Keeping Italian Traditions

Even traditional Italian food is under the threat of extinction.Younger generations are following trendy food shows and neglecting their family and regional dishes,However thanks to an unlikely savior piatti classic won"t disappear all that soon. Rachel Donadio interviewed this angel of sorts in today's Dining section in today's Wednesday's New York Times.The angel is Daniele DiMichaele who's more in his element deejaying.However he is one of Italy's most fervent food activists.He's concerned that Italy is losing its'culinary heritage thanks to a multitude of factor such as EU or European Union has certain regulations along with the proliferation of processed foods.Also there is the Influence of flashy American influenced cooking shows. he is doing his best to make sure Italians don't forget centuries old dishes. Signore DiMIchaele is encouraging people to send in their recipes to his blog.It's being sponsored by the Bologna Food Association,Artusi, named after Pellegrino Artusi ,the author of Italy's first cookbook. Ms. Donadio went with this DJ who has provided music for some of Europe's and New York City's Ballroom , to the beautiful Amalfi Coast.There they sat down with sausage makers about making traditional hot pepper encrusted sausages.The DJ is from Otranto himself, an area rich in seafood and good recipes .It's also a region that prides itself on handing down dishes through the centuries.The sausage recipe is an artesenal one, not mass produced in a factory but hung to dry, placed outside the kitchen where it was mixed.This is what Italian cooking is about.He is interested in food"s history ,where did it come from ,how was it invented, why did the original cooks choose the ingredients at they did.This curiosity sort of stemmed from his interest in Carlo Petroni's Slow Food Movement of the1980.s Where as Mr Pertroni was interested in excellence, he was more concerned with a dish"s story. Italian cooking has been around since ancient times.Thanks to Daniele DiMichaele, those same dishes will be around and made for years to come.These are the recipes that made Italian food great and he will see that they will continue to do so.

A Fool For April's Fool

What better dessert for today and for the rest of Spring than a fool.This traditionally English dessert is easy to make and a great way for both kids and adults to eat fruit.As the season progresses you can have fresh strawberry, peach or blueberry fool.This is a treat that can also be varied and amped up. Fools have been around since the time of the Plantagenets and got into full gear during Elizabeth I's reign.It's an easy dessert (and I'm surprised it's not common here in the States, given its' easiness). The name possibly could come from the Old French word fouler to crush ,but it's not certain.It's is the perfect dessert for a neophyte cook who is trying to impress. Slice any kind of fruit into small pieces and cook with sugar until semi soft.Fold into already whipped cream ,swirling the fruit mixture into pretty whorls.The English still use currants and gooseberries which tints the cream a lovely deep purple with strands of lavender.The original recipe also says you can use apples but berries work the best.Strawberries are good as are blueberries however you can also try blackberries for more bite or raspberries for a more mellow flavor.Peaches are also good too. You may want to spike them with some sweet white wine when cooking them.Rhubarb is also puller although it does require a lot of cooking and sugar Fools can also be varied in ingredients. a traditional fool may have just custard or a blend of custard and cream well mixed so it's light and airy.What I would do is make zabaglione and stir in fresh cut strawberries or blackberries ,letting these cook as the custard cooks.Don't add overly sweet fruit to this Italian classic.It's already sweet from the sugar and Marsala already added.One of the best British dessert is Eton mess.It originally served at Eton during the summer cricket games, this is mix of meringues,broken into a strawberry fool.You can try this too with chocolate snaps( those one you use for that easy refrigerator log) .For the cream.whip in shaved dark chocolate to the cream.You can also add a surprise layer of homemade fudge sauce too.Again,if you're making this ,stick with cherries,strawberries or raspberries. Make a yummy fool. Not just for today but for the days ahead.Spring will give us some of the best fruit.Use it in a light and airy dessert , perfect for the warm days ahead.

