BF took over my dinner plan again. Didn’t turn out great, but it really wasn’t his fault - the corn I bought was once again very bland. I was going to use spaghetti with whole corn kernels and bacon. He pureed the corn and used orecchiete. It wasn’t half bad, just not what I’d envisioned, but that blah corn ruined it. He made up for it with little roasted yellow pepper roll-ups with anchovies inside - too salty for him so they were all mine. And a nice green salad using this delicious creamy cheese in olive oil i’ve been hoarding.
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BF can cook for us any day!
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Gorgeous. Perfectly cooked . Double olive martini . Right in my wheelhouse. 
Cheers .
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Indeed! And @NotJrvedivici, to call these
mac and cheese and creamed spinach puts you on a different planet from mine.
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Reverse seared New York strip, middle eastern of various persuasions green beans stewed with tomatoes, and a crustless quiche/southern tomato pie with a huge nod to Vivian Howard.
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Chicken curry and rice tonight, with crispy okra on the side.
The okra was excellent for being frozen (looked awful and huge) and roasted.
The curry was… experimental but tasty. Potatoes for the win, always.
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Oh My English writing !
Ragu for Lasagne …
5 tablespoons Italian Evoo
3 tablesps. butter
1 carrot finely chopped
1 celery stalk finely chopped
1 garlic clove thinly sliced
guanciale (1/4 kilo) (substitute appropriate: Pancetta)
1/2 kilo ground veal
1/ 2 kilo ground pork
1 cup whole milk
1 cup dry white wine
1 tsp. salt
1 / 2 tsp black pepper
1/ 4 cup tomato paste made from tomatoes de-seeded and peeled
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oh my lord i’d need a cigarette after that!
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Definitely better than what I can manage in German, French, or Swedish. In all my vocabulary is limited to particular subject matter and pretty rough.
We should appreciate the effort of our fellow HOers for whom English is a second or third language. Not only are you sharing cooking perspectives but in a non-native tongue. Thank you. Besides - you are here to keep me company when I get up in the morning. grin
As for our British friends, two countries separated by a common language.
Americans may dominate HO but we should not forget we do have an international reach.
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Thank you for the compliment. English is actually my 3rd language; as Castillian Spanish or Castellano is my 1st and Catalan is my 2nd. Then French and Italian are 4th and 5th !
However, speaking and reading for me, are much easier than writing !
My husband and I (whole office) have on-going English classes. Our´s are advanced and focused on Conversation … We both have Proficiency Cambridge Certificates.
My parents as well. They required English for their business … We all attended English Schools, not state Spanish schools. So, speaking and reading are common for us. My husband studied at the American School. His English is also top notch.
The hardest part of English are the wide range of “COLLOQUIAL” expressions … We watch native English films in English with English sub-titles. We pause when we do not know a vocabulary word or expression or idiom (proverb) and look it up !!!
We use our English alot together.
Some of the members, are challenging for us to understand as they use colloquial expressions that we are both not accustomed to hearing or using.
HA HA HA … Yes, I check H.O. daily between 6am - 7am … Then I am off to office or gym or boat !!! Depending where we are …
Have a lovely and healthy summer.
Ciao.
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My sister speaks Tibetic. I don’t know which version. She has translated in the past for the Dalai Lama whose English is quite good but who also struggles with colloquialisms - that was my sister’s role, to whisper in his ear.
I learned French as a child and German in high school. I’m poor in both now except for narrow technical vocabularies. I can maneuver in Swedish as long as we’re talking about sailing. Last year I learned that I remembered more than I thought from my grandfather as a particularly emotional event led to some creative swearing in Russian and Yiddish. As Americans go I guess that isn’t too bad.
I am however fluent in Fortran, C, Java, Perl, Javascript and proficient in a few others. grin
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While you can get a great steak anywhere if you are willing to pay the price(s), but the sides are what makes a great steakhouse. This was pretty darn up there based on those sides, soup and salad. (that weren’t pictured(!
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I have a dear friend who wrote a book called: The Success of the False Italian Cuisine.
So, he travelled across North America and uncountable countries in The E.U. and Non E.U. Europe and Asia.
People who are not Italian natives in Italy, employ ingredients available to them in their country of residence and these dishes are far from authentic Italian dishes in Italy.
I am sure, “some of them” may be very tasty, however, they are American or Tibetan or Australian but they are not “Native Italian” … As you are well aware.
Aubergine is very versatile and there is a dish called Melanzane di Lecce, from Puglia on the Adriatic. This dish is an Eggplant Lasagne without the “parmigiano” & without the Lasagne sheet pasta …
Why ? Because Reggiano Parmigiano is very expensive and it is from Emilia Romagna. So, the Puglians use their products to create a dish !
All regions tend to create a dish based on their raw materials !!!
I love aubergine !!!
So, it is quite interesting. We have in Spain, Italy and France very STRONG LEGAL DENOMINATION OF ORIGIN LAWS … SO, one cannot produce for SALE, a product not approved by the Regional and National Governments. One can grow something but ONLY use it for their own table !!!
You can notice this when you buy real Italian products … Or Spanish or French.
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My sister-in-law’s parents emigrated from Genoa. The mother was a fabulous cook, making all of her pastas by hand, wonderful vegetable dishes. Many incorporated cheese, but she, too, could not afford herself the read Reggiano Parmigiano, but instead used Dry Jack, or if splurging Grana Padano. Her dishes never suffered for this.
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That stands to reason and applies to most all cuisine. French, Chinese, Mongolian, Thai, Indian, etc…. Preparing dishes that call for exotic ingredients will differ in flavor than the native country/location. Heck, the same dish can vary within the same country as they are deliberately modified to match local taste preferences.
An Italian going to America or South Korea to eat Italian is as amusing to me as an American visiting Beijing to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken then expecting both to taste the same as their home town.
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I understand what you are trying to say, but specifically about your example: fried chicken in Beijing is very close to fried chicken in America. Mac and cheese is probably a better analogy.
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Grand Padano is from Lombardia … And it is produced primarily for exporting in the E.U. and North America.
We prefer the 50 month or 36 month old aged cheese. (Reggiano parmigiano) … We treasure it dearly.
Gran Padana may be good – however, I had only tasted it a thousand years ago at an Italian Food & Wine trade fair, and it is a cheese that is only 12 months old and sometimes 18 months old …
So, it is like comparing a Persian Melon to an apple … Big difference.
Oh my … Ha Ha …
What is “Dry Jack” ???
Never came across this …
