Birthday Pesto and Memories of Cinque Terre

Today's is my mother's birthday.   Even though she is no longer with us, every year it is easier for me to imagine that she would fully expect us to spend the day celebrating.    

As time heals and happier memories replace more difficult times, I've found comfort in doing things she loved.    My mom loved to cook and we often cooked together.   When I was older this was mostly over the holidays when we'd travel to get together with family.    My dad would always politely complain that we would make too much and would warn us to keep it simple.    But really, that's not much fun is it?

But today is all about fun and simple and definitely celebration.    With warmer (and almost downright hot) temperatures finally here, I start thinking again about summer foods.  Fresh pesto tops the list.  When the basil is still young, green and fresh and hasn't yet blossomed out of control, or worse yet, wilted and withered into dusty shades of old brown crispy leaves.  

This simple pesto begins with the most basic ingredients:   spinach, basil, olive oil, lemon, pine nuts and parmesan cheese.    Thrown into the blender and that's about it.  

Tonight this pesto will transform a summer pasta dish I am experimenting with for our little birthday party.     Whole wheat pasta tossed with all of the best (almost) summer vegetables I could find, roasted in the oven and bursting with flavor.     Treated with a coating of freshly made pesto, I'm thinking this is not only going to be good, but celebration worthy.   And that's really what today is all about.

Before we get to the recipe, here's a few images from a family trip to Italy about five years back which inspired this birthday menu.    We spent a memorable day together in Cinque Terre, hiking the hills, sipping local wine and eating fresh pesto with even fresher pasta on the edge of the sea.    Cinque Terre is everything that good pesto is.   Simple, beautiful, fresh, lemony, earthy, and just a touch salty.

Spinach Basil Pesto


Ingredients


2 1/2 cups baby spinach
1 1/2 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts
juice of one medium lemon
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
salt to taste

Preparation


Add the first five ingredients to blender or food processor and blend until combined.   Add in cheese and blend again.   Salt to taste.

***********************

It's that simple!

I'll let you know how the summer pasta turns out.    Wishing you a celebration of your own kind tonight!  

Roman Proposal - A Year Ago Today

Rose at the Spanish Steps near our Hotel

I can't believe it has been a year already!   So much has changed, I hardly feel like the same person.    I think that is a good thing.     

John and I had just arrived in Rome (a surprise trip for me!) and were wandering around jet lagged taking it all in.     It was a whirlwind weekend of a trip, highlighted by a very romantic proposal following dinner at my favorite restaurant.    A year ago today!

Thought I'd share a few images from our proposal weekend in Italy.   Brings back lots of wonderful memories.

Roman Forum

Man on the Steps

Pantheon Cafe

Homemade Pasta

And here we are.

Just like that.    October.  

All right.   So my question for you today is, have you tried your hand at homemade pasta?  

The mixing of flour and eggs and kneading and rolling and cutting by hand type all while making a glorious mess in your kitchen kind of homemade pasta?  

I'd so love to hear how it turned out for you.   But first, my story.

I grew up with my mom making fresh pasta at our kitchen table.   It was one of those weekend event things, usually in preparation for a dinner party with similarly Italian loving friends.    Or sometimes it was just for her family, when she wanted to give us a little extra special love.     It was always appreciated and I have fond memories of her having fun doing it, looking forward to the process and results.    I know this love for making pasta was amplified by many return visits to Italy, where, of course, they've got this down.

So by now you know that while I was in Rome, I spent a day in a chef's kitchen learning some tricks of the trade.   The highlight, for me, was making the pasta from scratch.   Despite having watched my mom do it, I never attempted it.    Fear, I suppose.   I know, dumb reason.

Our results from that class were so fabulous.   You could just taste the love mixed up in our dishes, made all the more better by getting to share them with new friends.  

