feature thick, almost steaklike slices of aged cheddar. Cheddar cutlets, if you will. The aging adds tangy sharpness and a more crumbly rather than creamy texture. Then, a thick layer of Branston pickle, made from sweet gherkins, cauliflower, carrots, onions and rutabaga in a thick, sweet sauce which tastes somewhat like ketchup. We definitely don’t have an equivalent stateside, but plenty of supermarkets stock the most ubiquitous British foods — malt vinegar, Cadbury’s chocolate, tea biscuits and the like — and Branston pickle can often be found. Try the Indian store as a last resort, no joke.  

Refrigerator Pickles

Easy, and ready in two days. 

It's one of my favorite fishes. I happen to have plenty of favorite fishes though. Halibut has been overfished in the North Atlantic, like Cod and most other things. Atlantic vs Pacific Halibut.

This old photo of a handliner is from our favorite seafood cookbook, Howard Mitcham's The Provincetown Seafood Cookbook.   As is typical of P'town, lots of Portuguese recipes.

 "It's a true classic, one of the most influential of my life." --Anthony Bourdain, from the new introduction