"italian" news and stories

Photo: Amazon.

'Simple Italian Snacks'
Recipes by Jason Denton and Kathryn Kellinger
Photos by Michael Piazza
William Morrow -- 2008
Buy it on Amazon

Italian food: Unless you grew up noshing on Italian-American fare -- pastas, sauces, meatballs -- this particular Old World cuisine can seem fairly intimidating to newbies, especially in the era of sea urchin and lardo and beef cheek ravioli with squab liver and truffles. (Not that we'd complain if either dish arrived on our doorstep).

So we're grateful to see another book keeping things simple in the home kitchen from Jason Denton, partner in the very popular New York City restaurant Lupa and the man behind panini pioneer 'ino.

Most of his recipes are mercifully simple, relying on a few super-fresh ingredients to comprise menus that still look darn decadent when they hit the table. Look for a seasonal pizza of peach, mascarpone and honey or a gorgeous veal involtini wrapped around arugula and sweet roasted garlic.

See what we tested and whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Sea urchins, on the face of it, are not likely candidates for the title of Sexiest Seafood. Their spiny shells make them look like porcupines of the sea, and give little hint of the outrageously creamy, briny decadence that they contain. But this saffron-hued roe, whose complex, salty-sweet-sharp flavor profile is beloved by chefs, is now making diners swoon.

David Chang has been using sea urchin roe on his menu at Momofuku Ssam Bar and Ko for a long while, and now Michael White is making them the star of his menu at his new restaurant, Marea. A great article tomorrow in WSJ. magazine provides a peek at both White's droolingly anticipated new restaurant and at sea urchin, which is pictured in all of its spiny, golden glory.

Learn about the delectably slimy urchins after the jump.

Mamma mia! This morning's pasta pic has us stuck in noodle-craving mode. Comforting, hearty Italian eats never get old for us Slashfoodies, so we put together a list of our unforgettable, lick-the-plate clean faves from red-sauce trattorias to fancy-pancy eateries.

As with our sandwich post and followup (in which you continue to comment, nominating your beloved sub shops) we want your vote. What'd we miss? Which chicken parm or scallopine di vitelo should we be booking plane tickets to feast upon? Hit us up in the comments, and in a few days we'll post a master list of Slashfoodies' favorites.

Savelli's, Knoxville, Tenn.
Blink and you'll drive right past the hole-in-the-wall where Mama Savelli's Chicken Surprise, bursting with artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes and a creamy lemon sauce, will take up permanent residence in your best food memories bank. We really amore the BYOB policy. -- Gretchen Roberts
Vetri, Philadelphia, Pa.
Marc Vetri's cozy 40-seater has its share of naysayers, but with impeccable service and amazing food in a warm, intimate setting there's no better spot to celebrate a special occasion. -- Mike Pomranz
Franny's, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Known for its thin-crusted tomato, mozzarella and sausage pizza, this petite Brooklyn joint also whips up silky pastas with natural local ingredients like spinach and farm fresh eggs. -- Max Shrem
Augustino's, Hoboken, N.J.
Double-thick sautéed pork chops topped with hot and sweet peppers cause jaws to hit tables. We didn't come up for air until our plates were spotless. -- Sarah Christine (aka The Hungry Bride)
Convivio, New York, N.Y.
A well-crafted love letter to Southern Italy that is refined without being fussy with dishes like expertly charred octopus and malloreddus -- a weird, wonderful marriage of sea urchin, crab and gnocchi. -- Rebecca Flint Marx

...the final three after the jump!

Today for lunch, my sister and I did something we don't do very often. We went to an Italian restaurant. Italian just isn't one of my favorite cuisines. After a minute of looking at the menu, she asked me what cannelloni was, at which point I realized I had no idea. Imagine my surprise when I got home and found this post from Baker's Banter. It's a how-to on Sara Moulton's (Sara's Secrets) version of cannelloni, which uses crepes rather than pasta sheets. It looks incredibly delicious, and would probably make a great, easy, special dinner.

According to this article in Wikipedia, cannelloni can be made with either pasta sheets or crepes and still be considered correct. It was really interesting to learn about this dish, especially since it found me rather than the other way around. It occurred to me that cannelloni is similar to baked enchiladas. Now I'm curious if there are similar recipes from other cuisines. What do you think?

The biga is a traditional Italian preferment. It's a less hydrated mixture and so it's much stiffer than most of the other preferments. I get asked a lot how it is that the biga is a stiff preferment when Italy is known for its really well hydrated breads like ciabtta. My answer is that Ciabatta is one among many different kinds of breads, and you don't use the same preferments for each one.

A biga is a less hydrated preferment that uses about half as much water as flour (maybe 60 percent water sometimes), in addition to the small amount of yeast. I generally use a stand mixer to mix a biga, because it's supposed to have a more dough-like consistency. A biga should be left at covered at room temperature for about an hour and then refrigerated overnight. It needs to be allowed to warm up at room temperature for about an hour before being used, and the biga should have a nicely domed top to tell you it's ready. If it looks a little deflated that's OK, but too much deflation is not good.

This type of preferment is more hospitable to the kind of bacteria which produce acetic acid, so it will have a more astringent flavor and smell.