http://www.saltshaker.net/20060429/the-rolling-pin Casting a little flavor (and a few aspersions) on the world of food, drink, and life Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:24:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://www.saltshaker.net/20060429/the-rolling-pin#comment-7268 SaltShaker » Blog Archive » Another Pesto Flop Sat, 18 Nov 2006 13:24:46 +0000 http://www.saltshaker.net/20060429/the-rolling-pin#comment-7268 [...] Buenos Aires - I am once again guilty of only semi-following instructions. It started with a surprise encounter in a restaurant. Last week I was with some friends from Uruguay who were in visiting for a couple of days and they wanted good pasta. I’d suggested we meet at Il Matterello, holding strong as my favorite pasta place so far in the city. Midway through our meal a group of four came in and sat at the next table - the young man at the table kept looking over at me and smiling - well, what is one to think? Then he chatted with the owner who was also taking care of his table, and she came over and asked me if I write a blog, in which I’d reviewed her restaurant - I answered affirmatively, she nodded at him, and he exclaimed something to the effect of “I thought so!” Damn, maybe I should take that little photo off the top of the site. [...] [...] Buenos Aires - I am once again guilty of only semi-following instructions. It started with a surprise encounter in a restaurant. Last week I was with some friends from Uruguay who were in visiting for a couple of days and they wanted good pasta. I’d suggested we meet at Il Matterello, holding strong as my favorite pasta place so far in the city. Midway through our meal a group of four came in and sat at the next table - the young man at the table kept looking over at me and smiling - well, what is one to think? Then he chatted with the owner who was also taking care of his table, and she came over and asked me if I write a blog, in which I’d reviewed her restaurant - I answered affirmatively, she nodded at him, and he exclaimed something to the effect of “I thought so!” Damn, maybe I should take that little photo off the top of the site. [...]

]]> http://www.saltshaker.net/20060429/the-rolling-pin#comment-452 SaltShaker » Blog Archive » A Partridge in a Pear Tree… Tue, 23 May 2006 02:18:19 +0000 http://www.saltshaker.net/20060429/the-rolling-pin#comment-452 [...] I’d agreed to provide Alberto with his requested dulce de leche, even if I wasn’t going to tell him what I was going to make from it. I was inspired a bit by that extraordinary orange custard tart I had a week or two ago at Il Matterello. Step one, of course, was to make the dulce de leche. Yes, make it. I have yet to find a commercial one that isn’t just over-the-top cloyingly sweet, not to mention tasting a trifle, well, commercial - after all, they add things to them to stabilize them for sitting on shelves in supermarkets. And the really good artesanal ones are outrageously expensive. This is going to sound like a joke, but it’s not, and a few minutes’ online research will show you I’m not making this up. Buy some cans of sweetened condensed milk. Put them in a large pot (unopened!) and fill with cold water that covers the cans by at least 3-4″ - you need water pressure above the cans to stop them from blowing up. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then turn the heat down to very low, to keep just a bare simmer going. Let them simmer for exactly 3½ hours. Less and the dulce de leche won’t be done, you’ll have caramel soup, more and it gets too dark and tastes slightly burnt. Turn off the heat, and let them cool in the water. When cool, open and enjoy. For presentation, I decided to do something slightly different, and picked up some phyllo dough. I’m not going to get into the intricacies of working with phyllo, but I like the way it ends up when making tart shells - a bit freeform. [...] [...] I’d agreed to provide Alberto with his requested dulce de leche, even if I wasn’t going to tell him what I was going to make from it. I was inspired a bit by that extraordinary orange custard tart I had a week or two ago at Il Matterello. Step one, of course, was to make the dulce de leche. Yes, make it. I have yet to find a commercial one that isn’t just over-the-top cloyingly sweet, not to mention tasting a trifle, well, commercial - after all, they add things to them to stabilize them for sitting on shelves in supermarkets. And the really good artesanal ones are outrageously expensive. This is going to sound like a joke, but it’s not, and a few minutes’ online research will show you I’m not making this up. Buy some cans of sweetened condensed milk. Put them in a large pot (unopened!) and fill with cold water that covers the cans by at least 3-4″ - you need water pressure above the cans to stop them from blowing up. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then turn the heat down to very low, to keep just a bare simmer going. Let them simmer for exactly 3½ hours. Less and the dulce de leche won’t be done, you’ll have caramel soup, more and it gets too dark and tastes slightly burnt. Turn off the heat, and let them cool in the water. When cool, open and enjoy. For presentation, I decided to do something slightly different, and picked up some phyllo dough. I’m not going to get into the intricacies of working with phyllo, but I like the way it ends up when making tart shells - a bit freeform. [...]

]]> http://www.saltshaker.net/20060429/the-rolling-pin#comment-389 dan Sun, 30 Apr 2006 03:43:43 +0000 http://www.saltshaker.net/20060429/the-rolling-pin#comment-389 And far better quality than Cartoon! Not that Cartoon specializes in pasta. This was pretty much the best Italian food I've had since getting here. Admittedly, I love the freshness at Don Chicho that I've mentioned, but that's for much simpler, very basic pasta. And far better quality than Cartoon! Not that Cartoon specializes in pasta. This was pretty much the best Italian food I’ve had since getting here. Admittedly, I love the freshness at Don Chicho that I’ve mentioned, but that’s for much simpler, very basic pasta.

]]> http://www.saltshaker.net/20060429/the-rolling-pin#comment-388 asadoarg Sat, 29 Apr 2006 22:20:23 +0000 http://www.saltshaker.net/20060429/the-rolling-pin#comment-388 Both those dishes of tortelli are indeed making my mouth water. 15 pesos per dish is a steal compared to Cartoon place you ate at. Both those dishes of tortelli are indeed making my mouth water. 15 pesos per dish is a steal compared to Cartoon place you ate at.

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