[Italiancook]

KAF Easy Cinnamon Bread and Chocolate-Banana Bars. After I ate two of the bars, I had a pang of consciousness. I'm really not supposed to eat chocolate. I gave them all to hubby instead of putting in the freezer as planned. Next time I have 3 ripe bananas, I'm going to make the recipe without chocolate and see how they turn out.

[Italiancook]

S_Wirth, I'm in a hurry to unload and load the dishwasher, so I'll just quickly say: I grew up on an orchard. I have no idea how many acres. As a child walking all around it, the acreage seemed huge. In actuality, I'm sure it was not. Several types of apples, three types of cherries, peaches that usually didn't survive the last frost, pears that did, and strawberries. I also had a river, a creek and lots of woods to explore. Wouldn't trade those explorations for anything earthly. Married shorter time than you, but to the same man. Off to the dishes!

[Italiancook]

We haven't officially met yet, S_Wirth, but I join the others in wishing you Happy Birthday! In honor of your special day, I posted a recipe for Chocolate-Banana Bars as a gift to you.

[Italiancook]

Mike, why do you bake your lasagna before you freeze it? Does it have to do with using fresh pasta sheets? Don't you have to re-bake it in order to heat it up for serving?

When I make Manicotti, I freeze it after prep, without cooking it. I put it in the fridge the day before serving. The day of, I fully bake it. I do this whether I used store-bought Manicotti shells or made crepes to wrap the filling in.

I've never made lasagna for the freezer.

[Italiancook]

RiversideLen, I appreciate the tip about using extra sauce. I'm sure I'll try the no boil sheets just to be able to say I have.

Mike, your posts inspired me to read the pasta attachments' instruction book last night. I guess I'll have to order semolina from KAF as there's no store around me that carries it. This morning, I managed to put the pasta roller on the Kitchenaid. I guess I can use these attachments without one-on-one instruction.

Your experience shared here will guide me. Thanks!

[Italiancook]

Laura, I'm so glad to "meet" someone who remembers wonderful pork roasts. Do you recall what cut of pork your mom used?

At Christmastime, I heard about a tamale-maker who said that there wasn't enough fat on the pork for her tamales. I imagine she's not the only one.

Thanks for telling me about heritage pig breeds. Had never heard of them. I Googled and found such a farm 2 counties away. I also found 2 farms closer that sell pork to consumers but aren't advertised as heritage. Next week, when I have more time, I'm going to call these places. I'm willing to drive the distance to replicate mother's-in-law pork roast and will probably end up at the heritage farm.

As you suggested, Laura, I'll also ask at the farmer's market over the weekend.

Mike, I wonder if pork sirloin roast was what mom-in-law used. I hope the farmer's can lead me to the right product.

[Italiancook]

cwdesign, thanks for your learned advice on the no boil sheets.

Mike, I appreciate your insight into the Kitchenaid recipe. I haven't opened the box yet to find it. Someone is coming to my house in June to show me how to use this and how to mix the pasta dough in the stand mixer. I'm not mechanically-inclined, so I want someone to walk me through this first. I envision that I wouldn't be able to attach the rollers/cutters. Do you make your dough in the mixer or by hand?

I've made pasta many times, mixing it by hand and using the hand-crank pasta roller. The countertop I have now won't attach the hand-cranker. I decided while ill that if I survived, I'd plunk down the money for the Kitchenaid attachments.

Thanks for the info about how to process fresh lasagna sheets. I wouldn't have thought of any of that.

[Italiancook]

Mike, I "flash froze" 15 of your cookies. I thawed out 4 in the microwave today, using 20-second intervals. Mike, freezing them made them even better than they were the day they were baked. I understand now why you said they were better the next day. Thanks, again, for the recipe.

[Italiancook]

I baked Mike's Oatmeal Crisps. I was going to give them to my butcher and his colleagues as a thank-you gift. But hubby liked them so much I gave them to him. He was sold on the crispiness. I liked that they aren't full of chocolate chips. I have to severely limit chocolate now for medical reasons. I'll make these again sometime for a taste of chocolate without overdoing it. The recipe says not to use quick oats. Nevertheless, I did. All I had. They were quick, not instant and seemed to work just fine.

