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Topic: Misfits Thread

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Mdot21

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3472 on: June 18, 2020, 11:02:23 AM »
Quote from: Cincydawg on June 18, 2020, 10:12:53 AM
I've tried the more costly canned tomatoes and don't taste a difference.  I often use the "fresh pasta" from WF, unless I'm lazy.

I used to make my own but it wasn't worth the effort IMHO.  I add a bit of oil to the pasta water, I think it makes the pasta less likely to clump.  I also find adding the basil shortly before serving makes a difference, I add some during simmering and then some very late, and provide it chopped for anyone who wants it on top.  I usually do it with ground beef, the mix.  I don't care if bell pepper is American, I like it, so I use it.

I've had spaghetti in Italy before in some small restaurants and it is excellent.  What I make here is different, but I like it obviously.  I used to eat spaghetti Mon-Tue-Wed and on Thursday I'd add chili powder and make chili.

The wife for some obscure reason doesn't like the same thing day after day after day, I don't know what's wrong with her.
You might not be buying the legit san marzanos from Italy. The problem is a lot of them sold at grocery stores are fakes or misleading and not the true authentic thing. You have to research the brands a little and read the labels to make sure it's legit. There's nothing better than the real thing from Italy imo. They are grown in volcanic soil in Campania and have less seeds and are less acidic than most other canned tomatoes.

I never make my own pasta. I'm with you, it's mostly a waste of time and small italian markets or whole foods sells daily freshly made pasta. Besides, I like the dry DeCecco pasta better actually for most dishes. DeCecco is pasta is really just awesome. Fresh pasta is better for certain pastas while dry is better for others imo.

Adding oil to the water is just a waste of good oil, and it makes the pasta oily and when you try to throw the pasta in the saucepan to finish the cooking in the sauce it just makes the sauce sort of slide off the pasta instead of allowing the pasta to absorb into the sauce. It also ruins the pasta water- you have this oily water that you can't add to your sauce as needed- instead of having a salty, startchy water that can help loosen or emulsify a sauce.

Always adding fresh basil at the end or fresh parsley at the end is a must imo. I'll usually take the finished product off the heat, throw it in a big bowl, add fresh parsley or basil depending on what sauce I used, a tiny little knob of good butter to emulsify, a little bit of grated cheese, a tiny little bit of oil, and then give it a good toss and then serve.
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Mdot21

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3473 on: June 18, 2020, 11:04:46 AM »
Quote from: bwarbiany on June 18, 2020, 10:51:30 AM
I still can't figure out how to make fresh pasta that meets my standards.

Before it's cooked, it has this beautiful yellow hue and wonderful texture. Then it goes into the pot and it turns white and is lifeless. It never comes out the way fresh pasta is supposed to be. And I don't have to tell anyone that my wife is not a fan of a pasty limp noodle either.

I think my next step might be to allow the dough, after I roll it out, 15 minutes to rest and dry before cutting. Then after cutting, to again allow it to rest and dry for an additional 15 minutes. I wonder if the fact that I cut and cook it so quickly is not giving it enough time for it to firm up and really reach its actual structure.

But it pisses me off. I've tried all sorts of recipes. I've tried keeping it thicker when rolling. I've tried rolling it thinner. I've tried cutting it differently. I've tried it in ravioli and just as pasta. But it never comes out how fresh pasta is supposed to be. I'm so close to giving up, but I'm stubborn.
I don't even both trying to make it. There's a lot of good little Italian markets that make it, and the fresh markets and whole foods make it as well.


If you want a great dry, try this:


https://www.dececco.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/VSA0015-BUCATINI-3.png
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847badgerfan

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3474 on: June 18, 2020, 11:06:42 AM »
I learned fresh pasta at a cooking school in Florence. It was very good, and I've since made it here. Not the same.

As for the tomatoes, the ones at Costco are not real (DOP). I've tried them and they do come out nice, but not the same.
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Mdot21

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3475 on: June 18, 2020, 11:08:03 AM »
Quote from: 847badgerfan on June 18, 2020, 11:06:42 AM
I learned fresh pasta at a cooking school in Florence. It was very good, and I've since made it here. Not the same.

As for the tomatoes, the ones at Costco are not real (DOP). I've tried them and they do come out nice, but not the same.
They have better eggs, water, vegetables, flour, cheese, meats - everything over there. It's insane.

