Is That a Braciola in Your Pocket . . .
Recently while reading the Bob Spitz book, the Saucier’s Apprentice (W.W. Norton, 2008), Spitz repeatedly mentioned a dish called Braciola. But he never went into detail what it was other than a very common dish in Italy. The problem was I live in a part of the country with very few Italians so my knowledge of Italian food growing up was lasagna and spaghetti. Ironically, neither are that common in Italy where they tend to eat dishes like Braciola more often. So I went to wikipedia and looked it up:
Braciola (plural braciole) is the name of an Italian dish. Braciole are simple thin slices of beef pan fried in their juice, or in a light amount of olive oil. It is, probably, one of the simplest dishes in Italian cooking; served with a green salad or boiled potatoes
In Italian American cuisine, braciole (the word is commonly pronounced /bra’zhul/ from the Sicilian pronunciation) is the name given to thin slices of meat (typically pork, chicken, or beef, but even swordfish) that are rolled with cheese and bread crumbs and fried; the bread crumbs are often left off, and the braciole are cooked along with meatballs and Italian sausage in Sunday gravy. They can be served with tomato sauce, or even plain. There exist many variations on the recipe. Changing the type of cheese and adding assorted vegetables (such as eggplant) can drastically change the taste. Braciole are not eaten as a main dish, but as a side dish at dinner, or in a sandwich at lunch.
What are known as braciole in the United States is named involtini in original Italian cuisine. Involtini are thin slices of beef (or pork, or chicken) rolled with a filling of the Parmesan cheese, eggs to give consistency and whatever additional ingredients (other cheeses, ham, bread crumbs, mushroom, onions, sausage, etc.) are available. Involtino (singular) originates from the word “voltare” (to turn), as in the action or rolling the meat around the filling (as in rolling a sheet of paper for storage). One involtino is held together by a wooden toothpick, and the dish is usually served (in various sauces: red, white, etc.) as a second course. When cooked in tomato sauce, the sauce itself is used to toss the pasta for the first course, giving a consistent taste to the whole meal.
The word is also used in Italian-American slang as a reference to the male reproductive organ. An example of this usage is in The Sopranos episode “Second Opinion”.
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braciola“
Whole Foods-Wild Oats Merger Halted
Court overturns ruling that allowed Whole Foods-Wild Oats merger
Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times
The ruling comes almost a year after Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods purchased the 110-store Wild Oats chain for $565 million and brings up questions as to whether it would be possible to unwind the merger so long after the fact.
When the two companies announced plans to merge in early 2007, the Federal Trade Commission moved to block the deal, arguing that it would give Whole Foods too much of the market for natural and organic foods and could raise prices for shoppers.
The federal district court ruled against the agency, saying it had not made a case for delaying the merger.
But a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington said that was the wrong decision and sent the case back to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for further consideration.
The ruling was a surprise to antitrust experts, said Mike Cowie, a former FTC assistant commissioner, who is now a partner at the Howrey law firm in Washington.
“This is an extraordinary situation for both the district court and the FTC,” Cowie said. “No one can be sure about what happens now.” It’s very difficult in cases such as this to “unscramble the eggs,” he said.
Whole Foods, for example, could be forced to divest a number of stores to a buyer that would be willing to operate them as an independent business, he said. That’s happened with companies in the software industry and other sectors. And the precedent was acknowledged in the court’s opinion.
“The courts have the power to grant relief on the FTC’s complaint, despite the merger’s having taken place, and the case is therefore not moot,” Judge Janice Rogers Brown, a former member of the California Supreme Court, wrote in the 2-1 appellate court decision.
Specifically the three-judge panel said the lower court erred when it ruled that the FTC’s definition of what constituted the market for natural and organic foods was too narrow. The FTC wanted a preliminary injunction to stop the takeover while it argued its position in court.
“The court should have taken whatever time it needed to consider the FTC’s evidence fully,” Brown wrote.
The FTC agreed. “We are pleased by today’s decision of the appeals court in the Whole Foods matter and are looking forward to future proceedings before the district court, leading to a full trial on the merits before the commission,” Jeffrey Schmidt, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said Tuesday.
Whole Foods said it was “disappointed with this decision as customers” and employees “have already received many benefits from this merger.” The company’s shares closed at $22.39 on Tuesday, up 36 cents.
The company said it was evaluating its legal options and it noted that “the decision acknowledges that neither the court nor the FTC has found the merger to be unlawful. . . . We await the U.S. District Court’s response so this issue can be resolved.”
Most of the time, the FTC would not pursue a case such as this because the bar becomes very high once a merger has closed, said Ronald Wick, an antitrust expert and partner at the law firm of Baker Hostetler in Washington. Federal regulators typically don’t want to put a lot of time and money into it if they believe they have little chance to win, he said.
Previously, the FTC said it was continuing its appeal because Whole Foods continued to operate many stores under the Wild Oats name, making it easier to reverse at least part of the deal.
Whole Foods, however, has now rebranded most of the Wild Oats stores, sold 35 more and closed 12. There are still 15 that use the Wild Oats name but Whole Foods said they would be converted in the coming weeks.
The buyers of the stores that were sold off could not be compelled to return them to Whole Foods to fold into a reconstituted Wild Oats, Wick said.
Other factors also have changed since the deal has closed. In Southern California, for example, the competition in the natural and organic foods market is increasing.
Two small organic and natural food chains, Sprouts Farmers Markets and Henry’s Farmers Market — the 35-store former Wild Oats unit sold by Whole Foods — are adding stores, thus diluting Whole Foods’ market concentration.
And traditional grocers and retailers including Safeway Inc., which operates as Vons in Southern California, and retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. continue to expand their selection of organic goods.
Eat This Not That by David Zinczenko
I found this about the new healthy eating book Eat This Not That by David Zinczenko at the I Crave Books blog.
This little book caught my attention because I’ve been trying to eat healthier lately and this simple format (no mention of the dreaded d word) appealed to me. After reading through it (and finding out I’ve been ordering the totally wrong thing at Jimmy John’s) I think I might have to buy it (and I don’t buy a lot of books).
For a small book (it’s a square format – I think to make it easier to take with you) there’s a lot of information packed inside. In addition to the “Eat this, not that” choices for many restaurants, there’s an “Eat this, not that” section for holiday meals and for at the grocery store. Each page also has a “did you know” fact, and sprinkled throughout are “guilty pleasures” (for example, on your burger have a few pieces of bacon, just skip the cheese – as bacon as less fat and sodium) and “Weapons of Mass Destruction” which are those innocent sounding things on the menu that are chocked full of calories or fat.
This is quite the informative book and I would recommend it to everyone.
Wannabe TV Chef Blog Nominated . . .
wTVc Blog has been nominated for a Blogger’s Choice Award under the category of “Best Food Blog.” Don’t believe me? Then where did we get this nifty button thingy?
If you like the site and feel it is deserving of some attention then click on the button and vote for it. If you don’t care for it or find it a bore vote for it anyway. I mean, it’s not like every puppy in Wisconsin will drowned or Christmas will be canceled because of it. Geesh! Don’t be such a wet blanket, dad.
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Watch Stuart Reb Donald
on Everyday Gourmet.
