What a pig!

Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of Michael Ruhlman. I'm currently reading his "Elements of Cooking" book and enjoying every minute of it.

And I'm a faithful visitor to his blog.

But I view with great skepticism his most recent post about buying and "breaking down" a 180-plus pound, hand-raised, humanely slaughtered Berkshire pig.

(That's porky above in a photo taken by Ruhlman's wife Donna. Gotta love that death grin.)

Oh, I don't doubt Ruhlman did this. In fact, he has other photos that prove all the hacking and sawing he went through - and is still doing. I just can't buy his pondering: "How reasonable is it to ask more people to eat this way?"

Ruhlman, not very reasonable. Most people have full-time jobs (if they're lucky in this shaky economy), little spare time or cash and no earthly idea how to even begin "breaking down" a whole pig.

Please, most people can't properly carve a turkey or whack a whole chicken into eight pieces, let alone a dead, obese squealer. (And, really, when it comes to hacking up something that weighs nearly 200 pounds, doesn't it feel like we're creeping into "Sopranos" or "Goodfellas" territory?)

I'm a professional food writer and have willingly taken on tasks and gone on adventures that the average Joe home cook would never, ever, dream of doing. But sawing through bones with a bandsaw and leaving a salted pig's head on my kitchen counter is even too much for me.

To his credit, Ruhlman posted an update that said "space, time and knowledge" are roadblocks indeed when it comes "breaking down" a hog.

No worries. I'll keep reading Ruhlman, even if I can't embrace this post whole hog.

Don't fear the fruitcake

Don't knock until you try it.

Real fruitcake.

Homemade fruitcake.

Fruitcake where you control the ingredients and leave out those scary-looking green candied cherries (why, oh, why are they green?) and the pukey-yellow, chewy, confetti of candied citron (why, oh, why are they pukey-yellow and smell like grandmom's perfume?)

I know what you're thinking: This chick is crazy. Friends don't give friends fruitcake.

And, honestly, fruitcake doesn't get a bad rap - most of it is terrible. But when my book club recently read Truman Capote's short story "A Christmas Memory" - (Seriously, read it. It will touch your heart. Yeah, even you Grinchy Scrooges.) - I was so inspired by his descriptions of fruitcake baking that I wanted to give it a whirl.

The result was way better than I expected. (That's one of my fruitcakes in the photo to the right. I'm so proud!)

I used a fruitcake recipe from Rick Rodgers' "Christmas 101" cookbook as a guide and made several modern changes - namely I used a wide assortment of dried fruits (Sun-Maid Fruit Bits rock!), cherry-flavored dried cranberries (just say no to green cherries!) and spiced Captain Morgan rum, along with some brandy. Next I may use cognac and a mix of pecans and walnuts.

My concession to tradition was candied or glace orange peel. (I bought a $3.89 container at Janssen's Market in Greenville - that store carries just about EVERYTHING - and ate a few pieces BEFORE I tossed into the batter. I did like the sunny, citrusy flavor.) I also bought citron ($4.19) and absolutely hated the taste. No way was this going into my batter. I'm convinced citron may be one of the reasons why people hate fruitcake. I still have the container. Anyone want it?

My fruitcake baking began in earnest on Sunday. I baked five loaves in disposable pans, brush them while still warm with the rum, and brought several into work the next day, even though you're supposed to let them age for 24 hours. It didn't matter. Only crumbs remained.

We tried one loaf last night - serve it at room temperature - and it tasted even better than on Monday. I saved the last one for Christmas Eve, but I'm seriously considering baking more and then wrapping cheesecake soaked in rum and brandy around the cakes to give them more of a kick.

The nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves in the batter make the cakes smell and taste wonderful and the applesauce gives it some moistness. It's hefty, but not heavy.

There's no getting around this: If you don't like dried fruits and nuts, this is not the cake for you. But it is terrific with a cup of coffee or tea and I may even slather a loaf with orange-flavored cream cheese frosting.

Fruitcake is good food. Who knew? Let's start a fruitcake revolution.

