l'alimento — Food

~KitchenManager Sun, Jul 19, 1998 (10:23) seed

that Italian food thang...what's your favorite dishes, recipes, regions, styles, etcetera?

~mikeg Sun, Jul 19, 1998 (13:07) #1

i make a v. nice lasagne, but i'm looking for suggestions on how to improve it. also, how does one make spaghetii-bolognese more exciting? hints? tips?

~riette Sun, Jul 19, 1998 (15:03) #2

Afraid I only know Mum's boer recipes. No Italian.

~KitchenManager Sun, Jul 19, 1998 (15:18) #3

post the recipes, Mike, then I can make suggestions...

~mikeg Sun, Jul 19, 1998 (15:57) #4

lasagne: minced beef (enough for one person, not sure how much really. maybe 125g?) one can of plum tomatoes (yeah yeah, tins, but i'm a poor student :) garlic dash of salt freshly ground black pepper pinch of sugar mixed mediterranean herbs all fried together then added to the lasagne dish with cheese sauce, pasta etc. suggestions?

~KitchenManager Mon, Jul 20, 1998 (00:13) #5

my initial response is a dab of butter, some minced onion, and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes... but, any of the following will work (I don't know your likes and dislikes, so...) FATS a dab of butter a drizzle of a good olive oil VEGETABLES minced onion minced scallions minced shallots minced celery fresh or dried mushrooms grated carrots diced red bell pepper (preferably roasted) SPICES pinch of sweet paprika pinch of crushed red pepper flakes pinch of ground white pepper HERBS additional oregano fresh basil fresh flat leaf (Italian) parsley ETCETERA splash of wine (white or red, your preference, should be full-bodied) anything sound good yet?

~KitchenManager Mon, Jul 20, 1998 (00:15) #6

btw, what did you mean by cheese sauce?

~riette Mon, Jul 20, 1998 (01:00) #7

Men exchanging recipes - this is a definite first for me.

~mikeg Mon, Jul 20, 1998 (16:59) #8

i'm not very into vegetables in my lasagne, but i could try those in spaghetti sauce. i'll try the fat thing, although the meat itself is quite fatty, and both butter and olive oil are v. expensive in the UK. Especially Olive Oil! It's outrageous! the herbs and spices sound divine, and when i'm not so poor i'll definitely invest. and the wine similarly...mmm...it never occurred to me to put wine in before. *schlurp* :-))) cheese sauce? lasagne: meat, pasta, cheese sauce, all in layers.

~KitchenManager Tue, Jul 21, 1998 (00:04) #9

what's in the cheese sauce? (you could also add 3 to 5 g of minced pancetta... or brush a layer of pesto onto the pasta...)

~mikeg Tue, Jul 21, 1998 (04:07) #10

it's just a packaged sauce, since I don't have the time/inclication/money to make my own. It's very nice, actually. i'm not a pesto man,I would probably leave that out. What's pancetta?

~KitchenManager Tue, Jul 21, 1998 (08:27) #11

in it's shortest definition: Italian bacon finally figured out where I was confused with the cheese sauce: most Americans use a cheese blend of some sort and meat sauce...

~autumn Wed, Jul 22, 1998 (15:36) #12

Are we talking Cheez Whiz here, Mike? (*shudder*)

~riette Thu, Jul 23, 1998 (01:11) #13

He's a student - that explains it!

~autumn Fri, Jul 24, 1998 (21:35) #14

Oh, yeah! I am now applauding Mike for cooking any lasagna. (clap, clap) Good for you, Mike, in the midst of fast food and vending machine hell.

~riette Sat, Jul 25, 1998 (01:10) #15

Absolutely!

~mikeg Tue, Sep 29, 1998 (20:51) #16

Belated response to this! Today I cooked a bolognaise and it was the *best* I've ever managed. I've been trying hardeer ever since I had one that a friend made that was out of this world, and finally I got closer to that level of greatness today! Yay! The trick, I think, was putting in a beef stock cube and putting a bit more sugar in than I noramlly would.

~riette Wed, Sep 30, 1998 (06:16) #17

Sugar and beef stock????? �horrified gasp�

~mikeg Wed, Sep 30, 1998 (12:58) #18

it was *gorgeous*, it really was. I'd recommend it to everyone :-)

~riette Wed, Sep 30, 1998 (13:09) #19

And who recommended it to you?