With this as background, I decided to try and recreate my experience at home.    I have to tell you, I had built it up in my head for a couple months and I was pretty excited.  I had visions of delicately tossing the pasta by hand, perfect strands of pale gold, ready to jump into that boiling water and turn into something fabulous.  I had high hopes.  

First, I'll share the recipe.  Seriously, two ingredients.   Sounds simple, right?  

Fresh Pasta

Ingredients (serves 4)

4 cups all purpose flour, sifted first
4 eggs

Steps

On a cooking sheet, silpat type object or some other surface that is clean and can get a little dirty in the process, dump your flour into a small pile in the center.    Turn your pile of flour into a small volcano type object by making a deep hole in the center.   Be careful to leave a layer of flour at the bottom.

My Sad Looking Volcano

Crack eggs into the well in the flour.    With a fork, very gradually whisk those eggs into the flour.    Be patient with this process.   It is really meant to go slow with a very gradual taking of flour from the sides of your 'volcano' into the egg mixture.    Eventually you will get to a point where it the flour is incorporated and dough like mixture begins to form.     Keep going until you have everything incorporated.  I used my hands at the end to get everything in there.   It is also not an exact science, so you'll have to use a little personal judgment as to when to stop.   Don't let things become too dry (this is where practice and experience helps).

So now you have dough.

Dust a little more flour on your working surface and on a rolling pin and start rolling out the dough.    You can also do this in a pasta machine if you have one.   After you roll it out, fold it over and start rolling again.    Keep repeating this process until you achieve the right level of pliability (you will get a feel for this as you go).   When 'ready', begin rolling out your dough until very thin, almost transparent.   I found this almost impossible, so my advice is just to keep going and get it as thin as you can without tearing it.  

Do as I say, not as I do.   I wouldn't exactly call this transparent.  

When ready, you can begin cutting your dough into thin pasta resembling shapes.   I prepared for this by dusting my work surface with a little cornmeal and the top of the pasta sheet with a little cornmeal.   This will help prevent things from sticking.   Roll your dough very gently until you have something that looks like a jelly roll.    From here, you can begin slicing the ends off, each slice producing a new strand of pasta.    Cut as thin as you possibly can.   Once you have all of your slices, gently open them up and toss them lightly with cornmeal again and lay them out on a surface to rest.   Let them 'dry' for a couple of hours in the open air if you can.  

Comparing this to our version from class up above makes me giggle. 

Now you are ready to make the pasta.     Get some water boiling in a large pot.    Add your pasta to the boiling water.    Stir in a tablespoon of salt.   Stir often to prevent from sticking.   Taste your pasta after 3 or 4 minutes to see if it is done (it should be!)    Drain your pasta and use as you see fit!


Okay, having made this, I am now truly convinced that pasta making is an art that requires skill, practice and lots of love to perfect.  I now also understand why my mom got so into it.   She too wanted to reach that level of culinary achievement.  

She also had a pasta maker which I truly believe is necessary for my novice self.  I just do not possess the arm strength to roll out the dough to the perfect thinness.   I really did try.   And tried.   And tried.   It just didn't happen.   Our pasta was 'thick' and 'chewy' (not in a good al dente way).  

It wasn't perfect, but it was made with lots of love and determination, and this found its way into the end product.    Kind of like life, I think.    You get out of it what you put into it.  

And guess who's getting a pasta maker as a wedding gift?   Yup, so next time I'm here pontificating about homemade pasta, we may have a slightly different story.   Practice makes perfect, but I think strong arms, or a little machinery, will help.     I am very much looking forward to my next trial.

I'd love to hear your stories.   Successful attempts?   Not so successful?   The real question is... did you have fun with the process? 

Ciao.

Grilled Pizza with Italian Sausage

Grilled pizza is kind of like the epitome of summer for me.    It is easy, colorful and fresh.    What's not to love?   The preparation is actually also an incredibly fun social activity if you get others involved.     Perfect for informal evening parties or family gatherings on the deck.