Ciao, Amici

A critic's praise was not enough to keep a Landenberg, Pa., restaurant afloat.

Amici's Fine Dining & Spirits plans to close after dinner Saturday.


"The economic downturn has hurt us quite dramatically," said Mark Little, an owner and founder of the restaurant on New London Road. Entrees at the restaurant ranged from about $16 to $45.


News Journal restaurant critic Eric Ruth bestowed a three-star rating on Amici's in September 2007. (Restaurants now reviewed by the newspaper are given forks-up or forks-down ratings.)


Ruth wrote that Amici's "accomplishes so much more than its pasta-and-Chianti name would suggest. This isn't so much an Italian restaurant as a pleasantly genteel, casually urbane refuge that leans mildly toward the Mediterranean, with tasteful nods toward France and America."


Little is changing the concept of the eatery and will reopen it in February as The Wedge, with "more of a mid-tier menu."


He said he will honor any Amici's gift cards.

New Hockessin food lovers store

Chefs' Haven, a store catering to food lovers, opened today in Hockessin.

The shop at 1304 Old Lancaster Pike (across from the Wawa; it formerly housed an insurance company) is owned by Mark Eastman, a chef for 25 years who has worked at the Dilworthtown Inn, The Gables at Chadds Ford, Brasserie Perrier and Wilmington Trust.

The store, open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, sells high-quality knives, pots and pans, kitchen utensils, "functional" pottery and locally made chocolates.

Eastman says he plans to offer cooking classes for both teenagers and adults as well as team-building culinary classes.

Call 234-2040 for more information.

"Eat, eat..."

Checked out the Mangia Mangia Italian Eatery in Little Italy recently. They make a nice pie. The crust is not as thin as I like, but they do get their dough daily from New York, which makes Mangia Mangia a good recommendation.

Check out their entire menu at http://www.mangia-mangia.net/ as they also make subs, steaks, wraps and all of the usuals, plus panzarottis of course (or is that panzerotti...). Anyway, they're at 530 N. Lincoln. Call ahead at 654-2223.

Don't forget an order of cheese fries. While bright orange cheese sauce is always welcome, Mangia Mangia does cheese fries the better way, by melting real cheese over the fries. I finished my fries before I was done my second slice of pizza, they were so good.

In snack news, I have to recommend the Utz Baked Chips BBQ flavor. Utz definitely gets the BBQ idea right, going heavy with the smoky flavor. If you like barbecue-flavored potato chips, these outclass what Herr's offers.

Christmas trees and new downtown Mexican eats place

Hope the weekend treated you well.

I got a Christmas tree. (Thanks for the good times on Saturday, Canterbury crew!) First live one in years and years. Yup, My name is Patricia and I once was a Charlie Brown fake, prelighted Christmas tree girl.....

Got it home and then realized I no longer had a Christmas Xmas tree stand or lights. WT...Out to Unhappy Harry's for a cheapie stand - the last one! - and lights, which I had to return since I didn't look at the boxes and see that the wires are white instead of green and will look funny on the tree. WT....

So here's the funny thing: Couches and Christmas trees look much smaller - until you get them in your house. This is One. Big. Tree. OMG. The tree guy wasn't kidding when he told me I chopped down (well, Eddie chopped it; I got my picture taken holding the saw) the Cadillac of trees. It's more like a mini-van. Well, the house smells great....

OK, enough about me: Some news you can use.

There's a ribbon cutting on Tuesday for Qdoba Mexican Grill in downtown Wilmington.

The Market Street eatery offers 13" California-style, made-to-order jumbo burritos, salads, tacos, nachos, and quesadillas. It's open daily.

Qdoba serves breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and lunch/dinner from 10:30 a.m. through 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday.

Visit the web site or call 397-8851 for more details.

Reader mail

Happy, happy Friday. It's been an emotionally draining week and I'm looking forward to a fun weekend that includes chopping down a Christmas tree, heading to a party and tossing flour around the kitchen during a marathon baking session.

Do your part for the economy and try to dine out at a locally owned restaurant.