The NY Times Food And Drink Issue

Yesterday's New York Times magazine was chockablock with articles about food.There were a few recipes included but mostly about what's happening on the food and drink scene,Nothing is boring ,that ,s for sure.It's an interesting issue that still can decreed on theTimes site. One of the most impressive was an interview with young culinary star,Flynn McGarry.At the age of fifteen this super nova has created some of the country's most talked about meals . He has created a beet Wellington for one of his in house tasting tables.He is a genius with food and preparing it, taking ordinary ingredients to new heights.He even invites chefs over, such as the Food Channel's Tyler Florence.Even when he was three,McGarry was dressing up as Emeril Lagasse.He started seriously cooking at ten when he grew tired of his mother constantly bringing home take out.It was an interesting insight into the mind of a young cook and also an interesting peek int o his life.There was also another interview with the Danish beer makers who are each other"competition along with a piece on the scrappy chef,Barbara Lynch. The other articles were about the French New Wave of cooking.This is ironic be use the chefs are not French but are transplants from Japan,Australia , America and Britain.These chefs are infusing flavor and spice in a bored Parisian market.British born Matt Ong and his Aussie partner, Hayden Clout have created both a go to eatery as well as a must see wine shop.Japanese born Dai Shinozuka whips up hearty Gallic fare such as baba au rhum with whipped cream and a lobster with a celery remoulade.One of the best articles was a pictorial about what chefs keep in their fridges and crispers.Theirs are not so different from us home chefs with our hoards and troves of special sauces and our half eaten apples or carrots. There are some recipes but surprisingly for cocktails from some of the country,s trendiest bars.They're worth making for a Spring get together with friends.There's a true rum daiquiri a Along with an adult chocolate milk. The New York Times has always been cutting edge when it comes to food and drink.Go online and see what the food issuecis all about.It's eye opening and interesting, as it anticipates upcoming trends.

Light Sauces For Spring

Our cooking definitely change when Spring arrives. There's a decidedly lighter hand when it comes to preparing meals. Gone are the heavy sauces  and in their place, something lighter and airier. The new sauces work well with the onslaught of greens coming out as well as for holiday meals.

One of the best sauces  for Spring is hollandaise. When done right it's light , airy and frothy. Skip those gunky mixes and make your own. It's a simple mix of butter, egg yolks and lemon. It can work well over asparagus which are now in season or over Eggs Benedict in an Easter brunch. You can also create a low calorie version subbing in light mayo for the eggs. Another idea is just melted butter or margarine mixed with Parmesan cheese. This is the perfect topper for asparagus or even spinach.

One of the best meals for warmer weather is chicken with a white wine sauce. This can be served over rice or Bulgar. It's a simple mix of chicken stock and white wine with the addition of shallots.Try a white wine one with quartered vine ripe tomatoes for a lighter sauce over angel hair or spaghettini. Fish  will be served soon, thanks to Holy Week and Passover . Since the flavor is strong, it too needs a delicate sauce for balance,Try a lemony one , made with fresh squeezed Meyer lemons and dill. The base is butter and chicken broth (surprisingly). Use this sauce for pastas too, especially if you add scallops or shrimp to the dish.

This is the start of cooking light. Try these airy sauces to give your meals a fresh, Spring feel. It's a nice welcome to the season.

The Return Of The Chesapeake Oyster

The Chesapeake oyster is making a comeback and in a big way.This gem of the famed bay is now wanted by some of New York's top restaurants.Thanks to a dedicated family the bivalves are now being enjoyed by a new generation of oyster lovers. Julia Moskin had the opportunity to interview the family, namely the two cousins who revived their family's century old oystering business.The Croxton family was one of the main stories in Wednesday's New York Times Dining section.The youngest generation, Travis and Ryan, inherited the Rappahannock Oyster Company and the leases on the Rappahannock River.If they didn't continue in the trade ,the government would take up the leases, and their great grandfather's legacy.Since they do have masters degrees in marketing ,the brothers went to New York's famed Le Berardin restaurant to sell their seafood and were an instant hit.The oysters, also known as the virginica were so rare that the chefs wanted them right then and there.They became can instant hit, Now they also have the Grand Central Oyster Bar as another client.The oysters themselves are perfect, plump and fleshy ,what they were back during the oyster's hey day in the 1870's. Why was there such aversion to the virginica oyster? It thanks to the horrific pollution of the Chesapeake Bay.When the Croxton family first bought the leases, the bay was rich with plankton and phyto nutrients that are the food that oysters need to survive.The waters were clean ,full of lush thriving marsh grass .Unfortunately as the Twentieth Century progressed, fertilizers and insecticides were dumped into it and contaminated the oyster meat. It created a problem with most marine life dying out.This meant no more oysters at any of the top East Coast restaurants.Luckily the Chesapeake Bay Foundation was started in 1967 to protect and restore the bay. There was even talk of introducing a Chinese breed, a disease resistant kind that grows to maturity in just a year.However that was vetoed, because a foreign variety could also bring a host of problems too as it happemded in the South, there with kudzu and the walking catfish. Oyster affectionados have the Croxton cousins to thank for bringing back the industry.Oysters are coming back with their ripe, briny flavor and texture.They are no longer a rarity but a treat.

