What did you eat last night for dinner?

[coolpapa]



favas: complete pain, but the first meal of the year, shuck them from the husks, collect them in a mixing bowl and cover with boiling water. By the time the water has cooled enough you can put your hands in it, they'll be blanched. you have to do them one at a time -- use your thumbnail to notch the skin then squeeze to pop them into a separate bowl. My favorite dish is an old richard olney -- bacon and cream. after you've done that once and achieved your springtime penance, then use them as a garnish because they're just too much trouble (and i've got a raised garden bed full of them).

Awesome, thank you.

 

[b1os]

Home made pasta and pesto

 

[indesertum]



Home made pasta and pesto

that looks soo good right now

 

[itsstillmatt]

b1os, your stuff has really improved!

 

[b1os]



that looks soo good right now

b1os, your stuff has really improved!

Thanks.

When is industrial pasta superior to home made one, other than for difficult shapes like farfalle, tortiglioni?

 

[kwilkinson]

Great looking noods, b1os.

 

[indesertum]



Thanks.
When is industrial pasta superior to home made one, other than for difficult shapes like farfalle, tortiglioni?

i've never found good brands to be superior, just a different texture

 

[foodguy]



When is industrial pasta superior to home made one, other than for difficult shapes like farfalle, tortiglioni?

that looks great bios. and not over-sauced.
the fresh pasta/industrial pasta question is a thorny one. briefly (putting on my piu exigente pedant's hat): they're different animals. it's not like the difference between homemade stock and canned stock, or homemade bread and supermarket bread. Dried pastas are made from semolina wheat and water. they have a distinctly chewy texture. Fresh pastas are made from softer wheat and eggs. they have a silky texture. In italy, where culinary absolutism is a way of life, there are sauces that would ONLY be served with fresh pasta and sauces that would only be served with dried (including, i'm afraid, pesto). those old rules are breaking down, though, and particularly when you get outside the country.
when it comes to dried pastas, there is a difference among the brands although it might not be readily apparent all the time. The thing to remember about pasta is that it's not so much about the flavor of the pasta itself, but its texture and -- most important -- the way it carries the flavor of the sauce. this is an unusual concept and it has led many astray. one food magazine routinely did dried pasta tastings where some really great italian pastas fared badly when compared to inexpensive american pastas because they lacked wheat flavor. if they had tried that tasting with a simple sauce, and then compared which sauce tasted better, they might have had different results (this is not to argue that all expensive imported pastas are de facto better).

 

[b1os]



that looks great bios. and not over-sauced.
the fresh pasta/industrial pasta question is a thorny one. briefly (putting on my piu exigente pedant's hat): they're different animals. it's not like the difference between homemade stock and canned stock, or homemade bread and supermarket bread. Dried pastas are made from semolina wheat and water. they have a distinctly chewy texture. Fresh pastas are made from softer wheat and eggs. they have a silky texture. In italy, where culinary absolutism is a way of life, there are sauces that would ONLY be served with fresh pasta and sauces that would only be served with dried (including, i'm afraid, pesto). those old rules are breaking down, though, and particularly when you get outside the country.
when it comes to dried pastas, there is a difference among the brands although it might not be readily apparent all the time. The thing to remember about pasta is that it's not so much about the flavor of the pasta itself, but its texture and -- most important -- the way it carries the flavor of the sauce. this is an unusual concept and it has led many astray. one food magazine routinely did dried pasta tastings where some really great italian pastas fared badly when compared to inexpensive american pastas because they lacked wheat flavor. if they had tried that tasting with a simple sauce, and then compared which sauce tasted better, they might have had different results (this is not to argue that all expensive imported pastas are de facto better).

Thanks. I just checked with Marcella Hazan's book while you wrote your post. You basically say the same like she does.
According to her, industrial pasta has a slightly rough surface and is suited better for sauces based on olive oil. Home made one absorbs better, especially sauces based on butter or cream.

Do you add olive oil to your pasta dough? I know that you and Matt recommended it when I made the ravioli. I did it today, too, and thought it was fine. Marcella says adding olive oil leads to a slick/greasy texture. Might try it without next time.

I have to admit though that I prefer more pesto than pictured. But it's not optimal because it overwhelmes the taste of the pasta. Just need to refocus my taste buds on appreciating the taste of both the sauce and pasta as opposed to just the sauce with pasta-texture.

 

[KJT]



that looks great bios. and not over-sauced.
the fresh pasta/industrial pasta question is a thorny one. briefly (putting on my piu exigente pedant's hat): they're different animals. it's not like the difference between homemade stock and canned stock, or homemade bread and supermarket bread. Dried pastas are made from semolina wheat and water. they have a distinctly chewy texture. Fresh pastas are made from softer wheat and eggs. they have a silky texture. In italy, where culinary absolutism is a way of life, there are sauces that would ONLY be served with fresh pasta and sauces that would only be served with dried (including, i'm afraid, pesto). those old rules are breaking down, though, and particularly when you get outside the country.
when it comes to dried pastas, there is a difference among the brands although it might not be readily apparent all the time. The thing to remember about pasta is that it's not so much about the flavor of the pasta itself, but its texture and -- most important -- the way it carries the flavor of the sauce. this is an unusual concept and it has led many astray. one food magazine routinely did dried pasta tastings where some really great italian pastas fared badly when compared to inexpensive american pastas because they lacked wheat flavor. if they had tried that tasting with a simple sauce, and then compared which sauce tasted better, they might have had different results (this is not to argue that all expensive imported pastas are de facto better).

Any dried brand rec's? Maybe one that you think is the best, and maybe the best easy to find brand? I'm guessing you were talking about cook's illustrated... right?

 

[foodguy]

whew! i'm glad i didn't disagree with santa marcella!
i sometimes add a little oil to the dough, sometimes not. i think it mainly cuts the gluten so the dough is a little easier to work with. i don't think it would really show up in the finished product.
my go-to dried pasta is latini, though it can be hard to find. rustichella is good, too. de cecco is not bad as an easy-to-find alternative. honestly, for every day use, though, i use the "organic pasta" from trader joe's ... not because it's organic, but because it holds the sauce really well and is very affordable. cook with enough dried pasta and you can begin to recognize what's going to work well ... the dried noodle should not be perfectly smooth and glossy. a rough surface indicates (but does not promise) that it was probably made with non-teflon dies, which can mean it was also slow-dried, both of which together add up to a pasta that really holds sauce well. and now i'm getting way too :foo:

 

[b1os]

We mostly use De Cecco or Barilla. I think De Cecco is a little better. There is a new company based in switzerland that makes organic pasta and pesto. Ppura
Wheat from Apulia, bronze molds, 48-72 drying. We've had them twice so far and they were quite good. If you ever find them, give them a try, although I'm not sure whether they are available in the US yet. They have some really beautiful pasta shapes.
Their pesti are great, too, for purchased ones. They don't use almonds or so, DOP Genovese basil, parmigiano, pine nuts etc.

 

[indesertum]

i see a lot of asparagus heads in here. do you guys make soups or something with the rest?

 

[vengeful]

Quote:
What do you mean will ferment for two to three months then eating without cooking? You mean eating it like a fresh one? How about the bacteria on it? I'd rather eat fermented foods like fermented vegetables.

 

[Bhowie]

^ home to kyle's favorite club soda