Need something to do:

Tonight through Sunday, Moore Brothers Wine Company is bringing in a slew of German wine makers. There's also a cool beer tasting on Saturday at Iron Hill Brewery in Wilmington (see second and third items.)

The mailbag is stuffed like Santa's sack today. Lots of great questions. Keep 'em coming. You ask. We answer. Every Friday. Email me at ptalorico@delawareonline.com.

QUESTION: Edea Barilo of Bellevue Manor had mentioned her gravy that won first place. Is there any chance of getting the recipe? It sounds very good. My aunt used to make a red gravy with pork and spearmint leaves to help with digestion wish I had that recipe as well.
Thanks
Ray

ANSWER: Spearmint leaves? Really? That's a new one to me. It's amazing the diversities when it comes to Italian gravy.
Americans who sing about sauce of their childhood that would sputter in a large pot on their mother or grandmother's stove are actually talking about ragu napoletano. Ragu is something that makes Edea Barilo nostalgic for her youth and brings back memories of her parents, now deceased. The Brandywine Hundred resident grew up smelling and eating Sunday gravy and continues the tradition with her own family. At the annual Vendemmia Italian food and wine festival in Wilmington this past October, Barilo's full-bodied sauce took top honors at the annual Gravy Contest.

Another reader asked for Barilo's recipe. But she told me doesn't have one written down. Barilo says the secret of her sauce is to have everything fresh. She starts by sauteing onions and garlic. From there, she makes her own braciola, the flattened beef that she spreads with a blend of flat-leaf parsley, garlic, salt and pepper, rolls up and then braises. Sausage goes into the pan, followed by homemade meatballs made with a combination of ground veal, beef and pork. An added layer of flavor comes from the addition of sauteed country-style ribs.
Barilo's mother Ada always canned her own homegrown summer tomatoes. Her daughter does the same. But sometimes Barilo also uses cans of San Marzano tomatoes.
"I'll add the spices, salt, pepper and garlic. The parsley comes from my yard as do the bay leaves," she says. Fennel seed is also part of the mix. The preparation takes about an hour and Barilo slow-cooks the sauce for another 2 1/2 hours. "The whole house smells great."

QUESTION: Hi Pat, Several months ago you did a write up on a new restaurant that opened in Glen Mills, U.S. 202, Route 1 area and I believe it was a steakhouse. Could you please give me the name. It 's not Brandywine Prime because I was thinking this new restaurant might give them some competition.
Thank you,
Carolyn D. Brown

ANSWER: I believe you're thinking of Mile High Steak House in Glen Mills, Pa. Here's the link: http://www.milehighsteakandseafood.com/


QUESTION: Hello Patricia,
My name is Joe Louden and I am a teacher in the Fine Arts department at Ursuline Academy.
I am interested in having parents and students bring food items to the Christmas concerts next Tuesday and Wednesday at our school.
Is there a chance you would be able to drop off barrels for collection of any food items?
I await your response to report this possibility to our leadership.

ANSWER: Hi Joe. I'm so glad your organization is participating. My book club just gathered together items that we plan to drop off very soon. When we first ran stories about the initiative of Delaware Does More, supported by The News Journal and spearheaded by the United Way and the Delaware Food Bank - more than 30 companies, churches and organizations promised to get involved. Since stories first ran and appeared in print and on DelawareOnline – more than 250 Delaware companies, churches and organizations have signed on to help local Delawareans in need. These organizations are doing everything from employee / employer food drives, bake sales, collecting extra cash donations and more during this campaign to raise $250,000 and 300,000 pounds of food during the next 90 days.

The Food Bank of Delaware needs your help now more than ever. They will drop off and pick up barrels for you. The contact person is Charlotte McGarry at 292-1305, ext., 211 or cmcgarry@fbd.org


QUESTION: Hi Patricia. My husband and I went to Orillas Saturday night. The place was crowded, but we were seated right away. Our server was awesome, filling us in on things the menu did not tell us,such as how the seafood and vegetarian paellas could be made for one person and how everything is freshly made so special orders are not a problem. We ordered several dishes to share and were very happy with our choices. The chef and sous chef both came out to speak to us, as did other people working there. Our hope is that the good news about Orillas speads and that the location is a plus, not a minus.
Beryl Gamiel

ANSWER: Beryl, your experience mirrors my own. Here's my review of Orillas.

