And mine - you and I, Tony, are most certainly on the same page (and it shows in your cooking)!:)Quote:
Originally Posted by mightymonoped
I've never been brought up to treat food simply as 'sustenance' (or to eat simply to live), but rather the opposite, and in fact in the Italian culture, it's a *major*, and probably the most important part of the day! :exactly:
Therefore, meals are never rushed, and always properly planned and prepared for - and most importantly, looked forward to and savoured! Therefore, all food eaten must always be fresh, appetising (both in looks and taste), and more often than not, simply cooked, rather than being 'fancy'.
As for salads, I couldn't agree more, and the best ones are often the simplest, but contain the freshest ingredients. What a difference it also makes when lettuce has been freshly picked from your own garden/greenhouse, compared with the (dead) crap you get in supermarkets, which tastes of nothing. That alone is a key reason why salads served in this country are often so disappointing!
In that respect, some of the salads I've enjoyed in Greece, consisting simply of mixed leaves (picked freshly that day), black olives and Feta cheese, drizzled in glorious Greek extra-virgin olive oil (which IMO is better than Italian varieties) and wine vinegar, homemade with wine from their own vineyards, sprinkled with salt and pepper, have been among the best I've had!
Of course a well executed Waldorf, Caesar or Niçoise salad is absolutely divine, but perhaps more for a special occasion or when the salad is the main part of the meal. And yes, *anything* is better than the "dry-mouthed misery", posing as a 'salad', which as you say is more often than not served in this country - now *THAT* is rabbit food, and fit for nothing else!!! :spew:
The problem here, most often, is simply a lack of passion for 'real' food. Quite clearly, anyone who can afford to do better, but regardless is happy most days to microwave a supermarket ready-meal, or open up a tin, doesn't have much passion for food, nor really cares about what they eat.
Marco.
