My favorite recipes
At our local art theater, E Street Cinema, they now have an Artisan Cheese Plate, featuring 4 incredible cheeses from Italy and France; Galbani Bel Paese, Boule d’Or Mimolette, Istara P’Tit Basque and President Emmental. Served with Toasted Pita Bread and a mixture of Candied Pecans and cranberries. What could be better than cheese and a movie?
We saw this on TV and had to give it a try. The chef said she had tried 100 different ways to make this, and this was the best. It sure was easy. It takes awhile to boil a big pot of water on my stove, and this recipe cuts the water in half — so the whole recipe only took about 15 minutes total, especially with the smaller pasta. Of course, we got the real romano cheese as they suggested, per Whole Foods. We didn’t grate the cheese as fine as they suggested, and but it sure didn’t seem to effect the flavor.
We used Barilla whole grain angel hair pasta (though ATC says whole wheat pasta is better for you than whole grain with only 6 grams of fiber, and the didn’t even use whole wheat in this recipe) and skipped the black pepper. We have a lot left over — and I am so glad.
From America’s Test Kitchen’s Spaghetti with Pecorino Romano and Black Pepper (Cacio e Pepe)
Serving Size : 6
Categories : Pasta & Pasta Sauces
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
6 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese — 4 ounces finely grated (about 2 cups) and 2 ounces coarsely grated (about 1 cup)
1 pound spaghetti
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon black pepper
Place finely grated Pecorino in medium bowl. Set colander in large bowl.
Bring 2 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add pasta and 1½ teaspoons salt; cook, stirring frequently, until al dente. Drain pasta into colander set in bowl, reserving cooking water. Pour 1½ cups cooking water into liquid measuring cup and discard remainder; return pasta to now-empty bowl.
Slowly whisk 1 cup reserved pasta cooking water into finely grated Pecorino until smooth. Whisk in cream, oil, and black pepper. Gradually pour cheese mixture over pasta, tossing to coat. Let pasta rest 1 to 2 minutes, tossing frequently, adjusting consistency with remaining ½ cup reserved pasta water. Serve, passing coarsely grated Pecorino separately.
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 448 Calories; 15g Fat (30.8% calories from fat); 19g Protein; 58g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 36mg Cholesterol; 348mg Sodium. Exchanges: 4 Grain(Starch); 1 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 2 Fat.
NOTES : High-quality ingredients are essential in this dish, most importantly, imported Pecorino Romano—not the bland domestic cheese labeled “Romano.” Use the small holes on a box grater to grate the cheese finely and the large holes to grate it coarsely. Alternatively, a food processor may be used to grate it finely: Cut the Pecorino into 2-inch pieces and process until finely ground, about 45 seconds. For a slightly less rich dish, substitute half-and-half for the heavy cream. Do not adjust the amount of water for cooking the pasta. Stir the pasta frequently while cooking so that it doesn’t stick to the pot. Letting the dish rest briefly before serving allows the flavors to develop and the sauce to thicken.
Delicious, light cocktail before pizza. And what better before Italian food than a little Italian liquor?
Aperol is a dark orange Italian aperitif with a sweet orange taste. Born in 1919 in Padua, Aperol is made from a blend of spirit, rhubarb, chinchona, genziana and a secret combination of herbs. 103 calories in an ounce. 11 percent alcohol.
Adopted from “Lounge in New York” by Eric Wetz, (Wall Street Journal May 15, 2011). “Don’t let the neon color fool you; this is a balanced drink you may want to make by the pitcher.”
W’s Roman Holiday Cocktail
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
1 ounce vodka
1 ounce Aperol
1/2 lime
1/2 orange
spash of soda water
Squeeze juices int vodka and Aperol. Shake with ice and strain into a martni glass.
Top with a splash of soda water or Prosecco.
Garnish with an orange wedge.
I saw this on recipe for nuked Alaskan King Crab Claws on Alton Brown several years ago, and I wanted to try ever since. It is very easy. The crab has a different flavor than the crabs we get her in Maryland.
Ingredients
Directions
Wrap 3 claws at a time in a damp paper towel, along with 1 sprig of thyme, dill or other fresh herb, and then wrap in plastic wrap. Place wrapped claws in microwave 1 package at a time and cook on high for 2 minutes. Remove and unwrap carefully. Serve immediately. We served with a salad and roasted green beans. Butter on the side of course, but not that necessary.
Potato GnocchiThis Wall Street Journal (New World Gnocchi Jan 2011) article inspires you to get out the potatoes: Here’s how important gnocchi, aka ñoquis, is in Argentina and Uruguay: The food has its own day of each month, the 29th, when there is no question of what’s for dinner. On the 29th, you put a few bills under your plate of ñoquis and the cash is said to eventually multiply. In the WSJ version, they cook the potatoes til soft in the microwave, and then they pass potatoes through a ricer.
