Archive for August, 2010

le pignate: earthenware pots, salento-style

le pignate: earthenware pots, salento-style

August 17, 2010  |  La scuola mia.  |  2 Comments

Is it 'irony'? If not, what else would you call it? How else would you explain this disparity, the perception of the Mediterranean basin as the cradle of simple, fresh, quickly-prepared foods, when, for the last 12,000 years or so it's to the long-simmered brown foods that nearly all of us owe

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in difesa del rosato: in defense of pink wine

in difesa del rosato: in defense of pink wine

August 11, 2010  |  vino  |  9 Comments

I can't think of any other wine that represents such a polemic. Can you? You can almost predict what folks will think and say about it, just by reading their bank statements or passport stamps, assuming that they'd let you read those sorts of things. But I think there are really only

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gli spaghetti alle vongole: spaghetti and clams

gli spaghetti alle vongole: spaghetti and clams

August 4, 2010  |  Primi  |  3 Comments

Next time you hear one of his solos, sit and really listen. I mean really listen. I'm not the first to say this, but the solos of Louis Armstrong are famously appreciated for being reduced to their absolute essence. There is no flab, nothing that can be trimmed away without leaving

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granita di caffè: espresso-flavoured italian ice

granita di caffè: espresso-flavoured italian ice

August 2, 2010  |  dolci  |  6 Comments

Everyone has that one dessert, the thing you pull out of the air when there is nothing in the house. I shouldn't tell you this (please, let's keep this between us), but la granita di caffè is that dessert for me. I bang one out a least a few times

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gli scampi: langoustines

gli scampi: langoustines

August 1, 2010  |  Secondi  |  7 Comments

Norway lobsters is what the books call them. The English call them Dublin Bay Prawns. The French call them Langoustines.  The Spanish who go nuts for the things, buying up up to half of England's catch, call them cigalas. Visit friends in Spain and you'll be offered these, often

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