284508 Thu Apr 13 07:27:57 -0700 2006 7 31 Home Cooking 0 1521122 Thanks to all who contributed to my education on this topic. I was unaware of this traditional dish. I will try to make this delicious pie after Easter this year. My wife is frantic about her preparation of this year's Easter dinner with family coming to our home, and I stay out of her way. She's got Calabrese genes. I especially appreciate learning about the cheeses. I'm retired and have the time to spend in the kitchen which I consider my laboratory. Buona Pasqua tutti! Thu Apr 13 07:27:57 -0700 2006 0 ChiliDude 1 1521133 The freshest ricotta is ESSENTIAL....even though Polly-o is on sale this time of year and is very tempting, resist and go for those 8.99 tins of the REALLY good stuff. One basket cheese mashed in and a fresh ball of salted mozarella diced up are also excellent. Also grated locatelli for a bit of flavor, but the salts from the meats can be intense so be judicious. You are obviously a Chowhound, which is why I insist on the finest ingredients. Trust me, most of the nonnas around here DO buy the Polly-o, and their rusticas are wonderful, but for that extra edge, go for the best. My mom yells at me every year and says that 75 dollars on ingredients is insane, but I'd rather spend the extra 15 dollars on the best ricotta because it is the base. Any way you cut it, it's a costly dish to make if it's being made in quantity. Many older Italians buy "ends" from the deli in the weeks before Easter, freeze them, and when it's time for the rustica making, are all set! I'm pretty bad with frugality I guess :) I absolutley detest any hard cheese such as provolone diced up and added..that's me. I like my rustica to have a creamy, dairy, mellow base with all of the major flavor coming from the dried meats. We've eaten it all over Southern Italy on various Easter trips and the best pies, IMHO were made this way. I wish I knew how to upload my pizza rustica pics. If you give me your e-mail address, I'll send you last night's pictures- four gorgeous, high, (some latticed, some covered) pizza rusticas.... Have fun, lisa Thu Apr 13 09:00:04 -0700 2006 1521122 0 lisa 2 1521163 I'd love to see the pics: rkriete@mindspring.com Thu Apr 13 11:41:25 -0700 2006 1521133 0 Scagnetti 3 1521176 Here's a picture along with a recipe. This has the more-appealing lattice top. I'll include another recipe immediately after this one in a subsequent post. See which one is most appealing to you. Link: http://www.italianfoodforever.com/iff/news.asp?id=509 Thu Apr 13 12:38:12 -0700 2006 1521163 0 Cheese Boy 4 1521179 See link below for yet another good recipe. Pizza Rustica alla Napoletana. Link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_7825,00.html Thu Apr 13 12:42:17 -0700 2006 1521176 0 Cheese Boy 5 1521194 Cheese Boy, In a previous reply to an earlier Pizza Rustica posting, you mentioned the use of Pecorino Crotonese and/or Pecorino Moliterno. Here's what Steven Jenkins says about Pecorino Crotonese in his book "Cheese Primer." "The poorest and most desolate parts of southern Italy produce Pecorino cheeses that you will never find north of Rome. For example, from Calabria there are Crotonese and Incanestrato, tall, barrel-shaped, aged sheep's-milk cheeses that I find inordinately strong-flavored and overwhelmingly smelly." Do you agree with Jenkins' statement about the cheese characteristics? Jenkins did not mention Pecorino Moliterno in his book. He did allude to a Sardo Moliterno. Thu Apr 13 13:31:06 -0700 2006 1521179 0 ChiliDude 6 1521210 Cheese, like wine, is very subjective. The same way you shouldn't cook with a wine you won't drink, you shouldn't use cheese in a recipe that smells or tastes unappealing to you. I have the luxury of living in NYC and shop at Eli's Manhattan for my cheese. (3AV/80st) It is expensive, but it's truly the only place that has the actual cheese wheels displayed along with cut blocks of cheese prepared to sell. The customer can read the labels and see brand names and origins, and can SMELL the cheese to see if it's to his or her liking. Eli's Manhattan has cheeses imported from all over the world. The Moliterno and Crotonese cheeses are both Pecorino cheeses, made with sheeps milk and allowed SOME goat's milk. They become stronger with age, sometimes much stronger. What Jenkins states is only HIS opinion. I have left cheeses at the store because at times they are TOO strong in taste or smell. These cheeses are used rather sparingly because they ARE so flavorful. I usually use one to two teaspoons at a time for certain recipes. It adds another layer of flavor where say a Locatelli could not. If you ever find any grating or grated cheese you find appealing don't hesitate to buy it and then freeze it. I do it all the time. The flavor is retained. Enjoy experimenting. Thu Apr 13 14:38:54 -0700 2006 1521194 0 Cheese Boy 2 1521196 c18h27no3@hotmail.com The ID is the chemical formula for capsaicin, the stuff that makes chiles (hot peppers) hot. Thu Apr 13 13:34:10 -0700 2006 1521133 0 ChiliDude