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Q). Dear Chef Pisto,
I consider escargot a delicious appetizer at restaurants and I've
satisfactorily prepared the canned version from the supermarket. Of
course, anything baked in garlic butter is pretty tasty. We have quite a
few snails infesting our landscaping in Carmel Valley, and I was
wondering, are these the edible kind? How does one prepare these guys
(you never see the antenna in the restaurant version)? I remember
reading that snails were being raised for escargot in the artichoke
fields in Castroville.
James King
Carmel, CA
A). As it turns out James, many local species of snail are
edible. The thing to worry about is, since most consider them to be
pests, have the snails you lust after been exposed to
any snail
poison by your spouse or a neighbor. Trace amounts of poison on your
little friend might not kill him but
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could still do you in. By the way
folks, you might not be aware that snails belong to the same family (gastropada) as the abalone. Many who
have no desire to eat escargot lie awake at night craving abalone - a
marine snail. I don't know about domesticated snails in Castroville, but
since snails happen to love artichokes, I'm sure the farmers would let
you have all you want.
Q). John,
Hi and thanks so much for all you do. Very interested in your recipe for
the Italian Beef Sandwich. Could not find it among your other offerings.
Especially need to know the cut of meat and the method of cooking with
the appropriate spices. Thanks again.
Joan Wethington
Via-email A). There are so
many recipes for this sandwich. I found that there are more than 50
different ways to
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make one. Stick to the basics:
Italian Beef Sandwich Recipe
First
you need a soft roll or bun, then a roast (cross rib or rump) seasoned
with salt, garlic, bottled Italian seasoning, lots of black pepper and
oregano. Roast till 140 degrees and make sure you add beef broth to the
pan to make your juice. Next sauté some green bell peppers with onions,
garlic, salt and pepper (ratio 3 parts peppers to 1 part onions). Drain
the juice from your cooked roast into a saucepan (at least 1 quart, add
more beef broth if needed). Now add some sliced onions, more pepper,
oregano, Worcestershire, 10 crushed garlic cloves and a fair amount of
oregano. Have ready some sliced hot peppers, cherry peppers or hot
banana peppers (the ones in vinegar). Slice
the roast on a slicer, like lunchmeat. Drop into warm juice. Dip the
roll into the juice and pile on the meat. Add some fried green peppers
and finish off with hot peppers.
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