This is one of those foods that brings back deep memories of growing up in New Hampshire.   My mother went through a grilled pizza phase for a couple of summers.  Once you get the basics down, this is a perfect food for experimenting with and it is so flexible since everyone can choose their own toppings.    I remember those summer evenings like they were yesterday.   So much fun.  While summer in New England isn't long, those perfect summer days and nights are truly memorable.

One other note on this, if you've been following me around since Italy, you'll also know that I am a huge fan of super thin crispy pizza, the kind that can only be achieved in ovens heated to a gazillion degrees.   I have found that while not exactly the same, I can achieve a similar effect on the grill.   Super high temps help crisp the dough and prepare for toppings and it imparts a lovely smokiness that adds so much flavor and depth.

I found this recipe on Epicurious.com.   One of my favorite sites for browsing (aka time wasting).  If you search for grilled pizza, you'll find a bunch of recipes, but I'd start with this one because it is so amazingly fantastic.    It is honestly not hard, even though the instructions look super long.     I'd also encourage you to make this exactly as noted.  I have a tendency to change things around, but this recipe is seriously perfect as is.    Oh, and the fresh rosemary in here is outstanding, it really makes a difference.

Grilled Pizza with Spicy Italian Sausage

I will confess to one small variation.   We substituted mild for spicy sausage.   I love spicy.   John doesn't.   I've learned to compromise when needed!

Oops, actually two.  I used cherry tomatoes since we had those available.

John and I made this together.  I made the dough and prepped all the fun and colorful ingredients.   He was in charge of the grilling activity.   Everything came together just beautifully.

It is a gorgeous dish to look at with all of the color and contrast.     The flavors are also a perfect balance of sweet, smoky, fresh and tangy.    We looked at each other after the first bite and literally almost did a happy dance in the kitchen.  

Love, love, love this recipe.    Definitely a summer keeper, although next time we'll invite friends over for a fun evening.   Lots of versatility with wine pairing too.   This would be perfect with a crisp pinot grigio or lightly sweet rose or even a chianti to pick up the smokiness in the sausage.  

Bon Appetit!

Fresh Pasta in Italy

My favorite part of Cooking Classes in Rome.... making fresh pasta!   So much fun and so good.  I can't wait to try and recreate this at home.

Wishing you a fabulous weekend!

Passionate Cooking in Rome

How often do you meet someone who is both passionate about their work and is truly doing what makes them happy?   In part two of my life, this is what I aspire to.  I have always been very passionate about what I do, I just have never had the opportunity to fully apply that passion to something I love.

I am on a mission to realign these two concepts in my life.    I feel very fortunate that throughout my European adventure I have met some amazing people who have inspired me in varying ways and reaffirmed my guiding principle that life is short and you should do what makes you happy.

I met one of these individuals on one of my very last days in Rome.     I was a little burnt out on sightseeing after several weeks and looking to do something a little more engaging.   I decided to take a cooking class.   Love to cook.  Love Italian food.   What better place to learn than Rome?

I figured I would enhance my technical skills, maybe learn how to make pasta from scratch.    Would have been thrilled with just this.

What I didn’t realize was that I was about to embark upon one of my favorite days of the entire trip.    Let me explain…

I signed up for Cooking Classes in Rome.   Sounds fairly generic, (yet easy to remember… smart…), but it had fantastic reviews on tripadvisor.     I don’t doubt tripadvisor.   It hasn’t failed me yet.    I had about two weeks left in Rome when I sent my inquiry.   Lucky me, there was an opening the Friday before I left.     Better late than never.

The school is held in the family restaurant, Le Fate in Trastevere.    Classes start at 11:30.   You spend the afternoon cooking together and then end the day with a late lunch, finally enjoying what you spent the day together preparing.    The classes are small, intimate.  Hands on is an understatement.   You truly work and time flies!

Together you cook a total of four courses, from appetizer through dessert.   You also have the option to pair wines with each of the courses when you sit down to eat at the end.    The whole experience is a real bargain at 50 euros.