~mikeg Wed, Sep 30, 1998 (14:54) #20

It was how my friend made his, and it was superb. Tonight I'm having Cajun chicken and rice which should be nice :)

~stacey Wed, Sep 30, 1998 (17:44) #21

had leftover 'clean out the fridge casserole' rice, green chiles, monterey jack cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms and garlic... mixed together only slightly better than haphazardly, baked and eaten

~mikeg Wed, Sep 30, 1998 (18:07) #22

sounds wild, stace :))

~stacey Wed, Sep 30, 1998 (18:16) #23

the fact I regularly clean out my fridge or the fact I insist on cooking all the odds and ends together?

~mikeg Wed, Sep 30, 1998 (18:17) #24

the odds and ends together part - i never can do that. too bloody picky...guess it's about time i grew up :) *but* I did have a Chinese for the first time ever recently, so I'm still pretty impressed with myself at the moment :)

~riette Thu, Oct 1, 1998 (00:54) #25

HA-HA!!!! Your first Chinese meal, and you're 20? That is for me the equivalent of remaining a virgin until one's 50! Do you at least make use of all the wonderful Indian restaurants you have in England?

~autumn Thu, Oct 1, 1998 (14:00) #26

Soho = curry

~mikeg Thu, Oct 1, 1998 (18:18) #27

I actually had an Indian about a week later...but it was only tandoori chicken, which I've had before...I've got to say that I'm not very experimental with food, and I'm rather childishly picky. But, I'm trying to "branch out" a bit more :))

~terry Thu, Oct 1, 1998 (23:17) #28

She gets pretty wild cleanin' that fridge!

~riette Fri, Oct 2, 1998 (04:37) #29

Who??? And what sort of things do you like, Mike? Pastas?

~terry Fri, Oct 2, 1998 (06:19) #30

Stacey, that's who.

~stacey Fri, Oct 2, 1998 (07:08) #31

huh? (i must've really lost this thread!)

~riette Sat, Oct 3, 1998 (04:56) #32

No, Terry, Mike likes Michelles!

~riette Sat, Oct 3, 1998 (04:57) #33

Oh, no, now I understand! Silly me! You were answering my 'who?'. OH!

~mikeg Sat, Oct 3, 1998 (05:32) #34

Hehe...good one, Riette :) I am a big pasta fan, yeah, but I am getting in to other things :-)

~stacey Sat, Oct 3, 1998 (11:13) #35

and her name is...

~mikeg Sat, Oct 3, 1998 (15:08) #36

lol! :-) Now don't be rude, stacey! However, I am feeling horny as hell today - it's terrible, cos I'm not going to see her for a fortnight...*damn!* Trust me to get horny now :)

~stacey Sat, Oct 3, 1998 (16:21) #37

Perhaps making lasagna would help to burn off some of that "energy"?

~riette Sun, Oct 4, 1998 (01:30) #38

Or even better: a quick wank!

~KitchenManager Sun, Oct 4, 1998 (16:54) #39

just not into the pasta water...

~stacey Sun, Oct 4, 1998 (19:05) #40

or it might add that extra "pow" to your dish!

~riette Mon, Oct 5, 1998 (02:20) #41

Spaghetti Spermoso....

~mikeg Tue, Oct 6, 1998 (20:22) #42

Y.U.K!!!!!!! I just wrote her a sexy letter, instead :-) You lot are more disgusting than me, and I thought *I* was a pervert :-)

~KitchenManager Tue, Oct 6, 1998 (23:48) #43

Someone called?

~riette Wed, Oct 7, 1998 (03:29) #44

How do sexy letters go? 'My Darling, I wish I could give you a little breast pummel....' And then?

~autumn Wed, Oct 7, 1998 (15:38) #45

Aren't they sick, Mike?

~mikeg Fri, Oct 9, 1998 (11:28) #46

*grin* ;

~MarciaH Sun, Jul 4, 1999 (22:30) #47

wer, you were right!

~KitchenManager Mon, Jul 5, 1999 (01:17) #48

about?

~MarciaH Mon, Jul 5, 1999 (01:21) #49

all Boards leading back to the same topic. (Figure it out!)

~KitchenManager Mon, Jul 5, 1999 (01:24) #50

that! I tried to warn you...

~MarciaH Mon, Jul 5, 1999 (01:26) #51

This and Pizza were my downfall today. Yes, you did.

~KitchenManager Mon, Jul 5, 1999 (01:33) #52

just join in...we all take turns, don't you see...what would your favorite Italian meal consist of?