QUESTION: I enjoyed your article about Vincente's. It was a favorite of mine when I had out of town customers to entertain. In addition to the table side salad and talking menu, he did an outstanding act named Cafe Diablo. It was a real crowd pleaser. I wonder if that will be included at the new location. Hal Lynch

ANSWER: My guess is that Vincente's owner Vincent Mancari will bring back many favorites from his old menu.

QUESTION: Patricia - I have a coworker coming to town from Houston with a church group of 30 people. She is looking for a place for the group to have dinner on Thursday evening and wants to keep the average entree price at $15-$20 per.

A friend recommended looking at the Italian restaurants in South Philly for a real experience and good food but he couldn't think of any names. I came up with Ralph's Italian Restaurant using Google.

Do you have any suggestions? I am trying to avoid sending them to a chain restaurant.

ANSWER: Ralph's is definitely an old school "red gravy" joint. I can't remember the prices - went there with my uncle about a year or so ago - but it's a fun South Philly place.

I also like Villa di Roma, 936 S. Ninth St., (between Christian Street and Washington Avenue) (215) 592-1295. It's also in the Italian Market - just down the street from Ralph's. I think it's a little more casual than Ralph's, but good food, very homey and as South Philly as it gets.

Just so you know, I'm almost positive that both places are cash only.

In Delaware, there's always Ristorante Attilio's (my first choice for "red gravy" Italian) or Madeline's Italian Restaurant.

Top Chef recap

First things: Should I keep recapping "Top Chef"? What's the interest level here?

The Thanksgiving episode with the Foo Fighters didn't leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. It smelled too much of stunt casting.... Do you care what rock stars have to say about food? Not me. Even if it is Dave Grohl. Who is sometimes spotted in Delaware. (Rehoboth and Dewey beaches.)

Stick with music, my friend. Leave the food critiquing to the professionals, especially when you describe something as looking like spit. (Which, actually, was kind of funny.)

What also was funny? The beginning of this episode opening with the long, rambling letter - scribbled on loose leaf paper (what is this grade school?) - that Mr. Spitty S'mores left for Tattoo Girl and Engaged Guy. (Sorry, but I can't remember anyone's name besides the European Union of Fabio and Stefano.)

When they started crying, I couldn't stop laughing.

This. Is. A. Reality. TV. Show. No one is dying, dude. You made and served spitty s'mores for rock stars on national television. For Thanksgiving. No wonder you're gone. And where did you find loose leaf paper?

Last night's breakfast amuse bouche Quickfire Challenge was cool. I'm not a huge breakfast eater - kind of like Fabio and Tattoo Girl - so this appeals to my inner "just-give-me-coffee-and-don't-talk-to-me-until-10 a.m." chick.

Some of these chefs need to go back and page through their "Food Lover's Companion" for the definition of this culinary term: An amuse bouche is a single bite. Little, itty, bitty thing. As in, one chomp, you're done, now hand me a napkin.

Rocco DiSpirito, the former pusher of gourmet cat food , was back as the guest tasting tongue. The Big Rock used to have so much street cred. Anyone remember his late great Union Pacific restaurant? Sigh. Then he started doing really stupid things like starring in an ill-conceived reality show called "The Restaurant" and stinking it up on "Dancing with the Stars." Heavy sigh.

Flirty Girl - Leah, maybe? - wins by making something you can pop into your mouth. This is not rocket science, people. Little, itty, bitty bite. But how lame is it that Big Roc gives her one of his even lamer cookbooks as a prize? Oh, just go take another dance lesson will you?

Elimination Round was about cooking and talking on camera for 2 1/2 minutes. The three winning dishes get to be tasted by the ladies on the "Today" show. Having "the ladies" taste your food? Man, that's so D-List. No Al Roker? Guess that gosh-darn pesky gastric bypass operation has curbed Al's tasting abilities...