And yeah, I think up to half of the San Marzano labeled cans sold in US aren't the actual thing.
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847badgerfan

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3476 on: June 18, 2020, 11:14:27 AM »
They know how to eat, for sure. 
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utee94

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3477 on: June 18, 2020, 11:20:16 AM »
They have some better meats, but beef isn't one of them.  I avoid pretty much all beef in France, Italy, and Spain.  Unless you go to a super-expensive Argentinian steakhouse, the beef quality is quite poor.

Poultry and pork, on the other hand, tend to be very good.  And of course seafood in the regions where it's common and popular.
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ELA

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3478 on: June 18, 2020, 11:25:46 AM »
Yeah pasta is one of those things where fresh is better if done right, but not worth the effort for the slight amount it's better, and half the time it's not even better at all.  But yes, any Italian market that makes it fresh, I'm all over that
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847badgerfan

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3479 on: June 18, 2020, 11:28:28 AM »
Quote from: utee94 on June 18, 2020, 11:20:16 AM
They have some better meats, but beef isn't one of them.  I avoid pretty much all beef in France, Italy, and Spain.  Unless you go to a super-expensive Argentinian steakhouse, the beef quality is quite poor.

Poultry and pork, on the other hand, tend to be very good.  And of course seafood in the regions where it's common and popular.
I dunno about that. I've had some wonderful steaks in Tuscany.
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Cincydawg

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3480 on: June 18, 2020, 11:53:11 AM »
I am with utee, I avoid beef in France, never had any better that OK.  They don't use feed lots apparently.  Our chef friend in Cincy says the same thing.

The wife thinks our pork is better but maybe it is how I prepare it.  She likes their chicken, it all tastes like chicken to me.  Our gator is better.
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MaximumSam

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3481 on: June 18, 2020, 11:53:22 AM »
We made pasta in Rome and I finally was able to do it well. It's enjoyable to make, but I don't really even like pasta that much so it's not like I'm doing it every night
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MaximumSam

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3482 on: June 18, 2020, 11:59:20 AM »
Also now that there is a mayonnaise bowl I had better learn to make mayo
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betarhoalphadelta

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3483 on: June 18, 2020, 12:22:57 PM »
Quote from: 847badgerfan on June 18, 2020, 11:28:28 AM
I dunno about that. I've had some wonderful steaks in Tuscany.
Yes. Tuscany is the beef region of Italy. It's what they're known for. 

After my wife and I got married in Florence we went to a steakhouse for dinner, and it was up there with any of the fine steakhouses I've been to in the US.  

I will say that I thought the food in Italy was absolutely top-notch [almost] everywhere we ate during the whole trip. The food in Paris? Meh. 
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Cincydawg

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3484 on: June 18, 2020, 12:40:20 PM »
A lot of Paris caters to tourists.  You really have to get off the tourist areas to get good food there.

The best meals I've ever had were in France, probably because I've spent a lot more time there than anywhere else outside the US.  We stumbled across some places in tiny villages that were heavenly that we still talk about and wonder if we can find them again.
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betarhoalphadelta

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Re: 2020 Offseason Stream of Unconciousness
« Reply #3485 on: June 18, 2020, 12:46:03 PM »
Quote from: Cincydawg on June 18, 2020, 12:40:20 PM
A lot of Paris caters to tourists.  You really have to get off the tourist areas to get good food there.

The best meals I've ever had were in France, probably because I've spent a lot more time there than anywhere else outside the US.  We stumbled across some places in tiny villages that were heavenly that we still talk about and wonder if we can find them again.
That's the thing... I'm sure that's true, but I also think that a lot of Rome/Cinque Terre/Florence caters to tourists too...

Yet literally everything I ate in Italy was amazing, with the exception of one little appetizer we had at a place that was DEFINITELY catering to tourists. Even the sidewalk cafe a block from the Colosseum with the sidewalk vendors hawking products 25 feet from us had a prosciutto and burrata appetizer that I've not had the equal ever since. It was like I'd have to deliberately seek out bad food. 

Whereas Paris it seemed like they didn't care. It was okay, I guess, but I didn't find any meals there that I was impressed by. I'm sure I was just at the wrong places, but again if you have to try THAT hard to find the right places, it's a little concerning.
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