And here’s why.  This is so much more than a cooking class.    This class was seriously fun.

Chef Andrea runs the class.   As soon as he introduced himself in the dining room, I knew we were in for a treat.    Seriously charming, extremely funny, very knowledgeable.     But the best part, he is passionate about cooking and passionate about sharing his knowledge and experience with others.    There is something special about learning from someone who loves what they do.   

I think we all agreed he could have probably been equally successful teaching us how to watch paint dry.    His passion is very engaging and motivating. 

The class moves at a rapid pace.   You work in the back kitchen and can envision yourself being a chef as you throw on your apron and work through all of the courses.     Being a small group, the interaction is one of the best parts.    Everyone chips in.   Everyone helps.    It is truly fun in a very informal cooking with all of your best friends kind of way.    Before we knew it, the cooking part was over.  

I loved Chef Andrea’s philosophy.   Italians are so in tune with their food and where it comes from and how it tastes.   There is true passion involved in cooking.   I love that.  I love that he goes to the market every morning, picks out what looks best and then makes the menu around the daily offering.    I can’t imagine a better way to live. 

I also love that throughout the class, Chef Andrea taught us the how, the steps, behind a dish, but also clearly demonstrated how important it is to cook with love.    Sometimes you just need to feel something.   If something doesn’t feel right, you add a little more or change it up a bit.  Equal parts emotion, intuition and technique.   Good stuff. 

During our class, we made some fabulous recipes.   Starting with an appetizer of Pumpkin flowers with prosciutto and mozzarella, first courses of tagliolini with fresh pachino and ricotta and tagliolini carbonara, followed by saltimbocca alla romana and a dessert of tiramisu alla fragole (strawberries).   An awesome menu and wonderful dishes.   I’ll share the recipes at a later date when I attempt to recreate them here at home.   I'm seeing a dinner party in my future!

After we spent the afternoon cooking, we all tidied up and sat down at the main table in the dining room (which is incredibly cute in a lovely Italian rustic way… whoever put it together did a great job!)   Course after course, we enjoyed the fruits of our labor.   The perfectly paired wine flowed.   Fabulous conversation. Nothing better than eating among new friends after spending the day working together.     

Truly a fun experience that I will remember for a long time.   It was actually sad leaving… I think we all felt the magic of the day and knew we had participated in something very special.  

If you are ever in Rome, without hesitation, I would highly encourage you to take a class.   It will be one of your favorite memories of your time in Italy.     You will learn a lot, meet wonderful new friends and hopefully reignite your own fire for doing what you love!     Warning you now, Chef Andrea’s passion is contagious.   Not a bad thing!

Ciao. 

Carbonara and Winks - Part One

We are going back to Rome today.   I am having an overwhelming feeling that it is time to tell you my carbonara story. 

I am a wicked (New England heritage poking out) carbonara snob.   It is really the most simplistic of dishes, but so many tend to screw it up.   I suppose it is because it is so simple that everyone wants to put their own spin on it.   I get the whole creative thing.   I do.  It is definitely fun to play around in the kitchen.   But seriously, don’t mess with my carbonara.

I am only going to say this once.  Please do not add cream to (my) carbonara.

Rome made me this way.   It actually happened a couple of visits ago.    My dad took me to one of his favorite restaurants.   He recommended the carbonara on the basis that he had eaten it on several recent  (in a row) return visits.   Of course, I got annoyed with him for never trying anything new.    But, I give it a go.    Rather have something recommended than be disappointed.  I have a serious issue with paying for bad food.   Story for another day.

The carbonara was quite simply the best thing I ever had.    Whoa.   That’s serious.    I don’t know if it was because I was in Rome and it was a gorgeous fall night and we were sitting outside beneath the stars, surrounded by candlelight, flowing fountains and clinking glasses.     Actually as I write this, I will acknowledge that the atmosphere was pretty awesome and I’m sure it helped shape my memory.  