OK, this challenge is much harder than it sounds. I'm not great at camera work. First time I did a taped segment, I mispronounced my own name. The camera man laughed so hard we couldn't finish taping for a good 10 minutes.

Ariane - someone I remember! - kills it with her tomato, watermelon, feta cheese salad. (A salad for the ladies? No brainer. Please, that's like giving peanut butter and jelly to kids. Game over.)

Fabio goes with a tuna crowd-pleaser and scores some points. But Dumb Blonde Guy makes some kind of "gourmet" cabbage roll that makes Kathie Lee Gifford, the most annoying woman on the planet, spit it out on live TV. Do you trust a woman who frequently referred to her old man as the "Love Machine" to know good taste? I don't. (Ugh, and isn't it hard to get that image of Frank "Love Machine" Gifford out of your head now?)

The laughs just kept coming this episode.

Who got axed?

Engaged Guy. He made a soupy creme brulee which caused Chef Tom to give the Big Face Frown.

Uh oh. The Face Frown is never a good sign.

And soupy brulee is a sin against man. Well, on television anyway.

Goodbye, Engaged Guy. Enjoy the reception.

Do you hate Bobby Flay?

Just came upon this article about Food Network freckle-face Bobby Flay and had to share.

I used to be one of the people who believed Flay was an overly confident, cocky dude (wow, what a stretch for a chef!) whose city slicker personality was like wasabi - too much to handle in large doses.

Every time I watched a Flay hosted program I thought: Do you smile at your mother with that smirk?

But then I started cooking some of his big-flavored recipes - his grill books really are awesome and I dig his use of molasses, honey, chipotles and other chiles - and visited his Atlantic City steakhouse, where I had a fabulous and expensive meal. (Thankfully I wasn't paying that night).

My opinion of Mr. Flay started changing for the better. Cocky, I can handle, especially since he had the goods to back it up. (Well, the opinion wavered a bit when I had a so-so meal at Mesa Grill in New York).

But then I met Flay and interviewed him during an "Iron Chef America" taping and found him to be funny, very sincere and actually kind of sweet. (Whoa. Back up, buster: Is this the same Mr. Snarky?) With not a smidge of smirk, he told me that sometimes he felt like popping a few of those Iron Chef judges who were overly critical of the gourmet-style dishes that he has only 1 hour to make. That kind of honesty left me, well, kind of, smitten.

While I'm not ready to worship at the Church of His Bobbyness, I'll stand up and be counted. I'm a Flay fan.

Stress baking: UPDATE

It's been tough going lately and it isn't going to get any easier today.

Last night, the first thing I thought about when coming home was getting out the flour, sugar and butter and start baking. The smell of anything baking lifts my spirts. And, well, I do have that 25 pounds of Costco flour to use.

It was a little too late and I was a little too down for a marathon baking session. But I'm ready to begin playing in the kitchen with a few Christmas cookies recipes that I've been dying to try.

Here's a link to Martha Stewart's web site which has many holiday cookie recipes.

UPDATE: I scratched an earlier cookie link since you need a subscription - thanks for the heads-up Mr. Ruffles! Try this one instead. It's the Epicurious site for holiday cookies.

I'll also make Sara Foster's super easy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

UPDATE: I brought these cookies into work today. We really needed them!

Here's the recipe:

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Adapted from Sara Foster's "The Foster's Market Cookbook" (Random House, 2002.)

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly grease two baking sheets and set aside. Cream together the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until well-combined. Add the egg and the vanilla and mix until all ingredients are combined. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl and stir to mix. Slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture while beating or stirring until smooth and well-blended. Add chocolate chips,. Do not overmix. Scoop the dough with a heaping tablespoon, roll into a ball and drop onto prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart. Press flat with the back of a fork . Each cookie should be about 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes (or 10 to 12 minutes for soft, chewy cookies) until golden brown. Cool 5 to 10 minutes on the baking sheets before removing the cookies to a baking rack to cool completely.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.