Personalities Archive

Stracenate, Stracnar and a Cavarola Board

Posted July 18, 2011 By Adri


“…This is another of those great old pastas that must be made manually and is disappearing, but let us revive it…”
Giuliano Bugialli, in Bugialli on Pasta


Cavarola18


Everything old is new again. No jive. Question: What’s a cavarola? Answer: a small rectangular wooden board with a herringbone surface used to make some of the traditional pastas of Italy’s Mezzogiorno. These household boards are relatively small, usually about 12 inches long and 8 inches wide. They can be made from any wood – fruit woods and beech being very commonly used. The herringbone pattern is carved into one side of the board, and is transferred to the pasta with a rolling pin. The resulting pasta is unique, lovely to look at and the irregular surface holds condimenti better than any smooth pasta ever could. Read more… »

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Mint Chocolate Chip Panna Cotta

Posted July 10, 2011 By Adri

Mint Panna Cotta
I guess I should add to this title “…another in an ongoing series.” Who knew that when I started writing I would wind up seeing the world through Panna Cotta colored glasses? Who knew it would come to this – when I think of a flavor I assign it an up or down vote on Panna Cotta worthiness value.

Espresso – check

Blood Orange – check

Buttermilk – check
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Nikon-ML-L3-Remote

I sure hope it’s true what they say about the third time being a charm. Because three times now I have thrown Bart’s pants in the washer after having done a photo shoot, and three times straight the Nikon Remote has been in the pants pocket. Yeah, our very own version of the Timex Torture Test. John Cameron Swayze would have approved. You should have heard the stream of expletives Bart unleashed when I brought it to him after the first episode – all warm and nice from the dryer. Whoa. But miracle of fine engineering and Nikon excellence, it still worked. Yes. But Bart realized he had to be much more careful. Read more… »

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Buttermilk Panna Cotta

Posted June 12, 2011 By Adri

Butter Milk Panna Cotta

When I think of buttermilk I think of Mrs. Schwinger, my piano teacher. In her living room stood two Steinway grand pianos. And on one of them, at the beginning of every lesson Mrs. Schwinger placed a glass of buttermilk. Over the course of the hour, she drained her glass, and taught me how to make the piano sing. It’s been over forty years since my last lesson, but to this day I think of her, the two pianos and her love of music every time I open a carton of buttermilk. Thank you, Mrs. Schwinger for sharing your love and knowledge of music – and buttermilk.
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Created 122 years ago – June 11,1889 – Napoli, Italia

Get your pizza on. Pizza Margherita to be specific. It’s what’s for dinner.

Queen Margharitha di SavoiaYes, 122 years ago – June 11, 1889 Queen Margherita of Savoy’s coach rolled into Napoli, and in her honor pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito of Pizzeria di Pietro e Basta Cosi (translation: “Peter’s Pizzeria and That is Enough”, now called Pizzeria Brandi) baked three pies for her. Read more… »

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Corzetti: The Intagliatore of Chiavari

Posted April 21, 2011 By Adri

Corzetti TitleC

This is Part 2 of a series – The Corzetti Files
For detailed information and photo essays on how to make corzetti, along with recipes, please delve further into
The Corzetti Files:

Edible Art, The Corzetti Files – Part 1

The Intagliatore of Chiavari, The Corzetti Files – Part 2

Corzetti agli Spinaci con Gorgonzola, The Corzetti Files – Part 3

Where to Buy Corzetti Stamps, The Corzetti Files – Part 4

Corzetti Stampati – and a Giveaway! The Corzetti Files – Part 5



A Gold Coin
Coin Reverse The pasta we know as Corzetti started with a gold coin, the Genovino d’oro. Rome had fallen, and the curtain of The Dark Ages had descended over western Europe. Trade has fueled society for centuries, and it is trade that brought gold coins and light back to western Europe. The gold came across the Sahara from north Africa and Genoa’s harbor assured her of preeminent mercantile stature. King Conrad granted Genoa the right to mint her own gold coinage in 1252, and these pieces of almost pure gold summon up the history and wealth of The Most Serene Republic of Genoa.

 

 

Coin ObverseComing in at about 3.5 grams, the earliest of these coins feature the city gate and to honor King Conrad and his participation in the Crusades, a Crusader cross on the reverse. The coins are covered with a beautiful relief. One of the most famous coins honors the first Doge of Genoa, Simone Boccanegra, and later coins honor subsequent families and Doges. Today one must visit a museum or be fortunate enough to know a collector to view these coins, but with Liguria’s gift to the world of the pasta known as corzetti stampati (kohr-TSEHT-tee stahm-PAH-tee), the legacy of these glorious coins is alive and well and available to us all.

 

A Piece of Wood
I have an ongoing love affair with handmade pasta, and this one captivated me from the start. Imagine my delight when I discovered its history, how it was made, and that I could do it at home. All I needed was a corzetti stamp, the two piece tool that cuts and imprints the pasta. By the way, you may come across pasta in shops, in recipes or on menus called croxetti, crosetti or curzetti – these are all names for corzetti. Read more… »

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