3 cups mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
all-purpose flour
boiling salted water
sauce
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese
Measure the potatoes into a bowl with 1 1/2 cups of flour, salt, oil and blend with a fork. Add eggs and blend thoroughly into potato mixture. Turn dough onto floured board and knead gently, about 15 times. Shape into a fat loaf and set on floured area to prevent sticking. Cut off a piece of dough at a time about (about 1 1/2 cups) and roll on lightly floured board into a cord 3/8 inch thick. Cut cord into 1 1/ inch lengths. Roll each segment in th center lightly under forefinger to give the piece a bow shape / sea shells.
Set the shaped gnocchi aside on a lightly floured pan such as a baking sheet; the pieces should not touch.
Set them a few at a time (enough to cover the bottom, but not stack) into boiling, salted water. Cook five minutes after they return to the surface of the water (stir gently if they haven’t popped up in about a minute). Keep water at a slow boil. Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon. Place in a shallow pan and use melted butter / olive oil to get them from sticking together. Cover and keep warm. Can keep in a 150 degree oven for as long as three hours. To serve, layers with sauce and cheese in a baking dish; heat at 375 for 10 minutes.
Mashed potatoes: to prepare instant mashed potatoes, hit the amount of water called for on the package to 6-8 servings; stie in potatoes as directed. Add no seasonings or other ingredients. Measure 3 cups; use at once. CAn also use pesto or marinara sauce.
The Sauce: BROWN BUTTER AND SAGE
1. Add a knob of unsalted butter to a large sauté pan (not non-stick) and set over high heat.
2.Once the butter browns, add several leaves of chopped sage and then immediately add well-drained gnocchi.
3. Do not touch the pan for a minute or two, until one side of the gnocchi is well browned.
4. Jerk the pan forward to toss the gnocchi, and allow them to brown on another side. Slide onto a plate and sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper.
Maureen called me from Texas to watch chef and cheese expert Jason Sobocinski, called The Big Cheese, on the cooking channel. We don’t get it (only food tv), but I went to the website. It says: The US is now the biggest cheese producer in the world and creates over 350 high quality. She says W would do a better job — which was very sweet of her. One of the recipes on the site has our favorite blue: Penne with Point Reyes Original Blue, Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach. It just premiered on May 1, and they don’t have much on the website yet.
The Spring Mill Bread staff say their spinach feta bread is seasonal, though I didn’t know there was a season for feta and spinach. But there is a good thing they think there is, because I can’t stop eating it. It’s very moist, and it’s made from organic wheat. The label says it has feta cheese in it, but further down it says it has no dairy products, so I’m not sure how that works. You should avoid products with more than 200 mg of sodium per serving, and this has 250, so that’s a reason to go easy on it. But that’s not unusual on anything with cheese.
We were skeptical, but this 3-cheeese Emmental, Comté and Gruyère cheeses mixture melts into one another to form a thick and creamy fondue. No preservatives, but certainly not low-cal. We split the container up into two, separate fondue parties, and that worked fine. Surprisingly smooth, and ready in under five minutes. La Fondue is available at Trader Joe’s 17.9 oz • $5.99.
For National Cheese Fondue Day, the Melting Pot offered free fondue. WT was out of town and had set up the reservation, so NA and I got to take advantage of it at the DC location on 19th Street. We had just been to a lovely program at the Italian Embassy, so we were in the a festive cheese mood. The restaurant is a pretty place, much cozier than the family-friendly restaurant in nearby Arlington, VA. The staff was quite friendly, and the place was quiet. They make a big production out of making the actual fondue at your table, and that is quite fun. The hostess let us know: Every Wednesday: Wine Down Wednesday! 50% off select bottles of wine. The waiter, Charlie, and his trainee suggested salads and desserts, but they weren’t pushy. Charlie knew a bit about wine, and he checked with the bartender when we had a question. We went with Verdemar’s Spanish Albarino, and it went well with the Swiss cheese fondue. (There were many types of cheese fondue, but we decided to go with a classic).
Charlie prepared our fondue in a double-broiler-type fondue pot on the table with white wine, garlic, fresh lemon juice, grated Swiss Gruyere and Emmentaler, topped off with black pepper and nutmeg. It was accompanied by bread chucks, some veggies and granny smith apples. It was just perfect for 2. I’d give the fondue and service a good rating, but they need to work on the softie American bread–a good, crusty French bread would have added to the experience.
During the week you have to park on the street, and of course, we had parking meter issues, so bring plenty of change and call the phone number on the side if you have issues.