~MarciaH Mon, Jul 5, 1999 (01:39) #53

Cannelloni(sp?) stuffed with ricotta, salad of mixed greens and tomatoes and onions with vinegar and oil dressing on the side. This is without thinking deeply. Tomorrow might bring new insight into my taste in this department.

~KitchenManager Mon, Jul 5, 1999 (01:50) #54

hmmm...

~MarciaH Mon, Jul 5, 1999 (01:55) #55

Is that a good hmmm... or a bad hmmm...? It has been a while. I make excellent spaghetti. People who do not eat it come here for mine!

~stacey Mon, Jul 5, 1999 (15:13) #56

I'll be there! (I normally DO eat spaghetti but I am now intrigued) ... where exactly do you live?

~MarciaH Mon, Jul 5, 1999 (16:20) #57

Hilo, Hawaii - on the Big Island where the volcano is always erupting =)

~KitchenManager Mon, Jul 5, 1999 (23:27) #58

that hmmm indicated a lack of anything else to say at the moment...

~MarciaH Tue, Jul 6, 1999 (21:10) #59

Ah! Yes! We all have our moments, and as host of this board, you are entitled to more of them than we.

~KitchenManager Tue, Jul 6, 1999 (21:20) #60

actually, I'm entitled to maintain as many moments as possible in rapid succession...

~KitchenManager Tue, Jul 6, 1999 (21:22) #61

whoever their author or owner... (although, the more the better!!!)

~MarciaH Tue, Jul 6, 1999 (21:50) #62

So I would gather...ah, but we cannot all be hosts and we are not all cute, so you get mine!

~KitchenManager Tue, Jul 6, 1999 (23:43) #63

you can be a host...

~MarciaH Tue, Jul 6, 1999 (23:50) #64

I thought the idea was to help Terry...!

~riette Tue, Jul 13, 1999 (12:54) #65

ha-ha! Some hosts know exactly what you're talking about.... No wonder the poor man is frequently driven to nekkid girls and booze. Yeah, Kitchen Man, I know just what you're going to say - it doesn't take inspiration does it? Okay, stupid point. I'll just sit down, eath my roasted jellyfish and shut up.

~MarciaH Tue, Jul 13, 1999 (17:42) #66

Ree, check out http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/browse/geo/all

~KitchenManager Tue, Jul 13, 1999 (18:05) #67

and, Marcia is now a host too... ah, Ree, your back and picking on me already... seems just like old times doesn't it?

~riette Wed, Jul 14, 1999 (13:22) #68

It's great, Marcia. I LUUUUUV your background. Is geography what you do for a living? Wer, just doing my job - - - see, I know what keeps you happy.... �grin�

~MarciaH Wed, Jul 14, 1999 (14:00) #69

(Ummmm...so do I....) I am a researcher and editor and volunteer (disaster relief and fundraising for the UH at Hilo. I would have become a tasty and saucy (keeping on topic) Geologist had I been able handle the math, so I became a tech writer instead. My son is a Geologist. My degree was in Earth Sciences and Journalism.

~MarciaH Wed, Jul 14, 1999 (14:02) #70

BTW, thanks for the kind comments. Wer asked what I wanted for wallpaper and I sent him off with chisel and hammer for grey limestone. He came back with polished marble, and I was in love!

~riette Thu, Jul 15, 1999 (09:49) #71

Too cool! That must be such an interesting career. My brother, who still lives in Africa, is studying to become a tour guide. It involves alot of geology and geography and stuff like that. I have no idea about any of it, but he tells me the most interesting stuff.

~MarciaH Thu, Jul 15, 1999 (23:21) #72

Your brother will be put on point duty sometime - just as my son was when he was a Park Ranger for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. That meant, when he posted out in the field to answer tourists' questions, the most common one was, "Where is the eruption?" Obscuring the entire sky behind him was a cinder cone with a huge fountain of molten lava hurling itself into the sky and down the flanks of the cone with the most tremendous roar. His job was to turn and point to the eruption. Thus, point duty!

~riette Fri, Jul 16, 1999 (16:13) #73

Gawd!!! I hope people will never ask my brother stupid things like that. He will not take kindly to it; afraid tact doesn't exactly run in the family...

