What do Italians know about meatballs, that I don’t? Italians can be passionate about meatballs. They do not contain exotic ingredients, it seems they are easy to make, but then there is passion about what is the right way. It seemed a little rigor was needed here. There it seemed an analysis of how...
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Venetian Cicchetti meatballs are the bar snack version of meatballs. These Cicchetti (nibbles or snacks) meatballs are smaller and fried, made to snack on while sipping a refreshing glass of wine. You can be used as a main course for a lighter meal as pictured above with roasted young carrots. Exploration of this sub-topic...
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Quite a few passionate Italian cooks will get indignant about the mention of spaghetti and meatballs. They insist that is not how meatballs (Polpettes) should be served. So what makes meatballs authentic Italian meatballs? In this recipe, Italian Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, the meatballs are cooked in the tomato sauce. Following the Italian line...
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With the right tart shell, pretty much anything brought home from the market can be turned into a simple but impressive main dish, a starter or a dessert. But I find myself fighting to find the right shell recipe of the right size for the tart pan I plan to use. While the basics...
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One of the advantages of purchasing from a market is that the produce found is usually younger, more tender, and of course fresher. Those qualities lead to this simple recipe for sautéed beet greens that focuses on one simple great ingredient that could easily be discarded. The beet greens are very tinder and their...
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A tart made of fresh Vidalia Onions and bacon is a spring treat. Vidalias contain a very large amount of water and sugar. Caramelizing (browning) in a little bacon fat and butter reduces the water and releases wonderful flavors. Notes on Ingredients This recipe calls for bacon bits. These are the leftover hunks of...
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This turnip and chard tart variation uses two of the most common items from spring and summer markets. It is one of my favorite vegetable tarts. Using the perfect savory tart dough these are formed into an excellent light dish. It can be made ahead of time and is frankly better at room temperature....
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Evaluating the components of the simple the flour, egg and butter shell produced by Escoffier and the latest recommendations, a general-purpose shell was developed producing a flexible, sizable, flaky, tasty and easy to work with tart dough. You can follow my process here. Sounds perfect huh? By replacing some butter with crème fraiche, but...
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This dish is about ramps. Ramps grow wild in higher elevations in the North American Appalachian mountains. If you are unfamiliar with them, it is somewhat hard to describe them. They are sometimes referred to as wild leeks. But that does not do them justice. There is a strong garlic taste too. While difficult...
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Steaming fish en papillote (paper envelopes) is an incredibly simple technique that produces intense flavors and has a wow factor for presentation. All with little effort. Use it when you want to steam fish with flavors or side vegetables that you want to meld together. Cooking with the intense flavor of ramps is an...
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