Wednesday, April 22, 2009

What's Cooking (che cosa griglia? non pietre)

Super busy at the day job this week, so today it's about cooking (which I'll be doing this weekend).

But of course not just any cooking! I bring to the esteemed readers' attention the 'De re coquinaria' (on the subject of cooking) by Marcus Gavius Apicus.

*Warning - Only click on the link if you are not about to (or just have) eaten.

After reading the hundreds of suggestion type recipies, it pains me to say it but I can only conclude that Roman cooking was total B.S. by today's standards. Just wine and bread for me, thanks...

Here is a recipe that might have gone over well in antiquity (non-vegetarian, but if you just read all that other stuff, you've got some thick skin) :

Instead of a Dormouse fillet, start with 4 lbs flank or skirt steak (most all fat trimmed off), place on cutting board, salt lightly, and then pound out with a hammer (not the one you use for chiselling stone like exhibit 13, or the weird kind with the sadistic tendorizing spikes). Pour on the lime juice from the typical green plastic containers. When you think you have too much lime, just a little more. Then very lightly dust with cumin and a bit of oregano. Next a 2 tablespoons of silver tequila (then drink some so you are in more of a 'fajita-y mood'). Grind pepper over it and then about 1 cup of dark soy sauce. Work all the ingredients into the meat, and grill to just on the well side of medium.
Serve with sauteed onion / bell pepper and flour tortillas, oh yeah, and beer (or tequila since it is still out and you are probably tipsy).

Italiana -

Romani sono incapace di cucinare bene, il libro lo dimostra :)

Così ecco la mia ricetta per fajita:

1.7 kg di bistecca (sale poco, poi colpito con martello),

.2 liter succo di lime

poco cumin,

poco oregano,

30 ml tequila argento,

.2 liter salsa di soia

Griglia!!! :)

16 comments:

  1. I wish you had warned me that requesting a Dormouse fillet from a busy butchers' would be an embarrassing thing to do.

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  2. Yick! Clearly their cookery skills were on par with their graffiti skills.

    The steak sounds lovely though, although I only eat steak really well done ... well, partially incinerated actually :P

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  3. Wow...where do you find the time to work, art and cook? The steak sounds great! I'm sure the tequila gives it extra spunk!!!

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  4. Hey guys!

    mo, lol - Here in the US we have Dormouse specialty shops, they also sell squid I think.

    Girl Interrupted :) I'm with you on the undercooked meat thing. I hear you have a lot of mad cows over in Europe.

    Hi Lopez! I chalk it up to unfortunately never having children / family. I hear they are a wonderful way to spend all available free time. You mentioned you needed an airsick bag the other day, does this mean you might be expecting a little one?
    BTW, please don't use the word spunk in regards to my recipies because of the weird connotations. Reminds me of when I worked at Brinker International home office (Chilis, etc), we rolled out a menu in UK with a turkey sandwich which here was named 'Gobbler Deluxe'. Apparently it had other connotations there... A veritable entertainment value...

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  5. Ahh...so you don't like Spunky Steak, eh? I'll try to refrain from the future...

    Needed the airsick bag b/c I signed my life away to the mortgage company...the other reason would be much more to my liking!!!!

    Children a wonderful way to spend free time? someone is LYING to you...ha ha ha, totally kidding...hopes that if daughter ever reads this comment, she knows i'm kidding...!

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  6. Yep ... as a Brit I would like to say that the words "spunk" and "Gobbler Deluxe" should NEVER, under ANY circumstances be used in connection with anything (except porn of course and maybe Mr London Street's blog)

    Hey Eric! :) Hope you're having a lovely day!

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  7. :) The menus were printed in the franchise stores and it was too late, someone folks had a good laugh.

    Hope yours is going well
    Crazy busy here... :(

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  8. Wow, delicacies for sure...

    Just wanted to stop by and say thanks for following my blog.

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  9. Sounds yummy! :) I love new recipes.

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  10. Call me Cate, thanks - you have some good posts and insightful comments out there, I think I'll nickname you 'Edgewise'... Unless you don't like that, of course...

    Kimizzy, if you make that recipe, promise that you will cut the meat against the grain (forgot to mention that). It is the result of talking with the chefs at OTB and covert recon into some of the best Tex-Mex restaurants...

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  11. My day is tip-top, thanks :)

    Sorry you're so busy ... what you need is a holiday :P

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  12. Good to hear Kate, I want to read your new post by giving it my full undivided attention that your literary gems usually deserve. Also, I plan on commenting wryly.

    Damn it, now I'm thinking about holiday. Sailboats beaches and stuff...

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  13. Yummy...brain sausage! I'm going to make that for my mom one of these days and I'd like to see her try to tell me to learn how to cook one more time.

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  14. lol OMG !!! TishTash !!!

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  15. Buona sera Eric! I learned Italian all the way through grade school and most of high school but have forgotten nearly all of it in a very short time.Although my grammar may be a bit rusty, all I need to know how to say, should I visit Italy one day "Quanto costano queste scarpe?" and "Sono pelle vero?"

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  16. Buongiorno S&C! That's awesome, speaking Italian for you is probably like riding a bicycle... no, no I guess it is nothing like that. In the next post, I'll put a picture of the funkiest shoes ever that I photographed while in Venice two years ago.

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