What We’re Reading: Polenta Lasagna, Chiacchiere, Arancini Veneziani, Olives Ascolane, Art of Sushi
Jiro Dream of Sushi – My cousin Mike pointed out this brilliant film about the passion and love behind one sushi artisan’s trade,occupation, and obsession. The film centers on 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered to be the world’s greatest sushi chefs. The film is beautiful and a must see if you’re into food and take pride in doing great things with your hands and soul!
NY Times Food and Wine – Melissa Clark, who has a standing recipe column in the venerable Food section discusses making lasagna with polenta and, gasp, pasta. Our first reaction is, “why would you do that” but after reading the article we wouldn’t mind trying a bite or two (the idea of having multiple forms of starch in lasagna is confusing).
Calabria From Scratch – In my opinion, one of the finest cookbooks available on Calabrian cuisine is Rosetta Costantino’s My Calabria: Rustic Family Cooking from Italy’s Undiscovered South. Rosetta also posts on her web site on occasion and her recipe on chiacchiere or fried pieces of dough with powdered sugar look terrific. Chiacchiere are made throughout Italy and I spent many youthful days ruining my lunch appetite by gorging on these delicious delicacies.
Saveur – Who knew the Venetians could make arancini like this; see this great recipe for Arancini Veneziani (Venetian Rice Fritters) which look a lot like the rice balls found in Calabria and Sicilia (though smaller and missing a few ingredients).
Mangiandobene – We’ve made meals out of olives here at Scordo and we are in love with the ingredient. Olive ascolane is a recipe which features stuffed olives that are breaded and friend! The recipe is from Le Marche region of Italy and they are often consumed with pre-dinner drinks at bars throughout Italy (and they are one of the small reasons Italians are so happy!).