~MarciaH Fri, Jul 16, 1999 (16:29) #74

That is just the beginning of the fun things he will be asked. David was asked if the Island was completely surrounged by water; If the ocean on the other side was the same one as on this side; and when he was a Ranger at the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, someone asked him if the ship's bell had floated to the surface or if they had to go down to get it. (Realize a Battleship's bell is a big solid bronze item weighing a great deal.) One must stifle the need to say anything untoward and just make me tal notes for discussion when the rangers all get together to swap stories! Tell your brother to save money on charm school and learn to say "fantastic" instead of Bull$h**

~riette Sat, Jul 17, 1999 (00:38) #75

Good God, are people really that stupid??? It would be hilarious if it weren't so damned pathetic. I mean, why bother to put in those years of study if people are going to ask one nonsense like that?? I'll be sure to tell him though - he's bound to break into fits of laughter.

~KitchenManager Sat, Jul 17, 1999 (08:56) #76

are people really that stupid...if only it wasn't so...

~MarciaH Sat, Jul 17, 1999 (11:50) #77

To be charitable, we are a tourist destination, and along with their problems and work, vacationers usually leave their brains behind. We try to keep them from hurting themselves like benevolent spirits.

~KitchenManager Sat, Jul 17, 1999 (12:01) #78

can we have a vote for natural selection please?

~riette Sat, Jul 17, 1999 (15:46) #79

I've never believed in that. The very fact that I am alive proves that selection has nothing to do with Nature, but everything to do with printing errors.

~MarciaH Sat, Jul 17, 1999 (16:00) #80

If natural selection means too weak to breed, I'll agree with wer, but these touri (plural of touriststs)either did not know about their being selected for the current list of Darwin Awards, or were not literate. Scarily enough, these people were being followed by tubby little miniature copies of themselves. Ree, Dear, let us do that dictionary!

~KitchenManager Sat, Jul 17, 1999 (18:22) #81

maybe ya'll can teach somebody something useful that they ain't learned yet!

~MarciaH Sat, Jul 17, 1999 (18:28) #82

That is precisely the attitude I take and that is why I took on that Geo conference. I keep thinking no one is beyond teaching and inspiring, so I keep plugging at it.

~riette Sun, Jul 18, 1999 (14:57) #83

Good thing, Marcia. I don't know of a single useful thing that I could possibly teach another person. 'Part from that plugging-thang, that is...

~KitchenManager Sun, Jul 18, 1999 (15:12) #84

?

~MarciaH Sun, Jul 18, 1999 (15:19) #85

Ree, Dear, I am sure you could teach a lot...you have a huge conference on art, and if men were not reading this, too, I could suggest some other things in which I consider you an expert. I, on the other hand have rocks in my head...

~KitchenManager Sun, Jul 18, 1999 (15:35) #86

wrong gender again...

~MarciaH Mon, Jul 19, 1999 (00:24) #87

No dear, you are just a tad too young to know these things...we would not like to wander too far afield from the ante pasto and linguini.

~MarciaH Mon, Jul 19, 1999 (00:26) #88

Oh...if my opinion matters, you are precisely the correct gender!

~riette Mon, Jul 19, 1999 (02:57) #89

Whatever that may be! Wer is such a feminist, one can never tell.

~MarciaH Mon, Jul 19, 1999 (11:59) #90

I am pretty sure I know....and he is the perfect gender and what a specimen he is (as much as I can tell from half way across the Pacific!) Just let me asssure you he is not of the XX variety.

~stacey Mon, Jul 19, 1999 (12:03) #91

now... how exactly am I to interpret those Xs?? *grin*

~MarciaH Mon, Jul 19, 1999 (12:26) #92

*Grin* knowingly. Out here they are chromosomes. Other places we can define the Xs as we wish to. (I wish the host would awaken and talk to us. It is lonely in here without his pithy remarks!)

~stacey Mon, Jul 19, 1999 (12:30) #93

oh l'alimento of our conference... awaken... awaKEN... AWAKEN...

~riette Mon, Jul 19, 1999 (15:34) #94

He can DO that??? �grin�

~MarciaH Mon, Jul 19, 1999 (16:34) #95

I shall investigate and report back....*grin*

~stacey Mon, Jul 19, 1999 (17:06) #96

*cackle* (now he's just to embarassed to comment!)

~MarciaH Mon, Jul 19, 1999 (18:06) #97

I think it is more that he is working today and has not posted at all...but, when he gets home I am sure we will hear from him *giggle*

~KitchenManager Mon, Jul 19, 1999 (22:35) #98

thank you, ladies! can each of you see my swelled head from your current residence? (and with help like this, I can do just about anything!!!)

~stacey Tue, Jul 20, 1999 (09:44) #99

but you may need help reducing the swelling???

~KitchenManager Tue, Jul 20, 1999 (10:56) #100

I'm sure it will go away of it's own accord...