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Healthy and Delicious Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Cf. the recipe for chicken salad in the first cookbook for Union Square Cafe?

It's full of vegetables, including grated radishes and green beans that provide bulk. Just limit the bacon (I can't recall if it's part of the recipe or something I add) so there's just a little bit for the sake of enhancing flavor. Wonderful.

I also think you can get a lot of flavor from poaching chicken, especially if you're creative in liquids. E.g. orange juice and sage. If you don't have homemade stock, a can of low-sodium broth might be doctored w white wine, parsley, onion, fennel stalks, carrot...

However, there's nothing wrong w a little olive oil from a recyclable bottle, especially if you have a grill pan.

N.B. Grapes are packed with calories.

Canola mayo has fewer calories than most light versions of commercial mayo, though I am sure FAGO (or other drained yogurts vs. cream-rich labne) is satisfying. Plain old ordinary yogurt strikes me as too liquid in such quantities.

I also like making a tahini sauce (the kind that involves whipping in lots of lemon juice and then mixing in salt-crushed garlic) and blending that with thickened, drained yogurt as a binding agent. Adds flavor to otherwise tasteless water-packed tuna, too.

Eliz. at 4:03PM on 01/29/08

A List of Regional Pizza Styles

Adam, I'd like to know more about Sicilian pizza.

I'm from New Haven and have eaten pizzas throughout Connecticut, NYC and near the birthplace of Domino's (:() where, in fact, we shared plenty of puffy square pies, crusts sprinkled w sesame seeds, in places that were originally run by Greek immigrants. I've had similar pies in Connecticut where I can't say I've discerned a clear difference between Giovanni's Pizzeria and Thanos.

"Sicilian" strikes me as a misnomer. You say it's not very popular in New York and I see others refer to the type around the country. Do you know anything about its origins? Regional spread? If there's a genuine correlation between immigrants of Sicilian birth and the pie?

* * *
While this taxonomy certainly helps to distinguish Ray's slices from pizzas in New Haven and Chicago, I suspect there are quite a few other factors at play for some of the types identified here that have nothing to do with regionalism per se.

I'm willing to acknowledge that a local tradition can be established quickly and develop idiosyncratic features even when sparked by a number of outside forces, but it's not like we're talking about long developments that endure in a way that's comparable to the pizza that emerged in Naples well before tourism inspired its dissemination throughout Italy. (In neighboring Puglia, "pizza rustica" refers to a double-crusted savory torte, usually packed with sautéed greens. There's also, of course, a relationship between focaccia and the doughy or deep-dish pizzas that Americans ate long before they heard the f-word.)

Disclaimer: I haven't read much of anything on pizza in the U.S., so I'd find useful any dates, names, facts, etc.

Eliz. at 4:07PM on 01/25/08

Classic Cookbooks: Marcella Hazan's Homemade Tagliatelle with Bolognese Meat Sauce

P.S. I have no problems with Robin's distinction between the dishes on menus in Italian-American restaurants and the recipes in Hazan's book. It's true that red sauce over here has its roots in Naples, Calabria, Puglia, etc., but it's usually not the same thing. Nor would someone stepping off the plane from Palermo recognize what Adam Kuban is calling Sicilian pizza.

Eliz. at 9:49PM on 01/24/08

Classic Cookbooks: Marcella Hazan's Homemade Tagliatelle with Bolognese Meat Sauce

Good point, Greg, though I think I know what Robin is saying. While I am surprised by how many authentic recipes one can find in earlier Italian cookbooks published in English, Marcella Hazan's two classic Italian cookbooks were enormously influential at a time in which the notion of regional Italian cooking was foreign to most Americans. Merely demonstrating the rich diversity of Italy's cuisines was an accomplishment. It's hard to imagine an age when colored bell peppers were not available in supermarkets across the country, but I vividly recall mailing a huge box of yellow ones to a friend in Manhattan from the farmer's market when I started grad school just to make one of the more "exotic" recipes.

My two quibbles: Dr. Marcella Hazan, a biologist, was hardly a bride when she moved to New York with her husband. Second, while I could lap up this particular bolognese all winter long, happily, I much prefer one of several different, more complex versions that Lynne Rossetto Kasper offers in her award-winning book on the cuisine of Emilia-Romagna. This later book could take for granted access to ingredients that Hazan's first readers could not find, and it might not have been possible were it not for Marcella Hazan's publication.

