January 10, 2009

My First Gourmet


Ahhhhh. Isn’t it beautiful? Isn’t in lovely? Doesn’t it make you want to sigh with pleasure?


I was so excited when I saw my first issue of Gourmet waiting for me when we came back to Edmonton that I literally clutched it to my chest and jumped for joy.


I ordered Gourmet back in October and I knew it would take a while to get here. It’s also the first food mag I’ve ever subscribed to, so forgive me if I’m a wee bit excited.


The issue is all about Italian cooking. I’ve never been particularly interested in Italian cooking, evidenced by the fact that our Jamie’s Italy cookbook has been sitting on our shelf for two years and we have never made a single recipe from it (I know! It’s a bit ridiculous). But there are definitely some recipes in this magazine that I would like to try. Starting with the cover, I must admit. I’m not much of a meat person, but that spaghetti and meatballs just looks so simple and luxurious all at once, so flavourful and comforting. All the things Italian cooking should be.


I’d also love to try the shaved-fennel salad with oranges and pecorino, the pizza bianca, and the sweet ricotta pastries.


There’s a great article in here about Italian restaurants in New Orleans, which made me a bit nostalgic. I went on exchange to that city in my third year of university, when I was just starting to realize how much I loved food and everything to do with it. I didn’t have much money and I only made it to one of the places mentioned in this story, Brocato’s Italian bakery. A wonderful family I met through my cousin took me there for spumoni and little seed cookies.


Reading this mostly makes me want to A) eat a lot of pasta, and B) go to Italy. Which are not bad things. But for now the meatballs recipe is going on my mental challenging-things-to-make list. I’m sure the recipe itself it actually pretty easy, but I’m not used to cooking with meat and this involves large, ground quantities of it. Which means it will also be a bit pricier than our standard vegetarian fare around here.


You can be almost guaranteed that whenever I do make it, you will read about it here.



5 comments:

foodie suz said...

Indeed, Italia is a perfect place to go if you love food. The food is simple, and honest and close to the earth. On my wish list: the south of France. Because French cooking scares me.

I have to say that meatballs made with Italian sausage from the Italian centre are the best. Mucking about in raw beef is gross, yes, but the end result is worth it!

Anne said...

That sounds good -Italian sausage meatballs, not just ground beef. I used to cook a lot with ground beef; it can be cheaper than a lot of other meats. The thing with meat balls is that forming each one is a time-consuming process, because the mixture is sticky. Go for it, just allow lots of prep time!
Viva Italia!

Anonymous said...

god yes, italian pasta. it is so amazing there. perfectly cooked every time. and the fruit! so fresh all the time.

Cheryl Arkison said...

Enjoy your new subscription... it will be a welcome break every month. I think I'll go grab mine right now...

Kate said...

is. very jealous of your subscription, particularly because that pasta looks incredible. i'm actually hungry right now, and would kill for such a dish. keep the food wonders coming. i've been delving into moosewood, and that book just does not disappoint!

ps. can definitely imagine you jumping for joy upon discovering your mail. you are hilarious and cute.