Ragú Redux Ragù. Pride of Emilia-Romagna, the rich, wine-and-broth simmered stuff which is indescribably comforting on a cold, foggy day in the Valpadana. And of course, a testament to its inherent goodness is its bastardization worldwide as “meat sauce” or, in an attempt to put an “authentic” spin on it, “bolognese sauce,” or, even worse, …
Author Archives: hnbjr
M&M Enterprise Cooking, Vol. XVII
Pasta con tapenade e sgombro It was “Italian night” at the dining facility the other night so I picked up a vat of black olive tapenade, thinking I’d do something with it later, despite the fact that tapenade is a Provençal, not Italian dish, but why not? Surely there is some kind of Mediterranean goodness …
“San Martino, ogni mosto diventa vino”
Republishing this for the 103rd anniversary of Armistice Day — It’s not only the 100th anniversary of Armistice, now Veterans, Day, it’s also San Martino, an autumnal feast day in Italy that celebrates not only the fourth-century patron saint of beggars, but also the maturation of new wines. The great Giosuè Carducci also wrote a …
M&M Enterprise Cooking, Vol. XVI
Two dishes today. One is a variation on the previously-posted risotto-in-a-bag dish. It was “Mexican night” at the cafeteria Wednesday and I was generously given by the server a large quantity of cooked shrimp, presumably for use in shrimp tacos. Having lived not too far from the Sea of Cortez recently, I can’t imagine why …
M&M Enterprise Cooking, Vol. XV
Risotto al limone e gamberetti Since I’ve been recovering from a mild illness, or busy, or both, war zone cooking has been limited to soups, which probably deserve their own write up, especially as I’ve been experimenting with way to allungare them, often transforming them into hearty, often porky, and thus wholly un-Italian dishes. But today’s post features shrimp …
M&M Enterprise Cooking, Vol. XIV
Someone leaving post left out some canned organic pumpkin, and having just come from the belpaese, where mighty round and gnarled zucce are at every produce stand, I knew I had to do something with it. Now, my wife’s true cooking talent, I’m convinced, is in her minestrine, zuppe and passate. Her version of pumpkin …
M&M Enterprise Cooking, Vol. XIII
Sono ritornato. War zone cooking is back. I’ve been sick, so a lot of the war zone cookery has been hearty bagged frozen soups, a classic of the diet of the workingman in northern Italy, but really not much to write home about. My first couple of non-dining hall, non-frozen soup dishes — a Caprese on …
M&M Enterprise Cooking, Vol. XII
Caponata Siciliana – September 17 This will be the last for a bit, as I’m off to the land of good and accessible food soon enough. I found myself with far too many good fresh vegetables and jarred items the other night, so I improvised a caponata. There are a lot of regional variations, but …
M&M Enterprise Cooking, Vol. XI
Penne con cozze e melanzane With one eggplant from last weeks’ veggie haul left, and some frozen Chilean mussels, I decided to adapt this. The idea of seafood plus eggplant is clearly a southern one, but one I’m starting to appreciate more. Started by slicing and salting the eggplants early this morning while I …
M&M Enterprise Cooking, Vol. X
Srpska salata It’s been a few days of rich and bountiful eating, so I decided to go for something lighter, not to mention the cucumbers and tomatoes, so fresh a few days ago, were in danger of getting overripe. It’s immediately obvious to me what to do with these two delicious and cooler summer vegetables …