There are lots of excellent new surveys of Italian regional cooking published in English as well as great specialized books that focus on specific areas, but *Essentials* remains essential.

Eliz. at 9:40PM on 01/24/08

Tuna Sushi Lovers Persevere (For the Most Part)

I'm more concerned about the alarming rate at which we are depleting the world's supply of seafood, cause enough to curtail the amount of fish we consume.

Eliz. at 4:37PM on 01/24/08

Fresh Fruit: Nutrient-Packed or Not?

Many good comments have already been made whether in reference to problematic nutritional analysis or the difference between the pre-sliced, peeled apple slices ninety days old and fresh fruit grown with natural fertilizers, peel and core intact. (FYI, I've heard the stuff about antioxidants debunked, too.)

Let me add this: concerns about obesity dominate nutritional advice to an extreme. Consequently, you'll read about all the benefits of oranges (here: http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20Vk.html) qualified by the degree to which sugars govern calorie intake.

If you look at Harvard's survey of Food Pyramids, you'll see that recommendations favor vegetables which you're encouraged to eat in abundance, whereas you should consume 2 1/2 servings of fruit a day. Why? Much higher percentage of sugar? More calories? The greater likelihood you'll find protein and a variety of nutrients in vegetables than fruits? Or our nutritional classification system (vitamins, minerals, fiber...) to blame for slighting fruits? After all, nutrition is a product of culture, not nature.

Here's the link: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/pyramids.html

There is something to be said for the fact that fruit is delicious and probably better for me than many other options when I long for something filling and sweet.

Eliz. at 2:48PM on 01/23/08

Cook the Book: 'Whole Grains: Every Day, Every Way'

Farro

Eliz. at 11:21AM on 01/23/08

From Talk

Meyer lemons in the DC/Maryland area

Whole Foods carries them--they're usually squirreled away in a very small, shallow bamboo basket next to chile peppers, sunchokes, etc. Not a big pile. Cost around $2.99 (up from $1.99 in December) a lb. You just can't expect all the produce team members to know what they are if you can't find them yourself, and there might not be a sign for them, either. Trader Joe's packages them in fours and charges more than Whole Foods; take them out of the package after purchase, before you leave the store, to check for mold. Balducci's should have them, too. I've never seen them at Giant or Safeway.

Eliz. at 11:18AM on 01/23/08

Snapshots from Asia: Phallic Sea Cucumbers

Thank you for responding. I trust your intentions were primarily to inform and entertain rather than to mock. Still, if your friend actually used the word "simplistic", he was being judgmental; the word always has pejorative connotations.

The idea that a sea cucumber might serve as an aphrodisiac--or EDT--seems hardly arbitrary given both its shape and the properties the organism shares with the genitals of aroused men.

Rather, the medicinal tradition you report is associative in nature.

Chinese traditional medicine is not alone in this regard. De Materia medicae is the Latin name of an ancient text written by the Greek physician Dioscorides that was copied and richly illustrated by medieval artists in Byzantium and the Islamic world. Christians saw in the botanical images of the blackberry what Dioscorides did not: the Burning Bush of Moses--by virtue of resemblance--and Mary, given theological practice of seeing the Old Testament fulfilled in the New. Thus, the plant no longer was viewed merely as a cure for diarrhea, etc. and given its link to Christ's mother, a stress was placed on its ability to stem the bleeding of women.

Since I am neither a medical doctor nor a herbalist, I don't know how many of the 1st-century beliefs persist in modern medicine or folk remedies. However, I doubt many surgeons are able to cite Dioscorides since his treatise is no longer of great cultural significance and we can relegate it to the past, treating it as a historical document rather than superstition.

I wonder how old the beliefs about the restorative properties of sea cucumbers are and what factors we might point to in understanding their persistence.

Eliz. at 8:22PM on 01/21/08

Responses to Comments by Eliz.

A List of Regional Pizza Styles

I moved away from Pittsburgh the Bay Area (where there is plenty of good pizza) and i STILL crave Aiello's!!!! Pittsburgh pies do have a unique taste- its the sweeter sauce.

Ohio Valley pizza certainly deserves its own category- its pretty unique.