Perfect al dente noodles and a light glaze of eggy cheesy subtle yumminess.   Emphasis on subtle.  Coated with a very generous dusting of black pepper.   Heaven.

Deeply imbedded in my memory, I decided that I would learn to make carbonara at home.   Can’t be hard.   Well, it is hard.   To get it right.   Not even just right, perfect.  So I gave up and decided I wouldn’t have it again until I returned to Rome.   How silly of me.    At the time, I had no idea I’d be returning to Italy for a proposal from my boyfriend and then an extended personal “enrichment” stay.    But something in my intuition told me I’d be back.  

Flash forward two years.    John brings me on a surprise trip to Rome.     I bring him to my little carbonara slice of heaven on night one.   John proposes.   Hmmmmm…. A connection?    I’ll share the details of the proposal at a later time when it won’t derail my story.

I return to Rome one month later.   Proceed to eat carbonara at every single place I go to.    Well, except for the ones that only had pizza.     Some of it was good.   Some of it was very (very) bad.   Nothing was perfect.  I acknowledge that I must learn to make it again and challenge myself to another attempt.     When in Rome…

I decide to follow in the footsteps of my mother and buy myself a real Italian cookbook.    In English, but from Italy.    When we traveled together, she always reminded me, especially when I was being particularly cheap, that it is really nice when you buy something on your travels and then return home and incorporate it into your daily life.   Then, every time you use ‘it’ you are reminded of your trip.   A cookbook is a perfect way to do this.     

I half attempted a couple of recipes based on ingredients I had on hand at the time.    Everything was good, but all looked the same.   I figured that carbonara, in its simple whiteness would help break that pattern.    It was time.   

Here’s the recipe I made.     Honestly, it still wasn’t perfection and the addition of white wine and butter made it less authentic than I wanted.   But it was in the cookbook.   And that simply meant that I had no choice.  I was going to make the carbonara, imperfect recipe and all.     And it was way better than many of the versions I had out in Rome if that helps.    Take my viewpoint on the recipe with a grain of salt.   I am not definitely not an expert on the topic, merely an obsessed consumer.

Without further adieu, carbonara.   The actual recipe plus my color commentary.   

Oh one other piece of advice, please don’t use bacon.   Do try and find pancetta or even guanciale.    It makes all the difference. 

From “Pasta, every way for every day” by Eric Treuille & Anna Del Conte

Carbonara, Serves 4

3 egg yolks

8 tbsp freshly grated parmesan

2 tbsp oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved

7 oz unsmoked pancetta

4 tbsp white wine

1 lb dried pasta

 ½ oz butter

salt, black pepper

additional freshly grated parmesan to serve

Mix egg yolks and parmesan in a bowl until combined.   (Yes, it will look a little strange.   And italian egg yolks are way yellow-er than those we have at home.   Makes for a very yellow mixture.)

Heat oil in a large frying pan.   Add garlic and cook over medium high heat until golden, 2 minutes.   Remove garlic and discard.   (Note - I skipped this last step.   I like garlic.)

Add pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 5 minutes.    Add wine and simmer until just evaporated, 2 minutes.   Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water, until firm to the bite.   

Drain, reserving ½ cup pasta water.   (I was drinking wine while cooking and totally missed this step.  I didn't actually need it, but if I did, I do know the pasta water is important as it is starchy.   I guess the moral of this story is, pay attention and don't drink too much wine.)

Add drained pasta to the hot pancetta and toss well to coat.  (I tossed so well that I had some pancetta escapees as noted in the picture below.)

Remove from the heat.   Add egg mixture and butter and toss again to coat, adding reserved water as needed.   Add salt and pepper to taste.   

Serve immediately with additional parmesan.   (See top picture above!   That was my dinner.   Seriously, it was pretty good.   Just not perfect!)

You may be asking yourself at this point, "How on earth does carbonara relate to winking?"   Swing by later for Part Two…