FAREWELL BLT
A bittersweet post, I guess.
We all have comfort foods, foods we miss when we are away from home, foods that simply make us feel better. Peanut Butter was a main comfort food for both Fran and I. The small jars for triple the price that are sold in a few markets here are nearly rancid when they are bought, and they do not believe in Chunky, which is, of course, the God of peanut butters.
There is another comfort food that I miss as well. Bacon. I mean good lean bacon. Not pancetta, which is not smoked, and not speck, which is poorly smoked. Good, lean, bacon. I have, of course, found a source bacon.
My mouth watered for a good BLT. I went to the ortofruitica (or fruitovendola if you prefer) to get the best possible local tomatoes and romaine lettuce. I consulted with my friends at panneficio Americana for the best bread to use.
I sliced the tomatoes perfectly, washed the lettuce, and tore it into appropriate size pieces. I cut the bread, lightly toasted it, and put just the right amound to mayonaise on it. Then I carefully, so very carefully fried the bacon. I used more than the usual amount of bacon strips, and even made one extra to eat just as a piece of bacon.
The bacon was wonderful. I put the bacon on the sandwich, and bit into it, waiting for the explosion of flavor of a perfectly made BLT. Well, I did get an explosion of flavor of BLT, and it was good. The lettuce was great, fresh and nutty flavored. The tomatos were that wonderful blend of sweet and acid that is true of only the freshest, most Sicilian tomatos. The bread was nutty and sweet. Let me see now, B is for bread. L is for lettuce. T is for tomato. Something is missing.
The wonderful flavors of the bread, lettuce, and tomato completely overwhelmed the poor little flavor of really good smoked, lean bacon. I could barely taste it. And I could not put together another try with the same ingredients, cutting down on the bread, tomato and lettuce. That would be heresy. Nor could I possibly add even more bacon, as it was loaded with bacon. And like I said, the bacon tasted really good.
It is just that the tomatoes, the bread, and the lettuce here is so good and flavorful, the bacon did not stand a chance. So I will have to wait until I get back to the states for a good BLT. For now, I will substitute bread for bacon in the BLT, and save the bacon for when I want to cook a few eggs or make pancakes.
BLT, I love you, but you just can not make a go of it here in Sicily.
We all have comfort foods, foods we miss when we are away from home, foods that simply make us feel better. Peanut Butter was a main comfort food for both Fran and I. The small jars for triple the price that are sold in a few markets here are nearly rancid when they are bought, and they do not believe in Chunky, which is, of course, the God of peanut butters.
There is another comfort food that I miss as well. Bacon. I mean good lean bacon. Not pancetta, which is not smoked, and not speck, which is poorly smoked. Good, lean, bacon. I have, of course, found a source bacon.
My mouth watered for a good BLT. I went to the ortofruitica (or fruitovendola if you prefer) to get the best possible local tomatoes and romaine lettuce. I consulted with my friends at panneficio Americana for the best bread to use.
I sliced the tomatoes perfectly, washed the lettuce, and tore it into appropriate size pieces. I cut the bread, lightly toasted it, and put just the right amound to mayonaise on it. Then I carefully, so very carefully fried the bacon. I used more than the usual amount of bacon strips, and even made one extra to eat just as a piece of bacon.
The bacon was wonderful. I put the bacon on the sandwich, and bit into it, waiting for the explosion of flavor of a perfectly made BLT. Well, I did get an explosion of flavor of BLT, and it was good. The lettuce was great, fresh and nutty flavored. The tomatos were that wonderful blend of sweet and acid that is true of only the freshest, most Sicilian tomatos. The bread was nutty and sweet. Let me see now, B is for bread. L is for lettuce. T is for tomato. Something is missing.
The wonderful flavors of the bread, lettuce, and tomato completely overwhelmed the poor little flavor of really good smoked, lean bacon. I could barely taste it. And I could not put together another try with the same ingredients, cutting down on the bread, tomato and lettuce. That would be heresy. Nor could I possibly add even more bacon, as it was loaded with bacon. And like I said, the bacon tasted really good.
It is just that the tomatoes, the bread, and the lettuce here is so good and flavorful, the bacon did not stand a chance. So I will have to wait until I get back to the states for a good BLT. For now, I will substitute bread for bacon in the BLT, and save the bacon for when I want to cook a few eggs or make pancakes.
BLT, I love you, but you just can not make a go of it here in Sicily.
posted by Steve at 11:26 AM
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