If you want true Ohio Valley Pizza, you have to go to the Firehouse in Ambridge, PA on Merchant street. Only open on the weekends, the business is run by firemen to support the firehouse (we're talking real social capital here). Its not my favorite (really dougy crust) but its certainly an experience.

Another experience would be Tony R's pizza in Sewickley on Nevin Ave. A tiny pizzaria run by Tony (who does all the deliveries himself) and his two sons.

katie123 at 2:03PM on 05/07/08

Michael Pollan's Twelve Commandments for Serious Eaters: Can You Live By Them?

I'd like to argue that cows that are grass-fed, grass-finished, as just as good tasting as corn finished. It's also better for the cows, because feeding them grain, such as corn, is stressful to their systems - it also diminishes the omega-3 content they gain while eating grass.

I've found a good brand recommended by Eating Well magazine, called La Cense Beef. They recently sent out an email to their customers letting them know about a giveaway their doing I thought I'd share the site:

www.winagrassfedcow.com

Maria at 3:46PM on 05/04/08

Dinner Tonight: Curried Sautéed Cauliflower

How strange, I just posted a roasted coconut curry cauliflower recipe today and then was reading my email feed of Serious Eats and saw curried cauliflower and roasted cauliflower! I have to try the Martha recipe with capers now.

maggiehc at 6:28PM on 04/29/08

A List of Regional Pizza Styles

When I read "Ohio Valley Pizza" above, I knew immediately what you were talking about but there is only one chain who prepares it in that way these days, DiCarlo's. About 20 years ago there were several copy cats but they have long since closed down.

Honestly I'm not sure that the Ohio Valley deserves it's own pizza style category, but if it's all we've got we'd better hold on to it I suppose.

Ellavemia at 10:57AM on 04/12/08

A List of Regional Pizza Styles

I'm a New Yorker born and raised. I make pizzas at home in a variation of the "grandma" style. After reading about Old Forge-style pizza, I tried mixing in a little sharp cheddar with my mozz. Ya know what? It's really good! It adds a nice "tang."

It pays to be open-minded :)

NewYorkDave at 5:49PM on 04/06/08

Mario Unclogged: Marinara Sauce

Ravara: Wut wut wut?!!! Of COURSE I have it! I've turned too many people on to Super Marzano not to have it Yes, yes, it's not technically San Marzano, it's better.....it's SUPER Marzano! Come on out to my tomato seedling sale and pick some up. I've always got a lot of Super Marzanos for peeps. www.GrowBetterVeggies.com

Does this constitute spam? Forgive me if so. Just trying to spread the tomato love....

Love Apple Farm at 12:51AM on 03/15/08

Mario Unclogged: Marinara Sauce

In case anyone who might benefit sees this, I agree with gmunger that I'm sad to see Mario, who has seen the joys of California produce, claim you can't get good San Marzano tomatoes in the US. I assure you that Mariquita and twosmallfarms dot com have fabulous San Marzanos for cooking- they suck for raw stuff, they are TOO low acid, but holy jeez cooked.. Love Apple Farms doesn't have it on their grow list this season- http://loveapplefarm.typepad.com/growbetterveggies/love-apple-farms-2008-tom.html but I bet Cynthia can tell you something good...

Ravara at 12:35AM on 03/14/08

From Talk

Food Poems

Karen Resta
What is the name of the poet who is Morton Seif's daughter, and where can I find her work?
P.S. You rule the food blogs!

carrottop at 11:11PM on 03/08/08

Pizza Cones Make U.S. Debut in K.C. Mall

I'd like to share some information about expanding a cone pizza concept around the globe. Does it mean that pizza in a cone becomes as popular as a hamburger?..

Here is the examples:
Russia: www.pasta-la-vista.com or http://i-food.livejournal.com/
Greece: www.pizzacon.gr
Korea: www.сonepizza.co.kr
USA: www.crispycones.com
www.kornetpizza.com
Turkey: www.kornetpizza.com
Italy, number of countries in EU, New Zealand, Arabian Emirates, Russia, Japan:
www.konopizza.com
Just Italy: www.pizzahands.com
India: www.pizzacorner.com (pizza-Conizza)
South Africa: www.flavourliciousfoods.com/index.html
More sophisticated version from Austria: www.finestfingerfood.com
Undetected country: www.pizzacono.com (USA?)

Bento at 6:09AM on 03/08/08