Bakery Mashups

There's a new phenomenon amongst New York City bakers there days.It's basically a mashbup of two kinds of baked goods.Since Dominique Ansel created the cronut last year. Bakers are vying to create the next biggest sensation.It's like coming out with the newest version of the IPhone.Create some new treat that will put the baker on the culinary map New York Times Dining regular, Julia Moskin ,went on a trek to find all these new hybrids throughout the US,Bakers are getting really creative.The hottest new mix is the cragel, a combo of a bagel wind a croissant.This is coming from San Francisco, from the House of Bagels.Co owner Jenny Puentes is using the flaky buttery dough and first boiling and them baking it.This may be a big seller, especially when paired with different fillings.However some such as the scronut(which actually sounds like a part of the body)is a scone and a donut,topped with a big dollop of icing. The frosting alone may be a turn off.Some pairings work ,some don't .Some bakers do it, not because they truly want to introduce a new treat to the world but because they want to make a ton of money. Luckily most of the new hybrids Ms. Moskin wrote about , and hopefully sampled sound like they have legs.Frog Hollow Farm out of Northern California has given us the scuffin.This is a logical blend of scones and muffins with a dollop of fruit in the middle.This could easily work and it could be a brunch must have in the upcoming years.Macarons, that on point treat right now, is also getting hitched with marshmallows to create a Mallomac, ,a Mallomar with a Gallic twist.Imagine the cookie's bottom ,as a macaron and then topped with homemade fluff .It is then dipped in chocolate..One of the most decadent is just blending two types of the same product.This time, chocolate and almond croissants.The famed chef and baker,Jacques Torres combines rich dark chocolate with almond paste to create what sounds like sheer heaven.For a more down home blend pie and milk are blended together to create a pie shake.More mixes are out there, some involving birthday cakes along with eclairs and ice cream bars. More and more hybrids will probably be born,with their creators trying to earn a fast buck .Some will work and go onto be successful.Some blends may have to go back to the drawing board.It takes time and creativity to give the world a new treat.

Re working Casseroles

One of the most simplest, and sadly, the most boring, is the casserole.Maybe because it has been denigrated to be nothing more than a mix of canned soup and awful ingredients or whether ,we've just made too many of them in the last century, this easy and versatile baked dish has become a culinary joke.All that is changing.The casserole is moving beyond it's soggy, overworked past and re emerging as something exciting and new. Melissa Clark examines this revamped version in today's Wednesday"s Dining section of the New YorkTimes. It now has taken on a sophisticated turn while maintaining it's down home coziness. Gone are layers of mushy noodles and canned tuna.In their place, new ingredients bloom, turning the whole thing around.The dish is becoming as urbane as it's, French cousin, the cassoulet, that Gallic version of duck confit ,spicy sausages, and beans, topped with crunchy,garlicky breadcrumbs.You can create a lasagna or moussaka, both ,technically casseroles, for a family dinner or a welcome party.These dishes don't even have a soup can between them.Most mid century wives were told to make the perfect casserole Using Campbells soup, simply because it was quicker and even healthier.It just created a generation of bad casseroles. Now you can experiment.Take Chef Floyd Cardoz's recipe from his Battery Park City goes back to his childhood in India to create a casserole.He starts out with the typical birwani a baked dish of brown meat, fried onion and a mélange of spices ranging from cardamon to cinnamon, The famed Lower East Side's Fat Radish has a unique turn as well.Chef Nicholas Wilber makes his like a beet crumble.Beets, an unusual vegetable to put in the dish is layered with cheddar and a mix of beet greens and Swiss chard.The crunchy layer is a mix of oatmeal along with hazelnuts and Pecorino cheese and nutmeg.Chef Wilbur also amps up the dish's appeal by making it in copper and stone gratins.Leave the boring brownie pans or glass bakeware in the cabinets.The appeal of the new casserole's all over style serving it in a copper pan or gratin . This also explains the appeal of a Mexican style casserole where style and flavor trumps all.It's a bake of chorizo ,beans and a variety of chiles for a stylish take on the classic tortilla bake. There's a new generation of casseroles ,just waiting to be tried.They're chock full of new ingredients and new flavors. Try them now for a new twist on an old classic.