Also baked KAF Classic Whole Wheat Bread. I wanted to try their Baker's Special Dry Milk. Haven't cut it yet, but it's obvious I let it over-rise. The recipe said to allow 1-2 hours for final rise. Because it had taken 2 hours the first time I tried this recipe with regular dry milk, I set timer for 2 hours and walked away. Big mistake.

I can press on the top crust and push it down. There's a gap between the bread and the crust. I realize now I should have tested the dough with my finger long before 2 hours. The Special Dry Milk does make the dough rise. I'm going to have to make another loaf to be certain of my theory.

[Italiancook]

Again, I tried to replicate my mother's-in-law pork roast. Another failure. My mother-in-law lived out-of-state from us. On Sundays when we'd visit, she'd cook a pork roast dinner. It was the most succulent roast I'd ever tasted. Real fatty and juicy.

I never asked her what type of roast she bought. It was so fatty that I couldn't justify having it on a regular basis. I served pork loin, instead.

Last year, I told the butcher I wanted to make her pork roast. What type of roast should I order? He informed me that I'd probably never replicate her roast, because they're breeding out the fat. As a try, he sold me a roast on the bone, but I forget what cut of pork it was. No luck. It was way too lean to be mother's-in-law roast.

Yesterday, I tried again with a tied, boneless pork shoulder. Not her roast, either.

I give up the quest unless someone here has a suggestion for a fatty pork roast.

[Italiancook]

Mike, apologies -- I did not try the link. When I used the link to your previous WSJ article, I was denied access because I'm not a subscriber. Unless I didn't read the message correctly.

Yes, the link to this article does work for me. Thanks. And thanks for the info you provided in your post.

[Italiancook]

Mike, I don't subscribe to the WSJ, so I can't access this article. Curious though -- does it say where to buy freshly milled flour? The few mills I know of are tourist attractions, not working mills.

Thanks.

[Italiancook]

Nina, I also hope Gina G joins us here. I don't do Facebook and won't be involved with that group. I'm always excited to meet Italians. I like to discuss what part of Italy they're from and what the cooking traditions are there.

My mother-in-law was first generation American. Hubby and I visited the town in Italy from which her parents had emigrated.

Just this week, my sister-in-law and I wondered what sections of Italy add sugar to their tomato sauce. My mother-in-law never did, and neither do I. We know some Italians do. If Gina joins us here, maybe she can shed some light on this.

[Italiancook]

wonky, I am not an original cook. In the decades I've been cooking, I've probably created only a few recipes. Those are Vegetable Beef Soup, two types of tomato sauce, Eggplant Parm and Veal Scallopini. Haven't made the veal for a long time, because of the cost of veal. I'm a good cook only because I've been fortunate enough to have purchased excellent cookbooks.

The three Italian cookbooks I use were on Amazon last time I checked, but at high prices. Don't know if they still have them, but their titles are:

1. The Italian Family Recipes from The Romagnoli's Table by Margaret & G. Franco Romagnoli. This is my go-to cookbook.

2. Giuliano Bugialli's Classic Techniques of Italian Cooking. I learned to make pasta using this cookbook.

3. Papa Rossi's Secrets of Italian Cooking by Victor Bennet with Antonia Rossi. The recipes I've used from this book are quick and easy.

[Italiancook]

I seem to be technologically ignorant, so I don't know if this comment will post. I haven't been able to figure out how to make a new post on the General Discussion forum. I'm a new member. Not Italian. Whenever I entertain, I cook only Italian food. I prefer to cook Italian for the family. I have three excellent Italian cookbooks written by Italians living in the U.S. Garlic is used in some recipes. Sometimes only a hint of garlic, when a clove is browned in olive oil then removed. I certainly understand how having garlic intolerance would be a problem in our society. I'm amazed, Mike, that you folks have found any Italian foods in the U.S. without garlic.

[Author]

Posts