Thursday, June 22, 2000
Spanish Omelet (Tortilla Espanola)
A listener called “Food Talk” the other day asking if there was any trick to making this, the most classic of Spanish tapas, the true Spanish omelet, filled with potatoes and onions, served in wedges or squares in Spanish bars. The answer was yes: You need to use plenty of fruity olive oil (Goya’s Extra Virgin, available in most supermarkets, will give you an authentic Spanish flavor, as will any high-quality Spanish extra-virgin olive oil), and to cook the potatoes and onions thoroughly before adding them to the eggs. And these days, I like to cook eggs, as well as potatoes, in a non-stick skillet. [more]
Wednesday, June 21, 2000
Great Soave and What To Drink While In Italy
This week’s wine buy from Carol Berman is Ca’ Rugati Soave Classico. Since the early 1970s, the Bolla wine company has done such a superb job of marketing their Soave that too many Americans (and Italians) think that there is no other Soave. Indeed, I’m certain most people so closely associate Bolla with Soave that they are not aware Soave is the name of a wine from the Veneto region (around Venice) – from Verona, specifically -- and that it is made by many producers other than Bolla. They may even think that Bollasoave is one word. As made by Bolla, Soave is a light, dry, undistinguished but innocuous white wine. At one time, it was the most popular white wine import from Italy, right after Chianti when Chianti was synonymous with Italian red wine. [more]
Thursday, June 15, 2000
Toll House Cookie Variations
Thanks to enterprising Elayne Kitchen, one of my listeners, who wrote to the consumer services department of Nestle, here are the ways you can vary the classic Toll House Cookie recipe to achieve various results other than the thin, crisp cookie with which we are most familiar. [more]
Tuesday, June 13, 2000
Four More Wine Buys -- With Lists of Retailers
Finding the retailers that carry our Food Talk wine buys of the week is not easy, as I well knew it wouldn’t be. My new intern, Allie D’Augustine, has been working diligently on it, but sometimes even the distributors can’t or won’t provide the information, or, when they do, it is difficult to get complete information. In any case, gathering these lists (strictly as a service to you, I feel compelled to add) is very time-consuming. So bear with us. We’re working on it. The following list of wine buys, the last four talked about on Wednesday Food Talk, when Carol Berman, “The Traveling Sommelier,” joins us on the radio, has been annotated with retailers in New York State and New Jersey. We managed to find a few Connecticut retailers, too. [more]
Sunday, June 11, 2000
Risi e Bisi (Rice and Peas, Venetian-Style)
I recently struck up an e-mail correspondence with Kyle Phillips, who is the “guide” on a web-site called www.italianfood.about.com, which is part of About.com, what’s called a portal site because it leads you to many sub-sites and other sites. I was curious about About.com because the company has moved into the same building as WOR radio and at the moment the scaffolding around the building is wrapped in an About.com advertising banner. Of course, I found the Italian food section immediately. [more]
Tuesday, June 6, 2000
The Only Marinade You'll Ever Need
I just got Steven Raichlen’s new book, Barbecue! Bible Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters, and Glazes. It’s a sequel to his comprehensive Barbecue Bible. Among the press materials was the following recipe from the book. I’m sharing it here because I couldn’t agree more with Steve that “If I could use only one marinade for the rest of my life, it would be this one. Redolent with garlic, piquant with fresh lemon juice, and fragrant with extra virgin olive oil, it instantly transports you to the Mediterranean. I can’t think of a single food that doesn’t taste better bathed in it. You can use it as both a marinade and a basting sauce. If marinating poultry, meat, or seafood, simply set a portion aside for basting.” [more]
Friday, June 2, 2000
Introducing Allie D'Augustine--Peach Toast
Let me introduce you to Allie D’Augustine, my summer intern. Allie is going to be a junior at the University of Pennsylvania (that means smart), and we met because her mother, Marcia, is a listener. I love go-getters and Allie went and got me by coming to meet me when I was in Philadelphia for the Book and the Cook this past winter. Her mother swore she knew how to cook, which is essential around here, and Allie assured me she wouldn’t be put off by having to do grunt work, which is also essential. I do it. You do it. Allie wants to be a writer. I hope to dissuade her from becoming a food writer. She can do better. But I find that I am not that influential with my interns. Alexis Brock, who was with me for a whole year and just graduated (with honors) from NYU wants to be a cook or a chef or something in a kitchen. Both her mother, Andrea, and I have tried to convince her that it’s not for her, but as soon as she comes back from her Grand Tour in Europe, she’ll be interning in a Manhattan restaurant kitchen. I can’t reveal which one yet. [more]
