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16791. Magoseph - 9/28/2005 12:05:16 AM Yes. he is cute and smart too--I love his blue eyes. I bet they're huge when he is not smiling. 16792. alistairconnor - 9/28/2005 9:04:55 AM Actually, I had foreseen what to cook for dinner, then forgotten it.
Potimarron tart :
Select an appropriately-sized potimarron, and wash it carefully. Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and pulp, cut it radially into one-inch slices (OK, cut it any way you like, it makes no difference except for the feng shui). Steam it.
Cut up an onion or a few shallots, chuck them in to steam too. Light the oven. Serve the aperitif.
Make the pastry. (OK, I confess, roll out the ready-made pastry from the supermarket.) Fry up some cubed smoked tofu with a diced shallot (OK, this is optional, but don't use bacon or whatever instead, that would overpower the delicate flavour of the dish). Throw it on the pastry in the pie dish. Put the steamed mush in the blender, add three or four eggs and some cream, salt, pepper. Pour the result into the pie dish, throw a few handfuls of grated cheese on top, into the oven. Repair to the terrace for a cigarette.
Realise half an hour later that it's not cooking very fast, in fact the gas bottle is finally conking out, and yes the reserve bottle's empty too, and the village shop, yes, is shut. Shake the bottle desperately, that gives a final few minutes of flame, then poof...
The pastry is soft, it's not browned on top, but it's edible. All things considered, a credible effort, though close to disaster. 16793. Magoseph - 9/28/2005 1:21:35 PM I had to look up potimarron. I knew it was some kind of courges. I found out it was considered l’oscar des legumes.
Ali, this is quite a dish for a bachelor to make, in my opinion. 16794. alistairconnor - 9/28/2005 1:46:53 PM So, what's the English name for it, Mago? I got quite a successful crop this year, about 15 meal-sized ones.
I am perfectly spoiled for pumpkin etc, it all tastes boring to me after potimarron.
I guess it's a portmanteau word : potiron + marron, pumpkin and chestnut, which gives some idea of the taste. 16795. marjoribanks - 9/28/2005 4:51:48 PM I liked Connor's metrosexual-slash-hobo culinary chic, that potimarron pie has style going for it.
--
The spaghetti carbonara recipes shared above are all for the Yankified gooey, creamy, semi-inedible version of what is a noble, rustic, Italian family staple. A version of this conversation has been held here before, many times, so it might be best just to recount a quick, rough, version that should please any palette (that's the great thing about carbonara).
The biggest and most common error made in the preparation of this dish is the same with scarily the majority of Italian food prepared in the USA - the pasta is overdone. It is essential for all pasta dishes, and especially this one, that the strands be individually perfect and al dente, it's so easy to do and makes such a difference.
Work out proportions depending on the amount of pancetta you use, regular bacon is a distinct second. Fry up strips of the pancetta while your pasta (it has to be strands) is getting ready. Drain the pasta when it's slightly underdone, and add it back to the empty pot, and stir in the pancetta, beaten egg(s), finely grated pecorino cheese, and a ton of black pepper. No heat, the pasta's retained heat will cook the egg.
That's it.
Made properly, it's one of the best, most universally loved, family dishes you can make.
16796. alistairconnor - 9/28/2005 5:11:36 PM metrosexual-slash-hobo ... waaarf. 16797. Ms. No - 9/28/2005 5:19:10 PM Mags,
Yes, he's got big blue eyes just like his brother did at this age. Paxton's have changed a bit in the last year. I think they'll end up green like his dad's.
I've no idea what Maddox's eyes will do since both my brother and Jessica have green eyes. 16798. marjoribanks - 9/28/2005 5:34:29 PM Extra whole-earth-type brownie points for growing that gourd yourself, AC.
But that kind of thing cuts both ways. On the one hand, you might get the impression that the host is a natural man even in these plastic times, a person from whom life springs and cavorts, whose fingers unleash great bounty. It implies tenacity, foresight, the grand providing instinct.
Then also, there's a Unabomber, holed-up-in-a-wooden-shack-mumbling-incoherently vibe to any man who knowingly grows a gourd like that, and, further, knows how to clean and cook it. One might suspect derangement in a minor key, possibly paired with a pack-rat garbage-hoarding instinct and unwillingness to change socks or bathe.
As I said, could go either way. 16799. Magoseph - 9/28/2005 7:43:52 PM We lost our telephone line just after I posted this morning--the whole area was out until now. Some construction workers cut a wire. There are signs all over here warning not to dig unless you have permission from the telephone company.
