Do you have a burning question for Mario? Now is your chance to have it answered – whether you want to know about Mario Batali the chef, award winning restaurateur, author, TV personality, family man or aficionado of fine rock and roll – you ask, and he’ll answer. |
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- Q: I am making your recipe for Cannelloni al Forno. The recipe calls for 7 tablespoons butter. In the directions, you call for 1 tablespoon of the butter to be melted in a pan. I see no direction for the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter. What am I missing? Thanks
-- I am a big fan of you and your restaurants.
Nyla
Tomball, Te
A: The other 6 tablespoons are for the wet Besciamella sauce called for at the bottom of the page. It is in fact a typo. Thank you for finding it! We will fix it in the next printing. - Q: I am a cook in a resturant and I want to impress the owners. The idea is to spice up this year's menu with a ragu made with a shredded pot roast -- ever heard of this? Any advice on a cool pasta to accompany it?
John
Ipswich, Ma
A: Yes, it is called "Stracotto" meaning "way over cooked". I would shred up the left-over pot roast by hand and simmer it in the cooking liquid for an extra 30 minutes, keeping it moist with a little broth if it gets too tight. An excellent pasta to go with it is called Maltagliati, or "poorly cut" pasta. Roll out fresh pasta into thin sheets and then cut irregular shapes out of it. Boil them in salted water just like any other pasta and toss them in with the "stracotto". Call it Maltagliati al Stracotto. - Q: As a lover of all food, is there anything you just don't like?
Elizabeth
Jersey City, Ne
A: Durian, a nasty spikey-looking fruit from Southeast Asia. It is simply beyond me! - Q: I'm just learning about pizzelle and have tried one pizzelle baker but am not that satisfied with it. Do you have a favorite iron? Thank you for just being you!
Sylvia
Santa Fe, Ne
A: My family has always used my Grandma's pizzelle iron. It is an old fashioned one with long handles that we heat over an open fire or a gas burner, but unless you have the rhythm, it is not that efficient. I love the Villaware electric model--it is easy and consistent. - Q: Hello Mr.Batali, As an aspiring chef of 16 years old, I look up to you as inspiration for your outstanding talent and your obvious success. What would you recommend to get a solid basis for a future career in the restaurant business? How did you go about your first restaurant? What is your opinion on culinary institutes vs. less formal methods of culinary education?
Ajay
Centennial, Co
A: My advice to anyone who wants to cook professionally is to first get a classic college education and earn a liberal arts degree. Then, concentrate on the perfection of cooking techniques either in a great restaurant or at a cooking school. Cooking is something that can be very enjoyable as a profession, but true wisdom and smarts will always help anyone be a better business person regardless of what the studied subject matter is. I studied Spanish Theater of the Golden Age in college and loved it...see where it got me??