Ali, it's called squash. 16800. alistairconnor - 9/29/2005 8:01:19 AM Well, yes, but that's like calling it "vegetable". Squash is a generic term, my dear, and covers a multitude of sins. I was expecting it to have an English name. Or at least, a Californian name, probably from Italian or Japanese. 16801. Magoseph - 9/29/2005 1:14:42 PM Here are some colorful names I found:
Acorn squash--Australian Blue squash--Buttercup squash--Butternut squash--Calabaza squash--Chayote squash--Cucuzza squash--Delicata squash--Golden Nugget-- Kachoba squash-- Green Hubbard squash--Mini Pumpkin squash--Red Kuri squash--Spaghetti squash-- Sweet meat squash--Table Queen squash--Turban squash.
I bet there are more.
16802. Magoseph - 9/29/2005 2:09:40 PM If you want to know how the weather is in India today, read Mr. Banks in Escapes:
Message # 3510 in thread 149 16803. thoughtful - 9/29/2005 2:17:31 PM Ms No....cute kid!
Squash is a multitude of different vegetables. zucchini and yellow and crook neck are also squashes, though not considered winter squash. Winter squash is the harder skinned kind like the hubbard, acorn and butternut that take longer to grow and don't ripen until the fall. Spaghetti squash is an entirely different thing as its guts come out in strings that look like, though hardly taste like, spaghetti.
Then there are all the other squashes called gourds that seem to come in an infinite variety of colors.
And don't forget the cute little patty pan squash
 16804. thoughtful - 9/29/2005 2:22:17 PM banks' carbonara sounds a lot more edible to me...I'll have to give it a try.
This recipe is similar to banks' with the addition of white wine and helps with the proportions.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 pound piece of Pancetta
4 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 large eggs
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
A healthy grinding of coarse black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat leafed parsley
1 pound cooked spaghetti or buccatini, drained and hot
Cut a 1/2 pound piece of pancetta. Crush and peel the garlic. Put the garlic in a small saute pan with the extra virgin olive
oil and saute until it turns deep gold. Remove the garlic from the pan and put in the strips of pancetta. Cook them until
they begin to crisp on the edges. Add the wine. Cook the wine down for 2 minutes.
Break the eggs into a pasta serving bowl. Beat them lightly with a fork. Then add the Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano,
pepper and parsley. Mix thoroughly.
Add drained, hot pasta to the bowl and toss rapidly to coat the strands well. Add the Pancetta and wine. Toss again and
serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings 16805. alistairconnor - 9/29/2005 3:01:30 PM 
The red kuri is a premium squash with a lovely chestnut flavor. It has smooth, savory flesh that gives exceptional taste and texture to soups, purees, and pies. Japanese growers developed red kuri from an old North American standby, Hubbard squash. It is a hard-skinned squash that stores very well in a cool, dry spot.
Potimarron. I knew there was a Japanese connection.
16806. marjoribanks - 9/29/2005 3:14:55 PM Jokes aside, AC, it's rather cool that you grow those things. They sound like immensely superior squash. 16807. alistairconnor - 9/29/2005 3:50:43 PM Hey, I volunteer to mail seeds to anyone who wants them.
Over your way, you would want to stand back quickly after planting them, they would be climbing up your legs within seconds. 16808. marjoribanks - 9/29/2005 4:25:27 PM Hm, interesting offer. I think I'll take you up on it before long.
We're on our way into "the big city" in a couple of months, but have a neat kitchen garden working quite nicely out here "in the country."
There's a bed of beautiful Italian basil, and a smaller one of Thai basil. There is mint, fenugreek, 'karipatta' (curry leaves), galangal, lemon grass and a small kaffir lime bush. Then, of course, there is the plantation of cashew, coconut, banana, papaya, lots of mango, pineapple, chickoo, pomegranate, tamarind, jakfruit and kokum.
Plus, we grow (and dry) our own pepper.
But I grow and do exactly none of it myself, except walking out to ceremoniously grab a few leaves or something. There are people to tend to the plants, and I'm not yet at the point where I want to focus on horticulture. It'll happen, I'm sure, because there are a bunch of things I want to grow for the table (avocadoes!) but right now I find my eyes drawn upwards and outwards, not down. 16809. Magoseph - 9/30/2005 9:07:43 AM Butch was wild for the second time yesterday. This is why I am wide-awake the last three hours. During the day, an unleashed dog was in the front yard and then last night a cat, a miserable cat looking for food, raised his heckles.
We have a neighbor who persists in feeding wild cats. No one wants to demand a ban on cats; the woman is grieving and planning to leave in a few months once her affairs are in order.
Frankly, I shouldn’t complain. I mean, as soon as Butch calmed down, what did I do? Well, I went outside and called, “Kitty, kitty…”
16810. judithathome - 9/30/2005 11:21:10 PM We're going to eat Ukrainian food tomorrow night...our friend, the 34 year PhD, is making a Ukrainian meal for all of us and afterward, we're going to watch a Ukrainian movie.
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